by Bailey White
Staff Writer
For Benny Yousefzadeh, the restaurant business is a family affair.
Though his two-month-old restaurant, Benny’s Steak & Seafood, bears his name, he might be found at Vito’s Italian Cafe across the Landing courtyard, which is owned by his brother Loros. And Loros is found just as frequently at Benny’s.
“We’re close. We work off each other,” said Yousefzadeh. “We come up with ideas together.”
There are four brothers in the Yousefzadeh family. Benny and Loros are 10 years apart with one brother in between.
About six years ago, Benny Yousefzadeh decided to join his brother here, leaving the rest of the family in Connecticut. At the time, Loros, who had moved here several years earlier, was operating a restaurant on J. Turner Butler Boulevard.
“But there wasn’t a lot of traffic out there,” said Yousefzadeh.
They moved Vito’s to the Landing and have continued to operate the casual Italian eatery successfully. But they were ready for a new venture.
“We wanted to try something new,” said Yousefzadeh. “And we figured the area needed it.”
Yousefzadeh calls the restaurant upscale and casual.
“We try to be both,” he said. “Our food is very high quality and people can feel comfortable here.”
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and menu options range from cheeseburgers to quesadillas and after 5 p.m. dishes such as duck with low country corn salsa prepared by executive chef Wesley Pinner.
“Every chef has his own style or signature,” said Pinner, who came to Benny’s from a position at Gallery Eclectic Bistro. “I like food with a wow factor.”
Pinner said his dishes reflect his taste for traditional southern flair with a twist.
“I went to culinary school in Georgia and I apply my grandmother’s influence,” said Pinner, who counts catfish breaded in pecans and a chop house pork tenderloin with apple chutney among some of his specialties.
“Everything we serve is very high quality,” said Yousefzadeh.
“We serve certified Angus beef and sushi-grade fish that we get fresh daily.”
But Yousefzadeh knows good food is only one of the components necessary for making a restaurant work.
“The atmosphere is important,” he said.
That explains Benny’s recent makeover. The wood floors were scrubbed clean of a layer of black paint, the large televisions, remnants from the previous tenant, Legends Sports Bar, were taken down, giving way to more spacious views of the St. Johns River.
Yousefzadeh considers the restaurant’s position at the Landing a prime location and said the spot often sells itself.
“We’re right on the river,” he said. “And there is a lot of traffic from the hotels, from conventions there.”
To add to the draw, Yousefzadeh said he’s in the process of getting musical acts Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
The demands of a newly-opened restaurant don’t allow much time for a social life.
“Right now, I usually just go home and sleep,” said Yousefzadeh of his life outside work. “But I really like what I do. I like to socialize with people and to interact with the public. Every day is a new challenge.”