Bruce and Larry Reinstein were brought up in the restaurant business. Their father David taught them how to succeed: bussing tables, washing pots, making change, choosing produce, peeling potatoes, mopping floors…
But the most important thing, David Reinstein always said was, “treat your guests like family.”
After graduating from Cornell University, the brothers went off to prove themselves in the hospitality industry. But with David’s chain of soup and salad restaurants acclaimed as “Boston’s Best” and growing fast, the sons were soon called home. In 1992, David retired, leaving Bruce and Larry in charge. The business thrived.
“We need to diversify,” said Larry now CEO. “If we want our guests to come into our restaurants every day, we need to offer them more than merely soups and salads.”
“What did you think of those noodles we had in San Francisco’s Chinatown last year?,” asked Bruce, now COO with a passion for R&D. “I’ve been testing them in our culinary center.” Bruce came back from Tuscany, a few months later, with bread on his mind. “Here. Try this. It's fresh.”
Larry began to wonder, “How can we capitalize on this ‘freshness’ thing? We do it better than anybody else. We need to own it.”
More months passed. Bruce and Larry worked hard. On weekends they worked harder. They traveled. And everywhere they went, they sampled and analyzed the local cuisine. From Shanghai to San Francisco; Memphis to Milan; Paris, France to Portland, Maine, they found the foremost chefs mixing and matching world cuisine.
“That’s fresh, too!” thought Larry, “Fresh Fusion… it’s like jazz but blending foods instead of music.”
Attending the National Restaurant Show in 1996, the brothers were playing pool and shooting the breeze…
“What if we did burritos with an Asian flair?”
“Or stir fry with a hot Southwestern barbecue sauce?”
“We can’t leave out our award-winning salads and soups…”
“How about adding smoothies? I’ve loved smoothies since the 60s and nobody makes them right anymore…”
“We’d create a brand new brand, in a whole new category…”
“It may sound chaotic… but it all ties together when you think of the niche as ‘fresh.’ The freshest ingredients, the freshest recipes, made fresh-to-order… a fresh new concept.”
“Yeah… It will be… Fresh City!”
“You’re a genius.”
“Of course. I’m your brother.”
“Let’s get to work.”