On a Mission

A warm reception from critics and customers alike validated their strategy. Via hit the mark, in large part because Hemisphere knows its customer. That knowledge has guided the success of its other restaurants, Mission in particular. Aquavit’s notorious failure in the space, despite national critical acclaim, had to be a top concern. But Aquavit was crafted by an out-of-town chef and owners who had walled off the restaurant to the street and hidden its entrance from Crystal Court pedestrians. Hemisphere would make no such mistakes.

Mission is upscale, but little of its menu is haute cuisine. “Most of our clients have a sophisticated palate, but they can’t eat that type of food day in and day out,” Ansari says. Omelets, black cod, and Buffalo chicken salads are best-sellers at lunch.

Ansari and Anbar take pains to get to know their customers and meet their expectations. One of Mission’s most loyal customers, Irwin Jacobs, asked why the restaurant didn’t have a signature soup, like the chicken noodle soup his mother used to make; three days later, Mission had homemade chicken noodle soup on the menu. “We listen to what people want,” Ansari says. “At the end of the day, it’s about them and not about us.”

Mission has moved into a different league, though, thanks to the addition of Doug Flicker, who established a reputation during his ten years at Auriga as one of the region’s most creative and inspired chefs. After Auriga closed, Ansari, who knew Flicker from their days together at D’Amico, invited the chef inside. “I always wanted Mission to be a lot more sophisticated,” Ansari explains. “I wanted Doug to take it to the next level.”

Few corporate restaurateurs would have partnered with a chef of Flicker’s caliber and ambitions. Ansari is realistic enough to know that the creative itch will likely lead Flicker to start another restaurant of his own someday. Until then, it’s a win-win that allows Flicker to participate in the company’s ambitious growth.

Mission already had an accomplished chef in James Foley, who opened the restaurant. “Sometimes having two chefs of that caliber in the same restaurant would be like having your wife and girlfriend live with you,” Ansari says. “But they became friends. They played off one another’s strengths.”