Coffee king takes reins at Crémant

Excerpts from her blog, All You Can Eat

Mike McConnell has his fingers in a lot of pies. He's the founder of Caffe Vita (now with five retail locations; www.caffevita.com) and the visionary behind Via Tribunali (his fourth pizzeria opened last month in Fremont; www.viatribunali.com).

He's also a partner at Pike Street Fish Fry, just off 10th and Pike around the corner from his flagship cafe and roasting plant on Capitol Hill, and the man intent on reviving Belltown's late lamented Crocodile. There, a fifth Via Trib will be part of the blueprint if and when the club reopens in March (keep your fingers crossed; the city isn't making it easy). And in a culinary coup de grace, McConnell is now the owner of Madrona's French bistro Crémant (www.cremantseattle.com).

C'est what?

Stepping away from a management meeting this weekend while still feeling the effects of jet lag and illness contracted during a coffee-buying trip to Guatemala, McConnell addressed the rumors I'd long been hearing, that Crémant's chef/owner, Scott Emerick, and his wife, Tanya, had been looking to sell their restaurant. In September, he offered to buy the place, quietly taking ownership of the bistro that made a huge splash when it debuted in 2006 after much anticipation. "I love the restaurant," said McConnell, who noted, "I didn't want to see a good thing go away."

Restaurants everywhere should be so lucky to have a patron-turned-saint with the drive, the staff and — most important — the bucks to take over and do what needs to be done to try to keep a young business afloat during an economic implosion. "We have a pretty good management team, and we were able to turn things around," said McConnell, who has brought in chef Brendan McGill, now running the bistro's kitchen. McGill's resume includes stops at il Bistro and Harvest Vine. He's recently returned from a six-month sojourn in Europe and was introduced to Crémant's kitchen by Emerick, whom he worked with until year's end — when Crémant's founding-chef left his kitchen in McGill's hands and his restaurant to McConnell's management team. Other transitions are in the offing, McConnell said, including changes to the physical space as well as the menu.

"Crémant will be going through an aesthetic upgrade. We're working with [landlord and designer] Roy McMakin. We want to warm the place up, create a more casual feel in the back" — with a new bar menu — and yet, he said, "maintain the integrity of the place." A place he insisted, that's "moving in a very good direction."

As for the Emericks, I'm still waiting to hear back from them regarding their future plans, but I was glad to hear they spent the New Year holiday in Las Vegas. Owning a restaurant is a gamble, as they'll certainly tell you, but their friend the coffee kingpin isn't worried about his recent throw of the dice.

"As long as I'm involved, Crémant should stay open," said McConnell. "I'm very committed, and it's important to me that it survives and is successful."

This material has been edited for print publication.

Nancy Leson's blog excerpts appear Wednesdays. Reach her at 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com