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In 1983,
geologist-turned-restaurateur Tracy Vaught decided to forsake the plotting
of America's geothermal energy fields for the potentially hot-and-cold
restaurant field in Houston.
"I
considered a number of options, from opening an antique shop, to running
an ice house or possibly opening a restaurant. When I told my uncle about
my plans, he said he was interested in the restaurant idea."
Together
the uncle-niece duo found a "For Lease" sign in front of a two-story
house on a dead-end street located at the bend in South Shepherd Drive
in River Oaks. The property was perfect for the "backstreet getaway"
restaurant they envisioned.
Vaught,
now an experienced veteran in the restaurant field, owns three of Houston's
most popular restaurants, Backstreet
Café, Prego and Hugo's.
Initially,
Backstreet
's menu was a simple one, offering a selection of soups and sandwiches.
"We bought equipment piece by piece, and expanded the menu as we
expanded the kitchen," Vaught explains.
Vaught
and her uncle Jack Blalock eventually invested in a grill when a
Backstreet
waitress majoring in restaurant management at the Conrad Hilton College
of Hotel and Restaurant Management did a research project on the possibilities
of adding a grill to the Backstreet
kitchen, projecting its impact on sales and menu development.
According
to her findings, the grill could increase sales significantly at the fledgling
restaurant. The waitress made an "A" on the paper, the restaurant
purchased the grill, and it has far exceeded sales projections.
In 1987,
Vaught was offered the opportunity to invest in Prego, a then four-year-old
trattoria located in the Rice Village area. Says Vaught of the now-thriving
restaurant, "Prego was the biggest challenge of my life. I never
dreamed how hard it would be to turn the restaurant around. Now that it's
thriving again, I can say that I've really accomplished a major feat."
In 1989,
after six years, Backstreet
was well established as a popular cafe, pulling most of its business from
a lively outdoor courtyard and a simple menu of Houston standards - hamburgers,
soups and entree-portion salads, and simple main dishes.
"I
felt that it was time for another major growth spurt for the restaurants,"
says Vaught. She and her uncle contracted with chef John
Watt, formerly executive chef at Galveston's acclaimed Tremont
Hotel, to consult with them to revamp both Backstreet's
and Prego's
menu.
Watt
and his prowess at the kitchen helm so impressed Vaught that she hired
him to be executive chef over both Backstreet
and Prego.
"I
look back at our first year in business and I'm amazed at how much we've
accomplished. The restaurant business is about as far away from geology
as you can get, but I've never regretted my decision to leave the field,"
says Vaught.
After
a number of years working side-by-side at Backstreet
Café, Vaught married chef Hugo Ortega in 1994, and
they are the parents of Sophia Elizabeth.
In the
summer of 2002, Vaught and her husband took on yet another challenging
venture with the opening of Hugo's
Regional Cuisine. Located at 1600 Westheimer in a beautifully restored
art deco-era building, Hugo's quickly became one of Houston's "hottest" new restaurants.
Says
Vaught, "It's still very challenging to me to be in this business
and I enjoy the fast pace and the people that I'm constantly in touch
with," she adds. "There is great satisfaction that comes at
the end of the day when you've served hundreds of people and, when everything
goes well, they've had a good meal and a good time at our restaurants."
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