By DALE MADISON
Stephanie Lee, one of the owners of the new Wilton Drive eatery Pinché Taqueria, has enjoyed her share of twists and turns, both personally and professionally. Lee, along with business partner Jeff Chartier, has been a professional restaurateur for three years. She and Chartier met when both worked in the financial industry, he a broker and Lee a trader in the same brokerage.
Before becoming a broker, Chartier lived in Tijuana, Mexico, where he learned all facets of the food industry–from the “front of the house” to working the line and serving. Little did he think at the time that it would be something for which he would feel such passion.
While living in New York in 2009, with the mortgage business collapsing, both Chartier and Lee knew that something would have to change. Chartier opened his first Pinché Taqueria in the SoHo neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. Serving basic Mexican cuisine, the small restaurant could only seat about 10 people, but if you’ve ever been to New York City, many of the restaurants are small, basically with walk up service, allowing patrons to grab and go to get back to the office.
- Stephanie Lee
After the market collapsed, Lee took a job in an office, doing all of the “back of the house” business work. “If I do say so myself, I am very good at it,” Lee jokingly bragged. One fateful day, the phone on her desk rang and it was Chartier.
He had just opened his second store: “Are you ready to leave that desk job?” he asked. The rest is cliché, or history, as we say. Lee continued to work at her office day job, and at night learned the Mexican food business inside and out.
Both Lee and Chartier realized that they really didn’t want to spend winters in the New York cold. Besides, as Lee pointed out, “our business really slowed in the winter months.
Enter Lee’s hairstylist, Eric, who is friends with Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick. When Lee mentioned that she and Chartier were thinking of opening a store in Florida, Eric’s immediate response was “Go to Wilton Manors.”
The pair packed their bags, boarded a plane, and flew to Greater Fort Lauderdale to search for a location. “We found this big white box building,” Lee described the Wilton Drive complex across from City Hall that now houses their restaurant. The two designed the architectural layout, and presented their ideas to the building’s owner, who loved the look, was excited about the plans, and approved it on the spot.
Lee and Chartier are hoping to make a splash in the Gayborhood, with their Grand Opening scheduled for Wednesday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m., an event that’s sponsored by Herradura Tequila. Lee says that food delivery service starts this week, with delivery from Commercial Blvd. to Las Olas Blvd., and from Powerline Rd. to Federal Highway. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask, “What is the meaning in Spanish of Pinché Taqueria?” Lee paused with a twinkle in her eye: “I don’t know if you can put this in your article but it is Mexican slang meaning ‘that f’ing Taqueria.’” I will let the editor make the call on this one.
I stopped by Pinché Taqueria for lunch later that afternoon, and I will say the food was great and the place a wonderful addition to the growing restaurant community on Wilton Drive.
As for co-owner Stephanie Lee, one look at her face is all you need to know about her feelings for her new venture and her new town: “I am having the time of my life and I will never go back to a desk job,” she said. When you visit Pinché, tell them Guy Magazine sent you.
