How Saint-Germain's Michelin gamble paid off
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After hearing rumors that Michelin Guide inspectors would visit New Orleans, the team at Saint-Germain rolled the dice, hiring extra help and investing in their Bywater restaurant even as the local hospitality industry hit the dead of summer.
Why it matters: It paid off. Saint-Germain earned one of the city's first Michelin stars when they were announced last November.
The big picture: Saint-Germain has been named in best-of lists and garnered other national accolades since opening in 2018.
- And the pressure's turned up lately, with New Orleans serving as a host city for the World's 50 Best Restaurants and the international competition Bocuse d'Or.
- But, chef Trey Smith tells Axios New Orleans, "Michelin hits different."
How it works: The mysterious Michelin Guide inspectors may be anonymous, but everyone in the food world knows they have big expectations.
- Meeting them isn't always cheap, and that can be especially tough within an industry that already operates on thin margins.
- But at Saint-Germain, the dividends are still paying out, which is a massive win as many New Orleans restaurants work to drum up extra interest to get through their slowest months of the year.
Zoom in: Since Michelin, the restaurant charges a little more for its fixed-price tasting menu. Now, revenue is up 60-80%, says Smith, who runs the kitchen with chef Blake Aguillard.
- "It's a massive jump up," Smith says.
- Plus, the additional staffers allow Smith to actually take weekends for the first time.
Reality check: Charging more for food in a predominantly low-income town was a complicated decision, Smith says, but increased prices bring Saint-Germain more in line with counterparts elsewhere.
- "We needed to charge a little bit more in order to justify all the work that went into our food," he says. "When we got the star, [we thought] we don't need to be, by far, the cheapest Michelin star tasting menu in the country. We can narrowly be the cheapest of the country."
- And it still allows Saint-Germain to provide unique experiences to new clientele, says Saint-Germain co-owner Drew DeLaughter.
Case in point: When a couple recently came to dine, they told DeLaughter that eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant was a bucket list item, but something they couldn't afford to travel for before.
- "You could tell they weren't big diners, but they had a great time," DeLaughter says. "It was super sweet."