82.1 F
San Fernando
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Making the Cuts

Title: Owner, Monty’s Steakhouse Born: Los Angeles, 1959 Education: Crespi Carmelite High School Most Influential Person: “It’s hard to say. There have been so many people in my life through the years when I needed a nudge this way or that way.” Personal: Widower with a grown son, daughter and two grandchildren; lives in Woodland Hills. Hobbies: Golf The history of Monty’s Steakhouse is also the history of the Levine family. Started in 1940 by Monty Levine, the restaurant is now operated by his grandson, Michael, with help from his parents, Larry and Bobbi. The Levines have operated restaurants in Pasadena and Westwood, with the Encino location of Monty’s opening in 1957. That restaurant burned down in 1988 but reopened in Woodland Hills in 1991. The Westwood location was shuttered in 1999 and the Pasadena outpost closed in 2007 after more than 60 years. Michael Levine learned the restaurant business from his now 84-year-old father and his uncle Dennis, 80. “The key to success is family,” said Michael Levine, 56. “We happen to have a family that truly loves people. You can’t patronize people. They know when you are faking it.” He took time to talk with the Business Journal in his Woodland Hills restaurant about the joys and challenges of working with family, his favorite dishes and a memorable birthday celebration. Question: Monty’s has been around for so long, how do you explain that longevity? Answer: Each location had the personality of the family member that was running it. My grandfather was unique. My uncle Dennis was charismatic, a great personality, a great businessman. My father is a true restaurateur in every sense of the word. Everybody contributed in their own way. What do you bring to Monty’s? I bring to the table the best side of the generations behind me. I started out learning the business from my uncle. And then after I learned everything I could off of him, my father came in and I spent the next 10 years learning as much as I could from him. I’m fortunate enough to have learned from two great guys from two different perspectives. What did you learn working with your father? He’s a self-taught chef. When he got into something, it was all the way. I learned from him the details about putting food out. The greatest thing I learned from my father is pay attention to the details, to the little touches. What did you learn from your uncle? If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves. How did you come to work with your father? When we had the fire in Encino, we were closed for almost three years. My father came to work with me in Westwood. I had already learned under my uncle and had been running the place. When he came to work, I fought with him every day for two weeks. On the last day, it was like, “Eff this, I am out of here.” I went in there and I talked with him, asked what’s up, what’s bothering you. After that, we had the most amazing working relationship. How did the relationship influence you? Where I really got creative oriented was after my dad came to work with me. His passion just rubbed off on me. I guarantee you he’s upstairs right now looking at recipes and what’s the next thing we’re going to do. And he’s 84 years old. But your father has done more than run a restaurant, hasn’t he? My father has over 50 credits on (Internet Movie Database) as an actor (under Lawrence Levine). He started out with Jack Webb, who was a customer of Monty’s in Encino. He loved my dad and put him in “Dragnet.” He did “Dragnet,” “Emergency,” “Adam-12.” He met a guy by the name of Glen Larson, at one time the biggest television producer in Hollywood – “Knight Rider,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Magnum P.I.” He worked with my dad on everything and they were good friends until the end. (Larson) died this past year. What have you learned from working in a family business? I could write a book on generations working together. The key is this: When the older generation realizes the younger generation knows what they are doing, and the younger generation realizes they don’t know as nearly much as they think they know, that’s when everybody works well together. Did other family members work at Monty’s? For the longest time it was my grandfather, my uncle and my father, until I got here. My brother worked here for a period of time but he went off to do something else. My youngest sister didn’t have any interest in the business, and my older sister worked in the business when she was young and then she got married and moved to San Francisco. What were the challenges of the family business? Philosophies of operation. My uncle was much more business oriented. My father was much more a restaurateur. He wasn’t so concerned with how much we were making, he was more concerned that we had the best of everything to give. This is where I was able to learn from the happy medium of both. The challenge was understanding each other and getting through from one generation to the next. Once you crash through that barrier and the respect for the generations are in order, those are the biggest challenges. I know that sounds broad but it really sums it up. Is there a succession plan in place for Monty’s? I have a son and a daughter. My son is still exploring life so who knows. The restaurant business is in a different time. It’s a lot of work. There were a lot of nights when my wife was left alone. Do you have regrets about it? No. I have been at Monty’s for New Year’s Eve every year since I was 14 years old. I missed one year because of back surgery. I couldn’t think of a more fun place to be. I like to say I’m a pauper in a king’s world. I don’t have a lot but I’ve met so many people and I’ve done so many amazing things throughout my life. So many amazing people have come through these doors over the years. How is Monty’s different from other restaurants? To this day, when you walk in there will most of the time be an owner in this restaurant that you can say hello to. There will be a Levine in this restaurant. My mother works the door four nights a week. My father, probably the most knowledgeable wine guy there is, is here every day, and a good three, four nights a week. And I’m here most of the time. Who is your competition? What I learned was you can’t worry about what everybody else is doing. Just do what you do best and if you’re good at it, they are going to come. Whatever it is you do. You never look at your competition. You look at people like, “God bless ya, I hope you guys do well,” but I am working on me, on my restaurant. How about employee turnover? At the Monty’s in Pasadena, when we closed we had people who had worked there over 40 years. That says a lot for a family business. We had a waitress who was 84 years old and ran circles around everybody else. We had a bartender who was the chef there for 35 years and became bartender because he didn’t want to leave. We have people here at (Woodland Hills) who have been here since day one. We have a couple guys who were here from the Monty’s in Encino. What creates that loyalty? Everybody’s family to us. When people come in looking for a job, we have one simple thing: You give 125 percent, you get 125 percent back from us. We are not a corporate restaurant. Everybody knows that if you give us your all and you need something from us, we’re here. That’s the difference between a neighborhood place and the corporate world. So you see Monty’s as a neighborhood place and not just a food stop? You don’t realize how entwined you are with your neighborhood and your customers until you are not there. I learned that when we closed the Monty’s in Pasadena. People were displaced. When we closed the Monty’s in Westwood, all the regulars were like, “Where are we going to go?” What has changed in the restaurant business during your career? At Monty’s in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the staff would get off work and go to the bar and have a few drinks and hang out and relax and then go home and do it all again. You cannot do that anymore. It’s a different climate today. How have the customers changed? The customers are much more knowledgeable. There are a lot more foodies out there. They are interested in what little twist, what’s new, what craft cocktail is new. At the end of the day, the way I look at a restaurant, is will I eat there once a month? Is it a place I will go back to again and again, or was it a unique experience and I don’t need to go back? I say that what makes Monty’s successful is that when you want to go out and dine and eat, this is where you go. You always know you’re going to get a good meal. That is the reason why we have so many repeat customers. What would you say is Monty’s reputation when it comes to food? We’re known for big portions. With people eating less, we encourage them to split. With people watching their dollars more and more, we encourage what we call the Full Monty. Instead of coming in and each person ordering a big steak and maybe a side, no dessert, no salad because you have so much we encourage you to split a steak, split a salad, get a couple of sides and share a dessert. You are getting the same food and you are getting the Full Monty. What are your favorite dishes? When I was a little kid and my father had to work Sundays at the Monty’s in Encino, my sisters and brother and I would be in a backroom and I would either have a rack of ribs or shrimp Monty. To this day, those are my two favorites. We have the best ribs you will find anywhere. The shrimp Monty is shrimp wrapped in bacon served with herbs, spices and bread crumbs, sautéed in butter and garlic and finished off with a sherry wine. For steaks, I am a New Yorker rib-eye guy. What are some unusual experiences you’ve had in the restaurant? We had a guy about six months ago who had his 100th birthday here. His daughter asked me if he could sing. He sang “Danny Boy” a cappella like he was 21 years old. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Does Monty’s attract celebrities? We have had a lot of celebrities throughout the years. It’s always the place where they came not to be seen. I am not going to list any of them. We like that our high-profile customers can come here and be low profile. What are your interests outside of work? Golf. Any favorite places to play? I belong to El Caballero (Country Club); a recent member. I just played Los Angeles Country Club – North and that was great. My favorite tee shot is at the top of No. 1 at Riviera (Country Club). Do you watch the sport as well? I’m a lover of the history of the game. I love the nostalgia. I love to walk through the lockers of Hillcrest or Riviera and look at the old pictures and the history of the game. Where is one place you’d like to golf? There’s a good shot in the next few years I’ll get to play at Augusta. The goal of every great golfer is to get on that golf course.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Featured Articles

Related Articles