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Evan Hansen ‘97<br />
When we opened, we made a conscious decision to<br />
make warmth, friendliness, and hospitality a strong<br />
component of what we do. <strong>In</strong> designing the restaurant,<br />
we wanted to make it feel like you were coming<br />
to our house and having a big party. We like the<br />
shared-plate concept. We wanted a warm, welcoming<br />
staff. We try to find people most interested in what<br />
we are doing, and who are excited about engaging<br />
with guests. It rounds out the experience. We have<br />
about 75 staff all together, and in general 2⁄3 live in<br />
the city. A lot live in the neighborhood.<br />
You’ve gotten recognition from the Detroit Free<br />
Press and Hour Magazine. Andy has the culinary<br />
training. He’s a semi finalist for the James Beard<br />
award as Best Chef: Great Lakes. How have these<br />
awards affected your business?<br />
Neither Andy nor I could have imagined we’d be<br />
this successful this quickly. People have responded<br />
to what we’re doing. It’s hard not to be excited and<br />
grateful. We’re very fortunate to have some big<br />
crowds.<br />
We’re packed all the time on the weekends. We have<br />
customers making reservations 30 days in advance,<br />
but we also reserve a certain number of seats every<br />
night for walk- ins.<br />
<strong>In</strong> January, the Washington Post had a lengthy<br />
article about Detroit restaurants, saying,<br />
“Detroit is in the midst of a culinary transformation,”<br />
and specifically cited Selden Standard<br />
as one of several restaurants “reshaping<br />
Detroit’s reputation as a culinary destination.”<br />
Is Selden Standard influencing others?<br />
The quality is evolving. But things are dramatically<br />
different that they were two years ago. People are<br />
more aware of their options. <strong>This</strong> renewed interest<br />
in the Detroit dining scene<br />
is good for all of us. Detroit<br />
is a “small town” when it<br />
comes to restauranteurs and<br />
small business owners.<br />
We’re focused on quality, but<br />
we’re not the only ones. It’s<br />
nice to see a diversification<br />
of restaurants with different<br />
focuses and cuisines.<br />
You’ve been very successful.<br />
Any plans for another<br />
restaurant?<br />
We feel we have a lot to do to<br />
fine tune the restaurant and<br />
make it the best it can be. If<br />
the right opportunity came<br />
along, we might consider it.<br />
My wife Susannah and I<br />
met in college and married<br />
in 2004. We live in Ferndale<br />
and have an eight-month<br />
old son. He keeps us pretty<br />
busy.<br />
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