Russ Bendel was named Business Journal Restaurateur of the Year for 2018 when he had three restaurants: Vine in San Clemente, Ironwood in Lake Forest, and Olea in Newport Beach.
Earlier this year, he added Sapphire in Laguna Beach to his culinary empire.
His timing was tough: he took ownership from Chef Azmin Ghahreman on March 10, a week before the pandemic closures. He reopened the adjoining Sapphire Pantry in April, serving food to-go.
Eventually, Sapphire did open, and has had to weather the constant pivoting with indoor versus outdoor seating.
The latest pivot comes this month, with new state measures again shuttering both indoor and patio dining.
I caught up with Bendel prior to those latest edicts, when I had lunch at Sapphire. He told me that takeout at all his locations has never been stronger, and with the modified outdoor dining mandate, he added tents and patios at his other locations, although Sapphire has always had a large patio.
“There is a luck component,” said Bendel. “When we did all of our concepts, we did plan to build patios that were bigger than usual, that had retractable roofs and indoor-outdoor feels. That’s where we got lucky.”
Adding to the existing patios with additional tented dining areas made his dining capacity close to what it was pre-COVID, prior to this month’s new restrictions.
“With the 25% indoor and expanded outdoor seating, we were close to normal,” said Bendel. “Now, it is down 25%.”
Bendel said his customers have been supportive throughout the pandemic.
“People are going to the places they want to support. Everyone understands the conditions.”
Burger Boss
My friend Greg Lipford, a former journalist and fellow foodie, joined me for lunch so we could share several items. We started with the duck meatballs, a signature item that never fails to please the palate.
Greg was torn between the burger and the tuna sandwich, which Bendel said was amazing, so we ordered both—with fries, of course. I added the baked skillet of five-cheese mac and cheese with truffle sauce.
This was Greg’s first time at Sapphire, and he was impressed with both the burger (made with American Wagyu beef and Spanish cheddar cheese) and the tuna sandwich made with Hawaiian albacore.
I had to agree—the tuna sandwich was huge and delicious, and the mac and cheese was sinfully good. I have had the burger at all of Bendel’s restaurants. My go-to birthday dinner is the Olea burger with a glass of Opolo Zinfandel, although the Vine Mexicali burger gets my vote for the best in OC.
The Bendel family knows their burgers. Russ’ father is Chief Executive of Irvine’s Habit Burger.
The younger Bendel told me Executive Chef Jared Cook has added new menu items at all restaurants, including a popular fried chicken sandwich at Ironwood—popular because these days people are gravitating to comfort food.
Next Steps
Bendel had been eyeing a fifth location before the pandemic hit, but as he noted, “this changes things for us. It’s a little pause. We’ll continue to grow, but now we’re focused on operations, doing the best with what we have. It will be a different dynamic going forward. When looking at new sites, negotiations will be more favorable.”
Sapphire, 1200 South Coast Hwy.,
Suite 101, Laguna Beach. (949) 715-9888,
Sapphirelagunabeach.com.
