WE CAN FORGIVE HIM FOR HIS BRO-ISH, NY, ALPHA PREP-ITUDE.
Why would we do this?
Because he owns, produces, and directs one of the coolest places in Santa Fe.
Because he is the tour director for a vacation in Tesuque (that takes the form of a restaurant – and the duration of a meal).
And because he was painfully embarrassed about having his photo taken in front of his customers.
How did you wind up at Tesuque Village Market?
I left New York with the notion that I was getting out of the business I was in, which was restaurants and nightclubs.
I thought I was going to get into real estate development because my stepfather did that, and I thought it seemed safer. And then when I got here, I realized that I really don’t know how to do that, but I do know how to do restaurants.
This place was already doing well; it was local. And it would instantly get me into a situation where I was meeting people. And that’s how it happened. So I take credit for a lot that’s happened, but it already had some pretty solid bombs.
But it also came with a lot of pushback. At the beginning, there were people who were like, Oh, this New York asshole.
What did you have to do to prove that you’re not a New York asshole?
Push back.
Some people are just scared of change. I think it’s a crime to be suspicious of change because change just happens. Everybody is so worried about change, but change is inevitable, and they make their whole foundation about why they don’t want something to change. But you have to evolve. Our goal here was to make this place like a two-hour vacation from life.
And you’re the tour director. With all these horrible things happening in the world, Santa Fe does feel like a shelter from the storm.
I think it’s just deserts. People are realizing that it’s a haven. Why? It’s beautiful. You’ve got access to Bureau of Land Management land and exercise and clean air and skies and things that people dream about when they go on vacation. And we get to live in it. It’s like going to Patagonia.
The big difference between a place like this and a lot of ski towns is that if you’re coming from New York or LA and you want to escape, you’re not in a place that’s real – you’re in a place that was invented for whatever purpose. You don’t get the same kind of grit that you get here.
Why do you have Jesus wallpaper in the bathroom?
I got sick and tired of graffiti in the bathroom. And I had an idea of how to stop it. Let’s do something tongue-in-cheek about God. There are a lot of Catholics here who are carrying sharpies and fucking people’s bathrooms up. Maybe that’ll stop some of them.
Do you get problem customers?
We’ve had people come in and eat their meal and say, This was a piece of shit. I think I want my money back. I’d look at their plate, and there’d be nothing on it. I’m like, Well, it’s cool. If you didn’t like it when you took the first bite, we could’ve had a discussion, but you ate it all.
So you’re telling me how you deal with assholes.
Then I say to them, I have an idea, aside from you just paying it now. And then I take my phone out and say, 911 – I think you’re paying. And they’re like, Fuck you, we’re never coming back. I’m like, You’re not welcome back. So it’s a win-win: I get paid and they get the fuck outta my place.
Your Dad ran the nightclub Xenon in New York.
I watched him do work well. He was very successful.
You watched him and you…
Learned a lot. He was super inspirational.
I was taught a great work ethic, which he had. So you learn this ethic. You watch your father under pressure.
But my father was less hands-on with the grease pit than I am. Because I started working by counting bottles for inventory. He always cared more about the glam.
I tried to explain to him, after he taught me to be his non-glam guy, that the glam was fun, but if you hire people and make them the presence of your company and you’re doing big numbers in New York and Palm Beach, they’re gonna rob you – that’s what happens. You have to know the numbers in your head, and you have to see what people are actually doing.
I tell my kids that. My eldest wants to do this at some point, which I was shocked to hear. My youngest is not interested at all, which I’m not shocked to hear.
Learn more at tesuquevillagemarket.com
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