The Casino File
No matter how quickly summer seemed to fly by for you, Becky Schultz probably had you beat.
That’s because Schultz, the vice-president of restaurant operations at Ocean Casino Resort, had her pots and pans—along with her hands—full as she had to oversee the opening of not one, not two, but three new restaurants at the luxe adult playpen on the Boardwalk’s eastern end.
First there was Lascala’s Fire, the casual-Italian joint that is part of a Philadelphia-area chain. It opened just as the summer season was taking its first tentative steps.
But that was just the appetizer. In mid-July, Philly-based master-of-the-restaurant-universe Stephen Starr simultaneously opened two eateries, a brunch spot called Sunny’s and its next-door neighbor, the upscale Chez Frites (pronounced “shay freet”). Spoiler alert: Schultz lived to tell about her rather, ahem, full summer.
According to Schultz, a Sommerville (Somerset County) native and mother of 21- and almost-18-year-old sons and a 14-year-old daughter, getting Lascala’s Fire up and running was relatively easy because that organization already had a template. But delivering Starr’s two babies—whose concepts were brand new—presented more hurdles.
“The biggest challenge probably was that very, very short engagement period,” she recalled over a recent dinner at Chez Frites.
“By the time we got to where the contract was signed, we only had a few months to really pull it all together. And [Starr’s people are] a team that’s used to working with a 12-month window. But we didn’t have that luxury. So, I really think that what both teams accomplished was nothing short of incredible. And that’s a testament to their team and our team.”
Specifically, Schultz highlighted the way the two organizations were, out of necessity, able to work in harmony—something that isn’t always found in the restaurant universe.
“In food and beverage,” she explained, “there’s a lot of different ways to do the same thing. And sometimes this person likes it this way, or this person likes it that way. Or maybe I like it a certain way, and we’re going to have our brother-sister kind of arguments behind the scenes.
“But for this, we really didn’t have the time. We just had to check egos at the door and say, ‘Look, this is what’s best for the venue, this is what’s best for the brand.’ And you just get it done.”
Schultz credits the high level of trust that the two teams established for creating an environment that fostered cooperation.
“It was unbelievable. It’s a trust level attached to people,” said the Trenton State College business-degree holder whose resume includes gaming-industry-entry positions at the long-gone Sands Hotel & Casino and 19 years in various food-and-beverage jobs at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which she left for Ocean in January, 2022.
Schultz described taking her assignment overseeing the two outlets’ buildout as being filled with grave responsibility.
“When it comes to other companies partnering with us, we’re responsible for somebody’s brand,” she reasoned. ”And this is Steven Starr’s name and it’s Ocean’s name, and it’s my job to make sure that we’re doing right by both. I take that very seriously.”
Not surprisingly, there were some downsides to Schultz’s how-I-spent-my-summer projects. One was her at-best passing acquaintance with sleep. But, she admitted, Dreamland is often a once-in-a-while destination, regardless of the task at hand.
“I don’t sleep a lot. And I’m a very light sleeper,” she said, adding she makes the most of the overnight hours.
“I email myself a lot of notes in the middle of the night. Before smartphones, I would write things on the notepad on the bedside. I like my lists. I still have my book right here,” she claimed, pointing to a small notebook that sat on the table to her right.
“There were definitely sleepless nights, but excitement at the same time.”
Although the summer season is behind her, it would be incorrect to imagine Schultz can now relax and recalibrate. She suggested the reasons she doesn’t have that luxury are partly due to the scheduled private banquets being staged at Ocean this month, as well as the thousands of guests who’ll be on property for the eight-show stand by megastar standup comic Sebastian Maniscalco that commences Sept. 18.
“I don’t want to say ‘decompressing’ or ‘taking my foot off the accelerator.’ I can’t do that because I’m a speed demon,” she laughed. Not that she could even if she tried.
“I thrive on chaos.” she declared, “Otherwise I’m bored. And I get into mischief when I’m bored.”
Chez Frites:
C’est magnifique
Speaking of the high-end dining salon, there is no question that Starr has a winner in his new-to-AyCee concept.
While most local casino steakhouses generally offer a wide variety of appetizers and entrees—not to mention various cuts of beef–Chez Frites has a limited bill of fare.
There are but four “starters” available: shrimp cocktail, scallop crudo, mussels marinieres and mac & cheese. All are top-shelf, but if I had to pick just one, it would be the mussels, whose white wine sauce is downright heavenly.
As for entrees, the choices are prime New York strip steak, lobster tail, salmon and for the non-carnivorous crowd, salt-baked celery root with black trumpet mushrooms in a vegetarian au poivre. All meals—it’s a prix fixe menu—include a mixed-green salad with white balsamic vinaigrette and unlimited pommes frites which may be the best French fries I’ve eaten since my grandmother passed some 40 years ago.
By any metric, Chez Frites has already planted itself among the best such operations Our Town’s gambling realm has to offer: The dining room atmosphere is upscale, but warm and unstuffy, the service impeccable and while hardly gigantic, the portion sizes certainly justify the (surprisingly reasonable for this day and age) price points.
As such, high-rollers and special-occasioners alike should find Chez Frites a welcome addition to the local fine-dining scene.
For more, go to theoceanac.com/restaurant/chez-frites
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
