“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't” ~ Unknown
Those are words David and his business partner Jaime live by. Hall's background includes 14 years of working the front and back of the house in establishments such as the Bungalow in Corona del Mar and running his own catering company. When asked about how they create some of their dishes, he may respond with, “We just get good ingredients and not try to screw it up. Really.”
Read our interview with David Hall of Urban Grill & Wine Bar, Part One.
And now, on to Part Two. . . .
When you're not in the kitchen cooking, what are you doing?
Hanging with our dog Treana (a Shepherd mix) and my wife.
Last song playing:
Lime and the Coconut by Harry Nilsson.
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Where did you grow up?
Tallmadge, Ohio. Long story, but my parents moved and the kids followed.
Love the local artwork. Did someone ask to be featured, or did you come up with the idea?
My partner, Jaime, got the whole thing started. I never knew how many artists were in the area, including my staff.
Hardest lesson you've learned:
HAVAC does not include swamp coolers. I spent 100 hours on our business plan, down to how much a whisk was going to cost. I thought when the landlord said they would cover all the HAVAC, that it would include those. I wondered where in the world we were gonna pull $5,000 out of . . . a hat?
What's your favorite childhood memory?
I have four siblings, so camping with the family at Cross Fork (I think) in Pennsylvania. We'd go rain or shine in October when the leaves were turning colors. We'd climb up the fire tower and see the most amazing views.
What were you up to five years ago?
Trying to plan a way to open my own restaurant.
If you weren't being interviewed right now, what would you be working on?
My catering order that leaves in 45 minutes.
Last book read:
Probably a Dean Koontz book, but it has been so long I don't remember which.
When you use the internet, what's on your homepage?
49er sports. I spent a few years living in San Francisco. My siblings aren't very happy about that.
Last thing you looked up online:
Hot jambalaya! We had it as a special a few weeks ago. I never made one before. I was going to use chicken thighs and Andouille sausage and just go from there. It just so happened that I accepted a screwed up order with U-10 scallops(!) and shrimp. It became an expensive dish, but people went berserk over this thing.
Do you have any skills that are non-food related?
I studied to be a personal trainer in my other life.
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A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.