Are you able to take advantage of volume purchasing?
Fee: Though the menus aren’t at all the same, there is still some overlap in terms of the core products we bring in the back door. So yes, we’re able to bundle some purchases, including large advance buys.

Do the two kitchens operate separately?
Randy: We actually considered a more centralized kitchen approach when we opened Marisco's. But in the end we decided to keep the two fundamentally independent because it’s so much smoother for accounting. There really isn’t too much kitchen-preparation crossover – just a couple of salad dressings really. I even make two different marinara sauces; Mariscos’ is lighter to accompany seafood better.

Being in the hometown of the University of Kansas, you must get a lot of college students – both as guests and as employees. How does that impact your businesses?
Fee: You’d be surprised how many college students regularly dine at Marisco's. I’d say they make up about 30 percent of our clientele there. The reason is that the place is really nice but casual, and the menu is so accessible.

Of course, at JB Stout's the average runs upward toward 50-percent university kids, except for during KU basketball games, when it’s nearly 100 percent. The remaining customers range from families with kids to friends getting together for a drink to pool players and sports fans.

Randy: The college environment has a big impact on our kitchen, and I think it’s a positive one. Some are apprentices from the nearby Johnson County Community College culinary program. Others are KU kids who need a part-time job. They all seem to be eager to learn and have a positive attitude. Everything they do, they’re just trying to get more knowledge.

Does that automatically mean you’re always training new staff?
Randy: We do have some regular turnover as students leave their programs, but I don’t mind retraining. Whenever fresh cooks come into the kitchen, it provides a learning opportunity for me. They bring new ideas, new techniques, and help keep us all energized.

Fee: Service is the key to both restaurants’ success. At Marisco's, for example, our front-of-the-house staff is thoroughly cross-trained and brought up through a system that makes sure they really know the restaurant before they start waiting on tables. A new staff member starts as a host or hostess and then moves on to running and expediting food from the kitchen. Then he or she works as an assistant server. Some even go through the bar for a while.

Do you look at servers as “salespeople”?
Fee: Not exactly, because I prefer the approach of up selling rather than overselling. And I think the guests can appreciate the subtle difference between being informed about a special or promotion or drink suggestion and being “sold” items they might not want. To me, the servers are always in a customer-relations role.

Randy, how did your training prepare you for running two different kitchens and menus?
Randy: I’m an active member of the Kansas City American Culinary Federation and a Certified Executive Chef. Before working here, I worked at another popular restaurant in Lawrence for about nine years, so I have a lot of solid local experience.

In fact, I’m from Topeka, and my first job was during high school, washing dishes. But I always was interested in cooking even back then. I came to Lawrence to go to KU but soon left to join a culinary program and commit to a career in cooking. I could see myself behind a stove for 20 years, but I could never see myself behind a desk for that long.