Oh, sweet Marie.
If you thought that Salt Tasting Room had a buzz to it when filled with diners, just wait until you experience what happens when Erin Heather pulls up in front of the West Broadway restaurant and five children, one mother, one grandmother and one nanny pour out of the minivan and rush into the latest Heather Hospitality Group incarnation.
Its chaos joyous, loud, frenzied, wouldnt-have-it-any-other-way chaos.
Theres 10-year-old Sean, the preternaturally calm and helpful oldest child. Then theres the lively and talkative Orla, seven. Five-year-old Ronan has the unenviable task of being the middle child while three-year-old Saoirse (pronounced Seer-sha and Gaelic for freedom) is exploring the exciting world between precocious toddler and kindergarten student. Baby Brian, at 13 months old, just smiles as he takes it all in (including anything he can get his hands on.)
Oh, sweet Marie, Erin says as she does a head count for the photo and realizes that Ronan has disappeared. She sounds exasperated but theres a discernable smile in her voice and, as she rolls her eyes heavenward, you can catch a glint of laughter.
There may be times when the task of raising five children and running seven restaurants with her husband Sean seems an act of sheer lunacy, but its obvious that the two of them are not only coping, but thriving.
Its fantastic and a horror show in equal doses, says Sean. We have an amazing capacity to absorb punishment.
Sean and Erin are very much a team as parents, a couple and fully contributing partners in Heather Hospitality Group. When hes at the restaurants during the day after dropping the kids off at school or daycare, shes on full mommy duty and, thanks to a nanny who works five days a week, also does all the bookkeeping and payroll for 100+ staff.
He spends every Sunday cooking not only that nights dinner, but the foundation for every nights dinner that week a roast of beef, roast pork, three racks of ribs and a stew, for instance. Hes home every night to cook dinner and then, when he gets the kids ready for bed, Erin does her rounds of the restaurants, keeping an eye on whats good, whats bad and what can be made better.
It may sound trite, Sean says of how they manage to pull it all off, but Erin and I are our best friends. We dig each other still and if we have to be with anyone, its with each other.
If theres one value theyre passing on to their children its this: success comes to those who work for it.
Beginnings
Seans mother is from Burgeo, Newfoundland and his dad is from Dublin. He was born in Toronto, one of three children, but when I was four, my dad decided he didnt want children with Canadian accents. We upped sticks and moved to Dublin.
The family soon relocated to Limerick. In the summer, theyd visit with paternal grandparents who were concierges at a private residence in Londons well-heeled Knightsbridge. But it was a working visit. Seans grandmother would soon have tasks for them to do.
After working in restaurants during his university years, Sean thought he wanted to try something new and got a job at Ryan Air. He soon found himself back into the food business by working in the airlines catering department, making sure, for instance, that the Rolling Stones got their two bottles of Jim Beam for every leg of the flight.
His dream was to work for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse but since he had Canadian citizenship but no green card, he found San Francisco on a map, worked his finger up the coast to the first Canadian city and landed on Vancouver. He arrived with $50 in his pocket and a months free rent at his sisters.
He got a graveyard shift job at Bennys Bagels, just a few doors down from where the Kitsilano version of Salt Tasting Room is today, having no idea what a bagel was. Within two weeks he was the night shifts manager and within nine months he was general manager. After four years, he left to work at Adam Busbys restaurants (Cascabel, Star Anise) by day and Culinary Capers Catering at night.
Hello, my name is Sean and Im a workoholic, he says when describing what has become a normal pace for him.
He soon decided that If youre going to work like a dog you might as well work for yourself.
As a member of the Irish diaspora, he missed having a pub where he could go for a good pint and good conversation. He was shocked when he went into a Vancouver bar and tried to strike up a conversation with the bartender. Asking who was winning the game playing on the television behind the bar, the bartenders answer was to mutely point up to the screen. In Ireland, the bartender would not only engage in a debate about the team but introduce Sean to someone else at the bar who had an interest in sports.
In 1998, Sean had enough money to open The Irish Heather in Gastown. Keeping him company was the Blarney Stone, Characters, the Spaghetti Factory and Water Street Café. We opened the doors and a week later I said What have we done?
Drug dealers were on his front door and there was yet to be the critical mass of restaurants and pubs to turn the gritty neighbourhood into a destination for Vancouvers hungry foodies. It was a real eye opener but I wasnt walking away from it. We had to make it work.
Work it did, and so did Sean. One day a young Irish dancer named Erin Hickey walked into the Irish Heather. Hed heard of her, shed heard of him and it didnt take long for them to start dating. A year after they met, they were married. When you know, you know, Sean says.
They had six years of growing the business together before their own family started to grow. Shed work front of house while he was behind the bar. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House was the first addition followed by Salty Tongue Café (which became the Salt Tasting Room in both Gastown and Kits), Fetch Kiosk, Judas Goat (which was handed over as a new enterprise earlier this year), Bitter Tasting Room and Rainier Provisions.
It was bootcamp for having children, Sean says of how he and Erin learned how to juggle stresses and responsibilities as the business group. Erin also tapped into everything shed learned as a competitive Irish dancer who travelled the world as a Canadian champion.
Sean notes that the company grew organically, starting each new venture only when theyd saved enough money.
Its not enough to offer a good product at good prices because a lot of people are doing that, he says. You have to create something thats a bit unusual.
It wont be surprising if their children one day join them (as long as theyre not scared off by how hard their parents work.) The oldest is already talking about opening his own restaurant.
