Trading Places, part I

“They’re just so similar,” I remember thinking as I walked away from one of my first interviews with a group of chefs, comparing them to cattlemen.

I’d been brought up in a world that seemed so distant from the white coats that stood before me that I worried a bit about finding common ground.

Then they spoke, and I learned, and the next obvious step was to bring everybody together.

For the next three days, join us as we introduce you to a North Dakota restaurant owner, his chefs and a rancher who were already tied together by their commitment to quality beef.

We just made it official.

Part I: No rest means success

Dale Zimmerman leaves a lasting impression before you ever meet him in person. The owner of Bismarck’s Peacock Alley American Grill & Bar is cheerful, opinionated and passionate – all characteristics that contributed to getting a staple restaurant up and running again after years of wear and tear.

“Microwaves. Just a wall of microwaves. They were literally everywhere,” Dale recalls when he and his wife, Melodie, bought the place in 2010. “All you could see was the mid-section of the cooks and hear the pinging noise of the timers.”

The furniture-salesman by trade had entrepreneurial ideas. On top of that, he wanted his kids to move back to town after college and took it upon himself to make the area more inviting.

“The first thing we did was get rid of all the microwaves!” he says.

The second was to focus on beef.

“We made the decision to throw away the menus and start over. One of the first things we did was make it beef-centric.”

Along with new flooring, new lights and the removal of one-too-many peacock paintings came time to explore the beef market.

“We researched, experimented and tasted” before landing on the Certified Angus Beef® brand. “We saw what CAB could do for the restaurant, which is a lot, and before we knew it, had 15 different cuts on the menu.”

Business had quadrupled and then the phone rang.

“It was a few years later on a Friday,” that an owner of a restaurant down the road called. “I knew them from the furniture world, and they said, ‘Would you be interested in buying it? We’re going to close on Monday.’ I thought, ‘What are you talking about? How much do you even want for it?’ ”

Those same owners flew to town on Sunday and within 20 minutes on Monday the deal was closed. “We shook on it, went back to the restaurant and told the staff,” Dale says.

If you’ve ever wished for ranch life to slow down, know the restaurant world moves just as fast. In a matter of three years Dale and Melodie purchased the second restaurant and jumped on the moving train that is 40 Steak & Seafood. They never closed down while they renovated.

In a town where Peacock Alley represents all things traditional, 40 Steak & Seafood does the opposite. “They’re competitors, but they respect each other,” Dale says of the restaurants’ executive chefs, Dusty Swenningson and Alan Abryzo, respectively.

The notion fits the restaurants just as well. Peacock is the up-tempo of the two, known for its custom martinis and CAB cowboy ribeye. At 40, it’s more of an adult scene. Warm fireplaces beckon customers in from the cold to dine on CAB dry-age steaks.

“First of all, it was to prove that we could do it,” Dale tells me when I simply ask him “why?” Considering what was once a lack of experience in an unknown industry along with the “success” handicap naysayers attach to the oil boom, he states with confidence, “I like to create things, and I take pride in what we do.”

Sounds familiar.

Tomorrow we’ll meet North Dakota rancher Chad Ellingson before he takes a turn behind the kitchen counter that is now fully visible at the Peacock and on Friday the rancher and chefs will switch places.

PS – to read more about the history of the Peacock and Dale’s journey into the restaurant world, find the full Angus Journal story here.

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