A DRINK WITH TED KENNEDY

By Maia Merrill Gosselin
Walk into Lucca Restaurant & Bar in the North End on any given evening and chances are that you’ll find Ted Kennedy working the floor, chatting with customers, delivering food and drinks, and generally entertaining the masses. Why is this notable? Because Ted isn’t a server, host or even the floor manager, he’s one of the owners and it’s been his routine since Lucca opened back in 2000.

I’ve known many bar and restaurant owners over the years. Some are gregarious and flashy, others are quiet and humble. But the common thread between the successful ones has been their work ethic and dedication to customer service. These are the people who make you feel welcome and at home in their establishment, whether it’s casual or fine dining. It’s not something you can teach, you either have it or you don’t. For Ted, it’s just a part of who he is.

They say you don’t choose the restaurant business, the restaurant business chooses you. Ok, maybe they don’t say that exactly but it holds true here. Ted came to Boston in the 90s, landed a gig as a bartender, and hasn’t left. Over his 35-year career, he’s worked at such iconic spots as The Armani Café, Michael’s Waterfront, and Ambrosia, among others. And he’s pretty much done it all from tending bar to general manager, eventually opening Lucca. In addition to the North End location, Ted and his two business partners Matthew and Sean Williams own Lucca South Shore in Rockland and Lucca Logan Airport. Hospitality is clearly in his blood.

I had the chance to catch up with Ted recently for a fantastic conversation. Both of us former Boston bartenders, it was a true walk down memory lane. With his years of experience, he has great wisdom and insight and truly loves this industry. Don’t take my word. Stop by Lucca for dinner some night and get the Ted Kennedy experience for yourself!

MAIA GOSSELIN From bartender in the 90s to successful restauranteur today, you’ve had a notable tenure in the Boston food and beverage industry. You clearly chose well but did you always know this was the career for you?
TED KENNEDY I always thought I would do a few things to make a living. It seemed a little boring to me to do the same job daily for a lifetime. I also thought that the restaurant industry would give me the opportunity to see what others do and decide if it was for me. There were other offers occasionally, but they just never seemed better than what I was currently up to. The industry sucked me in pretty quickly.

When I was young, I was aware of my ability to entertain. The generation before us was much better at hospitality than we are. My mother, Donna, was great at throwing a dinner party. It was all about making people feel at home. At one of these she might say to me or one of my siblings “Teddy, go introduce Ms. Balow to the McCrearys and see what they have in common”. I would then have to come back to report what I had learned.

MG You and your business partners opened your flagship restaurant in the legendary North End…go big or go home! What was behind the decision to open an Italian restaurant in arguably one of the most famous locations for Italian eateries?
TK We looked around at other neighborhoods early on and decided that the North End gave us the best chance to separate ourselves. We said: you either open a restaurant where there are none or go to where there are a hundred and try to do something different. The North End gave us that chance. There were lots of restaurants, but most seemed to be doing the same thing. We tried to do something a little different.

We have a beautiful space with a big bar. We knew that you could do fine dining and have a fun bar scene at the same time. Having all those restaurants in one place gave us a lot of servers, bartenders, hosts and managers to help keep us busy late night. We were just picking up when they got out of work. We immediately committed to serving food late. We had a one o’clock liquor license, so we decided to use it. We had all worked in the industry, so we knew a lot of people getting out and dining late night.

MG This coming year will mark the 25th anniversary for Lucca North End. It’s an impressive achievement on its own, all the more so given that you made it through 9/11, the crash of ‘08 and the pandemic. Why do you think you survived and thrived when so many others didn’t?
TK We always knew that we needed to operate as a business. A lot of people are great service people but don’t understand that if you don’t run things as a business you’re going to be in trouble. We were lucky enough to find great people to work with us. Our real estate attorney is probably the most important person we ever worked with. He guided us through our first real estate transaction and lease. These and the subsequent ones were paramount to our success.

He also introduced us to our accountant who still is with us today. We have always done monthly P&L (profit and loss) statements. We feel it’s impossible to be successful unless you know exactly how you are doing in real-time.

MG As a managing partner with multiple locations and overseeing the beverage programs, what does a typical day look like for you?
TK I kind of manage the managers, kiss babies and shake hands. We have great bar managers at each location as well as a Wine Director who oversees our Wine Lists. I let them do their thing and support them as needed. This allows me to interact with our staff and guests daily. When I transitioned from tending bar to managing, I felt slightly removed from our guests, but I enjoy being on the floor during service again. To me, it’s the best part of the job.

An average day might look like this: Get the boys off to school; A few phone calls in the morning, mostly with my partners and a vendor or two; Get to work in the late morning or early afternoon. Spend time with the managers; Attend the pre-shift meeting. Concentration on service, beverage/wine knowledge, menu additions, etc; Work the floor for a few hours and have dinner and go home.

MG From Cosmos and Mojitos to house-made bitters, shrubs, and infusions, the cocktail culture in Boston has changed dramatically over the last 25+ years. As someone who was a part of this, what’s your take on the evolution of the drinks scene? Any interesting trends you’re seeing?
TK I’m loving the time and quality we’re taking on the cocktail side of the menu. I really enjoy the way we’re batching much more so those drinks don’t take an hour to make like they did a few years ago. I like that I’m not hurting the bartender’s feelings anymore when I order an Averna on the rocks and not something more fun for them to make. We seem to not be taking ourselves too seriously these days. I welcome the return of the classics as well.

MG The Boston hospitality industry is one degree of separation, especially for those of us going back to the 90s bar scene. Who are some people who have had a lasting influence on you, either as a friend or a mentor?
TK Casey Riddles, our bartender for the last twenty years is a big one. He has always been among the most entertaining bartenders in the city but has made it a point to be technically sound as well. He taught himself to make a great cocktail while still being attentive to guests’ needs.

Gary Sullivan gave me my first job in Boston many years ago as Bar Manager at Michael’s Waterfront and Wine Library and then again at Ambrosia on Huntington. The wine list at Michael’s was amazing. I was overwhelmed, but he was great to work with and very patient. He taught me a lot. That was where my relationships with Boston’s liquor and wine distributors started. And Mario Arredondo from Biba and the Ritz Carlton was one of my favorite bartenders of all time.

MG Excellent customer service is integral to success in hospitality yet it seems to be a constant challenge for many . . . especially these days. Can you offer up some of your personal insights into this subject?
TK An old general manager of mine told me a hundred years ago that it’s better to be effective than right. That hit home for me. The customer may not always be right, but they’re paying the bills so just suck it up and be nice. People spend their lives trying to be right. [Ultimately,] no one is going to remember who was right or wrong, but they will remember great customer service.

MG The restaurant business is known for its burnout factor. After 30+ years in the industry, what keeps you engaged and inspired?
TK 1: Feeding my family and making them proud. To do that you have to show up every day. 2: Find great people to partner with. 3: Seeing those we’ve worked with finding their own success is great too. Having partners means you don’t always get your way. I had to suck it up a lot over the years when we didn’t use my idea. Owning one-third of the burden has worked well for my sanity.

MG Work-life balance is a challenge for any parent, let alone one in the restaurant business. How have you been able to navigate the responsibilities on both sides?
TK My wife Jamie and I have a great partnership. She is a high school guidance counselor and many years before that we worked together. She gets it. She was there at the beginning of our success and has helped guide me through the important stuff. We have had a great run. My daughter Samantha has helped a lot as well. She was around in the bartending days so she has seen it all.

MG From The Armani Café to Ambrosia, you’ve worked at some legendary restaurants for some legendary personalities over the years. Can you reflect on this experience and how it contributed to your role as an owner?
TK I worked with some great people over the years. I saw how people carried themselves. The people I enjoyed working with the most always seemed to be humble. It ain’t rocket science. Take it seriously, just don’t take yourself too seriously. This job is a blast. Really.

MG Turnover is a fact of life in the restaurant business but you have staff members who have been with you for years and years. To what do you attribute this loyalty?
TK Hopefully all of the above. We love what we do and those who choose or have chosen to do it with us. It sucks when people leave, but it’s a fact of life. People move on and up. You have to be happy for them. We tell everyone when it’s time to leave that when they come back they get to be VIP guests.

MG And finally . . . when the restaurant is closed for the evening, what’s in your glass?
TK Something refreshing like a delicious Edward from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Vermont or maybe a Paper Plane.

PHOTOS • LUCCA