[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/TheGreen_06062014_5-EnlightenMe_NageChefs.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media contributor Pam George talks to Nage owners and chefs, past and present.]
In early 2004, Kevin Reading was at a crossroads. He was the chef-owner of Espuma, the restaurant he’d opened in 1999 in downtown Rehoboth Beach. He also owned a bakery, Sweet Dreams, on Route 1. But when his baker had a brain aneurism, Reading had to bake by day and cook by night. “Something had to give,” he said.
In 2004, he sold Espuma to Jay Caputo, and turned Sweet Dreams into Nage, a bistro with an open kitchen, approachable menu and casual elegance. On paper, it sounded appetizing. Yet it was a risk. The highway was still unknown territory for fine dining, and Reading had given up a sure thing with the critically acclaimed Espuma.
Nage not only survived, it flourished, despite ownership and chef changes, a major recession, a seasonal economy and a crowded marketplace.
The restaurant’s resilience in large part is rooted in its ability to find and nurture promising chefs. “I love working with young people and seeing the light bulbs go off in their head,” Reading said. “Probably my favorite part of the business is watching people grow and achieve greatness.”
Current owner Josh Grapski has maintained that approach. As a result, the Nage family tree of talent is blooming throughout Delaware’s coastal area – and beyond.
Breaking Boundaries
When it comes to pushing the culinary envelope, Reading is well versed. In 1994, the Gainesville, Fla., native opened the Fox Point Grill in what he hoped was an up-and-coming area of Wilmington. The area, sandwiched between the Philadelphia Pike and Governor Printz Boulevard, never took off. Yet foodies flocked to the Fox Point, where soft-shell crabs, emu, ostrich and seared tuna were cutting edge.
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Not long after Fox Point opened, Josh Grapski, then a student at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, Reading’s alma mater, was hired as sous chef. Andrew Hooven, a former peace officer on Roosevelt Island in New York, was hired as the baker/pastry chef.
In 1999, Reading went south to open Espuma, whose menu had a Spanish flair. The restaurant prompted many area diners to scratch their heads, mainly because they couldn’t pronounce the name, which means “froth” or “foam” in Spanish. Not for long. The restaurant took off, which was a good thing when a fire consumed Fox Point.
Reading and Hooven next launched Sweet Dreams. All was well until Hooven suffered a sudden brain aneurism and needed time to recover. Sweet Dreams moved out and Nage moved in. The first summer was “anticlimactic,” Reading admitted. “Then people bought into what was going on here.”
Grapski and Reading reconnected at Reading’s wedding, and within a year after Nage’s opening, Grapski was on board. The partners went on to open a Washington, D.C, Nage in 2006 and Abbott’s Grill in Milford. In 2010, lifestyle changes again prompted Reading to devote his efforts to Abbott’s. Grapski retained Nage.
The Proving Ground
In 10 years – a lifetime in the restaurant industry – Nage’s kitchen has become the place where chefs want to cut their culinary teeth. Hari Cameron was one of them.
While cooking at two restaurants in Rehoboth Beach, the young chef learned of an opening at Nage.“I’d met Kevin a few times before and we clicked right away,” he said. “I liked the food he stood for and his style of management/leadership and what he brought to the table. I quit two jobs to get one job.”
Cameron stayed for eight years, working his way up to executive chef. “As the business grew, I grew with it,” he said.
He’s not the only one. Nage alumni include David Hammer, now an owner of the Jepson Café in Savannah, Ga.; Andrew Feeley, now executive chef at Eden; and Ryan Cunningham, who’s spearheaded the kitchen at several restaurants, including Reading’s Abbott’s Grill in Milford and the newer Abbott’s on Broad Creek in Laurel. Former Nage chef Cyrus Keefer has been called one of Baltimore’s “fastest-rising stars.”
Like the hair salon business, employees often test their mettle and move on. Cameron, for instance, opened the critically celebrated a(MUSE.) two years ago. There were no hard feelings.
“This is passing the baton forward,” Grapski said. “Hari wanted his own place…and we made it happen.” Grapski, an investor, is proud of Cameron’s accomplishments, which include being a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Rising Chef Award. In 2013, Cameron received the 2013 Delaware Restaurant of the Year award, presented by the Delaware Restaurant Association.
With such an impressive legacy, Nage didn’t need to post ads on Craigslist when executive chef Ted Deptula left this year. Grapski talked to Reading, who had a promising chef, Paul Gallo, at Abbott’s Grill.
Gallo, like many area chefs, knew all about Nage. He’d met Cameron about seven years ago on an expedition to a meatpacking facility. “It was a good day,” Gallo recalled. “We talked all day about food.” Two weeks later, he dined at Nage. “I was blown away…the food was amazing, the service was excellent.”
Now the executive chef, he acknowledges that he’s walking “into the fire,” not only because he took the job during the 10th anniversary celebration, but also because the resort season – when the bulk of the money is made – just began. His goal is to be consistent with the legacy. “I don’t think I can make it any better,” he said. “I’m following such great people.”
Reading, the culinary patriarch, is justifiably proud of the “family.” But just like a wise elder, he doesn’t’ meddle unless asked. “I keep my eye on it,” he said. “Every time I hear a great thing…I’m ecstatic. They are all good people and they deserve good accolades.”
Grapski, meanwhile, has launched Root Gourmet, next to Nage, and Big Chill Surf Cantina. For now, he has no plans to venture farther afield. “D.C. taught me that…I have an affinity toward community-based beach towns rather than the big city,” he said. “Right now it’s all about here.”