(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
Chef Tyler Courtney, right, with Kate Love in the kitchen of Mint Restaurant in Glens Falls.
Mint, the upscale restaurant on Warren Street in Glens Falls, celebrated its first year in business earlier this month, and owner Johanna Geldern said it has been a success generally, with a number of trials that might be expected of any new venture.
The income came in, she said — they grossed nearly a $1 million in sales — but the expenses were higher than expected.
The biggest issue through the year was finding the right chef.
She believes she now has him in Chef Tyler Courtney, the fourth to come on board, who hails from California and has infused some of the dishes with a bit of the west coast vibe, especially that of Santa Monica.
“I take from everything that is going on,” Courtney said of his style. “If anything, I'm a California cook.”
He spent 15 years there and in Colorado, cooking everything from high-end pizza, high-end BBQ, and high-end burgers before moving to this area and cooking just high end, he said. Dinner entrees run from $18 to $48 at Mint.
When she brought Courtney on, Geldern said, she was already working with an evening executive chef who was doing the job well enough — she did not want to let the person go — but she also saw in Courtney the attitude toward the menu and kitchen that she wanted, she said.
So she started offering lunch in September last year and created the daytime executive chef position just for Courtney. By January, the evening chef had left, and Courtney became the only executive chef in the kitchen.
He has controlled food purchasing and handled waste much better, Geldern said. Both he and Geldern highlighted the farm-to-table approach that includes Grazin’ Acres in Salem, Nettle Meadow Farm and Aritsan Cheese in Lake Luzerne, and Kilcoyne Farm in Hudson Falls among others.
Kilcoyne supplies of all their meats, Geldern said.
Courtney keeps a friendly kitchen, she said, adding that it is almost like a teaching kitchen.
“It’s a calm kitchen, it’s a clean kitchen,” Geldern said.
This has been a major step toward profitability, she said. To cut costs, too, she has cut staff which drew 50% of the gross income over their first year.
“We’re down to four people running the whole kitchen,” she said.
“It's a million dollar a year business. Hopefully more than that. That was just our first year,” she said, adding later: “But the bank account is not showing it.”
Part of the problem was a slower-than-anticipated winter, a weak ski season, and lack of exposure to people visiting the area through the coldest months.
“I didn’t anticipate winter dropping off as much as it did,” she said, adding that she should have cut staff much quicker.
Valentine’s Day picked up, but Geldern said with a laugh, September to Valentine’s Day was a long time.
The retired elementary school teacher who has been in the restaurant business since 2015, is hoping to gain exposure and more clients coming in. At the time of the interview she was anticipating re-opening the patio, which has since opened.
The local ABC10 station did a story recently, which is exactly the sort of talk she hoped to get. During the interview she said she was looking for ways of “getting people through the door.”