On a busy Wednesday night at the Press Room, the chefs are intently opening oysters, scooting steaming sauté pans across the stove, and plating a continuous stream of orders. The relentless pace has subdued their usual banter. Chef-owner Mike Luksa watches quietly, occasionally stepping into the commotion to help. The dining room and bar are still full at 9 pm, purring with conversation and laughter.
Luksa, 50, is easily the contender for the longest professional cooking stint in town—he has been cooking for Shepherdstown and its visitors for almost 30 years. In a business fraught with pressure, razor-thin profit margins, a notoriously changeable workforce, and brutally long hours, Mike’s long tenure is nothing less than extraordinary.
There is a gentle, steady, egalitarian quality about Mike Luksa that contrasts sharply with television’s brazen bad-boy celebrity chefs. A tad shy, he is singularly polite and accommodating, but not at all self-effacing. He attributes his success as a restaurateur to his commitment to his craft and a genuine regard for people.
Mike discovered cooking in a high school culinary program in Buffalo, N.Y. Led by trained chefs, the program integrated mainstream and learning-disabled students. Mike learned the basics that would land him jobs in decent restaurants, but most importantly, “I learned respect. Working with people with different abilities taught me that everyone has a contribution to make.” After graduating, he bounced around in Buffalo-area restaurants where cooking from scratch was being nudged aside by convenience foods—think pre-made chicken Kiev.
Mike guesses he would have worked his way up in the business in upstate New York, but for an off-hand comment that changed his life. Mike’s parents happened to dine at the Yellow Brick Bank Restaurant, and in conversation with then-owner Kevin Connell, they mentioned that their son was a chef. Kevin said, “Send him down for an interview. I need a chef right now!” Kevin hired Mike in 1978, and they worked together over the next 28 years. Mike met his wife Deb, now his business partner, at the restaurant, where she waited when she was a student at Shepherd.
Mike speaks appreciatively about his experience. “The Yellow Brick Bank was a great opportunity. Kevin had a great passion for food and the restaurant business. He is one of the best front people I’ve ever met. He had compassion for people.”
Mike’s business philosophy is simple. “You’re here for the people. You have to understand your clients and offer them food that is interesting but not ‘over-created.’ I guide my chefs, but let them shine. Unlike a lot of restaurants, we have harmony between the front and back of the house—you can feel it. People are genuinely pleasant and take pride in their work, and I reinforce that with everyone who works here.”
“We never advertise, and we don’t have a website. We depend on word of mouth and discovery, and so far that has been working great.”
At home, Mike likes to keep it simple. “With the hours we put in, I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I make simple fast dishes, like salmon piccata with rapini. Deb found some amazing burrata (a fresh mozzarella with a soft buttery center). With arugula and bread, that was supper.”
Mike enjoys wandering around New York City, finding new ideas. Aquagrill, a Soho seafood place featuring hundreds of varieties of oysters, inspired him to increase his selection. Le Bernadine has “really clean food, and seafood is the star.” Mike also admires Gramercy Tavern. “They put four ingredients on the plate and they all shine. The monkfish with lentils…it was just really good!”
Mike prefers doing business with local people. “It makes people feel part of your place, and rounds out the community. Everyone involved with building the restaurant has been in the community – local craftspeople built the booths, and Susan Carney did the vegetable paintings.”
He relies on a network of area growers for seasonal items. “The raspberry people in Boonsboro pick for me because I commit to buy from them. The flower people leave a bucket on their porch for me. Steve, who raises organic arugula and heirloom tomatoes, brings me New York Times articles. I buy asparagus from a Mennonite family—they’re very strict and formal, very fair. A couple of fellows from Gerrardstown show up occasionally with wild mushrooms, and Crazy Harry in Elkins calls me when the ramps are ready.”
Looking to the future, Mike has no grand plans, but says, “I’d love an outside patio, if we could figure out how to do that. I would really love to make fresh pasta again. My Italian pasta machine makes beautiful pasta, but it is an 800-pound monster, and there’s no place to put it.”
“Our dream has been to create a neighborhood place where people can get together and relax, and enjoy good food. You need discipline to maintain that quality and consistency.
For now, I want to concentrate on doing that well.”
The Press Room, 129 West German Street, Shepherdstown, (304) 876-6638.
