“I learned at a young age, if you take your foot off the accelerator the quality will suffer,” Julian says. Sometimes they would eat at other restaurants and Zack would point out all of the things he would not tolerate in his own place - like mediocre food or an apathetic staff. Zack would send Julian into the dining room to meet guests and noticed how comfortable he was.Īfter all the work was done, the two would have dinner together. At 14, Julian polished glasses at Parallax and did anything else his father asked of him. Julian had the right temperament and personality for the restaurant business, though his talents were not in the kitchen. Zack had a sixth sense about Julian’s potential at an early age. People think service is easy, but it’s a dying art,” Julian says. “Our level of service is like an orchestra. In the heat of the dinner rush, Julian acts as a utility player, supporting the waitstaff, running food, picking up discarded chopstick wrappers, checking on each table and offering wine recommendations with aplomb. But titles don’t matter when the dining room is at peak capacity. In 2016, Julian joined his father as director of service, an all-encompassing role leading the front-of-house operation. Julian Bruell knows who you are, who you’re with and what you like. “But he isn’t either, too, because he’s so driven. “I’m not easy to work with,” Zack concedes. “I can’t remember the last time he wasn’t ‘work dad,’” Julian says. Far from being a cushy landing spot of an only son, the road ahead will be grueling - and both Julian and Zack know it. Julian was not expected, nor pressured, to join the family business. This is no ordinary passing of the baton from father to son. And that’s where his son and partner, Julian, enters the story. ![]() But he wants his restaurants to live on - and thrive - even beyond that. A close study of Parallax is now underway.Īt nearly 70 years old, Zack is as fit and tenacious as a prizefighter with one last championship in him. ![]() The move allowed him to spend more than six months almost exclusively at L’Albatros, hyper-focused on every meal and experience. So, last year, Zack split from his longtime partners and gave up ownership in Alley Cat Oyster Bar, Collision Bend Brewing Co. By 2016, his portfolio had ballooned to 10 restaurants with more than 500 employees, and he found himself spending more time in the restaurants than he had planned - and less time pursuing his other passion, golf. Zack’s journey began when he opened his first restaurant in 1985. Maybe it’s because - after decades of making it on his own - he has a new partner and a plan. In 2009, The New York Times called it “Paris on Lake Erie,” and it regularly appears on "best of" lists for its French cuisine, cocktails, patio and nighttime vibe.Įvery so often, Zack takes a sip of the sauvignon blanc he keeps nearby before turning around to survey the dining room behind him. Since opening in University Circle in 2008, the cozy carriage house restaurant has cultivated a fervent following. Zack’s other restaurant, L’Albatros Brasserie & Bar, is aging just as well. It has survived a recession, a pandemic and now an unprecedented workforce shortage. Within seconds, the plate is dispatched to its eager recipient.įew restaurants in the city have been around as long as Parallax, which Wine Spectator declared the "big hit of the year" after it opened in 2004. Sometimes he spins the plate, looking at the dish from all angles, before placing a spoon, a set of chopsticks, a few lemon slices or a drizzle of sauce. The best seats in the house are in view of the open kitchen where Zack himself, in chef whites, stands at his command station, inspecting every dish and giving it a finishing touch. At the far end, two chefs frantically churn out sushi rolls to keep up with demand. Bartenders shake and pour cocktails while waitstaff, trays in hand, deliver drinks. Stylishly dressed patrons stand elbow to elbow waiting to be seated, overrunning the small vestibule and spilling into the jam-packed bar. ![]() Now, the pair has narrowed its focus on making L'Albatros Brasserie and Parallax some of the best restaurants in the world.Īlmost 20 years in, Parallax Restaurant & Lounge, Zack Bruell’s Asian-fusion restaurant in Tremont, is still the place to be on a Saturday night. The father-son duo combine very different skillsets to meet their own extraordinarily high standards. Business Hall of Fame and Community Leader of the Year Awards.
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