Jack Perkins hit the Dallas dining scene in the fall of 2009 when he and partner Austen Wright opened Maple & Motor Burgers and Beer on Maple Avenue. The place has had a line out the door since they slid the first fried baloney sandwich off the grill.
In the spring of 2013, Perkins and Wright entered the competitive barbecue scene. The Slow Bone seemed to be operating at its peak when the business was sold in September 2016.
Their next venture is The Mockingbird Diner. It will feature Texas food and be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Jeana Johnson (Good 2 Go Tacos, Mot Hai Ba) is heading the kitchen.
Perkins is not a shy man. If you ask him for his opinion, you’ll get it. However, when I asked him for details on The Mockingbird Diner, he chose to keep the cards in his hand. He’s a sly one. Here is what he shared with me.
NN: A little over a year ago, you sold The Slow Bone. I don’t see you as a guy who looks back, but do you ever miss being in the barbecue business?
JP: I had fun in my foray into the barbecue business. The Slow Bone was exactly what I thought it would be and I was proud of it. But I think that sustained greatness in the barbecue business is reserved for people who are willing to do things that most others will not. It’s more than a commitment to a craft or business, it’s the religious style fervor that comes with fanaticism. I’ve had brisket twice in the year since the sale. Both times it was because I was in McKinney, and I couldn’t pass up a trip to Hutchins.
NN: Maple & Motor was your first restaurant. It seems like it has been a steady, popular restaurant. Did you and your partner Austen Wright ever consider a second location? Or multiple?
JP: Maple & Motor is a rock. I love it every time I walk through that door. There is a special kind of magic there that would be very hard to replicate. We’ve looked at a lot of opportunities in the last eight years, but nothing that made us feel comfortable diluting the brand. That being said, I would never say never. I like to think I have a knack for taking that mojo on the road, but I’d hate to be proven wrong.
NN: The Mockingbird Diner, your current project, looks pretty ambitious. I understand it’s a ground-up restaurant that will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Have you faced new challenges?
JP: It is ambitious, but it is the natural progression. The group we’ve assembled for operations is stellar. I can’t believe how calm everyone is. Construction has been a challenge, but that is the market right now. If you think finding a good chef is hard, try finding a good general contractor right now.
NN: Nabbing Jeana Johnson as the chef was a good start for The Mockingbird Diner. I understand the two of you have spent a lot of time on perfecting a biscuit recipe.
JP: It was more than a good start. I could be wrong, but this could be one of those perfect fits that turn into legend. In ten years, I think people will feel about Jeana the way we feel about Mynetta Cockerell or would have felt about Randall Copeland had he been with us longer. Her touch with and care for the food we both loved growing up in Palestine and DeSoto, Texas in the ’70s and ’80s is special. People who haven’t seen me in a while will see the result of that biscuit research. I’m twenty pounds heavier than my usual twenty pounds overweight. I’m very proud of the final product, along with all the baked goods.
Jeana is just one part of a special group that will open TMD. Circumstance has resulted in the availability of some real talent over the last couple of months, and I have benefitted from that. I grabbed Jason Perkins, no relation, from Filament, to help Jeana, along with Sabrina Metersky to run pastry. Rosie Martinez came to us after 19 years at Parigi. That kind of talent and loyalty doesn’t present itself very often. On top of that, I bagged a white whale. A real operator this town is hard to find, but I got one. Steve Spence will be the GM at the Mockingbird, and he’s going to make a real difference. He reminds me a lot of Jeff Barker. Guys like those are overlooked at your peril of you are an owner.
NN: The restaurant business in Dallas is going crazy in both directions. High-end dining is making a comeback alongside fast-casual, grab-and-go spots. What are your thoughts on the current labor costs, chefs switching places, and trends in Dallas?
JP: It’s very interesting. It reminds me of the early ’90s with less cocaine, and a bit like the time that immediately preceded 2008. If you believe in the cyclical nature of the economy, then you have to believe a dip is coming. The operators that will thrive in the next five years will be positioned in the sweet spot where the most people are comfortable spending money. High-value meals will always be in demand. Those operators that will fail are those that are driven from cash chasing a deal. Investors in our industry typically poison their own investment. Restaurant growth should be organic. A neighborhood needs a restaurant.
A neighbor with talent fills that void. A cuisine is underserved. An expert in that cuisine steps up to fill a void. A man or a woman with real talent and experience comes of age. An opportunity presents itself. Those projects work. An idiot with a building for which he or she overpaid needs a cool concept to fill it so they can make their ten cap, not so much.
Labor costs are a challenge. We’ve insulated ourselves from that for the most part. I’ve always paid a premium for talent and tried to lift everyone that works for me into a comfortable place. That doesn’t always happen, but the line at M&M today will have three people on it that have been there since the first week. Our marketing and PR budget is zero-dollars. That money goes toward employee salaries. If you’re not paying someone to write press releases (these are, after all, restaurants), then there is more money in the pot to pay for production. The job hopping is interesting to me. It’s hard for me to understand. Some of it comes from a run and hide mentality. I’m more of a stand and fight guy. No one benefits from it, least of all the job hopper. The kind of adoration that comes from being pursued is addictive. A lot of people in our society are slaves to their addictions.
