Dallas/Fort Worth Area. Corporate chef Timothy Hughes goes deeper, referencing … ALEXIS BLAIR: It has taught me to really trust your heart and stay true to what you believe in, and also align yourself with your industry and your peers. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fig & Olive was forced--for the first time--to shutter its restaurants across the U.S. Alexis Blair, CEO, joined TheStreet to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on the restaurant industry and her thoughts on the $2 trillion stimulus package. Action Alerts PLUS is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. About Us; KATHERINE ROSS: What is Fig and Olive doing in the face of the coronavirus pandemic? KATHERINE ROSS: We all know that the restaurant industry has been hit particularly hard from the coronavirus pandemic. WeHo’s Fig & Olive Confirms Illness Reports as Customers Mull Lawsuit, Pricey Restaurant Chain Fig & Olive Exposed Using Pre-Made Frozen Food, West Hollywood’s Fig & Olive Nearly Had Its Health Permit Revoked Last Year, LA Restaurateur Calls for Industrywide Rent Strike to Appeal for Federal Relief, Downey’s Lock & Key Team Opens New Pizzeria, After Contentious Debate, LA County Officials Confirm Outdoor Dining Closure. Glassdoor. FIG & OLIVE CEO on Restaurant Closures and the $2 Trillion Stimulus Package chicagotribune.com Tattoos, firefighters and deconstructed s’mores at Tickled Pink … Over the last year, the company went through an extensive redesign, with a new interior and a new menu at the Melrose Place location. The New York-based Mediterranean spot Fig & Olive is in the midst of change. Tim Hughes has been with Fig & Olive for four years and was promoted to the corporate chef role in August 2017. 8490 Melrose Place, West Hollywood, CA, What to Know About Fig & Olive’s Speedy Two Week Renovation, Sign up for the So Alexis, what's this experience been like? Our jobs are all built around providing people hospitality, and taking care of our guests as well as our employees and we're now in a situation where we are left unable to do so, and we really do operate as a family, so to look at these team members who really are like our family and tell them that we're gonna have to temporarily be laying them off is one of the most impossible and heartbreaking decisions we have ever been faced with. Hughes started recreating Fig & Olive’s Mediterranean menu last year, with a finalized menu headed to the Melrose location in early September. FIG & OLIVE showcases the refined flavors of the Mediterranean across six locations in New York, Newport Beach, Chicago, D.C. and Houston. ALEXIS BLAIR: Absolutely, so this is a great first step in helping restaurants and small businesses sustain over the next two and a half months and under the payroll protection program in the SBA7 loans, we are able to have some continuation of payroll which will allow us to hire back some of those employees who were temporarily laid off, and also continue paying our rent and our utilities, but that will only get us so far. © 2020 TheStreet, Inc. All rights reserved. Boyle Heights Chef Taps Into Neighborhood History at Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. Would that ever be down the pipeline, something that you guys would consider? Approve of CEO. Here are three big things to know about Fig & Olive’s $1.3 million dollars in renovations: The dining room has new pendants, brand new art, reupholstered furniture, with a center island tree, there’s also a new upstairs lounge, and a rose-themed lounge and terrace. Fig and Olive has nine locations across the country from LA, to DC, to NYC, and it's never had to close a restaurant until now. Not only was there alleged salmonella outbreak at the DC and LA locations, but the LA Fig & Olive nearly had its health permit revoked that same year. New … When ownership hired a new leadership team in 2017, they also brought on chef Tim Hughes. Hughes’ CV includes stints at Nikki Beach, the Rittenhouse Hotel under Chef Jean Marie Lacroix, the Gansevoort hotel/STK group to name a few. The design and menu changes are company-wide, with the New York location being renovated this year. Joining me today is Alexis Blair, CEO of Fig and Olive. Hughes started recreating Fig & Olive’s Mediterranean menu last year, with a finalized menu headed to the Melrose location in early September. The restaurant hired new leadership and spent close to $1 million on the decor. It took two weeks to complete the rapid renovation, and tony restaurant is open. The relaxing Garden Terrace, with its outdoor fireplace, is the perfect place to indulge in a glass of rosé while enjoying an extra-long lunch. 13 Ratings. The company is still recovering from some PR disasters in 2015. The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week, Rising Venice Star Restaurant Yours Truly Is LA’s Latest Pandemic Closure. But a third hard-hitting scandal might have been the final straw, as the public found out the restaurant produced menu items at a central commissary kitchen in Long Island City, New York, instead of cooking everything in house on the premises. KATHERINE ROSS: What kind of aid does the restaurant industry get in this stimulus package, the two trillion one that was passed last week? CEO - Founder Olive + Fig & Co. May 2015 – Present 4 years 6 months. And while it might be a common practice to reheat and serve food at some restaurants, it seemed a bit off-putting to see $30 dishes prepared thousands of miles away. At the heart of FIG & OLIVE’s cuisine is a philosophy that begins, first and foremost, with a passion and respect for ingredients. KATHERINE ROSS: We all know that the restaurant industry has been hit particularly hard from the coronavirus pandemic. KATHERINE ROSS: This has been obviously something that we can't even compare to, there's not been a historical event like this ever before, so what has this experience taught you as a leader? New leadership sparked the overhaul. Especially for not only your restaurants, but across the industry. Aside from adding Hughes, the team pulled two from the noteworthy B. F. Saul Company Hospitality Group, including CEO Shaun Smithson, and SVP of Operations Chris Meaker. October 12, 2020 ... Glassdoor has 40 Fig & Olive Restaurant reviews submitted anonymously by Fig & Olive Restaurant employees. Fig & Olive. ALEXIS BLAIR: It has been one of the craziest experiences I think myself as well as anybody who works in restaurants has been through, it has been rapidly changing and extremely emotional. FIG & OLIVE is very excited to start to reopen our doors and welcome you back to our home in certain markets. ALEXIS BLAIR: Absolutely, there should be a package specifically created for independent restaurants. Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. Joining me today is Alexis … Shawn Smithson, Fig & Olive CEO, says the menu is inspired by the "cuisine of the sun." We evaluated doing delivery and takeout options and unfortunately didn't find that that was the right thing for us to do because we felt like protecting the safety of our employees, it was best that we should close. ALEXIS BLAIR: We have been doing a lot of different things and most importantly is making decisions with keeping the safety of both our guests and our employees top of mind, and that has ultimately led to the temporary closure of all nine of our restaurants.