At many restaurants, speaking Spanish is a sure sign of a limited future. Dishwashers and prep cooks from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Central and South America often don’t get a shot at the higher paying, higher prestige jobs of sous chef, chef de cuisine, or executive chef. Not so in Emilio Gervilla’s family of tapas restaurants. “All of my chefs originally worked with me at Ba-Ba-Reeba!,” says Gervilla, “and they’re all Spanish-speaking Mexican guys.” It’s easier to communicate in Spanish, he says, and he makes a point of giving his staff opportunities they rarely get in other kitchens. “I tell them that if they work hard, they’ll succeed,” he says. “I worked my way up on my own and I tell them they can do it, too.”
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Gervilla has opened ten restaurants in 18 years, closed two, and sold off three, but he didn’t start out to be a restaurant mogul. Born in Granada, in southeast Spain, he started cooking at age 14 in his grandfather’s tapas bar and bakery. He began studying for the priesthood but, a few years later, he abandoned this plan and toured Spain, cooking along the way at restaurants in Barcelona, Majorca, Madrid, and Pamplona. In 1970 a friend convinced him to take a position with the Commodore Line, aboard one of the first luxury Caribbean cruise ships. He stayed at sea for three years, then settled in Florida in 1973. He spent the next six years working as executive chef in various hotels and restaurants in Tampa, Sarasota, and Clearwater, where he met his wife, Ann Marie.
Gervilla strictly channeled the revenue from each restaurant into the next, never depending on investors. “Once you get investors,” he says, “you have to report to them for every move you make. I wanted to do it all on my own.” He also opened only in former restaurant spaces to minimize his overhead costs. In 1998 he and his partners split up, and he sold them Bistro Banlieue, Meson Sabika, and Emilio’s Granada. “I’m not greedy; I’d rather be happy,” he says. “It’s not so much about money to me….Chicago is now the tapas capital of the country.” Of the tapas places in the area–nine in all–only two are independent of his influence: Arco de Cuchilleros on Halsted and Tapas Barcelona in Evanston. Even River North’s popular Cafe Iberico is a member of the extended family–the chef, Dario Lagoa, is a protege of his from the Hillside Emilio’s.
Emilio’s Tapas Sol y Nieve is at 215 E. Ohio, 312-467-7177.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jim Newberry.
