Meet the new generation of chefs at Rick Erwin Restaurants adding flavor to the Upstate

Recipes and the brand name aren't the only things three Rick Erwin's restaurants have in common.

Ryan Smutzki, his wife Gianna and their friend Malaki Craft worked together in Jupiter, Florida, and now the friends are executive chefs for restaurants across the Upstate.

"I kind of made the first jump up here to Greenville," Craft said. "My wife and I, we've been visiting for seven or eight years on our vacation; her two best friends lived up here. And then just after COVID, and with my second child being born, it was just a good time for us to move."

Rick Erwin's caught his eye, and Craft stepped into his current role at the restaurant group's Clemson location in March 2021. Ryan and Gianna, who had been working through the pandemic in Florida, eventually made the jump, moving to Greenville a few months later and taking on roles at Level 10 in Spartanburg and West End Grille in Greenville, respectively. .

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Their leading roles in the restaurant group allow the chefs, all in their early 30s, to bring their own twists to the restaurants' standards.

"I think that every one of us gets to have our own style in the restaurant. Although we are the same company and we do have some of the same items, we also have our own ability to be creative and really do our own thing in our kitchen," Gianna said.

Three chefs are better than one

As you might expect, the group chat shared by these three chefs is always buzzing. While the three don't collaborate on recipes very often, they often reach out to each other for help with the business side of their restaurants.

Staffing, Gianna said, is a common topic of conversation.

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"I reach out to Malaki pretty much once a week and I'm like, 'Hey, do you have somebody that can help me?' Business-wise, he and I run two of the busiest restaurants in the company, and I have a small staff. So I'm constantly reaching out to Malaki," Gianna said.

The three chefs also talk about the food they're getting in. Trades are pretty common. The differences in their clientele make this easier — for instance, if there's a football game in Clemson, it will be a busy night for Craft, but if not, there might be some steaks to spare for crowds coming in from an event in Greenville or Spartanburg.

"So yeah, we do a lot of trading back and forth," Craft said. "Even sometimes when we over-ordered, and it's like, 'I have too much of this. I don't want to see it go to waste; can you take it?'"

Rick Erwin chefs balance art and business

In these past months when diners have truly returned to their pre-pandemic dining habits, the chefs have needed to be business savvy to keep prices and quality where customers want them.

"I think we've tried to keep the quality and the dishes beautiful, but we've also tried to compete with those restaurants that are a little bit cheaper and more affordable," Gianna said. "That is something that our corporate offices have kind of instilled in us. They don't want guests to feel like they're being ripped off, and we don't either."

The new menus include three-course meals for $38, with soup or salad starters and curated options for entrees and desserts. And another option is entrees for around $20.

At the same time, they, like everyone in the restaurant industry, are having to accommodate increasing prices, particularly for meats. Fish, a staple from their days in Florida, is featured on each of their menus, but it's not as plentiful or affordable here.

"Last night, we talked about mahi. And in South Florida, we were buying grouper two years ago for $14-15 a pound, the price of grouper up here is $26 a pound — I refuse to put it on my menu," Craft said. "I've had to adjust on our menu to make it a more business-savvy menu while still hitting the guests' expectations."

Marrying new concepts with Southern standards

One place their creativity shines is in their approaches to catering to each restaurant's unique customer base.

In Clemson, Craft is working to satisfy the Clemson football fans — and players — in his dining rooms, and that means steaks.

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“We're a steakhouse, first and foremost, especially in Clemson. I think out of all the restaurants, we sell the biggest steaks by quantity-wise," Craft said. "They come in and they really would like to see a piece of steak on the plate, sliced out, and really go at it. So we try to stay kind-of goal-oriented toward that clientele."

However, he brings his South Florida background in with some standout fish dishes that combine new and local flavors.

"I have a sesame-crusted tuna. It's got some Asian flavor to it with bok choy and a red chili caramel sauce. I don't slice it. I actually serve it with a steak knife; it's a big block of tuna," Craft said. "Instead of sushi rice or jasmine or basmati rice that you get from Asia, I use Carolina Gold Rice (from Charleston) for that dish instead. And it works out very, very well."

Ryan Smutzki, who had worked at several Rick Erwin locations since the move from Florida, took over as executive chef at Rick Erwin's Level 10 in February. Since then, he's focused on tailoring their offerings to a more American cuisine-centric, bar-friendly menu. Additions include spicy cheeseburgers, an herb-roasted chicken with fresh garden vegetables, a vegetarian mushroom ravioli and plenty of small plates and light bites that go well with cocktails, like watermelon gazpacho.

"Spartanburg is a challenge for me because when I took over it was very Creole in the middle of Spartanburg, which is a very tricky blue-collar town. My take on it was to get away from all they used to do," Ryan said. "Now it's more of a hybrid restaurant and at the end of service, it turns into a bar restaurant. So, I implement a lot of tapas-style fresh food — fish, especially."

Rick Erwin's West End Grille has strong Italian influences on its menu, Gianna Smutzki said. One change she's made is adding more vegetable-based dishes, a reflection of her own diet, seen in dishes like her nut-free pesto gnocchi with fresh spring vegetables.

She's also tried to make her menu, while still full of high-quality dishes, approachable to guests who are new to fine dining.

"I try to do things they know and they love, but I also try and throw in a little twist. I tried to take that heavy vegetarian approach and bring in dishes that most people wouldn't normally eat in this area, but pair it with something they would eat, so they don't think that it's too 'out there'," Gianna said. "I think social media and all of us posting our dishes on there has kind of helped counteract that 'That's too fancy for me' (concept) too."

All three hope to show their guests something new and introduce some more modern dishes.

"When I first took over the restaurant, it was real heavy and dairy and cheese. And I think that that kind of goes hand in hand with South Carolina, especially in the '90s and 2000s," Craft said. "But our culture is changing now. I think our approach is a little lighter. We use purees and coulis and vegetables and fruit juices for sauces — not everything's a veal-based, cream-based, butter-based sauce. So we're able to put a lot of bright flavors and colors on plates, while still hitting that expected cuisine that you know in the South."

Rick Erwin's Level 10 (225 W. Main St.) is open from 4:30-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Rick Erwin's Clemson (127 Market St.) is open from 4-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Rick Erwin's West End Grille (648 S, Main St.) is open from 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Samantha Swann covers food and restaurants in Spartanburg County. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her with your burning restaurant questions, recipes, and new dinner specials at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sameatsspartanburg.  

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: New generation of chefs ready to shake up an iconic Upstate brand