Tonya J. Long: 0:03

Hello everyone and welcome to our not so standard venue for RESET with Tonya. I'm here with Reena Miglani, one of my most favorite people that I met during my time with a women's organization here in the Bay Area, and Reena and I we just had a I will call it a soul connection and we don't see each other much. But that's the beauty of true connection is you don't have to see each other all the time to still recognize the value of being together.

Reena Miglani: 0:42

Right and we are able to pick it up whenever we meet and even seeing each other on social media and kind of feeling that soul connection and kind of being proud of each other, of all the our journey and all that we've achieved.

Tonya J. Long: 0:58

Yeah, I have been following you for several months now. We, by the way, where are we? We are in Belmont, California, mid-peninsula, at Amara. Amara is a Mediterranean fusion restaurant that Reena has just opened three months ago, four months ago, three months ago yes, Okay, so three months ago and I mean you guys have got to come here.

Tonya J. Long: 1:21

This is, it is exquisite, and I followed you online and that journey, it's a I would call it a radical departure from what you were doing. Yeah, yeah, RESET is all about transitions. This is the most beautiful transition. It is exquisite. It is truly remarkable and is a creative side of you that you probably never used or never knew exist. Oh, I love this, so tell us what, what the transition was for you, for you to do your reinvention?

Reena Miglani: 1:56

Sure, sure so, and I spent more than two decades in various roles at tech company, mostly on the business side, supporting sales, sales, engineering, go to market strategy, all around software, working on different industries, and then, late in 2023, got the sad news that most of my team and myself were being told to let you know, go find, find it, figure out what you need to do, because it's bye-bye, sayonara from that position. And it was hard, it was. It felt really hard, especially when you've been with the company for so long. I keep telling my husband I think that's what a divorce would feel like.

Reena Miglani: 2:43

It was that painful and after some time off, much needed relaxation, I went back to corporate, did a few months of chief operating officer role at a smaller manufacturing company manufacturing company and then, in the meantime, my husband and I, who have, who had become empty nesters around the advent of COVID, had been meaning to spend more time with each other. We had always thought of expanding our family business. So my husband, who's also an ex-techie, but left that side of the world two decades back, he wised up quicker than he did, he did and I think he was put on it on this earth to be his own boss from day one, so he figured it out pretty early in his career.

Reena Miglani: 3:30

So he owned two successful restaurants in the Bay Area and then we decided to expand and signed the lease at this location, this gorgeous location in Belmont, which is in Belmont Hills, close to 101 corridor, 280 corridor. So we felt it's a great location and the outside garden, the inside of the restaurant just showed a lot of potential to us. So we signed the lease and then that's when I formally joined the family business yes, and then almost of a year of finding, you know, doing many things to bring it to life. We are here at the beginning of 2025 and we have our I call this my grandchild. First, two restaurants were like my two kids and now we've learned so much and now we are the grandparents for.

Tonya J. Long: 4:25

Amara, and I love that you embrace it. So many women our age kind of aren't ready to say that they can have grandchildren, but you're like just racing into it that you know. I'm, it's my grandchild so. I love that. What? What these listeners can't appreciate clearly they see behind us that you've got a couple of different waterfalls, this lush lush. What do you call this back area?

Reena Miglani: 4:50

We call it actually just Amara's Garden.

Tonya J. Long: 4:53

And I want to emphasize garden just because it's truly a garden.

Reena Miglani: 4:56

You go to so many outdoor spaces. There are patios or something off the street. This is really an Oasis. You need to walk through my I call this amara's dining room an extension of my living room, so you're actually walking through the living room, coming to the back of the restaurant and then walking downstairs into the garden.

Tonya J. Long: 5:15

I wish that my personal living room was designed and had the decor of your extended living room, because that's what strikes me about this, and all through the process on social media, because you brought your community. You know, we came from a multi-thousand person community where we met um and you came from a. I don't know how many people are at your prior company, but it's one of the largest companies on the peninsula has been around for decades, yeah, um.

Tonya J. Long: 5:44

So you have a huge network and you shared that with us as you were designing and building this you know, you were showing me some of the rooms down here in the garden and you were so proud of what you had designed and I don't know that you ever considered yourself creative before you had an opportunity to put this together.

Reena Miglani: 6:07

No, actually I did not, because you know, working in technology and software, you never really realize there is actually a creativity there, especially when you're designing a user experience and all that. But you really don't think of yourself as an artist and all that. But you really don't think of yourself as an artist. And you know, when I was in that in-between sabbatical for sabbatical, I started to get acclimated more with design, started following some amazing influencers, the thousands of followers, and starting started to experiment some of their way of arranging flowers and objects in my house and start to see how much I enjoy that. And I'm so, I feel so lucky that I got the opportunity to then bring that to Amara's design aesthetics.

Reena Miglani: 6:57

And when I was designing Amara for me, I kept thinking to the life in the Bay Area, in Silicon Valley, how Hurried we are and how, as opposed to our life here, when you're in the Mediterranean, those vacations, that way of life is so laid-back and how do I bring that here, even if it's for a couple of hours? So I designed the space to feel like once you enter Amara, you will. It's a sensory experience. We have a scent that we designed to make you feel relaxed. The colors that we chose just the different textures, how they come into play. I want people to come in without us saying anything, their shoulders to drop you designed the scent.

Tonya J. Long: 7:47

Yes, saying anything their shoulders to drop. You designed the scent. Yes, I designed. When I, when I walked through, I thought I was gonna ask you this is yummy, so and it's, and it's perfect. Thank so, there's not a detail that you didn't have a direct hand and creatively designing this exquisite. That's just the word that keeps coming to me because it's so beautiful.

Reena Miglani: 8:07

And thank you, I'm so proud for you, thank you, thank you and as I said it was something that I wanted to open up for our community, not just belmont but beyond, in this bay area where you have this hard way of life, why not come in, you know, spend couple of hours with us and just feel relaxed? That's, that was what I was going for, and the other thing that I was thinking is you know, we have this notion, we all do where we save our best China, best silverware for what one day yes, I want us to change that thought process and use the best things you have every day.

Reena Miglani: 8:43

So that's why the space, the food it uses, the best ingredient, it looks the most beautiful. It feels like paradise, but it's not paradise for one day. It's paradise that you enjoy every day.

Tonya J. Long: 8:55

Okay, well, I'll be here for dinner tomorrow night. It's um, it is really convenient. I mean it's halfway between San Jose and.

Reena Miglani: 9:05

San.

Tonya J. Long: 9:05

Francisco and it's just a mile and a half or so, I think, off the freeway and you don't realize when you pull up what you're going to be coming into yes, it's almost a surprise. Yes, because it is so grand and I'm, so I'm. It was so ambitious of you to do this right, but it's a it's clearly a passion project definitely, definitely, and I'm so.

Reena Miglani: 9:31

I am feeling so lucky that those who come in really appreciate it and the convenience of being close to you, know the silicon valleys, different hubs, whether it's biotech or vc corridor, and you don't have to look for parking so no, that is that was yeah. Yeah, I will not go off on my parking tangent and then, once you're in here, our staff is there's a big focus on hospitality. It's not service, it's beyond, it's hospitality. As I said, I tell them it's extension of our living room.

Tonya J. Long: 10:05

Yeah.

Reena Miglani: 10:05

So you need to. If I'm not there doesn't mean that people are not guests at my home.

Tonya J. Long: 10:11

One of your team brought us water earlier and he was just delightful, you could tell he enjoys serving people.

Reena Miglani: 10:18

He wants to take care of people and it's.

Tonya J. Long: 10:21

It's really when you curate that kind of team and I think that we had experiences in leadership where people who come through other trajectories like if you had done restaurant hearing all of your life, you would have had a different approach. But we have really had experience to learn how to lead people, how to manage how to motivate and inspire people, and so I can see why you would have a team that's very happy to be here with you.

Reena Miglani: 10:52

Yes, and it's very important. I tell them come in here and let's have our eyes and ears and all our senses working. Don't be robotic Every day is different.

Tonya J. Long: 11:02

This is not transactional.

Reena Miglani: 11:03

Yes, Bring your whole self in Watch what you're doing. You are a salesman when you're approaching the table, but it's not about the sales. You want to make sure it's about the customer. Yes, the sales it's. You want to make sure it's about the customer. So, bringing in, as you said, you know, all the skills that we learn working and managing big teams intact and also learning from some of not super experiences we had, that we build teams with, build cultures that are sustainable, not just for us, not for profit-making, but just for the community, for your staff, for what they bring to the customers so I love it.

Tonya J. Long: 11:40

Mm-hmm, let's talk a little about community. Mm-hmm, this is three months old, so you are just starting to build community here, I mentioned earlier, you came from very, very large corporate entity yeah that you came from, and then, of course, you and I met through a pretty large community of female executives here on the it's, it's national, but but but a large group here. I think community is critical to everything that we do especially as we evolve, being able to curate all those different components of what has been important in our lives and bringing those communities along with us as you've transitioned.

Tonya J. Long: 12:27

What have you brought forward from your past communities, or what are you planning to? This is young, right, so how does that look for you in terms of using this as a vehicle to build community?

Reena Miglani: 12:40

So you know, if you talk about community, there is just so many aspects that I can probably talk about that for an hour. But first thing that I'll start with not just what I want to do with this space, that I want people to realize that you know a table at a restaurant is not just a table. The restaurant tours and the people behind that actually bring that to the community, to help you bring to build a community around, to create an experience you meet your friends there.

Reena Miglani: 13:11

The day you don't want to cook, you go out. You celebrate your birthdays, your special milestone. So, first of all, restaurants are a community builder space and that's kind of what I've started to realize. Okay, secondly, the community that we are in and the space that Amara is in itself has a rich history which we are slowly finding out. We had operators before us and slowly we've had people come in and tell us. We had a board meeting and one of the gentlemen who was part of the company's board told us that his granddaddy in early 60s owned a Chinese restaurant here and he showed us pictures and this gentleman was in his 70s showed pictures of him playing here as a kid.

Reena Miglani: 13:57

Then we had another lady just knock the door. We closed on Monday. She goes. She was knocking. I thought that was a customer looking to find out if we're open for lunch. She comes in and says, hey, I'm so-and-so and I used to be the GM of Pinebrook Inn and I know Pinebrook Inn was a German restaurant in this space and big about a big in this community. Yes, a lot of our customers still come in and talk about Klaus who was the owner and chef, his family and what a community they had built.

Tonya J. Long: 14:28

So there's a rich history there and it becomes a shared experience yeah, because you're in this space and it connects you to what people did in the 60s and 70s in this space. I love that they're stopping by.

Reena Miglani: 14:39

Right, and you know other operators who've been here. They've been coming in, they've sent us emails, they've sent us old pictures. In fact I want to do a board with a flow chart of all the history. I know you know right where, you know the hallway leading up to the restrooms, and then people in the community will see and probably they'll bring us something else. So that's one thing. The other thing is, you know this is a beautiful space. People like to come in celebrate their milestones. I just ordered a Polaroid camera. I want to take everybody's picture celebrating, give them one and put one on our little board.

Reena Miglani: 15:13

So I think that's right building community, taking memories and experiences and capturing those right, so that love it and coming from you know the big tech side, so that's the b2c angle of our business. From a b2b perspective, you know 50 of the restaurant is built for then that part of the community, people having a lovely space with amazing service and food for board meetings, which we're starting to see some of that Nice, this beautiful garden.

Reena Miglani: 15:41

here we had another event where people did a cocktail, passed hors d'oeuvres. They enjoyed this mingling. Then they went up for a more serious board meeting and sat down. So there's multiple aspects of the community and then, as I said, this is a topic close to heart. So I'll add one more thing. And we didn't start. We're not starting from scratch with our other two restaurants. We have a big community.

Tonya J. Long: 16:03

All right, I didn't think about that, you're right and then they've been following on your brand?

Reena Miglani: 16:08

Yes, years right, and they've been following our journey. And you know, at Saffron, our first restaurant here in San Carlos, we've seen a few couples who actually proposed at our restaurants. Then they had babies. Those babies went away to college, but butter chicken was their favorite meal with a naan. When they get down at SFO, they first come to Saffron before they go home, because they want their favorite meal in town.

Reena Miglani: 16:33

What a great story and, you know, again, not a very happy thing to say. But we've also had few people that their families sent us an email hey, can we pick up food because my so-and-so relative is passing away? Your food is their favorite.

Tonya J. Long: 16:49

And it was the comfort, and that was their last meal they had. Oh not even.

Reena Miglani: 16:55

Yes, wow so two people that I know their last meals were from our restaurant but yes, it's such a privilege.

Reena Miglani: 17:03

Yeah, to have that space right in someone's right right right, and then you know I also admire what Ajay, my husband running the other two restaurants, like the community that he has built. People really admire him and also, when they meet me, they're like, oh my god, you're such a lucky woman. He always talks about you. So you know, it's one of those things that you feel exceptional. Yeah, you feel lucky that you know you. Your spouse talks such great things about you and then it's all part of the community and that's what I've been telling the girls that you know I'm.

Reena Miglani: 17:39

I'm like you're not hostesses. I want to change your title. You are my customer experience officers and you know you and I we go to so many places. It's transactional that first moment when you come in and if something irks you, your whole experience starts to go downhill. I'm like you girls. We've given you the software that has great CRM. I want you to know who's coming in here, what their likes or dislikes are, how many times they've been here. You need to guide the servers. The servers then guide the experience, because that's what true hospitality is. So my next goal that's an elevated experience.

Tonya J. Long: 18:15

You realize that's very uncommon.

Reena Miglani: 18:16

Right, right. So, and again it's about personalization, making sure that the customer is not repeating themselves. Also, if they always try the same drink, maybe teasing them to try something else. So you already know.

Tonya J. Long: 18:31

This is where your history in technology is pulling forward into an industry that hasn't used technology that much other than the transaction supply chain, I think to make it easy for your team to know the customer and to react to that individual, teasing them to try a different kind of drink or knowing in advance that it's a special event, knowing what their favorite table is, right, right, when I used to go to India all the time they would mark a table for me that.

Reena Miglani: 19:06

I would have breakfast at every morning.

Tonya J. Long: 19:08

Right, right. And I knew that I was family to that hotel staff when they'd start putting out a little reserved sign on that table with a newspaper and I just felt so special that I would show up.

Reena Miglani: 19:23

And suddenly my breakfast table was always saved for me and you know that feeling, that old show Cheers right where everybody knows your name. That's what I want to build with all of our restaurants. Kind of take it to that next level, mm-hmm, because for me biggest joy of transitioning into being a restaurateur actually has been meeting my guests, having those Conversations and seeing them happy, feeding them and seeing them happy. There's no bigger joy than that. You get to be a mama.

Tonya J. Long: 19:55

Yeah, and I want to talk about mama, yeah, yeah, you know it's no surprise to me that you have Transitioned and been so strong in coming from a very Important corporate career into this creative service oriented role. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting your mother. Was it last October?

Reena Miglani: 20:19

Yeah, I think so yes.

Tonya J. Long: 20:21

And was just so enamored with her. I'm going to tell it and you correct it if I'm wrong, but but I met Reena mama. She was here for an event that we did at Saffron.

Reena Miglani: 20:31

That you did at.

Tonya J. Long: 20:31

Saffron. And well, I'll tell the story. I asked Reena, does your mom speak English? Because she was wearing a full sari and it was a dressy event, but still she was in. And she's, how old is she? She's 81. She's 81. And it's clear she's 81. And and it's clear she's and. And I've spent a lot of time in India, I know the invite. So I said Reena, this is terrible, but you remember this. I said. I said, is her English good?

Tonya J. Long: 20:59

Because I didn't want to just pounce on her without you know, without knowing her level of comfort, and Reena informed me that her mother has a doctorate in English literature. I was pretty embarrassed and delighted because someone in my family at that age would never didn't go to college, much less have a doctorate in English, and it just said a lot to me about your family and ambition, the desire to do more and be more than the environment, especially for her age frankly, because I don't think you'll find a lot of 81 year olds here that are running around with doctorates because it just wasn't available to women of that era.

Tonya J. Long: 21:53

So I loved your mama. She was delightfully precious.

Reena Miglani: 21:56

No, I would say we've been lucky. My family has been very progressive, yes, and none of the stereotypes of girl versus boy. I think the girls had a little more advantage in our family. Probably the boys will say I think we were the persecuted strong.

Tonya J. Long: 22:15

How is your mom doing? She's?

Reena Miglani: 22:17

doing great. She's actually traveling a little bit. Right now she's in Chicago.

Tonya J. Long: 22:21

Yeah, she's getting on a plane yeah as it should be, yeah be sure to tell her that I said hello and that I look forward to seeing her next time I'm here, which might be tomorrow night Of course, you've already invited me for dinner.

Reena Miglani: 22:36

You are Anytime, anytime yes, for sure.

Tonya J. Long: 22:39

Excellent. Well, everyone, we are at Amara in the heart of Belmont, halfway up the peninsula Amara Restaurant it's on apple maps, it's very easy to get to and plenty of parking, and I haven't sampled the food yet, but I am absolutely confident that it is exquisite, because everything else I have touched has been just over the top in terms of right and you know it's not just I.

Reena Miglani: 23:09

Amara is not about just cuisine or the ambience. It's kind of bringing that Mediterranean way of living here and as you get to experience the food, you'll see the chef calls this a table of abundance, even though it's fine dining.

Reena Miglani: 23:24

Abundance, that's a big word Love it. Yes, it's fine dining but we don't course it, we want the spreads not finish and brings the next course so you can use the spreads with your next course and kind of that taste lingers on till the end. The pastry program run by chef Linda all women team is amazing, and then you'll see the sustainability aspect of using head to tail. Using the top of the stem to the bottom of the fruit or the vegetable is kind of you'll see that because whatever appears in the in your big plate as a side, probably that stem will be used as an infusion for one of the cocktails, so kind of be sustainable.

Reena Miglani: 24:09

Sustainable, but not for the, just for the show, but just really feeling it that let's do what we can. Yes, let's do what we can. Yes, less wastage. And the flavors. It's a pan-mediterranean cuisine, so spans all of the Mediterranean coast. You might find one day something from southern Spain or Algiers or Tunisia or Morocco, so it's, it's just Mediterranean way of living and eating.

Tonya J. Long: 24:39

You're making me hungry because it all sounds so wonderful and I would meet you at a fast food restaurant. And I would meet you at a fast food restaurant, just to have time with you. Thank you so much To have time with you in this amazing environment that you created, that you birthed. I think you have turned your next chapter. I wrote on LinkedIn a couple of days ago about the next day. Melinda French Gates' new book and your next day is so remarkable. It's an inspiration to all of us.

Reena Miglani: 25:20

And it's not the last day. I know there's more coming, of course.

Tonya J. Long: 25:25

Beautiful, beautiful. Thank you, thank you so much. Thank you so everyone. This is Reena Migliani and Tonya Long, with RESET with Tonya in the first of what may be a series of talks from Amara's garden Wonderful.

Reena Miglani: 25:43

Thank you. Thank you so much.