Meet Shorty
The ringmaster of Owen Brennan’s Sunday brunch
Aplate flies over the heads of the crowd at the back of Owen Brennan’s restaurant, but there’s no crash. Instead, applause reverberates throughout the room. With the flip of his wrist, Robert Fisher effortlessly tosses a plate high in the air behind his back before catching it with the other hand and sliding a fluffy, oversized omelet onto it.
It’s a scenario that is repeated hundreds of times on a typical Sunday. Fisher, a 5foot-2-inch chef known by his customers as “Shorty,” has been the brunch chef at Owen Brennan’s for more than 15 years. He may be small in stature, but his big personality has made him a beloved part of the Owen Brennan’s brunch experience.
This talented cook is more like a ringmaster for the restaurant’s wildly popular Sunday brunch, cajoling the crowd with laughter and entertainment as he artfully cooks six omelets at a time for his hungry guests.
The line moves quickly due to Shorty’s expertise and outgoing personality.
“It’s your birthday?” he asks one customer on a recent Sunday. Without skipping a beat, he bursts into song loudly bellowing the lyrics to “Happy Birthday to You” as he prepares the omelet for the birthday boy and the five other guests in line before him.
Shorty approaches both his omelets and his interaction with his guests with the same level of care and precision. “I can easily present you a plate you will enjoy, but you will remember it because of my personality and how I treated you,” he says, as he explains how he carefully calibrates his gas stoves and replaces skillets monthly in his efforts to perfectly prepare omelets.
“My goal is to make people happy,” he says. “You never know how people are when they come through the door. You can lift someone’s spirits. I can make people feel good, plus make good omelets.”
And let’s talk about his omelets. On any given Sunday, Shorty will cook about 350 omelets – each made to order. Guests can choose from more than a dozen fillings. Shorty cooks the eggs just like the guest wants.
Those in the “know” ask for “The Shorty Special.” Crawfish, shrimp, chicken, turkey, bacon, spinach and mushrooms are just a handful of the items that go in this over-the-top omelet creation. Crawfish etouffee spooned over the omelet takes it to a whole new level.
And to add to the mix, he even keeps pancake batter on his station for the kids who may not like eggs. “They get a show too,” he said.
‘We are going to treat you like family’
To Shorty, Sunday brunch is all about family – both his guest family and his work family.
Shorty started working at Owen Brennan’s back in 1992 as a dishwasher. “Back then, when I put up plates after they were clean, I would read the tickets on the line and try to think about how to make each dish,” he said. Through the years, he worked his way up through the kitchen. About 16 years ago, he became the lead brunch chef. “I found my niche then,” he said with a proud smile.
Shorty says he is grateful for those who taught him along the way. He has temporarily left Owen Brennan’s a handful of times over the past three decades, but has always returned. “It’s like coming back home – where they know you and make you feel like part of the family,” he said. “When around good people, good things happen for you.”
A successful dining experience happens because of a team. From the cooks preparing the more than 50 items on the brunch buffet, to the servers, to the musicians (the Lannie Mcmillan Trio has played at Sunday brunch for decades), everyone plays a role. This is a fact Shorty, who often gets the most attention, is quick to point out.
Shorty has been cooking for some of his guests since they were children. “I am cooking for the third generation of some families. A son would come in with his father as a kid, and now he brings his own kids,” Shorty says. Shorty not only remembers his customers faces, but their orders as well. “I tell them I know what they want since I remember what their dad ordered.”
When asked what makes Sunday brunch at Owen Brennan’s such a beloved Memphis tradition, Shorty is quick with his response, “One word – family. It’s a family here, and we are going to treat you like family.”
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.