Meet Kyle Shankman of Speak Easy Supper Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Shankman.

Kyle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
This started as just a fun project for our son. Trevor had just turned 15 and was becoming increasingly excited about food and, more specifically, the ability to merge food with art and science. As a chef for over a decade, I recognized that he had some stuff going on in his brain that couldn’t be taught. He was a natural at understanding how to balance flavors and textures. His plates were and are gorgeous, and he had a palate beyond his years.

I knew that I could teach him the technical things: knife skills, sauce-making, butchery, and how to streamline production. We just needed to give him a way to practice. We started with little ingredients challenges at the house, but he knew he was capable of more… and he wanted to cook for strangers. I brought up the idea of a “supper club”, explaining that some chefs do this “underground dining” thing as a creative outlet and a way to serve the public without the stress and expense that a brick and mortar restaurant brings.

Trevor loved the idea, so in January of 2017, we borrowed my mom’s house, invited friends via social media, and held our first supper for 7 people. He did an amazing job, and he was hooked. Since then, we moved operations to Roswell, increased seating to 14, added Sunday brunch (which is my baby), and have hosted over 500 diners!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been smooth at all. In the beginning, we were definitely busy because of the “teen chef” thing. After the newness wore off, it wasn’t as easy to sell out seats. It forced us to take a look at our marketing, our food, and the overall experience. Trevor will admit that, early on, he was more focused on how a dish needed to look and was less focused on flavor and whether or not the whole meal was actually satisfying.

He learned that you can’t rely on regulars and that you have to really take care of them and give them their money’s worth. We’ve adjusted to add more courses to our dinners, while also being a tiny bit less experimental with our flavors. Also, the addition of brunch created a place for our guests who want something a little heartier.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Speak Easy Supper Club – what should we know?
At Speak Easy, we pride ourselves on delivering an experience that is super hard to come by at a traditional restaurant. We’re able to play with ingredients, techniques, and plating styles that are tough to find in a full service a la carte kitchen. What really sets us apart though, is the communal dining experience.

Everyone is served at the same time at one table. Our goal is to bring together, to the best of our ability, a modern restaurant and a comfortable dinner party. I think we feel most proud when we see folks who were strangers at 7 pm exchanging phone numbers and friending each other on Instagram by 9 pm.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My wife (Trevor’s stepmom) Jade, is truly the glue that binds this whole thing together. She manages event announcements, reservations, and donations. And then, after working her fulltime day job, she sets the table, greets the guests, handles beverage service, and helps us stay ahead on dishes. She’s pretty much our hero.

Other huge thanks have to go to the local food blogger community. There are too many to name here, but several have really rallied around Trevor and what we’re trying to do.

Nothing is more impactful to the building of our email list than a single Instagram post from someone with 10k+ followers, so whenever that happens, we’re truly grateful.

Pricing:

• $65 for suppers/$50 for brunch

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chefshankman.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @speakeasysupperclub

Image Credit:
Jade Shankman, Miriam Hoffman, Janet Yeh

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.