Today we’d like to introduce you to Douglass Williams.
Douglass, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Born and raised in Atlantic City, NJ, I was inspired at an early age by my father, an experienced, chef and my mother, an adventurous and devoted at-home cook. Influenced by the Mediterranean flavors my mother cooked, I was drawn to the kitchen to begin my culinary adventure.
Trained in modern French techniques, I began my career in Atlantic City and after a few years, moved on to Boston, where I fulfilled a 3-year post at Radius Restaurant, named one of the top 25 restaurants in America. I spent the next year making hand-rolled pasta and perfecting the rich flavors of Italian cuisine at Coppa, a nationally acclaimed 3-star enoteca, after which I traveled to Thailand, where I focused on authentic curry dishes and other traditional Thai specialties. Following, I moved to New York where I spent two years at the 2-Michelin Star restaurant in Tribeca called Corton and then spent a few months living and cooking in Paris at 2-Michelin restaurant Akrame.
After returning from Paris, I knew I wanted to lay some roots down in Boston and began working on a restaurant concept. I wanted to create an inspired neighborhood restaurant that would allow me to share my worldly experiences. A little less than 2 years later, MIDA was born. We have now reached the 1-year mark and continue to be inspired by the community and our neighborhood surroundings.
Has it been a smooth road?
Cooking wasn’t always my path, I thought I was going to be a teacher. But things changed for me in high school when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in my senior year. I was left to figure out what to do next and college didn’t really seem like an option for me financially.
I endured an intense and serious surgery during my senior year of high school and spent months recuperating, during which time my Mother really was my inspiration. Because there wasn’t much I could eat with my new diagnoses, she made everything from scratch, from home-made yogurt to ketchup and everything in between. From her, I learned the importance of food and a healthy life and without my mother’s cooking and her understanding of food, I would have never made it through.
I decided at that time that I would turn my lemons into lemonade. I would focus on food and maybe someday I could help others in my situation. I opted to go to Culinary School and I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today, now sharing my love of teaching and my skills in the kitchen with my staff and my culinary point of view with a strong and supportive neighborhood and small business community.
I carry this learning with me every day and it’s really at the heart of how I run my business. As an entrepreneur starting out, I face challenges every day in business, from big picture plans such as business development, expansion, to the day-to-day details. I know not to give up and that when one door closes, another is opened. For me, that was the wonder of food, and I know that by sharing my love for food, I can inspire and motivate people, and get them excited in the food culture that has become my passion and expands their cooking horizons in ways they never expected.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the MIDA story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a South End neighborhood restaurant, inspired by the simplicity of classic Italian culinary traditions. We believe in being generous and thoughtful in the way we prepare our food and engage with our community and we know the value of a good meal shared among friends. MIDA means “he gives me.” And every meal we create is meant to be a gift for each of our guests.
As a neighborhood restaurant serving Italian influenced cuisine, we focus on many regions of Italian food and culture, using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Within almost every restaurant, it is roughly the same structure of management. I wanted to keep that tradition, but within those positions I wanted a heightened sense of generosity and grace to exude from my managers in both the front of the house hospitality team and the back of house culinary side. As a guest, having an experience from start to finish in a neighborhood restaurant can sometimes be a bit too casual, and that is ok… but I knew from the start that MIDA wouldn’t be judged as an “ok restaurant.” So I had to make sure that even though we were local and very accessible, our hospitality, service and guest I.Q. would be critical to our survival and ultimately our success not only within. the neighborhood, but for guests from New England, rest of the country and beyond.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
At any point in time, there will always be every form of restaurant, so saying what will be hot or not is much too subjective. Plus nationwide trends are decided by the larger food service industry so may not be as relevant to New England or Boston because of our unique dynamic. So what we need to focus on is what we hope will happen and what will inevitably happen based on the rapid development of newly built up neighborhoods with high-end luxury living and more and more money coming into our city.
It’s getting harder and harder for independent, young chefs to find funding and open a business on their own, however, with all of the new construction in the city and landlords wanting to provide amenities within their buildings, it’s actually getting easier for these young chefs to partner up with a landlord and create a concept that will appeal to both the young talented chefs but also the landlord creating further appeal for the building and the neighborhood, attracting tourists and residents alike. With the trend of fast casual restaurants popping up everywhere, that seems to be the direction these restaurants are going. And that’s ok, but I still don’t think that will ever replace the feeling you get when you walk into an independently chef-owned restaurant and experience the type of hospitality that makes a night out feel special.
Pricing:
- Food: $8-$28
- Wine by the glass: $11 – $13
- Wine by the bottle: $30 – $150
- Mangia Pasta: All you can eat pasta for $35 (every Monday)
- Della Casa: Prix Fixe menu for $40 (served daily)
- Bar seating offering craft cocktails, wine and full dinner service 7 days a week
Contact Info:
- Address: 782 Tremont St
- Website: www.midaboston.com
- Phone: 617.936.3490
- Email: info@midaboston.com
Image Credit:
Emily Kan and Jose Luis Martinez
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