Barbara Lynch would never bake a tough cookie, but she is one, for sure. Lynch, 44, bailed on high school and was a runner for local bookies before nestling under the wing of celebrity chef Todd English. A James Beard Award-winner, she has built Barbara Lynch Gruppo (formerly No. 9 Group) into a more than $10 million amalgam of six high-concept restaurants and food businesses. She expects revenue to double with three new ventures: a '50s-style cocktail bar, a reimagined lunch counter, and the hautest haute cuisine restaurant to touch down in Boston. "Not bad for a kid from the projects," says Lynch.
...A guy who ran a dinner cruise was hiring an assistant to the chef. I applied, and he said, "Do you know how to cook?" I said, "Yeah, I'm a chef in Boston. I make great chowder." I lied through the entire interview. Afterward, I went to the library and looked up how you actually made this stuff. The next day, he hired me. Three days before the boat was supposed to sail, the chef quit. My boss asked if I could take over. I said, "Sure."
...I wanted my own place. But I never wrote anything down -- not even recipes -- so the business plan was a challenge. I raised $2 million from local investors who were fans of my cooking. At that point, I was back living in the projects, and I probably owed the IRS 70 grand. But I said I wasn't going to take a salary until I paid them all back. I did it in three years.
...The first few years at No. 9, I didn't know the business part. It was tough enough trying to run a kitchen and deal with staff and not get overwhelmed. I really didn't know what a P&L was. One of my sous-chefs had a business education, so she and I worked together to tighten things up, and I learned much more about business. The restaurants started to grow.
...I'm known nationally, and I will be better known when my cookbook comes out next year. I want to do more books and videos. I would love to be on Oprah. But I don't want to be that person selling my own line of branded cookware. I'm a chef, not a personality.
This is a good story. For restaurateur, you really have to do like her; do everything.
