I couldn’t think of two better business partners than my brother, Glenn, and John Hogan.
People ask me what it’s like to work with your older brother. I would say it’s 99.9% positive. He’s my best friend.
It’s important to know your business partners really well and to trust them implicitly, and that’s especially true in tough times. We actually started feeling the economic crisis six months before the government called it a recession.
The first quarter of 2009 was pretty lean. Our regular guests would come in and commiserate. Everyone was experiencing hardship, whether people had corporate jobs or small businesses of their own. We just said, “We’re in this together and we need to keep swinging.”
Having a quality product that we can stand by keeps us moving forward, and we have John to thank for that. Our different personalities clashed a little bit in the beginning, and it’s kind of a funny story.
Back when we opened, in 2002, one of my goals was to put all of our recipes onto recipe cards. I had started my career in finance and wanted to have everything organized. I wanted to make sure that our Lobster Bisque in November tasted like our Lobster Bisque in March. But I soon learned from John, recipes are not like numbers. He makes up a lot of dishes on the fly and he didn’t really buy into the card idea. But I said, “John, what if you go on vacation or take a sick day and we have no idea how to get a hold of you?” He finally agreed to do the cards, and that made me feel better, a whole lot better.
Seven years on, I do not miss the finance business. There is enough number crunching here to keep me busy. I also consider myself an expeditor, and at crunch periods, I have no problem putting on an apron and getting in the kitchen to help out. Some days, I even function as John’s alter ego. Every day is different here. There’s no routine. And for me, it’s a lot better than working in an office.
The guests make it all worth it. Most of them come here to conduct business, and we appreciate that. It’s why we have a “no hat” policy, we like a bit of decorum. We understand most of our guests come here to discuss important matters, and that they’d probably prefer to be with their spouse and kids. That’s why we try so hard to make Keefer’s feel like home.
So I’m a restaurant guy now. If I didn’t do this, I think I’d be a high school football coach. Maybe I’ll still do that, after I retire. Whenever that is.
Chicago Restaurateur Rich Keefer
I couldn’t think of two better business partners than my brother, Glenn, and John Hogan.
People ask me what it’s like to work with your older brother. I would say it’s 99.9% positive. He’s my best friend.
It’s important to know your business partners really well and to trust them implicitly, and that’s especially true in tough times. We actually started feeling the economic crisis six months before the government called it a recession.
The first quarter of 2009 was pretty lean. Our regular guests would come in and commiserate. Everyone was experiencing hardship, whether people had corporate jobs or small businesses of their own. We just said, “We’re in this together and we need to keep swinging.”
Having a quality product that we can stand by keeps us moving forward, and we have John to thank for that. Our different personalities clashed a little bit in the beginning, and it’s kind of a funny story.
Back when we opened, in 2002, one of my goals was to put all of our recipes onto recipe cards. I had started my career in finance and wanted to have everything organized. I wanted to make sure that our Lobster Bisque in November tasted like our Lobster Bisque in March. But I soon learned from John, recipes are not like numbers. He makes up a lot of dishes on the fly and he didn’t really buy into the card idea. But I said, “John, what if you go on vacation or take a sick day and we have no idea how to get a hold of you?” He finally agreed to do the cards, and that made me feel better, a whole lot better.
Seven years on, I do not miss the finance business. There is enough number crunching here to keep me busy. I also consider myself an expeditor, and at crunch periods, I have no problem putting on an apron and getting in the kitchen to help out. Some days, I even function as John’s alter ego. Every day is different here. There’s no routine. And for me, it’s a lot better than working in an office.
The guests make it all worth it. Most of them come here to conduct business, and we appreciate that. It’s why we have a “no hat” policy, we like a bit of decorum. We understand most of our guests come here to discuss important matters, and that they’d probably prefer to be with their spouse and kids. That’s why we try so hard to make Keefer’s feel like home.
So I’m a restaurant guy now. If I didn’t do this, I think I’d be a high school football coach. Maybe I’ll still do that, after I retire. Whenever that is.
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