The Russia Journal

It would be no exaggeration to call Arkady Novikov the most famous and trendy restaurateur in Moscow. He runs both mid-range and elite restaurants, including Yolki-Palki, Kavkazskaya Plennitsa, Syr, Vanil, Tsarskaya Okhota and Piramida.

Novikov founded his first restaurant in 1992, after having spent 10 years learning his trade as a cook in Soviet-era restaurants.

Good business is about attracting people, not money, he says. If you attract people, money will flow in automatically. He is a modest man, working diligently without a secretary, and answering his own phone.

Sitting in his restaurant, Uzbekistan, with its colorful ethnic-style interior, Novikov, dressed in a white loose-collar shirt and jeans, looked both simple and stylish as he spoke to The Russia Journal.

He recalled how in the mid 1990s he applied for a McDonald’s contest offering practical training in Canada — and was rejected. Back then he knew nothing about the hamburger chain, but firmly believed he was the best cook around — a connoisseur of French, Arab and Russian cuisine. Now he is grateful that he was lucky enough to escape McDonald’s.

The Russia Journal: You opened your first restaurant, Sirena, in 1992, and then, from 1994, you opened a new restaurant every year — Tsarskaya Okhota, Beloye Solntse Pustyni, Kavkazskaya Plennitsa. Do you continue this tradition now, and how big is your restaurant empire?

Arkady Novikov: The word "empire" frightens me. A magazine once published a story under the headline "Empires and Emperors" about "oil kings" and "media magnates," and my photo was there along with the photos of Rem Vyakhirev and Vladimir Gusinsky.

One lesson from history is that empires tend to collapse. Therefore, I avoid calling my business an empire. When I opened my first restaurant in 1992, I had an ambitious plan to open one or even two restaurants every year. Now I don’t have such plans. Probably I’ll bring the projects already launched to completion, but I will not open any more restaurants. Although sometimes I do receive offers which are hard to resist.

Right now I own some 40 restaurants in Moscow, including the Yolki-Palki chain. With regards to other cities, I plan to do something in Rostov-on-Don and probably in St. Petersburg. However, in my opinion, the owner should be where his restaurants are, unless they are fast-food outlets.

RJ: Are you saying all 40 restaurants are operated under your direct control and management?

AN: With the Yolki-Palki chain, each restaurant has a director who is responsible for making decisions in line with our general policy. But I can introduce corrections.

The other restaurants are basically run with my ideas, attention and energy, although I have partners who help me on the business side.

RJ: You enrolled to study at chef school after failing to get into the Institute of Automotive Transport. This suggests you did not originally have a clear goal of becoming a cook or a restaurateur. Is it possible to succeed in something without a clearly formulated goal?

AN: In my opinion, the role of chance is quite high when it comes to choosing a profession. As for success, it depends on two factors: your professionalism and your passion for what you are doing. That said, there are people who don’t really like their business, but who still manage to achieve success.

An ideal situation is where professionalism and passion come together. When I started my business I was an adventurer and did not understand the difficulty of the business I was taking on. In order to jump a hurdle you must believe you are going to make it. It is impossible to make successful "jumps" without a grain of adventurism. After all, any new project is a risk.

RJ: When you were contemplating launching your own business, did you have any alternative plans — to open something else, not a restaurant?

AN: In 1991, when I began to develop my business, I was 30 years old. Before that, I worked as a cook for 10 years and then as an administrator in a cooperative restaurant. All my thoughts were about restaurants. I think I was just lucky that I put my efforts into opening a place at the time that I did.

At the time when I planned to open Sirena, there were a lot of cooperative restaurants, but not a single fish restaurant. There was a lot of fish available at that time, and it was much easier to find good sea or river fish than good meat. Besides, cooking fish is easier, though there are some secrets. I understood that a restaurant with an aquarium was something unusual and interesting that nobody had done before.

My communication skills were also helpful in working out terms and agreements with people. For example, building wooden restaurants was forbidden according to the fire regulations of the time, but I managed to come to an agreement with the inspectorate, and my first restaurant was built completely of wood, which created a special style and comfort.

Also, Sirena has always had rent-free status because we provide 10-ruble lunches for 200 students. Initially, this was counted as rent, but later we started paying regular rent. It was so simple to run a business back then, because there were no medical inspection checks or tax inspection checks, and although there were some taxes it was easy to get registered and start working.

RJ: You have been in the restaurant business since the Soviet era. How would you characterize the market during the post-Perestroika period, and what are its trends today?

AN: I did not expect that there would be such rapid growth of the restaurant industry in Russia in general and in Moscow in particular. But although many restaurants are approaching European standards, I think there is still a need for improvement in quality.

For example, I’m not fully satisfied with my own restaurants. First of all, I’m dissatisfied with my waiters’ quality of work. For 90 percent of them the job is just temporary employment, not a profession. Unlike abroad, where it is far from easy even for a professional to find a good job, in Russia people don’t appreciate their jobs – or waiters don’t, at least.

One of the trends in the world is that a restaurant has become a place to go to every day instead of being a luxury one can afford once in a while for a special occasion. This trend has yet to arrive in Russia, although restaurants offering plain and affordable dishes are increasingly popular. French cuisine is less popular today because of its complexity.

RJ: Each of your restaurants is a small theater with its own original layout, decor and atmosphere. How do you develop concepts for your restaurants and how do you fit all the details into one integrated whole?

AN: It is always different for each particular case. Sometimes I see an object and get an idea. For example, one of the ideas implemented in Piramida restaurant, I got from a picture in a magazine.

When I was offered the premises on Pushkinskaya, it occurred to me that it would be possible to combine old and modern styles in interior design and to incorporate a pyramid concept. I failed to find professional designers who could understand exactly what my partner and I wanted, which is why we had no choice but to do the job ourselves, including room layout, furniture and decor.

RJ: How do you select dishes for the menu and wines for the wine list?

AN: First of all, it depends on the restaurant’s cuisine, and second, it depends on the restaurant’s concept and style – modern, classical, etc. For Biscuit, for example, we made the unusual decision of having the cuisine and interior contrast each other. So, the interior draws on the style of Napoleon III, while the cuisine is minimalist and contains dishes such as salted herring and beef stroganoff, which are normally regarded as typical of Russian cuisine.

But, of course, sometimes you limit yourself because you are afraid to open your mind to invention.

RJ: I guess it was your passion for the unusual that cost you your job at the restaurant Olympiiskiye Ogni. You were fired for wanting to introduce a new dish onto the menu. Now you are constantly promoting new ideas. Does it happen that the most daring ideas get rejected by the market?

AN: If an idea is appropriate it will not be rejected. What gets rejected is everything that is flawed or untimely. What is very important here is that people should be ready to accept your ideas. However, some artists might be happy with the thought that their creations, while not understood today, will be recognized in 100 years’ time.

As for me, I want recognition during my lifetime, not in 100 years. It is important not only that you are happy with your ideas and creations, but that people can also appreciate them. It is the customer who is the ultimate evaluator. Whatever experts and critics might say, and however strongly they criticize this or that innovation, everything is fine if your restaurant is packed with people.

RJ: When you consider opening a new restaurant, do you focus on a certain category of potential clients? How often does reality coincide with what you had imagined?

AN: It coincides 80-85 percent of the time. But, usually, the remaining 20 percent of the people are absolutely different from what you anticipated. When I was considering Piramida, I had an idea to create two separate areas, like they have in the West: a first floor for more "democratic" clients – those who drop by for a cup of tea or coffee – and a second floor, for better-off people who come for dinner. But not all of my expectations came true.

With regards to pricing policy, I think not all restaurants should be too expensive. I keep to this principle. At Yolki-Palki, for example, the average bill is $12-13; at Vanil and Uzbekistan it is $50-60; and at Club T, which is currently being remodeled, it will probably be $80-100.

RJ: You seemed to be saying earlier that a restaurant’s first priority should be to attract people, while money will flow in later. This is not a typical approach for a businessman – usually, it is profit that comes first. How did you come to this understanding and how does it affect your business?

AN: I cannot describe exactly how I came to this understanding, but this is really what I consider to be my philosophy. In my opinion, it is first necessary to create a good restaurant that attracts people, and then, if people come, cash will flow in and the restaurant will make a profit. However, this approach requires you to invest more money and effort in the beginning. At the same time, I respect money very much, and consider money an important instrument for achieving certain goals in business.

RJ: You are constantly teaching and training your personnel – haven’t you thought about opening a school of restaurant trades?

AN: I would like to, but it’s a completely different kind of business with its own specifics. I haven’t made any plans so far, but probably I might do it in the future. Every business venture requires attention. Imagine, for example, you started up a business that appears very simple to you at first glance. You supply fish to your restaurants and, probably, offer it for sale elsewhere. But even such seemingly easy business has its complications. First you have to make sure the fish is fresh and is delivered on time, and then you have to think about making a profit. The latter is not something to be taken for granted. The same is true about a business school. It should supply true professionals to the market and at the same time it should bring profit to its owner.

RJ: What would you advise a budding restaurateur? What should he or she do in the beginning?

AN: First of all, it is necessary to get hold of a lot of money. Then, you need to find a good, conveniently located place and develop a concept. Even if an owner plans to operate his restaurant himself, he will need good managers and a good cook. It’s better to begin with something small – a small restaurant, inexpensive cafe, teahouse, pelmeni cafe or something like that. The more expensive the restaurant, the more demanding the clients and the more difficult it is to satisfy their demands. A restaurant that is able to repay its debts in 1.5-2 years is in a good position, in my opinion. Abroad, the payback period for a restaurant is much longer.

RJ: Every one of your restaurants reflects its owner’s creative approach – both in the general concept and in particular details. How important is it for a restaurateur to be creative?

AN: Creating a restaurant requires artistry in the same measure as, say, painting a picture. It involves several stages. First, the idea is born, then you nourish it as you walk around tormented by thoughts on issues of design, layout, cooking and serving: What is the best way to put a tomato on a plate? How can you serve cakes beautifully? Where should this or that picture be hung?

I take part in all these issues personally. Each restaurant is my business as well as my hobby.