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Budding Taste Test in North Haven
Scrumptious: A Restaurant,
448 Washington Avenue, North Haven
203-234-1674
No. locations: 1
Startup date: October 2001
Startup costs: $500,000
Funding source(s): Self-financing, SBA loan
Revenues: $30,000-$50,000/month
Principal: Donna Lynn Termini
No. employees: 12
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Business New Haven
4/29/2002
By: Anne-Marie Brungard
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Connecticut-born and -raised Donna Lynn Termini grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. Her parents owned a restaurant and a nightclub and still own a local antiques business. For 20 years Termini put her experience in the restaurant business to good use in carving out a consulting business that included restaurant management and coordination services, thus helping others to start their dream restaurants.
After stints in Florida and Virginia, Termini decided to come back home and settle down in Connecticut.
“I knew exactly what I wanted: an upscale restaurant with a good location, good service and great food.” Termini's recipe for success appears to be paying off.
Scrumptious: A Restaurant opened its doors six months ago in a small strip mall on North Haven's well-traveled Washington Avenue. “I had my eye on the location,” she says. “A BMW/Mercedes dealership had opened within one mile of the site, and I could see that property values were getting more valuable.” In addition to easy access to I-91 (less than one mile away) Termini knew she could attract local customers as well as those enjoying the theater in New Haven or traveling to New York City.
“I negotiated a reasonable rent with the option to buy if the plaza [is sold],” explains Termini. The other advantage was a surface parking lot with plenty of spaces and ease of access for customers.
Termini invested $250,000 in a state-of-the-art kitchen gleaming with stainless-steel Viking equipment. Renovations included completely gutting the site, building new walls and ceilings while adding exterior doors and windows. The restaurant's basement space is ideally suited for walk-in coolers and additional equipment. The space had been leased previously to an ice cream parlor and florist.
“Everything is chosen very selectively, from the staff to the paintings on the wall,” explains Termini. With seating for 30, the footprint is small. Nevertheless, she adds: “I wouldn't change it for anything. You can't be selective if you are too large. I can see everything going on.”
Termini put $450,000 of her own money into the business and secured a small SBA loan.
“I am fortunate to have built up many contacts in the business,” she says. “So when I decided to open [the restaurant] I called a good friend of mine, chef David Thomasson.”
Thomasson, of Aqua in Clinton, is well known in the industry in Connecticut. “His input and assistance were invaluable, and he referred chef Michael Mastrianni,” recounts Termini. When Mastrianni ran the kitchen at Jeffrey's in Milford, it earned high critical marks for its elegant continental cuisine. Termini adds that her star attraction was also mentioned in the New York Times for his “ingenious touches.”
Menu selection is key to a good restaurant's success, and here Termini is taking no chances. The kitchen is completely supervised by Mastrianni.
“We are a good combination. He has full reign in the kitchen. Michael has a love and compassion for food,” explains Termini. “He changes all the time, and that needs to happen.”
Mastrianni describes himself as a bit of a maverick in the kitchen. He particularly loves to use fresh fruit, delicately mixing flavors and textures to come up with new dishes.
For her part, Termini is a stickler for details. “I want to create something that will last, where customers keep coming back,” she says. “When you go to a good restaurant and you are paying for the ambiance, you should have it.”
Qualities such as cleanliness, fine linens, candlelight, fresh flowers on each table and pure sugar cubes are not overlooked. During evening hours Termini acts as hostess, moving from table to table ensuring satisfaction. But don't be surprised to catch her there early in the day decked in jeans - cleaning.
Scrumptious is “city-style,” taking reservations until 10 p.m., staying open until 1 a.m. Reservations are recommended.
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