Fred Shandler \u201905 runs one of the hottest restaurants in New Jersey \u2013 Arturo\u2019s Osteria & Pizzeria in Maplewood \u2013 but he leads his Instagram bio with the humble title \u201cHead Dishwasher.\u201d<\/p>\n
That description is a testament to Shandler\u2019s considerable work ethic and his collaborative approach to business management.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re a team of cooks,\u201d Shandler says, with everyone contributing. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of trial and error.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shandler graduated from Montclair State with a degree in Elementary Education, and, even though he didn\u2019t put it to use in the classroom, it\u2019s obvious that he\u2019s an educator at heart. The staff at Arturo\u2019s \u2013 as well as his new bakery, The Bread Stand, also in Maplewood \u2013 are continuously training, learning, testing, sharing and aiming for excellence.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a recipe for success that took the once humble by-the-slice pizza place to a darling of\u00a0The New York Times<\/i><\/span> that had diners from Manhattan to Morristown lining up outside Arturo\u2019s nightly in pre-COVID-19 times, where weekend waits could run up to two hours. (At present, Shandler has shifted to a safe, socially distant curbside pickup model.)<\/p>\n Shandler credits Montclair State for putting him on the right path: \u201cThe diversity of the staff and the student body both in terms of cultural and economic diversity, just having that exposure and meeting all these people, helped to heighten my level of empathy. The ability to communicate with different people at different levels \u2013 I began to grasp that at Montclair State.\u201d<\/p>\n Empathy flows through The Bread Stand and Arturo\u2019s business ethos: \u201cSupporting a local food ecosystem is simply a part of who we are, but I was always adamant about not jamming it down people\u2019s throats. It\u2019s ingrained. Essentially everything that we use is either locally or domestically sourced and is in-season.\u201d<\/p>\n Eight or nine years ago there weren\u2019t many restaurants outside of Manhattan focusing on locally sourced food and we were doing it in a really casual way \u2013 in a pizza shop with a refrigerator in the dining room. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile Shandler is not resting on his laurels. \u201cMaintaining the level of expectations is incredibly challenging. We are only as good as our guests\u2019 last experience.\u201d This is where his inner teacher comes out, schooling his staff of mostly 18- and 19-year-olds: \u201cWe spend an incredible amount of time preparing. Service is game time. But the real work is practice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013Mary Barr Mann<\/em><\/p>\nYou may also like:<\/h3>\n