Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Calabrese. They and their team shared their story with us below:
“We have one short life,” Jonathan’s father once told him. “Make it one you love.” And he appears to be doing just that. Jonathan Calabrese left his hometown of Chicago in 1994 to come to Texas and finish his undergraduate degree. Soon after that, at one fateful neighborhood basketball game, Jonathan met Tony Winkler, and an instant friendship was born. But they didn’t know then what lay ahead for them.
Jonathan went on to attend college at The University of North Texas. He graduated in 1996 with a double major in History and Philosophy but with no clear idea of what he wanted to do. He worked in health care consulting for five years, then decided to apply to law school. It was while applying for and being accepted to law school that his father, recognizing that Jonathan’s destiny lay elsewhere, encouraged him to not go to law school and pursue a passion.
An avid reader, Jonathan found this passion, as he often found so many things within the pages of a book. In this case, it was Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. He had been bitten by the culinary bug. He enrolled in the Art Institute of Dallas and graduated as the valedictorian of his culinary school in 2001.
He opened his first business, Savory Catering, which has since grown into a multi-million-dollar catering company. And apprenticed with prominent Dallas chefs like the Grape’s Brian Luscher and was mentored by Sharon Hage of York Street fame. But that was just the beginning. Soon, he and his friend, Tony Winkler, made a decision. Despite—or maybe because—they were as yin and yang as two people can be, they knew they had to go into business together.
They grew Savory Catering into one of the largest and most respected corporate catering companies in the DFW area – their closest and longest-running clients include CBRE, Kushman Wakefield, Kubota, Integrity Medical, TripActions, Reata Pharma, and several others.
Simultaneously, they began to open food-driven, customer-focused restaurants. In 2003, they opened their first restaurant, the acclaimed Savory Bistro in Lakewood. They fell in love with the business, and they loved the neighborly feel. Over the next 15 years, the two would open several restaurants, including State & Allen Lounge, Taste Bistro, Allen Street Deli, and one of Dallas’ top sports bars, Nodding Donkey. State & Allen would consolidate into one State & Allen Kitchen/Bar. In 2016, they opened a new local favorite Social Pie – a socially responsible pizza joint in the Medial District followed by (and right next door) Maple Landing, a nouveau BBQ joint that also specializes in local beer, bourbons, and burgers.
Jonathan still loves reading and is also an avid sports fan, professing divided loyalty between Dallas and Chicago teams. He lives in Dallas with his wife Angela, their three kids, and three dogs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest obstacle with getting into the restaurant business is lack of funds and capitalization.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Culinary Wise is the main brand that is comprised of four restaurants and a catering business. Those include the following, The Nodding Donkey, a great laid-back sports bar with a local feel, State & Allen, a neighborhood staple in the Uptown Dallas area for over 16 years now; Social Pie, a socially responsible pizza joint in the Medial District, Maple Landing, a nouveau BBQ joint that also specializes in local beer, bourbons, and burgers, and Savory Catering, which is one of the largest and most respected catering companies in the DFW area.
Our brand operates on four pillars, quality, customer experience, social responsibility, and green initiatives.
Quality: The quality of the vision, the people, and the food matter.
Customer Experience: It’s not about us; it’s about the customer.
Social Responsibility: We take an active role in our communities.
Green Initiatives: We make proactive decisions that lessen our environmental impact.
Culinary Wise adds stability to our current growth plan by focusing on strengths and building them for the future.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
That is simple; what makes me happy is the amount of people we are able to employ and that they are able to make a good living working with us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://culinary-wise.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maplelanding/, https://www.instagram.com/savorycateringdallas/, https://www.instagram.com/socialpiedallas/, https://www.instagram.com/thenoddingdonkey/, and https://www.instagram.com/stateandallen/
- Other: themaplelanding.com, stateandallen.com, thenoddingdonkey.com, socialpie.kitchen, savory-catering.com
Image Credits
Zack Pearl
India Wilkerson
