A Note From The "Worst Idea Ever" Chefs

Welcome to the latest installment of the Food Republic serial, The Worst Idea Ever?, in which chefs Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan set out to open a restaurant in Houston, Texas as Pilot Light Restaurant Group.

I think there is a moment for anyone about to launch a new business, when the idea of it actually feels right. Everyone talks about what they would want to do and how they would do it, but taking the leap is a completely different story.

Last August, Terrence Gallivan, myself, and Justin Yu launched a restaurant for a month. We planned the dishes, we booked the reservations and we worked our asses off. But, we didn't do it alone. In fact, the only reason we were able to come to Houston and begin our dream of opening up a restaurant, was because our friend Andrew Rebori handed us the keys to his.

Just Dinner, his restaurant housed in a Montrose bungalow, was a neighborhood legend and it wasn't just because of the food. Cute, quaint and with a friendly staff, Just Dinner was everything a local restaurant should be. It was outstanding because of what Andrew Rebori made it. Because of Andrew, patrons became friends, because of Andrew people wanted to be a part of his restaurant and because of Andrew they kept coming back.

We've come a long way since moving back to Houston, and putting together this restaurant project. None of that could have been possible without Andrew Rebori giving us the opportunity to cook in his restaurant last year and get an idea of what might be possible. Andrew passed away last week. He was an amazing host, restauranteur, and friend.

Read the previous installment of The Worst Idea Ever.