What did Tony Phelan do before Pinchers?

Starting at the sink

Every restaurant owner has a beginning, and Tony’s didn’t involve sitting behind a desk. His early working life included teaching water skiing at a resort and taking restaurant jobs at night. He washed dishes, bussed tables and eventually became a waiter.

It wasn’t glamorous work, but he liked it: the energy of a busy room, the people, and the fact that no two days were quite the same.

A scholarship that pointed the way

Along the way, Tony received a $500 scholarship to the University of Houston, where a hotel and restaurant management program was just getting started. That opportunity helped point him toward the career that would shape the rest of his life.

What the steakhouse taught him

Steak and Ale was a very different kind of restaurant from Pinchers. It had a steakhouse atmosphere, with the emphasis on service and on making guests feel they were enjoying a special evening out. Tony learned about operations, service and how to build an experience people want to repeat.

From Texas to Southwest Florida

The family’s earlier restaurant ventures in Texas were hit by the downturn in the oil industry, and they came to Southwest Florida to start again. Tony didn’t leave his lessons behind when he traded steaks for stone crab. He simply found a different way to put them to work.

Somewhere along the way, the young man who started out washing dishes became the father and grandfather of a restaurant family. Not bad for a career that began at the sink.