“We wake up every morning pinching ourselves, saying ‘Is this really our lives?’” Tina told me after sharing the story of how she and her husband, Chip, came to run an upscale restaurant on the Upper East Side. Their story is heartwarming and proves it truly is possible to achieve one’s dreams with enough hard work, perseverance, and old fashioned luck.
Chip and Tina met in New York, shortly after Chip graduated from Culinary School. They were both working at Larry Forgione’s An American Place, which Chip said was a wonderful location for an aspiring chef to work: “There were always celebrity chefs popping in and out of the kitchen.” After they married, Tina chose to follow Chip on his career path. “He had more talent in his field than I had in mine,” she said with a grin, explaining how she quickly learned to run the front end of a restaurant.
Chip and Tina spent some time traveling in Europe, where they gained the inspiration to open a restaurant - one that was more than a bistro, but not quite haute cuisine. They wanted it to be accessible fine dining. Carolina Blue, in North Carolina - where Chip is originally from - is where they chose to open their first place. After that closed, they worked on a steakhouse in Raleigh and finally opened the restaurant of their dreams, Bonne Soirée, in Chapel Hill. “It was exactly this restaurant,” Chip shared, "just not in a New York City townhouse. “We have a romantic notion of what we do,” Chip then added with a smile, detailing how each aspect of the restaurant was carefully designed by the couple.
Unfortunately, the building housing their North Carolina restaurant was sold and demolished. In 2013, out of the blue, they were contacted by Neil Rosenthal of Rosenthal Wine Merchants. He knew Chip and Tina’s work and had recommended them to Robert Margolis, a retired restaurateur. Despite his retirement, Robert wanted to open another restaurant, but needed a team. After Neil introduced Robert to Chip and Tina, Robert made the decision and “took a chance on a no-name couple,” in Tina’s words.
The restaurant, named for Chateau Simone in Provence, France, struggled through its first winter. They persevered, running Simone “for the experience and the love of it,” Tina told me. Unbeknownst to the team, however, the New York Times secretly reviewed the restaurant in 2014, which transformed the business overnight. Customers began making reservations, wanting to try the heavily lauded food listed on the menu that is handwritten by Tina, herself. Despite the overnight fame, the three owners stay true to their original vision for the restaurant.
The restaurant continues to please diners, even a few years after its review. The half duck continues to be a favorite dish, though Chip is gaining a reputation for his rabbit, too. Eighty percent of the restaurant’s produce comes from Long Island, Upstate New York, and New Jersey. “We’re not a farm to table restaurant, but we’re a farm to table restaurant,” Tina quipped, discussing how the menu changes seasonally. After dining at Simone, which is strongly influenced by European cuisine and concepts, customers are often surprised to meet the very American owners. Chip and Tina understand the reaction because they often feel it themselves, having never imagined that they would be running a fine dining establishment in New York City where they were the recipients of a “heartwarming review” from the New York Times. “It sounds silly, but we really can’t believe it,” Tina said. But the pair recognize that they have created something unique. “This restaurant doesn’t exist anymore in New York,” Tina pointed out, adding, “It’s not about the show around a restaurant. It’s about the company around you, the food on the table, and the wine in the glass.”
I loved hearing Chip and Tina's story, but what truly made me smile was when they revealed that they live above the restaurant, allowing them a very short commute to work. How happy I was to know that everything had truly worked out for this charming couple.