City Cellars HTX owner Daniel Wolfe reflects on health, new beginnings
Daniel Wolfe had been mulling the idea of starting his own business for years. In early 2020, Wolfe finally got a sign it was time: He was fired from his management job with a grocery retailer.
According to Wolfe, a more senior manager had made one his employees uncomfortable. When he reported it and told higher ups he didn’t want to work for a company that treated anyone that way, he was shown the door.
“If I don’t like something, I don’t want to send seven emails up to management. I want to set the company culture,” he said.
Wolfe talked to his parents about wanting to work for himself and about giving him a loan to open a restaurant. After much back and forth, he offered them a deal: Either he would find success in a year or he would go get a job. A month later, Houston shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, he persisted. City Cellar HTX officially opened November 2020 in the Museum District. The inspiration came from Wolfe’s world travels and his six years with the Rodeo Wine Garden Committee.
“Wine and food unites people. It doesn’t matter if you’re a divorced couple — you still have to eat,” he said.
The restaurant’s take on upscale American cuisine and brunch program proved to be a hit with customers. Wolfe said that in the beginning, his Saturday and Sunday brunches would bring $800 per day. Now, a “bad brunch” brings in $3,000 to $4,000.
On February 18, 2022, Wolfe was working the front of the restaurant when he got a call.
“I’ll never forget that moment. It was during lunch. My doctor’s office called me, ‘So we just got everything back and we normally would not do this over the phone. But the next appointment is two weeks from now. And wanted to let you know biopsies came back positive for thyroid cancer,’ ” he said. “As they’re literally saying this, I have tables asking for me. And I’m trying to keep a poker face and keep it together.”
Wolfe told his management staff the news a week later. They had until April 15 to get properly trained to run the restaurant before he went off for surgery and follow-up care.
As it turns out, the lesson he learned two years earlier bore fruit. His staff, some of
whom became close friends, rose to the occasion. Even some employees who had left prior for different reasons came back to help, including Danee Hui, his bar manager.
When Wolfe revealed his cancer diagnosis, Hui had left City Cellars months ago to focus on school. She ended up coming back to support the business and stayed with Wolfe during his treatment.
“He’s one of the best bosses I’ve ever had, and he’s someone who genuinely cares about his employees,” Hui said. “Personally, I was dealing with my own struggles in school, and Daniel already had more than enough on his plate. He still set aside time for me to get myself back on track.”
An employee of one of City Cellars’ vendors, Rebecca Hill, also chipped in. She already knew Wolfe through the rodeo’s wine committee and worked with him during the earliest parts of the restaurant’s life.
“I’m an eight-year cancer survivor myself,” she said. “And I just … when he emailed me and the other vendors to tell us what happened, I immediately picked up the phone and asked, ‘Why didn’t you just tell me that?’ ”
On the day of Wolfe’s surgery, both his parents came down with COVID. With no one to take him, Hill volunteered to drive him to the hospital and be there with him through the procedure.
“I just wanted to be there for him because everyone deserves that. Our friendship goes without saying. It’s just something that I would hope anybody would do for anyone in that situation.”
Today, Wolfe is cancer-free, though he is still in recovery. Gone are the days when he could work 18 to 20 hours per day for the entire week. These days, he can barely eke out four to five hours without feeling light-headed. His staff continues to watch over him, asking if he’s eaten or drank anything. He said they’ve even insisted on him eating if they don’t like his answer.
Plus, the earlier training has largely led to the restaurant being successful without Wolfe having to manage the day-to-day operations.
“I sit on my ass and write checks and do payroll. That’s the majority of what I do now,” he said. “I’m working on negotiating prices with vendors, doing researches on new trends. It doesn’t feel like work for me.”
City Cellar officially relaunched a new dinner menu recently. New menu items include Chilean sea bass, filet mignon and garlic lemon grass shrimp. And the brunch program is going to be expanded to Wednesdays through Sundays.