Ilene Polansky has been a business owner close to 25 years now, and she still manages the floor and works as a waitress at her St-Laurent Boulevard restaurant, Maestro SVP. In the heart of a city known for its culinary diversity, it was Ilene who was first in bringing the idea of an oyster bar to Montreal, having come up with the idea after working in a Toronto seafood restaurant years earlier. Along with her chef, Yves Therrien, who incredibly has been with her for 21 strong years, Ilene has built a solid reputation as one of the city’s top destinations for seafood and oysters.
Maestro SVP first opened in 1982 on Masson Street in Rosemont before moving to St-Laurent Boulevard 21 years ago. Primarily known for its oysters and mussels, their menu has a wide variety of delectable options to choose from, from tuna tartar, to scallops, crab and seafood pasta.
Ilene is charming, outgoing and highly determined. Not only does she manage the floor at Maestro SVP, but she is a one-woman show, managing the menu, doing the accounting and running the restaurant’s Facebook page. Her hard work has paid off, as the place is packed every Saturday night, one of Montreal’s weekend hot spots. A lot of Ilene’s success can be credited to her early understanding of the importance of Social Media.
“Before the internet, twenty years ago, I would be in my father’s office photocopying flyers and ads before distributing them door-to-door; that’s what you did in those days. I used to do everything I could in order to get my name in every magazine, on the radio, in the newspaper, anything I could to get my name out there,” Ilene recalls. “Then the internet came along, and I created a website for the restaurant, and worked that angle for a while. But Facebook is by far the greatest invention ever.”
She takes diligent care of her Facebook page: “A picture is worth a thousand words. I try to present as much of our food as I can in a fun way. Creativity is important in order to stand out on Social Media.” Her Facebook Live videos are a favourite of her followers; whether it’s shucking oysters or showing off a variety of menu staples, each video gets between a thousand and twenty-two thousand views.
For Ilene, running her restaurant’s Facebook page allows her to personalize her interactions with her clientele. “The whole point of Facebook is interaction. If a client leaves you a comment and you do not reply, they’ll go somewhere else. People have to understand that even though it involves a lot of hard work and is very time consuming, everybody deserves a reply.”
Her active presence on Social Media also allows her clientele a glimpse of the personality and charm behind Maestro SVP: “I’m a very humble person, but there has to be someone behind the pictures. If they know that I’m the owner, it makes the restaurant more human. Not everything has to be business all the time. I like to show my customers the human side of me, which I believe is very important.” Along with the business side of things, Ilene routinely posts pictures of her dog, who a lot of her customers mention once they sit down at their tables.
“The reverse is also true. A good way for me to get customers is to go interact with them on Facebook. It’s nice to get likes on Facebook, but it’s also nice to go comment on their pictures as well. I’ve gained a lot of customers this way.”
While Social Media is essential to the business, the other side of the equation and of equal importance is the food. The Maestro Platter is her restaurant’s spotlight dish: it’s a meal for three that
includes calamari, coconut shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels and five different dipping sauces; a great dish to share. Her oysters are so beloved that there is competition among the patrons: the latest record is 40 dozen oysters, devoured in just over two hours. Record holders get a special mention on Facebook and spot on their website.
For Ilene, things are going great. She is showing no signs of slowing down. She is one of the few business owners who not only grasped the concept of Social Media from the very beginning, but used it to her advantage successfully. “Facebook has become a necessary part of running a restaurant, of running any business actually.” Maestro SVP has grown to be a success, both in the culinary world and the digital one.
Make sure to connect with Maestro S.V.P, Dave Trentadue & Eleven Waves