Robb Lindsey of Whiskey Cake

May 24, 2021August 4, 2022 by eskca

An exclusive eskca interview with Robb Lindsey (managing partner) of Whiskey Cake, which was honored in our:

Tell us your origin story. How did you come to be involved with Whiskey Cake?

I guess you could say I’m a bit of an extremist when it comes to my passions. I was born in Kansas City and studied orchestral percussion from an early age. I got pretty good and ended up taking a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, all the while knowing I wanted to end up doing something else (a war correspondent or lawyer). I ended up ditching the music path and the scholarship after only one semester and hadn’t quite put two and two together that I would of course be giving up my scholarship and be paying out-of-state tuition. Then I stumbled into a degree in the Classics Department called Letters, which I took to like a fish to water – except, maybe, for Latin classes. Meanwhile, I worked part time as a dishwasher and line cook at a little Italian joint while taking over 20 hours per semester, eventually graduating with my degree in 3 years.

That all was a bit intense, so I took a break year to work, save money, and consider law school. My best friend and fellow line cook and I moved to OKC, and I got a job as a bar back at Vast, that little old restaurant atop the Devon Tower. They invested a ton in me and taught me how to tend bar and eventually made me the Head Bartender. I was lucky in a sense that I didn’t ever “grow up” with any of the habits outside of the craft cocktail realm. Eventually, I moved over to the O Bar at the Ambassador and then to WSKY Lounge. At WSKY, they allowed me to create an apprenticeship program with the great team over there, a 16 week grind to train some of the best bartenders and managers in town. Then Whiskey Cake came calling. They hired me as a first time manager but I quickly knew that this would be my career. What I didn’t know was that my knack for operations and my passion for people would move me out of the bar and into an even more rewarding calling as the eventual Managing Partner here. In the past two years, we’ve grown through some minor challenges: turning into a grocery store for a bit, then back into a restaurant, then back into a very busy restaurant. But I’ve got the absolute best team beside me and we’ve had fun through it all.

What were the biggest hurdles you encountered in your journey?

We’ve certainly had an interesting past year in the restaurant business! When the pandemic hit, we took a different approach than most and actually shut down our kitchen. We utilized our local vendors to sell Quarantine Survival Kits of local groceries and the odd roll of toilet paper. We went through so much damn toilet paper. I have to say I’ve got the best Chef Partner in the planet in Aaron Jenkins. And the two of us were so, so lucky to have the amazing team of managers around us. It was a literal mountain of a job.

Every day we would show up early, unpack a filled walk-in with just a few of us, figure out what was what, refill the walk-in in an organized way, and then figure out what kit to throw together of raw groceries for the crazy line of cars that would show up by 10AM. It was nuts. We did this every single day for a couple months, eventually getting enough revenue to bring our badass team of hourly employees back while giving them the generous tips this city paid us. We’ve always prided ourselves in giving back to the community, but this was such an insanely rewarding experience. We lived out our brand’s DNA in real time and were so supported by the amazing guests who needed groceries and wanted to support our local vendors.

What does the future hold for you and Whiskey Cake?

I’m extremely excited about our future at Whiskey Cake. We’ve got such an amazing team who really get the “why” of what we do here in the hospitality industry. We’ve fared far better than most restaurants because of our amazing team. We’ve been so lucky while also working our tails off. We are ready to lead this state and this industry in defining what things like local sourcing, ethical business practices, creativity, and upward mobility can be.

What are your thoughts on the food scene in Oklahoma City?

In my eyes, the food scene in OKC has never been better. When you look at the strengths of this town with its amazingly rich Asian District and cuisine, our beer and patio culture, the ridiculously delicious Cafe Kacao, and some of the independent fine dining restaurants…it’s pretty impressive. We also have some real creatives in OKC’s restaurant peeps. I’m proud to be peers with them.

What’s your best advice for aspiring restaurateurs?

I’m still young enough that not a ton of people tend to look to me for advice, but once I get a couple grey hairs and people care to ask me about this industry, I’ll have a couple things to say. Invest in people. Choose to give people the benefit of the doubt. Love your guests. Fiercely protect your team. Embrace the suck. This job is one of the toughest jobs around, but those who do well tend to have the most fun when it’s chaotic. Be adaptable. Laugh.

Our readers love recommendations! What’s your favorite dish at Whiskey Cake?

My favorite dish at Whiskey Cake would definitely have to be our Rotisserie Farm Bird. It’s who we are in a nutshell. Source locally from a great vendor, respect the ingredients, don’t be too fancy, and let the food do the talking. We source our birds from Country Squire Farms and give them 51 hours of love. It’s a 24 hour brine, 24 hour marinade utilizing local herbs, and then a few hours on the rotisserie until the skin is browned and perfectly crispy. It’s as farm-to-fork as it gets.