On a Mission

It also freed Foley to take over the Via kitchen. Ansari credits him with being able to create production-friendly dishes, that is, flavorful yet practical offerings that do not require excessive labor. Ansari also praises Foley’s patience and concern for customer satisfaction, in harmony with the company philosophy. “If a guest wants their food a certain way, some chefs would throw a knife at them,” Ansari says. “James goes out and talks to them. He fixes their meal the way they want it, then checks back with them.”

Just when Ansari and Anbar thought they would resume work on the Cattle Company space, a spot at Rosedale became available, and Hemisphere created Flame. Ansari and Anbar hadn’t been planning to break into the east metro, but when they realized Rosedale was the state’s second-best-performing shopping center—after Mall of America—and that its AMC theater had the highest seating rate in Minnesota, they changed their minds.

Flame, located between the theaters and Borders, will not be Roseville’s Via. Instead, it will be Hemisphere’s first full-service casual restaurant, as casual as Hemisphere will go in the future. “We realize our strong suit is in full-service dining,” Ansari says.

Flame presents challenges Via didn’t. Hemisphere could not expect people on their way to a movie or on a shopping trip with kids in tow to sit for a leisurely meal. So the partners devised a menu anchored by platters of roasted meats, at a moderate price, for meals that can be consumed in forty-five minutes. The space will be stylish, differentiating Flame from the chain restaurants that surround it.

According to Flicker, Flame will “work with elements of fire.” Meats will be all-natural, in keeping with the company’s policy of not using products that contain antibiotics or hormones. Flicker—who became known for his support of local growers via the farmers’ market he hosted in Auriga’s parking lot—has motivated Hemisphere to seek organic and seasonal food from local vendors whenever possible.

A key question for Hemisphere is, When does growth at this speed move from ambitious to reckless? The company still wants to expand, rolling 70 percent of its profits into expansion. Yet it has tempered its ambition. “We don’t want to take our eye off the detail we’re known for,” Ansari says. “It’s not how many restaurants you have, but how they are performing.”

His metric is simple: return visits. “If you exceed what customers expect,” Anbar says, “you have won them back.”

The tactics are both ambitious and obvious: If a customer complains, they listen and prepare a dish to her liking. If a regular customer’s car is spotted pulling into the parking lot, they have his favorite drink waiting. “We show bartenders and managers the value of knowing who guests are and serving them right,” Ansari says. “It’s like having guests at your home. You know what they like and how to take care of them.”

Would it surprise you to know there’s a For Lease sign outside the I–394 Cattle Company? It’s been there for months while Ansari and Anbar developed Via and Flame, raised Mission to a new level, and tended to the success of their other restaurants. They’re willing to step aside so another company can utilize the space, as they have no intention of developing more than one new restaurant concept in a year. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have ideas of their own percolating. The vacant building still could become the site of their next venture, or they could surprise with a creation in some unexpected location.

One thing is certain: What’s come from Hemisphere thus far may be only the appetizer.