Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Chizmar and Erin Shea.
Lee spent four years working at Lark Creek Inn in CA, being mentored by Chef Jeremy Sewall. He was thrilled to get the call when Sewall was putting together his “dream team” to travel back East and open Great Bay in Boston, for Chef Michael Schlow and celebrated restaurant guru Christopher Myers. Great Bay received great accolades upon opening, including “Best New Restaurant in the Country” by John Mariani of Esquire magazine. After quickly being promoted from sous chef to chef de cuisine in the first nine months, the young Chizmar was then asked to take the reins when Sewall left to open his own restaurant.
It was in Boston that Chizmar was introduced to New England’s bounty of the sea—access to some of the world’s freshest oysters, lobsters and fish—but more importantly, Erin, his future wife.
MA-native, Shea, upon graduating from Georgetown University, decided to abandon her dream of being a prison warden (no, really) and to take more seriously her love of food. It was at Blue Room in Cambridge that she learned the art of “unconditional hospitality” working with customers. Then with that experience under her belt she approached friend Christopher Myers about getting a whack at being the head honcho at his newly opened restaurant in Boston, Great Bay.
Queue Chizmar’s entrance into her life. And a shared desire to own their own restaurant eventually led them back to Lee’s hometown of Bethlehem, PA, (following a smart suggestion from Lee’s dad to check out an old stagecoach inn as their spot). And the rest, as they say, is history…or in this case, just the beginning.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The restaurant industry is never smooth! These two could write a book about their path over the last decade.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Bolete Restaurant & Mister Lee’s Noodles story. Tell us more about the business.
We created this restaurant with a very clear vision—to get back in touch with what we love about the business, the basics. Bolete [bo-leet] is meant to be an experience, an escape from the hurried world we live in, a comfort. We do not rush what we do and we don’t want you to rush through your dining experience with us.
We chose Bolete’s location (a former Stagecoach Inn) because of its history and the quaint nature of the space, which we knew would allow Lee to cook every dish and oversee the preparation of his menu at every step. At the same time, I knew that I would get to know each and every guest in a way that I had been missing at larger restaurants.
We started with a six-burner stove (we’ve since upgraded to an eight-burner!) and two sets of very talented hands in the kitchen. Chef Lee creates the menu daily from food that he and the team prepare entirely here. We make all our own stocks, sauces, pastas, and butcher and smoke our own fish and meats. There are no short cuts. Our bar and wine list follow suit with carefully chosen wines and handcrafted cocktails. We take the utmost pride in our product, and hopefully you will as well.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck and a lot of determination. Build the dream team and it makes the dream work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1740 Seidersville Road
Bethlehem PA 18015 - Website: www.boleterestaurant.com
- Phone: (610) 868.6505
- Email: erin@boleterestaurant.com
- Instagram: /boleterestaurant
- Facebook: /eatbolete
Mister Lee’s Noodles
- Address: 325 Northampton Street, Easton, PA 18042
- Website: www.misterleesnoodles.com
- Phone: (610) 829-2799
- Instagram: /misterleesnoodles
- Facebook: /misterleesnoodles
Image Credit:
Noah Fecks, Allison Conklin
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