Q&A with Henry Kristal
By: Marissa Kristal
Beyond being a kind and loving father to my four siblings, and me Henry Kristal is also the devoted dad of Minnesota-based family restaurant chain, Embers Restaurants. On October 10, 2006 Embers turns 50. Aside from just being the birth date of Dad's eldest child, the significance of this milestone is profound. As I'm sure any business owner would attest, to last a year is a feat; to last 50 is success defined.
While a lifetime of hard work and accomplishment distinguish Dad, a trajectory of delicious food, unique recipes, inimitable anecdotes and authenticity define Embers.
And on the occasion of its 50th year, what better time to sit with my – excuse me, our – proud father, and take a look back.
Marissa: You’ve been working in the restaurant industry now for 50 years! Aside from making you ancient – just kidding – that means that ever since 1956, you’ve been perpetually working towards the success of your beloved restaurant company. And now that it’s reached the big 5-0, we can most definitely say, “job well done!” But let’s go back to the beginning. How did you get started in the restaurant industry? Why food? Tell me the Embers story!
Dad: Well my love of food and meats began when I was just a kid working in my father’s butcher shop, but my interest was sparked at home, too. My mom was an amazing cook. She used to cook up delicious meals using very simple ingredients. We didn’t have the money to buy fancy, expensive stuff. Well that’s when the thought first occurred to me that there ought to be a way for poor people to eat without having to pay an arm and a leg for food.
Essentially, the idea for Embers began because my best friend, Carl Birnbirg, and I used to write back and forth while we were in the Navy that there were no restaurants that served really good food at a price the average working person could afford. All that was available were the proverbial "greasy spoons", so named because the food tasted, and indeed was, greasy, as well as were the building themselves. We had a vision to change that so we decided to merge my knowledge of food with his salesman skills and start a family restaurant.
Marissa: In 1956 you and Carl turned your vision into a reality when you opened your very first restaurant. What was it like?
Dad: As you said, Embers began in 1956 as a 39-seat restaurant on Lake Street. We only had four booths –each booth sat four people – and the rest of the seating was counter stools. In fact, the entire unit was probably only1500-2000 square feet! But that just made the restaurant all the more family-style and homey; we cooked right in front of our customers.
Marissa: And how did you come up with the name “Embers”?
Dad: Actually, our first restaurant was called “Embers Charcoal Broiler.” It was two weeks before we were set to open and we still didn’t have a name, and then one night, the name came to me in a dream. See, we created all our broiled items on a charcoal broiler and I had a vivid dream about red hot embers emanating from the coal. I woke up from that dream, scribbled "EMBERS" down on a piece of paper and went back to sleep. The name stuck.
Marissa: Well I know your memory, Dad, - or rather, lack thereof – so thank goodness you wrote the name down! I’ve heard you talk about a special recipe box that you used when you first started the restaurant. Tell me more about this, do you still have it?
Dad: Yes, as a matter of fact, we do! I believe it’s still at the office. When we first started the restaurant, we wrote down our signature recipes - like our specialty Embers sauce, pancakes, dressings, etc. - on index cards and stored them in our recipe box. Eventually we changed with the times and modernized our system, but we never threw out our box. It’s a keepsake!
Marissa: Speaking of specialty food items, Tell me about some of yours. I would love to know how some of your recipes came to be – specifically my favorite, The Emberger!
Dad: Our Emberger is different from other burgers because it's broiled on charcoal type burners. The hamburger’s meat formula came from my knowledge of meat as a butcher. It was created from cuts of meat that otherwise wouldn’t be tender unless ground into hamburger. We grounded it very coarse so it tasted something like a steak, and the meat itself was only 10% fat as opposed to the normal 20% or more of the times. And of course, no Emberger would be complete without our secret sauce! The sauce formula was one I created while in the Navy because I missed a restaurant from St. Paul that served b-b-q ribs and I wanted to create a similarly flavored taste.
Marissa: My mouth is watering just thinking about it! What about some of the other “classic” Embers food items such as your delicious pancakes and The Royal?
Dad: In the days before we opened our first restaurant a salesman came to our store to deliver food items and supplies, and he gave us his own pancake batter recipe. We tested it out, and it was okay, but it just wasn’t good enough. So, Carl and I brought the recipe home to our mothers – that’s what moms are for, right? – and they both tinkered with it until it became the delicious recipe you taste today!
As for The Royal, that was my idea. As you know, I love rich food so one day I decided to add a little bacon and cheese together while testing broiling methods; I was just experimenting, but the end result was so tasty that I knew it had to go on the menu. We called it The Royal because the crossed bacon strips on the yellow cheese looked like a crown. We also "Royalized" a ham sandwich and a Kosher Hot dog sandwich; the ham sandwich became the "Mr. B." and the hotdog became the "Mr. K.". As for our salad dressings, they were created mostly by Carl, with the help of both our mothers.
Marissa: That is really interesting! I love that your and Carl’s moms had such a strong influence on the Embers menu, and even more remarkable is that 50 years later, those are still some of the recipes Embers is known for! So in very beginning you had this great little restaurant with awesome food, but as we well know, good food and a friendly atmosphere can only take you so far; when it comes to luring customers, half the battle is in marketing and advertising, right? So how did you spread the word about Embers? Aside from just offering great, cheap grub, from a marketing standpoint, how’d you get people in the door initially?
Dad: You’re absolutely right – it definitely takes more than just having good, affordable food. We were actually the first local restaurant chain to use billboards. In fact, there were very few chains in the country at that time, and we may have even been the first to use billboards nationally, too; we were definitely the first in the local 5 state area. But what I’m certain of is that we were the first to put the billboard upside down (it was a very large picture of our strawberry pie single service) and for that we received national publicity. We were also the first restaurant chain on TV and that moved our sales forward dramatically. I think we were also the first to place coupons in the paper for discounts and that became one of the major components of our marketing.
Marissa: So when it comes to mass promotion, Embers truly is a pioneer; in advertising yourself, you really paved the way for other chain-restaurants. I think that’s pretty incredible! Another thing that many people don’t know about Embers is its connection to both the Minnesota sports teams and the U.S. Olympic hockey team. Your good, hearty food really “nourished” them (pun intended!), which of course made them even better athletes! Tell us about that, Dad.
Dad: Well I don’t know about making them better athletes, but yes, for years, we fed the Gopher basketball team. Many times we fed them before the game, but we always served them after each home game at the University Campus store. Those were the days when Minnesota had very good teams and the arena was always completely sold out. We didn't want to charge the players, but the University always sent us a check to cover some of the costs, but, never for the full amount. We also fed many of the University’s wrestlers as well as athletes from various other teams, too. And, yes, the 1980 Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team practiced at the U of M and they almost always ate with us after their practice sessions. Herb Brooks called us directly and asked if we could help feed the team, of course it was our honor. It was very exciting! We also served many of the high school athletic teams, too; we did this in all the communities that Embers operated in.
Marissa: Over the past 50 years, a lot of celebrities have walked through the Embers doors; in fact, I remember when I was in high school you came home from work one day and told us that they were going to be filming a movie in one of your stores. When Mom and I asked you the name of the movie and you replied, “Fargo,” we burst out laughing; it was like naming a movie, “St. Paul” or “Duluth,” we had a hard time believing that a movie with the name “Fargo” would ever actually ever be seen by anyone! And then, a few years later, “Fargo” won the Oscar for Best Picture…needless to say, we ate our words! Talk to me about that, Dad. Who are some of the celebrities Embers has served over the years, and what was it like to have an award-winning movie filmed in your restaurant?
Dad: We were the restaurant of choice for many Minnesota governors and legislators. Before he became a U.S. Senator, Rudy Boschwitz ate lunch with us (at Ricky’s Embers in Fridley) almost daily!
As for “Fargo,” yes, I remember the night you and your mom burst out laughing, too! It was filmed in the middle if a very hot summer. They used some kind of a chemical to create the effect of snow and when I saw it, I thought the restaurant was ruined! I was sure we wouldn’t be able to reopen without a major cleanup. However, much to my amazement, by 6:00 PM on the day of shooting, the restaurant was completely restored! When they filmed, there were probably 20 very large semi trailers with all the assorted equipment; the neighborhood was completely occupied. But again, by 6:00 PM, all was restored back to normal. The shooting started a 4:30 AM and was all completed in one day. But what a thrill to have acclaimed actor Bill Macy in our store!
Marissa: Being the starstruck and pop-culture obsessed individual that I am, after the movie came out I bragged to all my friends that the best line in the entire movie was when Bill Macy said, “Honey, if anyone calls, tell them I went to the Embers!” In fact, Dad, I still boast about that!
Now here we are on the brink of the 50th anniversary of Embers. This day and age, restaurant companies come and go at a faster pace than Mario Andretti! So to last 50 years, well, if you ask me, that’s an unbelievable accomplishment. What do you think has been the key to your staying power?
Dad: Like you said, the very fact that Embers still survives in the face of competition (the restaurant industry is the second largest in the country, including the health industry which is the first largest) which knows no end indicates that it’s our food’s quality that carries us through everything. In addition, the people we have added – everyone who’s a part of the Embers team – continue to provide that wonderful trip back to the past, in the present. I'm personally indebted to each and every person who is working towards the continuation of Embers. Here we are on our 50th anniversary, and as I look back I am filled with immense pride, but even better, I look forwards with pristine hope. Here’s to a bright future; perhaps another 50 years!
