Chicago has a rich history of great steakhouses. Gibsons Bar & Restaurant easily makes the list of great steak restaurants and is revered by steak lovers. As you enter the constricted lobby of the restaurant’s first outpost at North Rush Street and East Bellevue Place, hundreds of photos of famous patrons occupy almost every square inch of the walls. (Gibsons’ other two locations are in Oak Brook and Rosemont.) At peak hours, the lobby is loaded with diners waiting for a seat, the piano bar is at standing room only capacity and the dining room is packed with patrons who feast on top-rate ingredients delivered in sizable portions.
It is late in the afternoon as Gibsons is gearing up for dinner service when I grab a coveted table in the bar. Across the table is managing partner John Colletti. The 62-year-old restaurant veteran has become the face of Gibsons, which explains the numerous people who interrupt our conversation to say hello or talk politics. Clearly, this restaurant is built not only on food but also on relationships that make customers feel like a large extended family. Talking to Colletti, it is also clear that he has made an impact on Chicago both in and out of the restaurant.
The following is an edited transcript of our conversation.
Q: You are such an integral part of Gibsons. How do you get to be a managing partner at such an iconic place?
A: A strong work ethic is what the restaurant business is all about — all day and all night, every day. Even when we were closed for lunch, I would be here. If there was a no-show employee, then you do that job on top of everything else. If a partner is on vacation, you step in. You see, it is a policy here at Gibsons that 99 percent of the time there is an owner on premise — that familiar face. I’ve now been here for 23 years. Before that, I worked at a lot of places — Shaw’s Crab House, Ditka’s/City Lights and Sportsman’s Park (concessions). I grew up in the restaurant business. My family owned Colletti’s El Central that opened in 1946 by Central and Elston. We also owned and lived above The Country Kitchen. I did it all there — bus boy, dishwasher, filled in as night cook and even tended bar in between college classes. After all of that, I hated the restaurant business thoroughly. So, after college, I worked as the assistant chief health inspector of Chicago’s Board of Health. After seven years, I was wooed into the hotel business doing quality control for multiple properties. One year later, I was asked to oversee the back-of-house operations of four restaurants. So, I started to do what my parents had done their whole lives.
Q: Obviously, Gibsons is famous for its steaks among other things. What is your favorite steak?
A: A Gibsons USDA prime Angus boneless New York strip. There are a lot of great steaks, but this was the first prime steak I had at Morton’s in 1983. It has stayed with me for the rest of my life.
Q: What makes a great steakhouse?
More Top Picks Best New Balance Shoes For Flat Feet
A: It is not really about what makes a great steakhouse, but what makes any restaurant. Service. That is what it is all about. You can serve great food, but if there is bad service, it is a waste of time. Great service can make up for bad food. It is all about service. For me, the worst thing is inattentive service — when you can’t find the server. When I get bad service in a restaurant, I get more and more impatient as I get older. My wife needs to hold me down I get so upset. Honestly, I have also learned a lot about service from my customers. After 20-plus years, they continue to teach me. Demanding customers make for a better server, and you learn to listen. Sometimes you take a beating. If you can’t serve, then get out of the business.
Q: What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about restaurants as a career?
A: If you want to be in the business, you need to start at the bottom. Start as a dishwasher or busboy. Then work your way up and see what happens day by day. If you want to be in management, these experiences are critical. Education today is also essential. You must know culinary and business. But remember that you are promoted by your work ethic.
Q: What gets you up in the morning and excites you after so many years?
A: Every day is different. It is the action of our business — the volume, who is coming in and what is happening outside of Gibsons in the bigger restaurant industry. My wife asks me every day what time I am coming home. She always gets the same answer: I have no idea and will call from the car on the way home.
Christopher Koetke is the vice president of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College. He also hosts the cooking show “Let’s Dish” on the Live Well Network.