Meet Staci Miller of The Miller’s table: Wine, Beer & Fare

Today we’d like to introduce you to Staci Miller.

Staci, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve really had an incredible journey of bits and pieces of everything that brings life to The Table experience. I’ve spent time in some amazing kitchens, including testing recipes for The LA Times, being a station instructor at a culinary school, private chef for some awesome families, catering chef/cook for some of southern (and northern) California’s best catering companies, and rotated through quite a few of the kitchens feeding Googlers. I’ve loved being in the front of the house as a server, bartender, crepe maker, wine director and manager and really loved my time doing wine events and education.

Living and working in Napa was a turning point on a lot of levels – the quality and passion for food and drink really hit home. Actually, most of the places I’ve had the pleasure of living have had a strong current of hospitality and I’ve always gravitated towards that. At first, I don’t think I could have imagined owning something, but with time, so many of the disparate pieces just made sense for me to throw my hat in the ring and see if I could craft a space of my own. At first, I was trying to open a spot in Santa Cruz with a business partner…. but with the strange fortune of business setbacks and obstacles, I made my way back to So Cal.

My sister has been in Encinitas and Carlsbad for years, and I have always loved the breezy laid-back nature of North County. I set foot in Oceanside at the right time a few years back, and even though, I like so many, used to just drive through on my way south, as soon as I got to slow down and get to know our ‘pretty but gritty” town I was hooked. My tiny spot has been just an awesome way to get to know the true quality people that are my neighbors!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, the first go, being up in Northern California, was tough. My then partner and I knew a lot about our business, but the business of business, and in particular leases and financing, was a bit out of our wheelhouse. We had at least 5 locations we got into negations that were super close – I mean we were in escrow on at least one. But nothing stuck.

As it was getting discouraging, and seeing as my whole family is in Southern California, I kinda felt like I wanted to be a bit closer to ‘home.’ Luckily, I had the opportunity to transfer to be the Wine Buyer/Specialist for Whole Foods in Del Mar (up north I was a Beer Buyer/Specialist) so I told my partner that if a spot opened up I would be back in heartbeat.

That was when I landed in Oside – I did go through one heartbreaking negotiation for another spot on Coast Highway – the deal fell apart over one sentence. In what I’ve now learned to be just “business” vs just being human, I did get a bit burnt. But truly everything happens for a reason! Through that, I met a plumber, who knew a guy that was exploring selling his restaurant on the highway. A perfectly tiny place good for a sole proprietor.

Taking all of the ups and down experiences from the prior few years I was able to move through the negotiations with bit more confidence and knowledge. Once paperwork and legalese were out of the way I took the keys August 1st and by August 28 was able to do a Friends and Family trial run. We were open that week with limited hours and I haven’t looked back!

The Miller’s table: Wine, Beer & Fare – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Well, we are mainly a small restaurant centered around a 14 seat community table. It’s lovely because Oceanside is so community driven that a large table is a natural place for folks to share food and drink with neighbors and new friends. We focus on really fresh handcrafted sandwiches, salads and small plates that feature predominantly vegetables and in particular vegetables locally sourced – we even bring in some produce from our local elementary school garden! This is centered around an ever-changing collection of wines that are bracketed and presented as flights so that there is a chance to explore what one likes in wine and beer.

We are known for our cheese and charcuterie boards, as well as that selection of sandwiches and a lot of people, come to join us just to try the new wine. When we present our wines we share a little bit about them so it becomes a more interactive wine tasting experience. Our guests really begin to learn what they like and don’t like in wine and food.

I’m really proud of the fact that I am trying to erase the dividing line that is traditional in restaurants. Generally, there is some tension between the service front of the house and the kitchen back the house. My team is more culinary-driven, but that said, they are responsible to bring the food to the table and perhaps get feedback and perhaps proudly present a dish that they’ve just crafted. The benefit financially for them is it then they’re entitled to an equal share of the tips – thereby taking a very skilled labor component and offering them the benefit of the tips.

I have to say that there aren’t a ton of places that are doing what we do both with that commitment to the community table, (which does mean that we lose some seating), the wine flights that changes often as they do, the small plates that change once to twice a day so it’s more than seasonal, and the structure of compensation for the back of the house folks all sets us apart and makes The Miller’s Table pretty unique.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Hah… that’s tough. I’ve had some beautiful ‘ah-ha’ moments in many facets of my ‘career’. With The Miller’s Table they happen almost every day ~ I absolutely glow when I watch strangers connect at our Table. I’m personally, concerned with how in today’s day and age people communicate primarily through devices. We’ve lost the ability to look a stranger in the eye and make a connection, but that’s exactly what I observe happening here regularly. I don’t have a television so seeing people strike up a conversation, and indeed friendships, over food and drink, which are visceral and primordial, is super cool

I’m also really proud of the development of a lot of my team members. They’ve come to me in various stages on their journey in one of the weirdest career paths – the hospitality biz. I’ve watched them blossom and grow. I wish I could say that it was holy because of my ability to guide and teach, but I’m a bit too scattered these days to make that claim, but the nature of what we’re doing allows them a chance to spread their wings and that really really feels good

Contact Info:

• Address: 514 South Coast Highway Oceanside, Ca 92054
• Website: themillerstable.com
• Phone: 442.615.7200
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themillerstabl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMillersTable/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-millers-table-oceanside

Image Credit:
Jerry Mejia, Staci Miller, Erin Ternes

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