We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liz Scobee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Liz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Our guests often leave dinner with the feeling that just experienced something exclusive, and best of all, more connected to your community.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I began working in the restaurant industry when I was 16 years old, and immediately I felt like there was an element to it that struck a cord with me. The ability to give people a place to relax, enjoy a meal, conversation, and leave feeling taken care of has always given me great pride. As the years went on, I found myself in better and better establishments that matched my integrity level and fed eagerness to have a business of my own. In 2015 while managing Uchi Restaurants, I met my now fiancé, Yoni Lang, who was the head sushi chef at Uchiko in Austin. After a few years together we decided that we wanted to use our love of food and hospitality to creat our own business, and Wolf and the Fox was born! At that time, in 2017, there were only a few places in Dallas where you could find an Omakase, let alone experience it in your own house!
We began by inviting friends into our home and charging them what we thought was fair for a curated omakase experience. We would create playlists, set up a beautiful table with flower arrangements, candles, and special decor, and host insanely fun dinners.
We also were given access to friend’s restaurant spaces, office spaces, airbnbs to host pop-up dinners as often as we could, all the while both working full time jobs.
This grew into our private in-home dinner model that we operate now.
We occasionally still host dinners in our home as well, keeping the invites to friends and family.
In 2021 we went all-in and since then we run this business full time, solely on word of mouth. We are so thankful for the people who continue to tell their friends about us, it confirms our commitment to community and the power of gathering.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Through my years in restaurant management, and even know managing Oasis Plant Shop, I have overseen many different employees. The range is broad, from servers twice my age, chefs, my peers and friends, to project managers, construction workers and contractors. Through this I have learned that respect and kindness will ensure your success and are keys to high morale. I always make sure that my team knows that I am not only willing to help, but I have their back 100%. Giving employees all the tools they need to do their job well and feel supported is always my goal. I also find that regular check-ins are crucial to stay on the same page with your staff. Praise them in public and thank them for their work. Making people feel seen and heard can make the difference between a committed happy employee and one that feels like they are just going through the motions day to day.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Quality, consistency, and respect. Quality and consistency of your product is key. Clients want to know that they can count on you to deliver the product that they originally fell in love with.
I believe that keeping your business consistent also shows respect to your clients.
Product consistency is huge, but showing respect is paramount as well. I was raised in the south so respect is ingrained in me, and I feel like it has tremendously helped maintain my reputation. Be nice, be respectful, be kind, and have integrity!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @wolfandthefoxdinners