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| Chef's Showcase |
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| The Iron Cactus - Food And Fun With A Southwestern Flair |
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Owners: Gary Manley and Michael Pottorff
Open since: 1996
Concept: Southwestern grill and margarita bar
Dayparts: lunch and dinner, weekend brunch at North location
Number of seats: about 400 in each restaurant
Check averages: $10 lunch, $28-$30 dinner
Tequila tally: 78 types offered
Signature drink: El Agave margarita - premium silver tequila and fresh-squeezed lime juice,
served on the rocks in a hand-blown blue glass
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The Iron Cactus, Austin Texas
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How does the Iron Cactus successfully balance the food and bar business? - Questions & Answers
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Gary, what did it take to stake a Southwestern claim in a Tex-Mex marketplace?
Iron Cactus customers can try a variety of dishes they've never had before, and we don't cut corners on
quality. We're about the best and freshest ingredients. There are plenty of ways we could save money, but
that instantly would show up in the food. The same thing applies to the margaritas. We offer a wide range
of specialty combinations in a lively environment.
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What impact does that philosophy have on your food and operation costs?
Food costs in a Mexican or Tex-Mex place are going to be lower, sometimes as low as 20 percent, whereas ours
run between 30 percent and 32 percent. For example, Iron Cactus fish tacos are made with salmon. We know we
could use other fish, but with the seasoning and the preparation, they're incredible, so we don't. The
restaurant has evolved a bit, and we've done a good job teaching people about our type of cuisine, so they
expect to pay a little more. The Iron Cactus is also the cleanest restaurant you'll ever see. We're nuts
about that, and customers definitely notice.
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How does the bar business complement the restaurant business?
We try to drive the business back and forth. Because our type of food takes traditional dishes and gives
them a Southwestern twist, margaritas go hand-in-hand. Most guests order a margarita with the meal. It's
as natural as ordering wine with Italian food. A lot of snacking also happens in the bar, with popular
appetizers like Southwestern Crab Cakes and Duck Quesadilla. Our No. 1 seller is the spinach dip, with
quick-fried flour tortilla triangles.
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What are some other popular dishes like?
One favorite is Mojo Cubano, a pork tenderloin served with a sauce that includes soy, citrus, cilantro and a
little oil. We serve it with crisp-fried jalapeņo cheese grits. Another is the Pollo Relleno, chicken breast
stuffed with green chile corn bread. The sauce is a jalapeņo cream. For the Camarones Pescadora, one of the
best sellers, the shrimp is stuffed with crab, chiles and tomatoes and served atop angel hair pasta with
garlic cream sauce.
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Now what's this we hear about live music?
My background was in the bar business, but restaurants are a whole lot more fun and creative. At the same
time Austin is known for its music scene, so we wanted to find a way to bring that into our operation. Now
live music has been a little tougher since Sept. 11, but we're offering guitar soloist talent downtown on
Friday and Saturday nights. And that's been successful because it's so original. At the northern location
we have music on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, ranging from singer- songwriters to top bands.
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It seems as if there's so much going on. Is recruiting and training qualified staff an issue for you?
I can't emphasize enough how important training is for us. We spend a lot of time and money on it, and we
demand a whole lot in return. It's the No. 1 key to our success, based on a couple of strong tools. First,
we use "head trainers." Each restaurant has four or five, and these are the people so good at what they do
that we want them teaching others. Employees also take a total of seven different tests, from policy and
procedure to menus, to beverages, to tequila. The education is ongoing, with tastings and guest
presentations and safety classes, and every month there's an employee meeting to keep communication
current.
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It sounds as if you've set up a recipe for expansion. Can you tell us anything about what's coming soon in the Iron Cactus future?
There are a couple of exciting things happening. First, we're opening a third location in San Antonio on the
Riverwalk as part of a renovation of a historic theater. Nashville is also on the radar. There's a new
development called The Gulch downtown by the river in the old part of town, and we're looking at that, too.
We're actually in the middle of hiring a new executive chef for all the restaurants and recruiting managers.
So it's time for us to look at setting up an incentive-driven operation that's ready to seize additional
opportunities.
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