WAXHAW, NC – The streets of downtown Waxhaw host a variety of interesting features, shops, and restaurants. Ted Cook, owner of Capricci’s True Italian, Blue Door Deli, and Harvest Time Catering is excited to add a hibachi restaurant, TeeCo’s, to the mix soon. “Sushi and Hibachi are a new concept for us,” Cook shares, “but that’s why we’re excited about it.”
Cook says there’s still a lot to do before the doors to TeeCo’s opens. “We’re renovating the space: new floors, new tables, new chairs, closing in the kitchen, building a U-shaped bar, adding the sushi area, changing the colors and lighting,” Cook itemizes. “There’s a lot going into making this space another family-friendly restaurant for Waxhaw to love. We’re hoping it will be about a month until our doors open.”
Cook says it’s not just the building; the restaurant needs to be ready. “I’m hiring all positions! Kitchen staff, hostesses, servers, bus boys, dishwasher. I’m also looking for a full-time baker and a catering director,” Cook explains. Harvest Time Catering provides delicious food to any event. “Weddings, corporate events, birthday parties – you name it, we can serve it. We work with any menu and budget desires. All the company’s catering will be done out of the TeeCo’s location. We hope that will help this new restaurant be successful and good for our Waxhaw community.”
TeeCo’s will meet a variety of dining needs. “We will have an express lunch special every day. There will also be a call ahead pick up window and outdoor patio dining. We will serve a full bar, and the menu will contain a variety of appetizers, salads, and entrees. We’re going to use fresh meats to make sushi and Korean barbeque on homemade soft steamed bao buns. Every item will be delicious,” Cook asserts.
Sushi Trainer and Manager Peter Lasaw says Cook’s claim is accurate. “With over twenty years of retail sushi franchise experience and food safety management, we believe TeeCo’s casual comfort dining experience will align with comfort sushi and tapas items. We hope to create curiosity and inspire our customers’ appetites with each bite,” Lasaw says.
Cook also hopes TeeCo’s will meet a community need as well. “I’m planning on expanding one of my passions and starting a special needs training program based out of TeeCo’s. I have four young men who currently work for me in other restaurants, and I really love knowing I’m giving these kids life skills and teach them a trade,” Cook reveals. “I love to help each kid find their niche – something they can be really good at. Rolling silverware, doing yardwork and grounds upkeep, washing dishes, bussing tables – everyone can get work experience, a steady paycheck and begin building their resume. Plus, it helps the families know their kid can take care of themselves and become a part of our work family.” Families of kids who are at least sixteen years old and are interested in being a part of this program should reach out to Ted Cook on his cell phone number: (704) 292-5935.
For Cook, food is the best way to impact the world around him in positive ways. “I love all aspects of food. Not just how it is prepared and the ingredients that make it, but the way it can create deep and lasting bonds between people,” Cook discloses. “Food has been a multi-generational tradition in my large Italian family. I keep those customs alive every day with my sixty-five employees. I love employing people, promoting from within, and helping others start or reinvent their career paths. Food connects me to my past, and now I use it to help others create their futures. And TeeCo’s will help me continue to do that within Waxhaw and beyond.”
