Christi Ferretti Takes On New Restaurant Project With Smoke On The Water

When Smoke on the Water owner Allan Middleton lost his business partner James Smith last August, he suddenly found himself facing a multitude of challenges.

Smith, who also owned two Fork N’ Cork locations, was the boots on the ground so to speak, while Middleton, a real estate agent, had little to do with day-to-day operations. After Smith’s death, Middleton was determined to keep the restaurant afloat, and his staff was eager to preserve Smith’s legacy as well, but Middleton knew that the leadership structure was going to need attention.

Middleton’s son Maxx was also on board to help see things through, but with both having limited hands-on restaurant experience, the Middleton’s quickly found themselves in need of expert consultation to steer the restaurant through turbulent times.

“Christi Ferretti was the first person I thought of,” Allan Middleton said. “She’s so well known for excellence in everything she does and thrives on challenge. But I had no idea if she’d accept my request for help … I was afraid she’d think I’d lost my mind.”

It’s a precarious position, preserving a chef’s legacy while steering a restaurant toward a successful future, yet time and time again Ferretti has pushed herself to take on new roles and expand her knowledge of the industry.

As the face of Pine Valley Market for over two decades, Ferretti, who co-owns PVM with wife Kathy Webb, has grown the gourmet market and deli to include a full-service catering operation booking over a hundred events each year from corporate events and weddings and large fundraisers.

She also serves as the lead local chef for Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington’s (GLOW) celebrity chef fundraisers each year, working alongside some of the biggest names in the industry to help them source ingredients and prep for service. Ferretti has also worked with World Central Kitchen (WCK), an organization founded by James Beard Award winning chef José Andrés, that provides fresh meals to those in need during a time of crisis. Ferretti and her team provided meals during Hurricane Florence and even set up the area’s first WCK satellite kitchen at the market.

“I originally met Christi through her work with GLOW and always felt that if given the opportunity I’d love do some type of collaboration with her,” Allan Middleton said.

Ferretti first came on board as a consultant in January, agreeing to allocate 10 hours a month to reviewing the books, running some numbers and getting a picture of the financial side of things.

She quickly learned that despite her initial misgivings, the restaurant had a large customer base, even for the off-season. Besides Smith’s popular menu, part of its draw since opening in 2016 has been its picturesque setting. The restaurant, in the Riverlights community, looks out over the Cape Fear River and is known to be one of the best spots in town to enjoy the sunset.

She knew however that to get a true picture of the operations, she would need to spend more time in the restaurant. She was committed to helping Allan Middleton get back on course and making financial suggestions wasn’t going to be enough.

“I’m very hands-on, and I’m a problem solver, a fixer – maybe to a fault,” Ferretti said.

Despite a full slate of catered events on the books for Pine Valley Market, Ferretti began in the back of the house, where she quickly realized that the restaurant itself was designed less for function and more for aesthetics. On top of that, the barbecue-heavy menu wasn’t the best fit for the layout of the kitchen.

“What I found was that the menu didn’t match the footprint of the kitchen for execution purposes,” Ferretti said.

She worked closely with the kitchen staff to assess what dishes were causing the biggest headaches and leading to long ticket times.

“I needed to find out what items they hated seeing pop up on the printer,” Ferretti said. “When you have a high volume, you need to be careful of menu items that take too long to prepare.”

While it was important to preserve the “smoke” aspect of the menu, Ferretti also felt it was time to enhance the “water” element as well.

With summer fast approaching, the time was right to expand the fresh seafood offerings and lighten up the menu with some cold dishes and vegetable-forward dishes such as ratatouille. She has enlisted the help of well-known Wilmington chef Jessica Cabo, formerly of East at the Blockade Runner, to help with menu updates and overall kitchen management.

“We’ve preserved the majority of James’ recipes – his methods and his sauces,” Ferretti said. “This will always kind of be his space, we’ve just made some tweaks to provide a better dining experience for the guests and to make things more functional for the kitchen staff.”

Ferretti, with Cabo by her side, has worked to restore a sense of pride among the kitchen staff and a desire to keep getting better at what they do. She’s also worked to instill a sense of pride in the kitchen staff, noting that for a long time after Smith’s death they were just trying desperately to keep their heads above water.

“I stole this analogy from my son’s football coach, but I tell them that if we can get just 1% better every day, if we can do just one thing a little better than we did the day before, then eventually we’ll be a whole lot better,” Ferretti said.

Ferretti’s partnership with Smoke on the Water was not made public until May when she weighed in as customers and staff took to social media concerned about what they thought was a sudden closure of the restaurant. Ferretti explained that the restaurant closed briefly for some repairs and staff training, and that she would now be involved as a partner.

Once she had a handle on the kitchen, Ferretti began looking at ways to help improve the front-of-house operations.

While serving as a judge for the Own Your Own restaurant competition in Burgaw last year, Ferretti met local contestant and restaurant manager Khristen Hunter. Hunter worked as a manager of Eggs Up Grill at the time and advanced to the final round of six competitors in the nationwide competition for a downtown Burgaw restaurant space.

When the Own Your Own winner declined to move forward earlier this year, the offer was extended to Hunter, and her concept, Patty’s Place, is now under construction. In the meantime, Hunter has accepted a front-of-house management position with Smoke on the Water.

“I know I have her on borrowed time, but she’s been a godsend,” Ferretti said. “And I know this experience is only going to help set her up for her own place in Burgaw so it’s a win-win for now.”

Meanwhile Allan and Maxx Middleton, as well as Kathy Webb, have been putting in time at the restaurant, circulating among guests and making sure they’re being taken care of. Ferretti and Webb’s teenage son, Alex, also has a summer job at the restaurant.

“It’s important that owners have a presence in their restaurants,” Ferretti said. “This restaurant is now owned by two families, and it’s important for guests to be aware of our commitment to great service. Sometimes that means bussing tables or putting out fires, and sometimes it’s just about connecting with guests and fostering hospitality.”

Admittedly, having a leadership role at two very busy eateries has not been easy for Ferretti. While she relies on seasoned staff members at PVM to help with the day to day, she remains very much involved. Even for someone who runs on stress, there are only so many hours in the day, and finding a balance between work and family is challenging. She’s learned to surround herself with staff that share her commitment to excellence and hasn’t hesitated to reach out to her network of chef mentors, including Darryl Moiles who serves as executive chef for Robert Irvine, host of the Food Network show Restaurant Impossible.

“I know food and I know how to run a kitchen, but if I don’t have the answer to something I know I can find someone who does,” Ferretti said. “I always tell people who work for me that life is all about your toolbox, it’s all about gathering the tools and pulling them out when you need them. Right now I’m having to pull some things out at the same time that I’m putting new things in and I’m learning every day.”

Ferretti and Middleton are working hard to ensure James Smith’s legacy will stand the test of time. They’re committed to making the tough decisions that precede improvement and remain bolstered by Ferretti’s mantra of improving 1% each day.