22 » OpenRoad Driver
Ascend Omakase provides a seasonal selection of premium nigiri.
Tell us about the concept behind Ascend Prime Steak &
Sushi. Any particular genesis? not how fast we want to get things done - it is both efficiency and
effectiveness that have to stick.
Jeffrey Frederick: Initially it was more of an exploration. We toured
seven to eight different site locations and came to learn that they
had the entire floor in this magnificent new office tower. It was very
appealing to me to come up with what would work here. Coming
from a background of restaurant development and restaurants
in Las Vegas, you come to understand the hyper-intensity of the
competitiveness in that market. You kind of know what works
and what doesn’t work, having had the opportunity to open Nobu
and knowing how the Italian and the Asian categories work. Also
seeing what the landscape here had to offer in the steak and sushi
categories, it was a niche that wasn’t filled inspirationally in my
opinion. To fulfill 22,000 sq.ft. of space, you really need to create
something special or in high demand. On our tours, it was evident
that corporate dining and corporate buyouts were big opportunities.
All these combined with our presented ideas to give us the
opportunity to open up Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi. J: What is great in our investors is that we share a vision. We have
a long view, not a short view. There was never an expectation of
hitting a number of buy-ins in a certain time, which often causes
you to compromise on what you want to do. I wanted every dish to
not only be amazing flavour, but also for them to be social media-
worthy and Instagrammable. I did not want to come up with me-too
desserts. My competitors have all the versions of desserts you can
see in the city. We want to make them at an elevated level. Speed
was never really the mission but it was the thoughtfulness and
meaningfulness. We need our consumers to understand that we are
doing something different. Overall it is about the fulfillment of that
vision and our goal.
It’s been just over a year and it’s gone by very quickly.
For a big restaurant like this and a big space, how do
you launch quickly? You want to get into market, create
awareness, spread the word. How do you do that in a
quick and effective way?
Elaina Herber: Honestly, we are about efficiency and utilizing all
of our resources effectively. But I think at the end of the day, it is
Can you elaborate on your partnership?
E: Jeffrey and I used to joke about him being the IQ and myself the
EQ. Though both of us are very personable, I lead with my heart and
I am the people person. People need to have something they believe
in and my superpower is believing in other people. I believe in
others to help them believe in themselves. That’s what I am bringing
to the table, more to the structure of the organization, managing
the different components of the administration aspect. Jeffrey is
from a concept development, innovation and design background.
Obviously, he is a great operator which means he understands
exactly what it takes to run a successful restaurant. He understands