HP alums help give MAPS students a taste of restaurant design
Tired of the same old sushi rolls? The staff at Sakanaboru will make one your way, complete with fresh sauces and locally-sourced ingredients, then use a machine with seven guillotines to slice it while you wait.
Need your pizza now, not 20 minutes from now? 900 Degrees will craft your personal pie, then cook it in just 90 seconds in its coal-fire brick oven while you watch.
But it’s impossible to snag a table at one of these five-star spots, and they don’t take reservations. They’re innovative — and mouthwatering — concepts from Moody Advanced Professional Studies students at Highland Park High School.
Students in the Business Design and Leadership course spent three weeks developing their restaurants, a process that included evaluating local dining spots, brainstorming ideas, developing a brand and logo, making financial projections, and analyzing the competition.
The project was guided by state-mandated standards for what students should learn, but its unique flavor came from the insights of Highland Park alumni and parents, explained Jean Streepey, who teaches the course with Jill Lewis and Bridget Myers.
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Alumni Larry Lavine, founder of global dining chain Chili’s, and Brice Beaird, founder and president of advertising firm The Beaird Agency, collaborated with teachers to design the project’s curriculum. The pair introduced the assignment to students, then returned to evaluate their efforts.
The MAPS entrepreneurs also received guidance from alumnus Jon Alexis, who owns restaurants including TJ’s Seafood Market and Grill, and parent volunteers.
At the end of October, the class’ top restauranteurs made their annual presentation to Lavine and Beaird, who were impressed by the finalists’ delicious results.
“They’re just doing a fantastic job. They’ve improved every year,” Lavine said, adding, “It was tough to choose the winners this year.”
Contenders for the winners’ prize — mini Chili’s burger keychains — included The Opus Club, which advertises itself as “a sanctuary for the driven,” The Globe, which exposes diners to the history and culture of countries around the world, and Hiwachi, an immersive hibachi experience.
But ultimately the keychains went to the team behind Sakanaboru — students Lane Jurgovan, Pasha Zahedi, Efekan Koral, and Matthew Park — and to Sixth Street Voodoo, an Austin late-night spot that combines “good music, good food, and good vibes,” and uses a festive-looking skull mascot named “Papa Voodoo” to tell its story.
If the wickedly-tasty Sixth Street Voodoo ever opens its doors in Austin, team member Bridget Flanagan recommends sampling its Sixth Street Voodoo Doll donuts. The doll-shaped treats “will cast a spell on your taste buds,” according to the restaurant’s advertising.
Sixth Street Voodoo team members Flanagan, Nash Williamson, Kylie Barnes, and Hudson Jud said that teamwork was a critical ingredient in their unique idea’s success. They began by each proposing a different restaurant, then combined the best elements to create their final product.
“One of the components that we’re most proud of is our mascot, Papa Voodoo, who we promote the whole dining experience with,” Flanagan said. “Just having that character to help tell the story of our restaurant has been a huge advantage.”
The project builds on students’ exposure to presenting and financial forecasting, and helps prepare them for the Scots Tank competition, MAPS annual opportunity for young entrepreneurs to showcase their business ideas.
“It takes something that they think they know a lot about, because they do all go out to eat almost daily, and it helps them look at it from a business and financial perspective,” teacher Jill Lewis said. “And it shows them how challenging something is that everybody goes to.”
