Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Keith & Wendy Wolff

The sugar and spice of Salt Creek Cafe

Keith & Wendy Wolff of Salt Creek Cafe in Murrells Inlet

While Keith Wolff and Wendy Wolff have been happily married for 16 years, Keith Wolff has also been betrothed to the restaurant industry practically since puberty - working in restaurants at age 14 in his native New Jersey, earning a degree in hotel and restaurant management from Ashland College in Ohio, and priming his portfolio in restaurants from southern California to Augusta, Ga., to Charleston's California Dreaming to Garden City Beach with CentraArchy's Gulfstream Café as the operating partner for more than seven years.

It only seemed like a natural progression for Keith Wolff to own and operate a restaurant in an area he's called home for 11 years. So he and wife Wendy Wolff, a stay-at-home mom of four, opened Salt Creek Café in Murrells Inlet on March 17, 2008, after a sort of "Why not?" urging from her father.

Although the Wolffs admitted to being at first a bit leery of Salt Creek's "kiss of death" location (a resting place of 17 former restaurants) and that they're still working on balancing the lines between career and family, they couldn't be happier with the success of this beach-chic mod café.

Q: So how difficult is it, really, to work together as husband-and-wife owners?

Keith: It's very hard to do. I'm more of the operation side and Wendy's more of the idea side. She's the one that comes up with the great ideas.

Wendy: I'm the one who asks, "Why don't we have $5 wines?" or "Why don't we have deviled eggs on Easter?"

Keith: And then once she comes up with the great ideas, that's when it goes into the implementation process - and that's sometimes where we hit a stumbling block.

Wendy: It's like telling your husband, "We should redo the kitchen." And he's thinking, "OK, I'm going to redo the kitchen." ... I also do the accounting, which I've never done before. But it's working. I like doing the money part. I like figuring everything out and then scrambling to make stuff happen.

Q: Despite the challenges, what keeps you going every day?

Keith: I think the thing we always go back to is that guests come in and have a great time and explain to us how happy they are to be here - that we're doing a good job.

Wendy: A perfect example is that one of our customers just passed away and his daughter came in yesterday and wants us to be part of his celebration. That's the nicest thing. It's mostly all locals here. It's almost like ... having a bunch of relatives in here. But it's nice - it's nice to know all of these people and that they all care about us. If we had our way, I wouldn't mind the people that come in to be one degree separated from our current customers. That we stay a locals' restaurant with a little more "busy-ness" around holidays and the summer.

Q: How have you remained successful through the challenges of the recession?

Wendy: To me, as bizarre as it sounds, we opened at the best time to open a restaurant. I think if we had opened two years ago, we may not be surviving right now. Every customer that comes through that door, every plate that comes out, is so important. I don't feel like we're just feeding people. Every plate that you take out of your kitchen, you should feel like it's for your mother eating at your house. You take it for granted if not.

I think people, with everything going on, are double-checking how they're spending their money and what their customers think. Now I don't have as much money, so if I go eat, I make a bigger choice about where I'm going to eat and I think that's what everybody's doing.

And, I mean, we have 20 wines at $3 - $5 at happy hour - Blackened Shrimp Alfredo, Thanksgiving Dinner, Fish Tacos. ... How could you not find something? It's pretty easy to come here and spend little. With the prime rib, because of the economy, we put a 10-ounce option with the 14-ounce on the menu. That's one of the good things about it being us: that was decided four days ago. I think people really think we're trying hard.

People ask me, "What if you don't make it?" After you own your own restaurant, there's no way you could work for someone else.