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No. 1 in the
Hot-Stove League
How Claire Criscuolo cornered the market in home-style veggie cuisine
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Business New Haven
1/21/2002
By:
Fiona Phelan
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You wouldn't think that Claire Criscuolo has much time even to think about another business venture, what with cooking four days a week at her landmark restaurant, operating behind the scenes at Claire's Café at the Jewish Community Center in Woodbridge, writing a twice-monthly food column for a daily newspaper, researching her fourth cookbook, creating fresh menu ideas for Claire's Corner Copia - to say nothing of overseeing the administrative responsibilities and paperwork necessary to maintaining this burgeoning empire.
But today there's a proposal in front of her that is as tempting as the fresh soups, warm tortilla wraps, and luscious pastries at her New Haven eatery.
The jury may still be out on the decision to open another restaurant, but another verdict, at least, is in: Claire Criscuolo is Business New Haven's Small Businessperson of the Year.
We doff our toques to Criscuolo for keeping us well fed, well read and helping many of us cook healthier meals. Seriously, though, Criscuolo's cornucopia is overflowing as Claire's celebrates 26 years at the corner of College and Chapel - a remarkable achievement when you consider the myriad of eateries and other retail businesses that have come and gone - to say nothing of those long-promised and never seen downtown.
What is the secret ingredient to her success?
“The relentless pursuit of perfection,” says Criscuolo, who took a break from cooking one afternoon to talk with a reporter. “It's paying attention and being consistent. I measure success in minutes, not in years.
“My greatest strength is that I know my weaknesses,” she adds. “I surround myself with really good people. I have a great accountant, a drop-dead bookkeeper, wonderful staff and a husband who is truly the best.”
Indeed, it was her husband, Frank, who got her into the restaurant business in the first place, motivated by his desire to work alongside his then-new bride.
“I had this vision that I would go to the market and buy everything fresh and come back and prepare these great meals,” Criscuolo says. “I don't know what I was thinking. It didn't take me long to realize that you can't do that.
“I did not intend to cook,” she hastens to add with a laugh. “I was a registered nurse. I always loved good food. My mom is a great cook - she's a health nut. I was a good watcher at home when my mom cooked.”
At Claire's Corner Copia she has re-created that feeling of “mom's” kitchen. The walls feature the work of area artists, the wooden chairs and tables are well worn, there are fresh flowers in bud vases and, just like at home, customers are expected to clear their own tables.
There's a mixture of patrons young and not-so-young. Some come in to enjoy a late afternoon cup of tea and the chance to relax with the newspaper. Nearby, seven- and ten-year-old siblings savor the sun-dried tomato pesto pasta while they wait for their mom to finish a business discussion.
No matter the age, dietary choice or culinary experience, there's something on the diverse and vegetarian menu for nearly everyone. Not only is Claire's Corner Copia a vegetarian restaurant, but it is also certified kosher.
But the restaurant didn't start off serving vegetarian fare, explains Criscuolo. In the beginning, she says, she merely wanted to offer good, home-style cooking - and what better place than near a university campus with so many so far from home? But, as Criscuolo's personal diet changed, so did her restaurant's.
“I decided we were eating too much meat at home and I wanted to eat healthier,” she recalls. “My father had a heart attack, and that really got me thinking it was time for a change.
“Then it also became something about not wanting to hurt animals. I like to cause as little pain as possible in the world, and not hurting animals was a way to lessen the pain.”
All the while causing hungry diners' tastebuds no pain, either.
“People come in here and they're excited,” says Criscuolo. “Our menu is always changing. I'm always looking for something new to add.”
Many of her new recipes come from restaurant employees who hail from nearly every corner of the world and offer fresh ideas to Criscuolo.
She also gets ideas through e-mail recipe exchanges through either her own Web site (www.clairescornercopia.com), or through her monthly recipe column in the New Haven Register. Claire's Web site also lists recipes and upcoming events either at the restaurant or places where Criscuolo might be teaching a cooking class or running a benefit event.
Her three cookbooks - Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook: 225 Homestyle Vegetarian Recipes from Claire's Family to Yours; Claire's Classic American Vegetarian Cooking; and Claire's Italian Feast: 165 Recipes from Nonna's Kitchen - have garnered Criscuolo national, perhaps even international, fame. Recipes range from all-American fresh fruit cobble to authentic, crusty, cheese-filled Sicilian rice balls, Thai vegetable soup, Greek lima beans, scallions with orzo, feta cheese and spinach, to name but a few.
“Sales of her books have been terrific,” says Brant Janeway, director of marketing and publicity for her publisher, Plume Books in New York. “We continue to see sales in the hundreds every month. The books are without a doubt a leader in that category.”
Proceeds from book sales, says Criscuolo, allow her to pay her restaurant staff better-than-average wages, which in turn leads to low turnover and staff loyalty.
And if that weren't enough to fill her already overflowing bowl, Criscuolo also devotes time to teach cooking classes at cooking schools across the country. These jaunts have helped unearth fresh ideas and creative recipes from across the nation.
Re-inventing her business in novel ways has helped Criscuolo remain on top of many “Best of…” lists and allowed her to explore new avenues. According to Criscuolo, an investor has asked her to consider opening a new restaurant at an undisclosed location. The sit-down style restaurant would be the biggest difference, but like Claire's, the food would be distinctive. Criscuolo is thinking ethnic like Latin American, Cuban or Spanish.
“I'm getting itchy,” she acknowledges. “I have a very high level of quality that I expect and I have to be sure that I can achieve that before I move ahead.”
Those expectations and her commitment to them are perhaps what have made Claire's so successful. New Haven has seen many restaurants come and go since Claire's opened its doors in 1975. Criscuolo attributes her success to her concern not only for the bottom line, but for the neighborhood.
“My concern isn't the same as some corporation that just looks at the black-and-white figures,” she says. “A corporation is not willing to take the slow times along with the lucrative times. The chains that come in don't care about the neighborhood.
“If I were a huge corporation I would have pulled out of here long ago,” says Criscuolo. “If I had stayed in nursing I would be making more money, but I love what I do and I'm committed to doing it well - and doing it here.”
One of the rewards of financial success, says Criscuolo, is the ability to give back - something she does through her involvement with the Yale Hunger Action Project, AIDS Project New Haven, and other community and national organizations.
A long-standing dream of Criscuolo's is to create a foundation that helps people buy a home and then continues to provide incentives in the form of rent reductions for things like community service.
“I am a social worker in chef's clothes,” she quips.
Another dream - something about which she says she fantasizes a great deal - is to become a publicist.
“I'd love to do the marketing for someone else,” she says. “It would be so much fun to just show up and be happy for someone else.”
Makes perfect sense. After all, being happy is what Criscuolo is all about. She's a firm believer that everyone is led down his or her own path for a particular reason.
“I have no doubt that I am doing the thing that I am absolutely supposed to be doing,” she says. “I know I am doing the right thing for me.”
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