BEAUMONT, Texas — A Houston chef who took over two longtime Beaumont restaurants is speaking up about the challenges he's faced in a new city.
Chef Antoine Ware first took over New York Pizza and Pasta on Calder Avenue and recently, the location in downtown Beaumont.
The location on Calder Avenue was renamed to Bocca Felice Italian Cuisine.
For Ware, opening a restaurant is all about fulfilling a lifelong dream
"My family and I we poured our life savings in this, this is it," he said. "My mom always cooked dinner. I just fell in love with food through her so when I graduated culinary school I always thought I wanted to be a chef."
Ware is involved in every aspect of running a kitchen, from preparing dishes to serving guests.
This is a concept he calls "chef driven".
"The chef runs the operations, the daily operations," Ware said.
Ware says he's seen this cuisine experience in bigger cities, like Houston, where he's worked for the past 15 years.
He later brought his experience to the east in Beaumont.
"I think Beaumont chose us when we first looked there wasn't any chef-driven restaurants in the city," he said.
Lauren Bebeau with Southeast Texas Foodies says she's seen more and more people take over existing restaurants.
"Owners who have their own concepts who maybe are trying to expand in different areas of The Golden Triangle or maybe they're trying new concepts all together, we're also seeing people who are new to the industry taking over old spots," she said.
Ware says an existing business doesn't always guarantee you customers and after two months of operating Bocca Felice Italian Cuisine, his biggest challenge has been customers accepting his business.
"People walking in and not seeing the familiar restaurant and leaving, walking right out. It's heartbreaking," Ware said.
Bebeau says long gone are the days of opening a restaurant and hoping people come to you.
"You need to be on social media. You need to be on delivery apps," Bebeau said.
Ware says owning a restaurant is not for the faint of heart and he knows he's got some work to do.
"We're trying to navigate though our reservation system, we failed miserably and staffing too it's not just me along for this ride. I have 25 people working alongside of me that count on the success of this restaurant, so it has to work," Ware said.
Chef Antoine Ware says he's hoping to also open a new coffee shop in Beaumont, but that all depends on the success of his two restaurants.