Utica’s Mothership lands in Bagg’s Square

UTICA — Someone says “mothership,” and you instinctively think of the Alliance Fleet, cuddly robots, Death Stars, and galaxies far distant from the earth. What if I told you that the mothership has landed in Utica’s Bagg’s Square, only this time Luke Skywalker has been replaced by Tim Hardiman and Chris Talgo who are acting as co-pilots?

Mothership Food, LLC was certified as a New York State limited-liability company on April 8, 2011, with headquarters located at 94 Genesee St. “Chris and I created Mothership as an umbrella company for a food-and-hospitality group,” says Hardiman, who is a company co-founder along with Talgo and the executive chef of The Tailor & the Cook restaurant, located at the headquarters. “We are both passionate about food and hospitality. Our concept was to create a farm-to-table restaurant where we would source most of our vegetables, dairy products, and protein from local farmers and make everything from scratch. We recognized a niche for high-end cuisine, because at the time no one in Utica was doing it. Chris and I also share a strong attachment to the history of Utica, and Bagg’s Square was a perfect location. I have to confess, though, that when Chris first showed me the property at 94 Genesee St., I was appalled at the condition of the building, which had been vacant for many years.”

The Mothership co-founders bought the property on July 8, 2011, and, together with their wives, spent eight months rehabbing the building. “The purchase price was $50,000, and we sank another $150,000 plus sweat equity into renovations,” recalls Hardiman. “Chris and I borrowed money from the city’s Urban and Economic Development Fund, and the owner agreed to hold a portion of the mortgage. When we opened in February 2012, we had 1,895 square feet of space that could accommodate 48 diners at tables and another eight at the bar. From May to November, the restaurant offers an enclosed patio out front that seats another dozen. The idea was to only serve dinners four nights a week to ensure sustainability; neither of us wanted to burn out, and we were concerned about the impact on our family life. Hardiman’s wife, Melissa, ran the dining room until 2015, acting as the service director. When Utica Bread opened, she transitioned from the restaurant to Utica Bread. Chris’s wife, Tracey, was part of the restaurant’s opening team. The reception by the public has been terrific as … [evidenced] by the 440 meals we serve in an average week.”

Mothership Food’s next business venture was a bakery, called Utica Bread, located at 106 Genesee St., just four doors from the restaurant. “The bakery is located on the first floor of a three-story building,” continues Hardiman. “Chris and I bought the property on Dec. 31, 2012, as a redevelopment project. The cost of the investment, including equipment, was $250,000. The seller is holding the mortgage. Utica Bread, which opened in July 2015, occupies 1,685 square feet of the approximately 5,055 square feet of the building. The remaining space is leased to tenants. The idea was to create a European–style boulangerie, selling handmade breads, croissants, and pastries. The bakery is open for breakfast and lunch and offers a limited menu of freshly made foods sourced locally. The retail portion of the operation is in the front of the bakery, while the back portion focuses on baking breads for wholesale distribution. Currently, we’re delivering 2,000 loaves a week to large customers, such as Hamilton College, Colgate University, Michael’s [Fine Food & Spirits in Waterville], Swifty’s [Restaurant & Pub], The Pulaski Meat Market, and Turning Stone Casino.”

Mothership’s two businesses currently employ 29 people — 15 at the restaurant and 14 at the bakery. Mothership’s consolidated return generated more than $2 million in revenue in 2015. Hardiman and Talgo are equal stockholders in the operating companies and are also the two stockholders in Bagg’s Square Properties, LLC, which owns the real estate.

How they started
The two restaurateurs grew up as childhood friends and graduated from Holland Patent High School in 1997. In 2001, they went into the catering business, but dissolved the joint venture in 2003 due to financial losses. Hardiman and Talgo remained close friends while pursuing their independent careers. 

Hardiman spent several years as the assistant manager at Delmonico’s Italian Steakhouse, where he complemented his previous experience as an executive chef with his new experience in running a business and managing a staff. In 2003, Talgo bought a building from the city in Utica’s Brewery District. He and his wife Tracey spent nearly five years renovating the premises, before opening in May 2008 as the Nail Creek Pub & Brewery. The restaurant features craft beers and always has 75 to 100 bottled beers and 12 drafts available, plus a menu of comfort and contemporary foods.

“Chris and I work so well together, because we complement each other in so many ways,” posits Hardiman. “Chris is the proverbial optimist, and I’m the pessimist, although I prefer to call myself a realist. It’s the glass half-full or half-empty dilemma. Chris is a dreamer, who develops the properties, and is also very talented in back-office operations, such as maintaining the website, taking care of payroll, and insurance. He can visualize the possibilities of renovating a rundown property where I only see debris. My strength lies in the daily operations overseeing food quality and service, developing new recipes, purchasing, and managing and motivating 29 employees.”

According to Hardiman, Mothership has spent a lot of time cultivating an outstanding staff, starting with the management teams. “At The Tailor & the Cook, Melissa and I rely on Vince Petronio, the chef de cuisine; Joe Early who manages the bar, and James Franco, the service director. At Utica Bread, Steve Arbogast is the head baker, Deana Hansen–Danis is the pastry chef, and Cliff Montanye and Emilei Cantrell are the bakery managers. We only want employees who are talented, knowledgeable, and absolutely passionate about our mission to bring fresh, natural foods to our customers. To help attract and retain the right employees, we pay much more than just a competitive wage. My accountant keeps reminding me that we don’t need to pay so much of our gross revenues in payroll to be competitive. But that’s just the point: The object is not just to be competitive, but to attract and retain the best talent. The proof of paying well is our low turnover relative to the hospitality industry and the continuous creativity shown by the staff, which appreciates not being micro-managed. The proof is also in the reviews by our diners who consistently rate us as outstanding.” 

In addition to the culinary education and experience of the co-founders, the talent at Mothership runs deep. Arbogast has a degree in advanced culinary arts and worked at Pinehurst, a four-diamond resort in North Carolina. Petronio is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, who works closely with area farms and food producers. Franco learned the business at his grandparents’ restaurant and has more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant business. He joined The Tailor & the Cook before the doors even opened. Hansen–Danis honed her baking as the pastry chef at The Brewster Inn in Cazenovia. “Our reputation for excellent cuisine and service is already well known throughout the area,” noted Hardiman, “which has helped us to recruit new employees. Fortunately, there are a number of community colleges in this region, as well as the [Culinary Institute of America], which certify their graduates in culinary arts and hospitality.”

Growth plans
The restaurant is planning to recruit six to eight new employees before The Tailor & the Cook increases the scope of its operation, sometime in the first quarter, to six nights a week. “The demand from the public has encouraged us to respond by adding Monday and Tuesday to our schedule,” avers Hardiman. “Our original concerns about burning out no longer apply, because we have the management team in place to oversee the additional days. I attribute much of the increased demand to adopting the OpenTable reservation system back in 2014. The online, real-time service provides reservations to more than 32,000 restaurants and includes customer ratings. In December 2014, The Tailor & the Cook received a coveted award [from opentable.com] designating us as one of the ‘Top 100 Restaurants in America,’ which really made us stand out. Thanks to OpenTable, we are pulling customers from Syracuse, Albany, Cooperstown, and Binghamton, as well as from outside the state. It’s an expensive service, but I think it’s definitely worth it.” OpenTable was founded in 1998 and seats approximately 15 million diners a month. The customer pays nothing for the service: the restaurant pays a monthly fee for the software license and a transaction fee for each reservation. OpenTable was bought in 2014 by The Priceline Group in an all-cash deal for $2.6 billion.

Mothership is also looking to expand in the wholesale-bakery business. “Given our space, we have the capacity to more than double the current output of 2,000 loaves a week,” declares Hardiman. “We could certainly go to a second shift to bake more … Our only limitation now is the available space to cool the bread. While the retail side of the [bakery] business is doing quite well, I think there is tremendous potential to grow the wholesale side. That’s why I am spending a lot of time on identifying and selling new customers.” 

Expanding the restaurant and bakery businesses are just two areas that occupy the executive chef. “I have a million ideas for growing this … [enterprise],” intones Hardiman. “I would love to create another venture, this time in farm-to-table protein. I am talking about meat processing in an adjacent location that offers the community a fresh, healthful product without the feed-lot additives and forced feeding so common in the meat industry.” Hardiman has also entertained the idea of going back into the catering business, but at this time doesn’t want to distract his attention from the current operation.

The co-founders dedication to the Mothership is matched by their dedication to ensuring an historic connection to the community. “We chose the name for the restaurant because this building (94 Genesee St.) once housed the UTK Tailor Shop,” Hardiman explains. “Chris and I located in Bagg’s Square, because it is Utica’s historic center of commerce, industry, and transportation. We are both bound to this area, because we feel a strong attachment. Since we launched the Mothership here in Bagg’s Square, the neighborhood has enjoyed a renaissance. The Utica Coffee Roasting Co., the complete renovation of the Landmarc Building with its rooftop restaurant, and the explosion of loft apartments are just some examples of the area’s rebirth. Chris and I think this is the leading edge of an economic boom here in the Mohawk Valley. We are already seeing the impact of the area’s high-tech growth by the number of high-end consumers coming through our doors.”

Hardiman, 36, and Talgo, 37, have forged a venture in food and hospitality that is bound to grow. “Chris and I believe strongly in what we are doing,” concludes Hardiman. “Both of our wives are active in the businesses and very supportive. When you are passionate about your work and those you are working with, I think success is bound to follow.”

The Mothership has landed in Bagg’s Square. With Hardiman and Talgo at the controls, the only question is when will they launch their next venture.