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Gastronomy Inc., owner and operator of eight restaurants and private clubs and three fresh fish markets in Salt Lake City, has announced management and ownership changes as part of a long-term growth strategy.
Founding partners John Williams and Tom Guinney said the new partners are critical to the company's expansion plans, which includes opening a new restaurant every three years or so.
Among the changes:
* New Yorker chef Will Pliler has become a partner in the New Yorker Club.
Pliler has been associated with the New Yorker since shortly after it opened in 1978. The Zagat Survey has consistently ranked the New Yorker as tops in American and traditional cuisine, business dining, service, downtown location, decor and romantic ambiance.
* In the seafood division of Gastronomy Inc., which includes the Market Street Grills, Market Street Oyster Bars and Market Street Fresh Fish Markets in Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights and South Jordan, four new partners have been named: Fred Boutwell, Scott Loring, Monae Madson and Eldon Payne.
Boutwell is general manager of Market Street Grill and Oyster Bar at Cottonwood Heights; Loring is chef of Market Street Grill and Oyster Bar at RiverPark in South Jordan; Madson is general manager of Market Street Grill and Oyster Bar Downtown; and Payne is the corporation's chief financial officer.
* Brady Larsen was appointed director of operations of Gastronomy Properties, the company's real estate division.
"Our goal has been to open places responsibly, in a manner where we can maintain quality in both service and food," said Williams. "We are concentrating on our seafood division, after divesting ourselves from the Italian and Mexican concept. Frankly, we do seafood best."
The last restaurant opening was nearly a year ago at RiverPark in South Jordan. While there are no final plans on the next new restaurant, the location may be the first one outside Utah, likely in a contiguous state.
In addition to its restaurant operations, Gastronomy also owns and leases office space in historical buildings, including the Salt Lake Hardware Building, the New York Building, the Firestone Building and the Ford Motor Building. The company employs more than 750 people.