mariola

By Tami Lange Mosser
February 5, 2014
634

Its 30 minutes until opening time at Woosters City Square Steakhouse. The staff meets briefly to go over menu changes and additions and reviews the success of the previous weekend. As the meeting breaks up, another young man joins the group. He is soft-spoken, casually dressed. If you didnt know better, youd think he was just there to start his shift. But to those who know the Steakhouse – and there are many in Wooster and across the region – that face is quite familiar. Thats the owner, native Wayne Countian Mike Mariola. And this is not his only restaurant. At the still-young age of 35, Mariola is on the verge of opening the fifth restaurant he has owned since his culinary career began. With so much going on, Mariola seems pretty relaxed. Thats just my nature, he said. I dont like a lot of drama mixed in with my work. Mariola said he was just 14 when he decided he wanted to learn to cook. His first kitchen experience was with the College of Wooster food service department, where he washed dishes and handle setting up and tearing down in the dining room. He wasnt cooking, he said, but he liked hanging out with the chef and cooks and kitchen staff. He attended Kent State University, but dropped out to pursue a career as a chef. He trained with some of the best, he said, both in the U.S. and in France. In the meantime, his father, Phil, a Wooster real estate agent, was showing a building on South Market Street in Wooster to a local woman who hoped to locate her pottery business downtown. Emily Moorefield liked the space. She also liked her realtors son. In the early years of their relationship, Mariola said, Emily would come visit him in Paris, where both fell in love with the citys cozy bistros. It was those establishments that became the inspiration for Mariolas first restaurant: the South Market Bistro, right next to Moorefield Pottery. Mariola and Moorefield married and continue to own the building, which includes apartments and an office on the second floor and a loft on the third floor, which formerly had been a ballroom. City Square opened in 2008. While the business did well right out of the gate, Mariola said he noticed customers really appreciated a good burger. Out of that, he said, came the idea for restaurant number three: The Rail, which specializes in burgers with inventive, locally sourced toppings, old fashioned hand-dipped milkshakes and a variety of Ohio craft beers. The first opened in 2010 at Summit Mall. That one did really well, Mariola said, and after a year, we were confident that concept had legs. He was interested in getting into the Canton market and found an ideal location at Belden Village Mall in Jackson Township. The landlord was willing to lease what had been a Talbots, but also offered Mariola a chance at another property he was attempting to lease in North Olmsted, near Cleveland. The logistics of the deal necessitated opening the North Olmsted location first, Mariola said. The Belden Village restaurant will open March 3. Meanwhile, back in Wooster, Mariola has left his career as a chef for a new one as restaurateur. The South Market Bistro was sold to Market Street Inn owners Alan and Jayne Churchmack, who Mariola said have done a terrific job. It operates efficiently as a mom-and-pop place, Mariola said, and he just no longer had the time to give it the attention it deserved. Also out of the family, portfolio is Moorefield Pottery, its space now leased to the popular Spoon Market. The Moorefield-Mariola brood as grown, with four young children who Mariola said still enjoy Dads cooking. Emily now works as an instructor at Flex Yoga. While he is on the road quite a bit, Mariola keeps his main office in the south Market building above Spoon Market. He doesnt miss the hours in the kitchen, he said, adding, I just like everything I do now. I have great chefs who work for me. I have really, really good managers. and I have amazing teams at each restaurant. His father and his sister, Melissa, still put in hours at the Steakhouse. It should come as no surprise that Mariola likes to stay busy, but he also said he tries to maintain focus. You take one piece at a time, he said, and make sure you have right pieces and the right partners. Yet, he said, he acknowledges there always is the possibility of failure, especially when it comes to opening a restaurant. I think its dangerous not too have a fear of failure, Mariola said, adding that he uses that fear to motivate him and doesnt let it interfere with his ability to get his work done. Will there be more openings of The Rail? Most likely, Mariola said. He also believes the City Square Steakhouse as a niche as a smaller city restaurant. When and where further expansion will happen is still unknown. One thing Mariola said he does know: I always be centered in Wooster.

mariola

Wayne County CVB

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