By Allison Musante, Staff Writer
Tim Spinner and Brian Sirhal are busy putting the last dashes of seasoning on the plates and the last coat of paint on the walls before opening the doors of their own Mexican restaurant, a dream of theirs since becoming best friends at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South.
Mr. Spinner and Mr. Sirhal are weeks away from opening Cantina Feliz in Fort Washington, Pa. They both took different routes in entering culinary careers, but now they are partnering up to bring to the table years of experience in Mexican cuisine and restaurant management, including Mr. Spinner’s mentorship with Iron Chef Jose Garces.
”It’s great that we get to work as a partnership and to open this business with a great friend,” Mr. Spinner said. “It’s also a little nerve wracking and we’ve got a lot on the line. After Christmas, we won’t have off for 60 to 90 days, working 100-hour weeks. We expect to kiss our kids and families goodbye for that time, but it’ll be worth it.”
Since graduating from high school in 1996, Mr. Sirhal said he and Mr. Spinner have kept in close touch with a core group of friends over the years. Mr. Spinner, who grew up in Plainsboro and moved to West Windsor during high school, started his cooking career by working in local restaurants, including West Windsor’s Brothers Pizza on Alexander Road. But he quickly went from the pizza kitchen to Kitchen Stadium, of the Food Network hit “Iron Chef America.”
Mr. Spinner helped Jose Garces win the title of Iron Chef in January 2010, as his sous chef during the final episode of the second season of “The Next Iron Chef.” Since then, he has been Mr. Garces’ sous chef on seven episodes of “Iron Chef America.”
Mr. Spinner met Mr. Garces in 2003 while working as a line cook and later sous chef under him at El Vez, in Philadelphia. In 2005, Mr. Garces asked Mr. Spinner to be his executive sous chef after leaving El Vez to open his own restaurant, Amada, in Philadelphia. From there, he became the chef de cuisine at Mr. Garces’ newest restaurant, Distrito, in 2008.
Mr. Sirhal also worked at Distrito with Mr. Spinner, as the beverage manager. Mr. Sirhal, who grew up in West Windsor, had previously worked as a manager for Rosa Mexicano in New York City since 2006.
”Tim had greater aspirations than being an executive chef for someone else,” Mr. Sirhal said. “We know our work styles and our strengths will work well, and we plan to leverage that in forming our business. We really have all our bases covered for running both sides of a restaurant.”
The Mexican theme for their menu and decor was never a question, as both Mr. Spinner and Mr. Sirhal discovered a passion for Mexican food and culture while working in Mr. Garces’ restaurants.
”The food is very homey,” Mr. Spinner said. “And I love the culture behind it the feast of it. It’s meant to be eaten in large groups of people, and people love eating it in celebration.”
For Mr. Sirhal, who said he had options of leaving restaurant management for other jobs before joining Distrito, said he decided to stick with it after seeing how well managed Rosa Mexicano was.
”That’s where I fell in love with Mexican food,” he said. “And in a restaurant with such a high volume, it was an invaluable learning experience for running a restaurant.”
As Mr. Spinner prepares Cantina Feliz’s menu, which will feature creative and traditional Mexican dishes and an array of margaritas and tequilas, he said he will remember all of Mr. Garces’ advice from over the years.
”Jose is a perfectionist,” he said. “He said you’ve got to use top-quality ingredients and inconsistency of the dishes is not acceptable. Nothing leaves the kitchen unless it’s perfect.”
When deciding to open Cantina Feliz, which means “happy canteen” or “bar” in Spanish, they scouted locations for more than a year before deciding on Fort Washington, a suburb of Philadelphia.
”We knew it had to be an existing restaurant that we could give a nice facelift to,” Mr. Sirhal said. “A friend of ours said we’d kissed a lot of frogs along the way. And this turned out to be the least expensive option and we think it’ll do well given the demographics of the area.”
Mr. Spinner and Mr. Sirhal attribute much of their core business philosophies to growing up in West Windsor and Plainsboro.
”West Windsor is a great town to raise a family, and family values are important to running a business,” Mr. Spinner said. “Being trustworthy and hardworking came from our families and growing up there.”
Mr. Sirhal added that the competitiveness of the school district and its diversity were also leading factors in his success as a manager.
”In a restaurant, you deal with many kinds of people, and the diversity in the schools and having been exposed to different cultures was important for me,” he said.
Mr. Sirhal and Mr. Spinner agree, despite the stress, the most rewarding parts of the process have been the satisfaction of being their own boss and realizing a dream more than 10 years in the making.
”It’s been amazing getting to work together and build the concept as we see it in our minds,” Mr. Spinner said. “In January, we hope to see a line out the door.”
