by Bailey White
Staff Writer
It’s been two weeks since Louise Wood took over as manager of Juliette’s at the Omni, and she’s beginning to like what she sees. The neatly set tables are perfectly aligned, the vases full of fresh flowers, the tablecloths starched.
“I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of coming in and making things pretty,” she said.
But Wood’s main concern is bringing the restaurant up to “five-star standards, up to Omni standards. I’m paying a lot of attention to the details,” she said.
Her method is simple. When she sees something she wants to change, she changes it.
“I guess I think more about the immediate moment at this point,” she said.
The staff of 25 is adapting to her ways, which she says are highly regimented.
“The game plan right now is updating the service, organizing things, building an inviting ambience,” she said.
Wood’s presence, along with the introduction of a new chef, Brett Harris, about six months ago, is giving Juliette’s a new atmosphere.
“Brett made the menu a little more gourmet, but kept it with a bistro feel,” said Wood.
The dinner menu includes pistachio encrusted grouper with keylime sauce and a filet mignon with mushroom duxelle. Patrons may soon be able to watch the food being prepared, if Wood’s idea of a chef’s table becomes a reality.
“I think it would be great for people to be able to eat in the kitchen,” she said.
The restaurant will continue to offer its popular pasta bar at lunch and half-price drinks at happy hour, but will introduce an appetizer menu and an extended martini menu for the after-work crowd.
Wood also plans to perfect the art of serving theatergoers and visitors to the T-U Center who make a stop at Juliette’s before the show.
“I’d like to offer them better service, knowing that they’ll need to be in and out,” she said.
Wood, who previously managed Epping Forest’s dining room, will also oversee room service and mini bar service at the hotel, two duties she will focus on as soon as the restaurant is under control.
“I’m just dealing with the restaurant at this point,” she said.
She’ll also tend to the marketing aspect of Juliette’s, and is trying to decide the best way to reintroduce people to the restaurant.
“That’s another goal,” she said.
Wood has worked in restaurants for much of her life, including the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Ala., before coming to Jacksonville to further her career. Her boyfriend, Scott Hoyland, is a chef at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.
Traveling is her main hobby outside of the restaurant business. At 19, she left her native England and traveled Europe, living in France, Spain and Amsterdam.
“I was all over,” she said. “I used to work on private yachts — it was a good way to see things. Eventually, I got my own yacht and lived on it for four years.”
Road weary, Wood landed in Rhode Island where she ran an art gallery for seven years.
“I do abstract paintings with oils or acrylics,” said Wood, noting that she doesn’t keep up with her artwork as much as she’d like to. “I don’t have time anymore. I have a lot of unfinished pieces at home. I work at least 10 hours a day.”
Luckily for Wood, she’s working at a job she loves.
“I have a passion for this job,” she said. “I love serving people. I love food and wine, adore wine. I really enjoy what I do.”