The Silver Star Café will polish up a crystal anniversary next Tuesday.The restaurant, called a Hidden Gem in Park City by USA Today, is celebrating its 15th anniversary, which kind of astounds co-owners Jeff and Lisa Ward.“I think it went fast and slow,” Jeff said. “If I pause now and think about it, it seemed to go by fast, but there are periods where the day to day felt like they were slow motion. But it’s been super invigorating, and at times a challenging but fun journey.”The Wards stumbled upon the opportunity to purchase the business at 1825 Three Kings Drive, Suite 30, from the Silver Star resort developers in March 2010, Lisa said.“It was a big risk to take on the project,” she said.The eatery originally opened as the Silver Star Market and Café, an order-at-the counter breakfast and lunch shop, Lisa said.“The original concept was not successful, not by anybody’s fault,” she said. “It wasn’t what the community needed at that time.”So the Wards changed things up, which Lisa said was a challenge.“When we took it on, our kids were still teenagers, and we still had a pretty full life outside of the restaurant world,” she said. “There was a lot of time in the trenches, figuring out what the project could be and giving it the time it needed to organically develop into what it’s become.”The Wards, who have lived in Park City for more than 40 years, approached the project with some experience in the restaurant industry. They met during the 1980s while working as  captains in the five-star Glitretind dining room at Stein Eriksen Lodge.“Jeff stayed in, even though he had a degree in geology,” Lisa said with a laugh.Jeff, who is also a sommelier, moved to Park City just after college to ski.“I grew up in New York outside of the city, and I wanted to live where I wanted to live and figure out how to make that work instead of getting a career and seeing where it will take me,” he said. “I had worked in restaurants during the summer and in college, so I had that experience. So I found that there was restaurant work available at night, so the days were free to ski.”Things changed when the Wards, who have been married now for 34 years, decided to start a family.“I came to a realization that I wouldn’t be a server all my life, and I liked the entrepreneurial idea of being our own bosses. It would be hard work, but we wouldn’t be working for someone else,” Jeff said.Lisa, who owned a communications consulting firm that focused on business, municipalities and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, left the restaurant business after their first of two boys, Hayden and Keenan, was born. “I wasn’t planning to go back,” she said. “I did my own company for a long time and did marketing an (public relations). I wrote and edited articles for Park City Magazine, and worked with interesting people.”Lisa’s plan was to continue working in marketing and public relations to promote the restaurant.“Then one day the host didn’t show up,” she said. “Another day the busser didn’t show up, and then the dishwasher didn’t show up. So, little by little, I was showing up to do whatever needed to be done, and before you knew it, I got sucked back in. I found that it wasn’t possible for me to be there and not be hands on.”The idea for the Silver Star Café sits on what the Wards call the “four legs of our table” — great food, ambiance, service and acoustic music.“If you take those things individually, they are each a focal point,” Lisa said.The food and service, like any good restaurant, are at the center of any dining experience, and to ensure that, the Wards decided to use organic and locally sourced ingredients as much as possible in its made-from-scratch “American comfort food,” influenced by regional flavors, Jeff said.While the ingredients are essential to the flavors, the staff prepares and serves the dishes in a unique and comfortable way, Lisa said.“Jeff and I have high expectations for our staff,” she said. “We expect them to behave like adults and professionals, but we don’t want to micromanage. And they get it.”Chef Derek Gherkins, General Manager Jon Butler, Supervisors and Lead Servers Carla Good and Hayden Ward (also the Wards’ oldest son) and Senior Servers Chantal Menlove, Julia Knight and Frabrizio Meneghetti —  head the 45-person employee roster that the Wards consider the Silver Star Café family.In fact, when the coronavirus pandemic hit during the restaurant’s 10th anniversary, the Wards worked hard to find ways to keep their staff employed, Lisa said.“We love them all, and we are incredibly blessed to work with this group of people,” Jeff said. “They are young. They have energy, and most of them are highly educated and come from different places in the world. And when I watch them when we come in to eat or take care of things, it’s like watching a dance, a ballet, because they are so in tune with each other and our guests.”The service is highlighted by the café’s ambiance, designed by Lisa.“I wanted it to feel like you were in somebody’s home,” she said. “I wanted it to be comfortable and unpretentious. I wanted people to come in and feel relaxed, but feel a high-level of professional experience.”The live-acoustic-music aspect, which is offered for free to diners Thursdays through Saturdays, features acoustic musicians from the area.“The music piece of the puzzle is kind of fun, because it comes from a family history,” Lisa said.Jeff’s father, who lived in Colorado, was a huge fan of bluegrass and jazz, and on his birthday he would invite his musician friends over for dinner and a jam session.“We have so many memories of the music they played, so we decided we wanted to incorporate that into the restaurant,” Lisa said. “We tell the musicians that this is not a background show. We want them to have fun and be a presence on the stage.”Booking live music for the Silver Star Café was also “self-serving,” Jeff said.“Growing up, my dad would take me to see shows, and part of Lisa and my courtship was going to see live music and attend music festivals,” he said. “When we strapped the restaurant on our backs, we were there all the time, so we decided to bring live music that we wanted to hear to the restaurant.”Throughout the years, The Silver Star Café has accumulated an array of awards including Salt Lake Magazine’s Utah Classic, which recognizes restaurants that maintain excellence over a sustained period of time, and the publication’s Best Restaurant in Utah award in 2014, 2018 and 2019.Park City’s Best has recognized the Silver Star Café with Best Outdoor Dining annually for the past nine years and the Taste Utah Bites and the Utah Restaurant Association respectively named the eatery as A Dining Destination and Best Bar Program, to name a few.In addition, the Silver Star Café has been featured in three Food Network’s “Diners Drive-ins and Dives” episodes — “Cross Country Comfort Food,” “Small Town Sensations” and “A Little Lighter.”“It’s humbling,” Lisa said. “Everybody is working so hard, so to be recognized in that way is at times surprising, at times humbling and at times gratifying. It allows us to pause and take a look at what we’re doing and say, ‘Yeah. We have built something special here and it’s something to be proud of.’ But there are so many amazing restaurants in Utah and in Park City that we love to support, and I hope the same recognition will go to them as well.”Jeff said the accolades circle back to the staff.“They wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for the professionalism and skill of the people who are there every day and making it happen,” he said.The post Time slips by swiftly for Silver Star Café appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less