Friday Saturday Sunday

The Friday Saturday Sunday Story It was the most improbable of beginnings. In a business known for it?s high failure rate, Friday Saturday Sunday Restaurant was launched on a dare: Jay Gubin dared Weaver Lilley and Arnie Roberts to open a restaurant with him by each putting $2000.00 into a hat. Jay Gubin, a brilliant concept person, was the perennial entrepreneur. Arnie Roberts, a ?natural? marketing whiz, was also one of the best ad designers in the city. Weaver Lilley, a photographer with a keen eye, was shooting some of the most exciting ads in town. What did they know about restaurants? Not a great deal, but they were able to open a restaurant that has one of the longest and most successful track records in Philadelphia. Of course, $6000 was not enough. It would require the additional help of four more partners (making the total investment a very modest $14000). One of those partners was the first Chef, Tommy Hunter. He eventually left FSS with Jay to start the Restaurant School. Jeanine Autret was a journalist and contributor to the Philadelphia Bulletin. Bud Bretschneider, a carpenter, was responsible for the construction of the restaurant. Annie Perrier, was the wife of George Perrier, chef and owner of Le Bec Fin. Although she had not worked in a restaurant, she brought along a great deal of George?s help and her own terrific sense of humor. Back in those days, a sense of humor was an important thing. The physical plant was ancient. The refrigeration was supplied by a series of second hand apartment refrigerators lined-up in a row. Desserts were being carried in from Jeanine?s apartment kitchen up the street. Everybody was over educated. The dishwasher had a PhD. The entire wait staff had college degrees. But except for Tom Hunter, no one had been trained for what they were about to do. A crash course in the running of a restaurant was about to begin. It was very difficult but we had a lot of fun. Six months after the restaurant?s opening, on a Sa...