Lettuce Entertain You's Rich Melman Explains How He Collaborates with Chefs

It’s an age-old story. Chef meets partner. They get to know each other, then make it official and create a partnership. The fun part comes early: they visit restaurants and share ideas on dishes and music and wine glasses. Then they sign a lease and the work begins: construction, staffing, technology, equipment. As the opening looms, they revisit those texts and ideas sketched on bar napkins to finalize details. At some point, the menu becomes a...