Michael Lugo’s attention to detail a perfect fit at Opus 39 Restaurant and Food Gallery
St. Augustine, Fla. – At Opus 39 Restaurant and Food Gallery, a
high-end dining destination that features a five-course menu that
changes daily and a gallery of selections from small production
boutique wineries, impeccable service is especially important. Because
of the unique concept at this restaurant owned by executive chef
Michael McMillan and his wife, Christine, educating guests about the
cutting edge cuisine and the small production wines is invaluable.
Michael Lugo, who is Opus 39’s front-of-the-house manager, plays an
integral role in implementing these service standards.
“Remarkable food and presentation is crucial for a restaurant, but it
must be equally accompanied by exceptional service. I feel we have that
here, and Michael is instrumental in that,” McMillan said. “His
attention to detail is impressive. Even if he sees a customer who may
not have been here for awhile, he remembers the kind of wine they like
and what they have ordered. It makes guests feel welcomed and
appreciated.”
Lugo, who studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of
North Texas, started in the restaurant industry as a server for a
Pappas Restaurant Group brand in Dallas, and it wasn’t long before he
climbed the ladder to head waiter, trainer and then kitchen manager.
After a stint as bar manager at Joe’s Carb Shack, he entered the fine
dining category in a management role for Food Star Restaurant Group in
Texas and the Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House in Dallas. There, he
worked for seven years and cultivated an in-depth knowledge of wines as
a wine steward, educating guests about the restaurant’s 1,000 bottle
wine list.
When he and his wife longed for a slower pace of life, they decided to
move to St. Augustine, where her family resides. They opened a Curve’s
fitness franchise, which she now operates, but Lugo yearned for a
return to the excitement of a fine dining restaurant. He met McMillan
in August 2003, started as a server and was promoted to his current
position. Now McMilland and Lugo are exploring a new restaurant concept
in northeast Florida.
“It has been a longtime ambition of mine to own a restaurant, but I
wanted to open it with someone who had experience in the industry, and
with someone who I trust and respect,” Lugo explained. “Opus 39 is the
type of concept you would typically see in a major metropolitan area.
It is innovative and cutting edge. That is what we would like to do
with another concept as well.”
From the fresh ingredients that compose McMillan’s creative cuisine,
and the rare selections from small production boutique wineries
available in the wine room, to the market that sells ingredients from
items on the menu and the locally produced works that adorn the walls,
Opus 39 is a sanctuary of imaginative art, wine and cuisine.
Opus is Latin for a creative work that defines the artist. Creativity
is essential for the Opus 39 concept, which features a five-course
tasting menu that changes daily. The menu is determined by the best
ingredients that are available. McMillan - who operates the restaurant
with his wife, Christine – selects produce from an organic farm in
Ocala and a stand in Hastings, and buys the freshest seafood, beef and
game possible on a daily basis. Then he creates the menu for that night
by 3 p.m.
“The five-course menu gives us the flexibility of working with the
finest ingredients that are available that day rather than being locked
into buying the same ingredients over and over again,” said McMillan,
who opened Opus 39 with Christine in 2003 after serving as executive
chef and general manager of the esteemed La Parisienne in St.
Augustine. “The ingredients are carefully selected, and then the menu
is set after we know what we have to create with that day.”
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