Outlook Magazine - Fall 2016

ALUMNI NEWS

Roman has enjoyed 23 years as co-owner of a ‘top’ Chicago restaurant

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or the past 15 years, the UW-Stout Alumni Association has gone right to the top for its annual spring Chicago get-together — the Signature Room at the 95th atop

With 45 people including eight chefs on the culinary team, part of a staff of 260, new ideas are tweaked for months before they reach the menu. Roman is part of the review panel. “I don’t have a culinary background, but I love food and try to approach it from a guest perspective,” Roman said. Roman realized soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that the local customer base was strong. The tower was closed the next day. When it reopened Sept. 13, with people understandably jittery about being in a skyscraper, just two customers showed up. “Tourism dried up and there was no business travel. We relied on patronage from local guests, and (soon) they came in droves, as if to say ‘we’re standing behind you,’” Roman said. Roman’s love for the restaurant industry was cultivated at UW-Stout, where he was part of the nationally known Haute Cuisine dinners and found nurturing professors such as Jafar Jafari, Lee Nichols and Phil McGuirk. “UW-Stout was the preparation ground for me, no question about it. I had the chance to put into practice what I learned in the classroom,” he said. He found another love at UW-Stout, Susan Mark Roman, a 1980 hospitality program graduate. They married and had two children before she passed away in 2012. She was an “instrumental” part of the restaurant for more than 20 years finding talented staff members as human resources director, Roman said.

the John Hancock Center on Michigan Avenue.

Why? There’s the view – the best in Chicago. There’s the food — rated some of the best in a city known for its fine restaurants. And there’s the host — restaurant co-owner Rick Roman, who graduated from UW-Stout in 1982 in hotel, restaurant and tourism management. While Roman provides an additional draw for the Alumni Association, the Signature Room at the 95th has scored high marks for the past 23 years relying on its main attractions — fine dining with a bird’s-eye view of the Windy City. It’s been a winning combination since 1993 when Roman, who worked there for nine years after college, and a business partner bought the restaurant. With 340 seats and 27,000 square feet, the Signature Room at the 95th is one of the city’s biggest upscale eateries. In 2015 more than 730,000 customers visited the restaurant and accompanying lounge, which occupies the 96th floor. Among the customers over the years have been two presidents — the Obamas had their first date there — and plenty of celebrities and sports stars, such as Michael Jordan. Roman has enjoyed the challenge of running a high-profile restaurant in a highly competitive industry. “The biggest challenge we have is to always maintain the vision we had when we created the restaurant. If we do that then we’re probably going to be successful,” Roman said. “We’re constantly trying to reinvent ourselves. It’s very exciting when you hit something out of the park. Most of the time it’s just understanding our customer better.” The restaurant focuses on food and drink first — trend- setting American cuisine relying heavily on local growers, a top-notch American wine list and craft brews — and then its view. “When we took it over we wanted it to be a restaurant owned by Chicagoans for Chicagoans and where they’d be proud to bring their guests and where visitors also could enjoy it,” Roman said.

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