It may be 3 a.m., but Steve Mucha has already begun to fervently chop vegetables.
“In making fresh, from-scratch foods. You can’t take shortcuts; people can tell,” said Mucha, who owns Word of Mouth Neighborhood Bistro with his wife, Becky.
Open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, the Word of Mouth team toils behind the scenes nearly non-stop, churning out around 300 plates a day. From 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., Mucha works alone in anticipation of the day. He begins by perusing the restaurant’s coolers and preparing vegetables and fresh soups.
“Over the years, you don’t like canned products,” noted Mucha. “There’s a lot from scratch [at Word of Mouth].”
His day is timed to talk radio. When one program starts, he hopes to have begun one task; by the end of another, he ought to have finished a second task.
“It’s how I listen to the news,” Mucha said, meanwhile racing to pick up a menu.
“Sometimes I have to look at the menu to remember the difference between the veggie hash and the veggie burger,” Mucha said. “Otherwise I’ve got my routine memorized.”
Chopping broccoli for the day’s hash, Mucha stood surrounded by a myriad of fresh vegetables from red onions to zucchini.
“With the hashes, veggie burgers, biscuits and soups there is a lot you could do ahead, but we want [our food] to be fresh every day,” Mucha said.
Consequentially, each day presents a guessing game. Should he make too much food, it may go to waste, but make too little, and Mucha runs the risk of disappointing customers. Nonetheless, he considers the risk a worthy price for fresh food.
“We make what we think we’ll need,” Mucha said. “So there’s a chance of things running out but that’s okay.”
Meanwhile, a vat of potatoes boils in the background as Mucha squeezes through his kitchen.
“We have this really tall and skinny kitchen, because it was built for me,” Mucha explained.
The abnormally rangy kitchen is one physical manifestation of how Word of Mouth is the product of many years’ experience. The menu serves as another.
“Throughout the years, you come up with recipes and add them to your repitoire,” Mucha said. “It’s a combination of things others don’t have, and things that customers like.”
Such as the turkey burger, Mucha noted. “I got that off Oprah,” he said through laughter. “It’s very labor-intensive, but it’s really good.”
Unlike other chefs, Mucha’s years of experience have been his only teacher.
“I almost had a degree in law enforcement. But my uncorrected vision was too bad,” Mucha said.
A bartender during his schooling, Mucha opted to continue in food services, eventually owning Busick Court, the Brick Bar & Broiler, and the Pointe Downtown for a few years each before taking a job on Catalina Island in California.
In season, he found himself serving hundreds of plates, but with few customers in the winter, Mucha took the time to play around.
“There’s nothing else to do but experiment with food. We’d make the specials really hard,” Mucha said. “For some crazy reason, we still make those dishes here.”
After leaving Catalina Island, Mucha opened Word of Mouth on Dec. 15, 2008. “I remember, a car would pull up and we would get all excited — a customer!”
But now the staff find themselves so busy that they have no time to notice the constant influx of cars.
“There’s lots of regulars but I’m still amazed at the number of new people,” said Mucha, who intends on adding outdoor seating to accommodate the burgeoning crowds.
“I’m hoping to expand next summer,” Mucha says, concurrently in the midst of preparing the day’s cioppino.”I’m boiling shrimp shells for stock along with fish trimmings, calimari, halibut, clams and mussels.”
Between his daily morning preparations and long-term plans, it’s a wonder whether he ever stops to relax.
“I take one day off to re-energize. I could take two days off but it doesn’t feel right. Do I drive my people crazy?” Mucha joked. “We have fun as long as the work gets done.”
So, Mucha continues to make haste around his kitchen. He could likely navigate it with his eyes closed.
“One time while at Busick Court, I wanted to see how much coffee I drank in a shift by hanging [the empty cups] from the shelf. By the time I was done — fifteen cups,” Mucha said. “But now I’m down to five.”
Fueled by caffeine or not, he exudes passion for Word of Mouth.
“No one cares like the owner cares, although I have really good guys,” Mucha said.
Such effort translates into quality food for the customers, in a place that might not otherwise catch their eye.
“It’s the only way you’ll know of this place, word of mouth,” laughed Mucha. “[Such a name], it’s kind of ballsy, kind of dangerous.”
Mucha concludes his work at the sandwich bar. It may be just another day at Word of Mouth, but Mucha has found his mecca.
“I think if anyone opens a business, you’ve got to make the money and everything, but it can’t be the focus,” Mucha noted. “You’ve got to love it.”
