Harvest Seasonal Grill Glen Mills recently celebrated five years in the Glen Eagle Square location. Harvest Philadelphia has been wowing since it opened two years ago at Walnut & S. 40th Streets. Additional spots in North Wales and Harrisburg remain packed. And now its newest location in Moorestown is taking New Jersey by storm. It’s obvious that entrepreneur Dave Magrogan has created one of the area’s first true “farm-to-table” concepts, or brands, and is running with its success.
Having been an enamoured fan of the convivial Glen Mills location since its opening, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to chat with Dave about this innovative crop of restaurants. We discussed the brand that maintains a consistent evolution while continuously providing the guest with an exhilarating dining experience. Executive Chef Joshua Short has also added expert culinary insight as to what makes Harvest flourish.
PA Eats: How would you describe the Harvest “brand,” and what makes it work?
Dave Magrogan: The key to the success of the Harvest brand has been the connection between the farms, and the restaurant and our guests. The fresh product sourced at the right time of year changes our flavor profile dramatically. The consistent success of Harvest has been connected to changing the menu entirely every season, working with local farms, keeping most items below 500 calories and also using mostly organic and non-GMO ingredients. Changing the wine, beer and cocktail list every season has also helped keep the brand consistent for our guests.
How was the brand defined five years ago, and has it remained consistent or evolved differently over time? In what way?
DM: The brand has stayed consistent to our original mission to provide a seasonally changing, local, under-500 calorie farm-to-table menu featuring wood-fired meats, poultry and seafood. The brand has evolved to source more organic, non-GMO and antibiotic/hormone-free ingredients. Our wine/beer and cocktail lists have also evolved to include cold-pressed juice cocktails, organic wines, beers and liquors. Our chefs continue to drive all menu development every season, looking at new trends but also re-creating some classics in a healthier presentation.
I am a believer of your statement “GIVE. LOVE. SERVE,” which is prominently displayed above the kitchens of your establishments. How does that fit in with the Harvest philosophy?
DM: Since my days of being a chiropractor I have lived the Give, Love, Serve philosophy. It was a philosophy I learned in chiropractic school and I have used in every business since 1996. My core belief is that the more we give for the sake of giving, love what we do and serve with true hospitality, the more successful we will be in business and in life. If our servers, bartenders, chefs and managers are passionate about their restaurant, if they love to provide exceptional service and they give their best every day, we will always be successful. I have found the more I give the more I receive; and the more I love the more I am loved; and the more I serve humanity the more good I do in the world. I believe that philosophy can transfer into any business.
Is the “under-500 calories” menu item a significant part of the brand? Why or why not?
DM: It is a significant part of the brand because our consumers tend to be well-educated and health-conscious. I don’t believe it is the fundamental driving force of the brand, but I believe our consumers appreciate knowing we are preparing their food in the healthiest way possible.
Joshua Short: We believe in using the best ingredients possible, regardless of how many calories are in a dish. With that said, we focus on making every calorie count in a good way! There is a saying that “a calorie is not a calorie.” This can be easily explained by using the example of consuming 100 calories by eating almonds versus consuming 100 calories by drinking soda. Which one of these would you rather have your body fueled by? Everything that we put into our food has tons of nutritional value that is produced without GMOs or artificial ingredients. Many of the calories within our menu items come from extra virgin olive oil.
Are there parts of Harvest’s brand that you incorporate into your other ventures?
DM: A local, seasonal and fresh product are major components of our Barra Rossa, Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House and Red Star Craft House brand, especially with our seafood and oysters at Doc’s. We are extremely particular about where we source our seafood. With Red Star, the changing beer list allows us to constantly update our menus and additions to reflect seasonal ingredients.
The USDA launched the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (KYF) in 2009. As you know, KYF strengthens the connection between farmers and consumers to better meet critical goals, including reinvigorating rural economies, promoting job growth and increasing healthy food access in America. How does this initiative specifically fit in with the Harvest philosophy?
JS: Supporting local farmers and producers is something that is very important to us and even more important to our local communities. Being located in the heart of PA and surrounded by fantastic, rich farmland, it’s a “no brainer” for us to utilize as much of the amazing produce, dairy and livestock that is produced here as we can. All of our dishes in one way or another represent seasonality and local ingredients. Because we have such a great relationship with Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative (LFFC), which is a nonprofit organic farmers’ cooperative of more than 100 family farmers headquartered in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, we are able work with a huge variety of local ingredients. If I had to choose some of our signature dishes that represent the farm-to-table process I would have to go with our seasonal salads that are comprised of seasonal and local ingredients. Our cheese plate is a great representation of farm to table with all of our cheeses coming from local farms such as The Farm at Doe Run in Coatesville or Pa & Keswick Creamery in Newburg, Pa. Our new summer-scallop dish includes a sweet-corn risotto made with local, organic sweet corn, and our scallops are dusted with yellow corn grits from Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown, Pa. The scallop dish is then finished with a light drizzle of basil oil made from basil grown in our on-site herb garden.
How do you promote and sustain the focus on non-GMO/antibiotic-free sourced food?
DM: We work with our farmers and our co-ops to make sure we source the healthiest ingredients possible. For me, moving the brand to organic/non-GMO has become a significant focus. Pure ingredients create better flavors and better health.
JS: We work very closely with all of our vendors and farmers to ensure that we are always working toward sourcing the best ingredients possible, which includes sourcing non-GMO, antibiotic-free, pesticide-free, sustainable products. All of our vendors are briefed on the expectations that our concept demands so that everyone is always on the same page with what our brand goals are. Any opportunities that exist, where we can improve upon the quality of ingredients that we are using, are brought to our attention and reviewed on a regular basis. We hope to be able to achieve our goal of eliminating any products that contain GMOs within the next 12 months. Currently, we are approximately 85% non-GMO. Unfortunately, FDA laws do not help support food labeling as well as they should, making it that much harder to always identify products that contain GMOs.
In addition to the superb flatbread, salad and entreé choices, I always look forward to the uber-creative seasonal signature cocktails of Harvest. Autumn’s featured Iced Pear Martini has always been a personal favorite. No one replicates it like Harvest. Who creates your seasonal cocktail menu, and do YOU have a favorite?
DM: David Steiger, our Director of Operations for Harvest, creates our seasonal cocktails with the help of several managers and bartenders. It’s a fun and creative collaboration. My favorite drinks on each menu tend to be the bourbon drinks. I love how we just add a few ingredients but really bring out the flavor of the seasons. Lately, I have been pushing our cold-pressed cocktails. Healthy, fresh, cold-pressed juice combined with organic spirits creates a “healthy” but powerful cocktail! The Sweet Green Vodka Lemonade is a fantastic summer cocktail made with cold-pressed kale, spinach, lemon juice and American Harvest Organic Vodka.
You consistently seem to maintain the energy to be the driving force to so many challenging and successful ventures. How do you find the stamina?
DM: First, I am extremely passionate about our restaurants. I believe and live a Guest-First philosophy. I love to create new concepts, locations, menus and promotions. I love to see our guests connect with our brands. Creating happy, loyal guests is what drives me. Second, I live a very healthy lifestyle. I am a pescatarian and enjoy a mostly vegetable-based diet. I enjoy daily workouts, but I focus more on what I eat on a daily basis. Harvest really reflects my and my family’s lifestyle. Third, I live my rhino philosophy every day. Charge hard at your goals; when you get knocked down, get back up. Be positive, be persistent, be passionate and focus on your goals. Ignore the critics and focus on your strengths. Give it your best every day; failure is part of the process. Fail, learn and move forward more intelligently. Most importantly, be passionate about what you do. Passion can overcome most obstacles.
What do YOU do on YOUR day off?
DM: Honestly, you never have a day off in our business, but technology makes it possible to spend a lot of time with friends and family. My favorite thing to do when I’m not in the office or at the restaurants is to travel. I spend a lot of my summer in Sea Isle City with my girlfriend and kids. We also travel to Dublin, Ireland and Key West, Florida, several times a year. Every trip we spend a lot of time checking out new restaurants and menus. My other hobby is music. I love going to concerts and travel often to see some of my favorite bands. I spend as much time as possible with my kids and my girlfriend, and they are very understanding of the constant emails, conference calls and work commitments that occur every day. Hopefully my kids have been inspired to believe in their dreams and understand you have to work to make it happen. We are very lucky and have gotten to enjoy some amazing experiences because of our business.
Favorite part (for you) of your business?
DM: I love putting all the pieces together. To start with nothing and build a successful team, successful menu and successful brand is a lot of hard work but very rewarding. I also do about 90% of the design and decor for our restaurants. I really enjoy creating the “feel” of the restaurant. Harvest was my interpretation of a ’70s California ranch. I love the warm and simple feel of Harvest while it still feels upscale.
Any regrets or mistakes along the way? What did you learn from them?
DM: I am always learning and making mistakes. If you are not making mistakes you are not moving forward. A few mistakes we have learned from is to create a better capital structure. It’s very difficult to open and maintain quality when you are undercapitalized. If you have a bad store that you know can’t be turned around, get out of it; don’t put good money after bad. Hiring is an area that is always difficult in our business. Finding honest, intelligent and dedicated managers to help us grow is an area where we spend a great deal of time. The mistake of hiring the wrong person can cost thousands. We have learned a lot in the past 13 years since opening the very first Kildare’s. We continue to focus on being better operators and to improve our operations every day.
Do you have any future expansion plans at this time?
DM: We are opening a Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House in Sea Isle City, which is very exciting. It will also include a 5,000-square-foot ballroom called the Breakwaters. Most of our focus moving forward is the expansion of the Harvest brand. We love the brand; the guest response has been fantastic and the economics work. It also is a feel-good brand for us. We love serving healthy food, working with local farmers and helping the environment while making a profit. We are very proud of Harvest and we feel we can expand while maintaining our commitment to our guests, our employees, our farmers and our environment.
Being a part of the community is important. Any supported charities you’d like to promote?
DM: We do a lot with the National Kidney Foundation, the Nemours Foundation (5% of our Harvest Kids’ menu goes back to Nemours) and several local charities.
Care to share something that would surprise our readers about Dave Magrogan?
DM: I invest a lot in people. I tend to trust people I hire or work with to do the right thing. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong. I also don’t think about the competition. I love watching people who have worked for me go out on their own and open their own restaurants. I’m proud of how many people have worked at DMG and gone on to open their own business or be an entrepreneur. It’s inspiring to see people carry on the rhino philosophy in their careers after DMG, and charge at their goals. Success creates more success. So, I am always happy to see other people succeed.
- Photos: Dave Magrogan Group
