Emmy Kaplan of Emmy's Spaghetti Shack, Part 2

In this episode, Emmy picks up where she left off in Part 1, with the story of opening her own place.

She'd been kicking around the idea of opening her own restaurant. Her classmates had more or less shot it down. Her dad, a restaurant-owner himself, wasn't crazy about the idea either. He couldn't see her raising the kind of money she'd need.

But Emmy started saving. And saving. And saving. She worked on getting her credit score up. And in 2001, one of her dad's spots had an opening coming up. She decided to go for it.

Her partner at the time was a bartender and she asked him to collaborate. They menu planned, got their supplies, hired a chef, brought in decorations Emmy already had, and opened the doors. About a week before they opened, Emmy found out she was pregnant.

She waitressed well throughout her pregnancy, in fact. And after she had her kid, she'd serve tables carrying the child. Maybe some of you reading this will remember that unforgettable and awesome sight.

Emmy says that having her own child inspired her to make her restaurant kid-friendly. But she always wanted to also cater to late-night service industry workers—her friends, essentially. And so she'd bring in DJs in the later hours.

We talk a little about shopping at thrift stores back in the '80s and '90s. Emmy intentionally decorated the place with stuff she'd find at shops that used to exist in San Francisco back then.

Emmy's dad was a tough landlord. He noticed the clumps of folks waiting to get into the Spaghetti Shack and responded by raising his daughter's rent. This happened enough times to prompt Emmy to look for a new location. About eight years ago, she opened in a new space—this time on Mission Street in the former El Zocalo space. The story of how Emmy got the space is one you just gotta hear.

The bigger space meant shorter wait times for diners. In the move, they were closed only one day. We discuss the importance for Emmy of keeping the menu and the decor the same between spaces. Jeff will attest that they've been 100 percent successful at that. One difference is a much bigger kitchen, which has allowed them to expand the menu.

We talk about some of the folks who've worked at Emmy's over the years and then gone on to open restaurants of their own. Sarah and Josey of Front Porch and Jay of Farmer Brown's (among others) come to Emmy's mind.

The conversation inevitably ends up touching on the pandemic. Emmy goes into detail about the struggles that her and other restaurants continue to face. Things like mounting debt due to a lack of government assistance continue to take their toll. Emmy says she's able to retain staff and keep paying them and that's her take-away.

We end the episode with Emmy's thoughts on what it means to still be here in San Francisco running a business.

Follow Emmy's on Twitter and Instagram. Their current hours are Friday/Saturday, 5–9:30; Tues.-Thurs./Sunday 5–8:30; Monday takeout only.

We recorded this podcast at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in the Mission in April 2022.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather