The owner of restaurants on Davis Islands and in Brandon hopes his melting pot of flavors pleases a mix of diners.
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published June 11, 2004
David Chapdelaine, owner of 220 East on Davis Islands, took a risk when he opened a second store in Brandon last year, but risks are nothing new to him.
When he opened 220 on Davis Islands in 1997, people called him crazy.
During a recent lunch, he and Times columnist Ernest Hooper talked about the challenges of the business, the differences between Davis Islands and Brandon and Chapdelaine's motivation to shuttle between two restaurants on a nearly daily basis.
Pull up a chair and join us.
ERNEST: Could you see yourself someday having restaurants scattered across the country like Outback Steakhouse chief executive Chris Sullivan?
DAVID: That's not really my plan. I'm looking at owning five of them where I keep an active, day-to-day interest in the ownership. You never know. Chris might come by and make me an offer I can't refuse. If you're reading this, Chris, how are you doing? Thanks for your business. He's been in a few times.
After learning the business at T.G.I. Friday's and working for other restaurants for 15 years, you teamed with your partner and chef, Nui Thanasilangkul, to open the first restaurant. Tell me about that.
I met Nui in 1986 at T.G.I. Friday's, and he's like my little brother. I'm like his big brother. For years, we would drink a couple of beers and figure out how we were going to run our restaurant better. I came across this place and I came to him and I said, "We can make this thing work. Put up or shut up." We went for it, totally undercapitalized, put a bunch of money on my credit cards, borrowed money from all over the place - the bank laughed at me - begged, borrowed and stole and opened up the first place.
How would you describe your menu?
We call it casual American cuisine and America is a melting pot, so you might have a little cajun, you might have some Oriental, you might have some Italian influence. At the time, Davis Islands wasn't happening, and a lot of people said I was crazy for coming here because the street was empty. I said, all right, how are you going to get people in the restaurant? and I wanted to get them in a couple of times a month. So I didn't want to be a special occasion restaurant. I didn't want to be just dinner only, I didn't want to be steaks and seafood, I didn't want to be a chophouse. You can't be everything to all people, but I wanted to have several different tastes so that if it's time for dinner, and mom wanted a pasta, and dad wanted a fresh fish and kids wanted good kids meals, they were going to come to 220 East. We wanted to put enough choices on the menu so that we could make people happy more than once a month.
I guess the Islands have really changed since you first opened.
We were definitely part of the renaissance on the Islands. We came in here, we served a good product and we actually had people coming from other parts of Tampa, and then the circle expanded to North Tampa, Plant City, Lakeland. We legitimized the place, and now it's kind of like a food court.
You're involved daily with both restaurants. Are the tastes of Brandon folks different from the folks on Davis Islands?
We sell a lot more seafood on Davis Islands than over in Brandon. There, it's more meat and potatoes, a lot more steaks. We're doing prime rib on the weekends out there.
And you were saying some of your Brandon customers are coming in and loading up?
A lot of them have never heard of Dr. Atkins (laughs), but that's fine by me. I think for a lot of people in Brandon, it's still somewhat of a special occasion to go out and eat dinner. In Tampa, it's more of a way of life.
DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest
Chapdelaine's wife, Julie, also has a restaurant background and helps with management shifts and accounting. Maintaining a sense of family is important for the couple, who have a 4-year-old daughter and are expecting their second child in October. In fact, both locations are closed on Sunday in large part because Chapdelaine believes it's important to give himself and his employees quality time to be with their families.
- Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section of the St. Petersburg Times. A version of this report first appeared in a regional edition that covers Brandon.
