Weimann and Maclise, Part 2

In 2008, when they started talking about doing projects together, they had three in mind: an Austrian beer hall, a French Café, and a Mexican restaurant. As we now know, they've created all three plus a Scottish pub and later in 2013 a Northwest/Italian spot. Here's how it unfolded.

"We were going to do Von Trapp's in West Seattle as our first project, but the place fell through," recalls Deming. "We knew the French café had to be in Ballard. We didn't want to do Mexican there because we know the people who have Mexican restaurants there." Adds James, "So we did the hardest restaurant concept first, Bastille, and then said ‘let's put a garden on the roof'," laughs James. "People told us it would be hard to do," says Deming. "I hate it when people tell me not to do something." James laughs. "You are hilarious. Deming says ‘it's not impossible.'" "We fully share that," says Deming. "We don't hear ‘no' as a solid ‘no.' We think about it and find ways to make it happen." James pauses. "Smart or thick-headed? Hard to say…" "It's served us well. Gotten us into trouble a couple of times," recalls Deming. "Our plan in 2008 was to purchase a building in Ballard and the one next to it. It was a big stretch financially. We were closing the week the DOW went down. Bank employees were huddled around the TV. The sellers wouldn't lower the price, so we backed out. They came back later and we bought it." James recalls the thought process. "We bought the building with a concept and believed in it from the beginning. We also had to retrofit it to include the weight of a rooftop garden, and add sprinklers. We went to New York and Paris to look at cafes, and started collecting things in Paris."

While their restaurants have different concepts, there are some similarities at all places. "We have high-volume restaurants, but still want high-end chefs," says Deming. "No matter how much food is produced, we don't want it to be a side note. That starts at where we source. Long term, it pays off. We have 38 local farms we work with, and try to work with organic and small farms as much as possible." James gives credit to their teams. "Our Bastille chef Jason Stoneburner has done a great job. There is no freezer at Bastille; nothing is frozen. Erik Carlson is a real student of the cocktail world and really elevated the bar program. He's the beverage director at all our places now." Deming agrees. "Bastille has surpassed our expectations in terms of food, service and the team. Chef Manny used to work at Bastille and moved to Poquitos. He's so good at managing costs and creating great food. We serve about 700 people a day at Poquitos. At opening, we wanted it to be a mix of restaurant and bar. When we did the numbers for 2012, it was 55% food. We know you can't just count on alcohol and atmosphere. Food has to be done at a high level. We're both very conscious about what we eat and where the food comes from. I had high expectations for Poquitos because I love Mexican food. The kitchen staff has done a great job of constantly improving." Every detail counts, as James explains: "Even at the level of chips—we looked for weeks for the right type of oil and found rice bran oil. It's better for you, has a higher smoke point, and keeps the chips crispier."

Photo: Poquitos beverages, above
Chef Jason Stoneburner, below

The three newest projects have come, unintentionally, close together. As mentioned last month, Macleod's came together very quickly when Harlow's Saloon came up for sale, and Von Trapp's was discussed long ago, but they hadn't found the right location until recently. It has five indoor and two outdoor bocce ball courts. "Germany is very big on bocce, although it's not called that there," says Deming. "Bavaria is very near to northern Italy and parks are full of bocce ball courts." As always, they go for authentic. "We'll be the only place to have a buffalo chopper, a meat grinder that can emulsify meat to a hot dog or brat texture—grainy," says James. "Peter Fjosne from Bastille went to Munich to learn about seasonings and prep for the eight hand-made sausages we'll have on the menu. His goal is to make the best frankfurter in the state. We have a full-time baker doing pretzels and pretzel rolls for sandwiches." James lived in Germany for awhile and Deming's wife is from Austria. "Remember Vienna hot dogs—long and thin? We have those, where you get a snap when you bite into them," says Deming. "We also have schnitzel and other German classics. And we'll have a hamburger. We took a two-week trip to Germany and saw some amazing beer halls. We've had fun creating something based on what we saw."

"For Macleod's, we've been really focused on single malt scotches," says James. "And there's not much room for making food. We're going to bring sausages made at Von Trapp's over to Macleod's and sell them there. Stoneburner will be amazing. Jason is a genius in the kitchen; he's so educated about food and wine. Plus he's an amazing teacher."

And the future? "Our timing recently has not been perfect with three so close together," acknowledges James. Deming adds, "We made a promise to ourselves not to put any more on the table until we finish with Stoneburner and enjoy the summer with our families. That's our current mantra and we're sticking to it. We're lucky right now because people come to us with spaces for potential projects. We've done so much building, we'd like to focus on operations now."

Bastille 5307 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107 206-453-5014 www.bastilleseattle.com Poquitos 1000 E Pike St Seattle, WA 98122 206-453-4216 www.vivapoquitos.com Macleod's Scottish Pub 5200 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107 206-687-7115 www.macleodsballard.com Von Trapp's 912 12th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 206-325-5409 www.vontrapps.com Stoneburner 5214 Ballard Avenue NW Seattle, WA 98107 www.stoneburnerseattle.com Photo: Bastille mussels (top), Poquitos chipotle prawns

Connie Adams/March 2013