At first glance, it’s easy to get intimidated by Bernie Utchenik – the bald, goateed man looks every bit your stereotypical oil industry worker. But then he opens his mouth to speak and all reservations fly out the window – the American of Russian-Ukranian descent is surprisingly soft-spoken, belying a steely resolve to succeed in a crowded food and beverage business far from home.
Detroit native Utchenik first landed on these shores as an engineer with an oil service company in 1993. Among other factors, it was the Singapore PR’s love for food and entertaining that led him to leave the industry and become a partner in Bernie’s Restaurant along Upper Changi Road North in 1996. The self-taught chef then went solo in 1999 to launch Bernie Goes To Town at Boat Quay, but high overheads compelled him to quit about two years later.
But the 56-year-old bounced back, opening the first Botak Jones outlet in 2003 in a Tuas industrial park canteen to bring “damn 
good food at a damn good price” to Singaporeans raised on a diet of conveyor-belt, cheap American fare. Today, there are Botak Jones outlets in Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, Toa Payoh, Depot Road and Woodlands. Other business ventures include Brewski Jones, a standalone pub stall also in Toa Payoh and Spaghetti Jones, which serves American-style pastas at Depot Road. Like they say: “You can’t keep a good man down”.
On Starting Out
Before the launch of Bernie’s, there were very few “obscure” places that expats like myself could hang out at. You either went to Orchard Road and spent a lot of money on food and drink, or stayed in your apartment and ordered McDonald’s. I wanted to start a little pub/restaurant with a comfortable vibe, sort of like someone’s living room where you eat something, have a beer and talk to friends. And that’s what Bernie’s turned out to be. I didn’t have much experience cooking or running a business, but I guess I was a quick learner. Six months after our launch, we started to get attention for our food and margaritas.
On Discipline
I grew up in a middle-class family in a middle-class neighbourhood in Detroit. I was raised according to middle-class values: that you work hard, do your job well and live your life on the straight and narrow. The thing that keeps me straight even now is that I’ve taken on an obligation even though I created that obligation myself. Our mission is to bring restaurant-quality American food and service to the heartland. When you make that known, you can’t slip up because it would be unforgivable if we were to fall short of our promise and before you know it, everything else will start to degenerate. If people aren’t happy with their food, they just have to say so and we will do something about it.
On Quality Control
I have an imaginary person always looking over my shoulder and that has kept me from taking shortcuts or saying the three words that can kill any business: “That’s good enough”. It would be easy to say “We’re Botak Jones, we’re big and we’re great” and take things easy, but we really can’t. As good as you are today, you have to be at least that good tomorrow or probably better because people are already expecting it. If people are coming to your house to eat, you want to make sure you give them the best you can whether it’s just one person or 500 people.
On Life’s Lessons
I’ve learned a number of things over the years. One – don’t take anything for granted. Two – no matter how good an idea you have, be prepared to work really hard to make it happen. If you’re not willing to make sacrifices, you won’t go anywhere. Three – never give up. I could have folded everything up right there with the failure of Bernie Goes To Town and become a shoe salesman, but something inside me kept me driven. If all you’re concerned about is money, when you lose the money, the game is over. But if you have something you really want to accomplish, you won’t give up until you get it.
On Good Food
Good food to me has a deep flavour – a flavour that’s not only on the food, but inside the food as well. You take a bite and want to savour it, and then you can’t wait to take your next one. And at the end of your meal, you could just have a simple cheesecake or ice cream and that would be enough. We have a saying: “Nobody goes out to have a bad time”. Even if you’re really rushing for time and all you can grab for lunch is a sandwich, you still would not eat a sandwich that you’d feel like throwing away after taking your first bite – that to me is a waste of time.
On Success
People ask me if I feel I’m successful, but I don’t think I can answer that question yet because the game’s not over. It’s like right now – we’re about halfway through the English Premier League season and you ask the leading team’s manager how he feels about his “successful season”. Well, at the end of the season, he might be in second, third or fourth place, and it’s no longer a successful season. Our goals haven’t been met yet, but we’re on the way. Virtually all of our expansion has happened pretty quickly in the last two-and-a-half years. Now, we just have to solidify what we’ve done. When I reach the point where I don’t have to worry about the day-to-day things, then maybe I’ll say we’re successful.
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