FOX Sports Grill

Watching the game with friends is one of life’s great pleasures. And it should always involve food and beverage. FOX takes those great moments and makes them even better with 33 42" plasma flat screens and a 10-foot large screen, pool tables and private rooms. And the food at FOX? If you haven’t been there lately, it’s time for a visit.

Opened in 2003, FOX Sports Grill Seattle was the third location in a chain of high-end sports bars. Seattle’s a sports-loving town and we embraced the ultimate sports coverage, great atmosphere and high-end food. Nearly a year ago, they hired Chef Ephraim Gallor* as executive chef. He’s spent his time ensuring that FOX’s high food standards are met and working with staff to create a tight team.

As the oldest of nine children in New York, it often fell to him to help prepare meals. He also helped his father in his kosher butcher shop. The shop provided prime cuts for fine dining catered events. "I helped out with typical East Coast elaborate celebrations," says Ephraim. "The Jewish community is very tight knit and during summers I would help out at events. I was too young to be hired, but people could count on me to be a server’s assistant, an extra set of hands to plate or set up tables."

The family moved to Seattle when he was 14. At 16, he took a job at an East Coast-style deli in Pike Market. The chef pickled corned beef and pastrami on site. "It was a great place. There was always a line out the door at lunch," recalls Ephraim. Eventually Ephraim began to run the deli, come up with recipes, create specials and help write the menu. By 17, he was running the deli during the day.

Photo: Executive Chef Ephraim Gallor in front of FOX's famous waterfall

After high school, he returned to New York to continue his education. He worked for a fine dining caterer doing recipe design and becoming chef de cuisine. "I learned a lot and loved to study at school, but missed Seattle and wanted to pursue music." Back in Seattle in 1996, he immediately formed a group. He had success recording on his own, with others and producing. All the while, he kept cooking. He worked at Luna Park Café in West Seattle for a year, becoming the night lead, designing recipes and specials. At the same time, he worked at Madison’s Café in West Seattle, staying for two years.

He began consulting. "Lots of foodies love music, so I had a great network of people. I would help people with back of the house issues, recipes, financial systems, employee incentives and marketing," he explains. He also helped create proposals for investors.

At 22, he took on the job of helping turn around Rocksport, a sports bar in West Seattle. They gave him creative control. He stayed over five years, quadrupling sales, creating a good lunch business and Friday night specials so delicious that people didn’t mind waiting 45 minutes at the door. He continued playing with his group, doing session work and working on a solo project.

With the ultimate goal of opening his own restaurant, he decided he’d like to learn from the corporate environment, ending up at Ruth’s Chris and going through the transition of the three stores (Seattle, Bellevue, Portland) returning to corporate ownership. He had 10 days of training before becoming sous chef in Seattle. "I loved the challenge. Plus we needed to replace nearly the whole staff, so I hired and trained people. The menu switched three times as part of the transition." He moved to Bellevue as the executive chef and took them through the same steps. "I stayed in Bellevue for a little over a year. I was working 90-95 hours a week. I had rewritten their happy hour program and wrote recipes. That was unusual—normally only corporate chefs write recipes. But I needed a break personally."

He took six months off to travel, play music and think. He took only two consulting jobs. "I’m very active and like to work; six months was a little too long for me," he laughs. "I started looking around and wanted just the right fit. I heard about FOX and applied for the position. I talked with Chad Depuy, the GM, and Carolyn Henning, the marketing manager. A sports bar was familiar with my background at Rocksport. They wanted to ensure their chef would maintain their high standards and liked my fine dining history. FOX was in transition and I liked that—they were looking to finetune their identity, i.e., people know it’s a great place for sports, but do we continue to elevate the dining experience or stay strictly with the sports theme? I’ve created specials sheets and added some extra items on the banquet menu to go along with the FOX menus created by the corporate chef. I’ve worked with the staff and everyone is accountable for perfect execution. You have to make the guest happy whether they’re eating $6 chicken tenders or a $45 prime steak. We’ve got a crew that loves to learn. My best moments are when a dishwasher moves to prep or a line cook becomes a chef."

Photo above: Marketing Manager Carolyn Henning and Executive Chef Gallor

Ephraim has continued the FOX tradition of being a scratch kitchen, making their own sauces, slow cooking wings, butchering ribs in house, making marinades. "Word of mouth has been great. Our loyal customers are happy and we’re seeing new customers coming in for the dining experience, not for sports. We’ve revamped and trained the front of the house for consistency." Ephraim has also done recipe and back office work for FOX corporate.

"We have seven layers of defense from purchasing to servers to ensure that our guests get our best product," says Ehraim proudly. With all they’ve accomplished, they still look to improve every day. Their next project is happy hour. "Our guests will see the same great quality and great flavor in the FOX vein at an unbelievable price," he says. We can hardly wait.

Connie Adams/November 2009

Chef Gallor has been promoted to Corporate Executive Chef for FOX as of January 1, 2010,and has relocated to California. His replacement is Chef Matt Baer who will carry on the tradition.

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