If a man comes up to you the next time you are on your way in to either Lui Lui's, Jesse's or Molly's Balloon and asks "Is this a good place to eat?" you just may be talking to Marc Milowsky, owner of the three Upper Valley dining establishments.
This exercise is just one of the many methods Milowsky employs to continually improve his restaurants.
The entrepreneur has done everything from aging Jesse's steaks in order to make them more flavorful and tender to trying to find a way to make chicken burgers which are low fat but won't crumble.
Not only is Milowsky interested in ways to improve his businesses, he is interested in ways to help his community.
"Everybody comes to restaurants for donations," Milowsky said. "We really try to help our community wherever we can."
Milowsky is a member of both the Hanover and Lebanon Chambers of Commerce and is a former member of the New Hampshire Hospitality Board of Directors.
Milowsky said the Dartmouth community has been very supportive of his businesses. "We would like to become more involved with them," Milowsky said.
Milowsky said his choice of the Upper Valley location forthe three businesses had a lot to do with Dartmouth's presence. "There are a lot more people in this area who are able to go out to lunch and dinner more often," he said.
But he said no expansion is planned. "I don't think we would look to add any more seats in the Upper Valley," he said. "We take customers away from ourselves."
Milowsky said it is difficult to say which restaurant does the best business because they are hard to compare. "Volume of salefor all three is pretty much the same," Milowsky said.
He explained that Jesse's has the highest average check, but Lui Lui's is the largest restaurant and has the fastest turnover rate. Lui Lui's served nearly 1,000 meals Saturday, he said.
Milowsky said he looks to please old people, young people, and students. "Especially in an area that doesn't have a large population base, I think you have to appeal to a wide range of people," Milowsky said.
Milowsky said Lui Lui's fits in with today's more health-conscious society. "Although people still love steak and seafood," he added.
Milowsky said that Lui Lui's formula has proven very popular and he is currently looking into opening another Lui Lui's in Nashua.
Milowsky describes Jesse's as "simple, good food that you just can't get at home." He said the restaurant has a steak, salad bar, and seafood concept.
He described these things as the "mainstays of the American diet." He said the fresh salad bar offers something for vegetarians.
He said Molly's menu is based on his feeling that the downtown area needed a restaurant with a fun atmosphere and an eclectic menu. Milowsky said Molly's offers "something for everyone."
He named the restaurant after his middle daughter because he felt that "being the middle daughter, she might need a little notoriety." Milowsky has since had one more child.
Originally a premed student at the University of Vermont, Milowsky entered the restaurant business after submitting 21 medical school applications and ultimately deciding he was not destined to be a doctor.
After a number of different careers, such as cutting brush and working at a ski resort, he met his wife, Patty, in Burlington, Vt. where they both worked at a restaurant.
The couple married and moved to Woodstock, Vt., where Patty's mother lived. Milowsky, who just turned 46, currently lives in Hartland Three Corners with his wife and four daughters.
Milowsky said they "felt there was a lack of restaurants" in the Upper Valley. Along with Jim Rieman, the current owner of Sweet Tomatoes restaurant in Lebanon, Milowsky and his wife bought the Butternut Tree restaurant in Woodstock and re-opened it as the Prince and the Pauper restaurant.
In 1976, Milowsky, his wife, and Rieman, along with three new partners, opened Jesse's in its current location on Route 120. In 1977, Milowsky and his wife Patty became sole owners of Jesse's and they sold the Prince and the Pauper.
In 1983, real estate on Main Street became available and Milowsky had the opportunity to open Molly's.
Milowsky said that Lui Lui's came into being about five years ago, after Bayne Stevenson, the man who owns the Powerhouse Mall, approached him.
He said Stevenson told him that the previous three or four tenants of the space had failed to make a profitable business and he was wondering if Milowsky was willing to try it.
The space already had a brick oven, but Milowsky had little experience with brick oven pizza and pasta. He found Eric Roberts, now general manager and a partner at Lui Lui's and "worked out a deal [with Stevenson] that was very beneficial."
Milowsky said his restaurants started accepting the Hanover Green Card about six months ago.
He said the card is "an extremely great vehicle for reaching college students." Milowsky said he has had several extremely successful promotions.
Milowsky said home delivery is "a vehicle we would like to explore in the future."
