April 20, 2025 • 25 mins
A painful corporate workforce reduction after two decades in tech became the unexpected catalyst for Reena Miglani's beautiful reinvention. When her long career at a major Silicon Valley company ended abruptly in late 2023, she found her way to an entirely new path - joining her husband's restaurant business to create Amara, a breathtaking Mediterranean fusion restaurant in Belmont, California.
What makes Reena's story so compelling is her discovery of creative talents she never knew she possessed. Despite no formal design background, she personally curated every aspect of Amara's aesthetic - from custom scents to textiles, lighting, and atmosphere. The result is a sensory sanctuary where hurried Silicon Valley professionals can experience the relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle, even if just for a few hours.
"We have this notion where we save our best China, best silverware for what, one day?" Reena explains. Her mission is to change that mindset, encouraging people to enjoy life's finest experiences daily. This philosophy guides everything from the restaurant's design to its food presentation, where plates overflow with abundance rather than being strictly coursed in traditional fine dining style.
I love how Reena's corporate leadership expertise enhances rather than conflicts with the hospitality industry. She's reimagined traditional roles (hostesses are now "customer experience officers"), implemented sophisticated CRM technology, and focused on building a culture where transactions become personalized meaningful interactions. "This is not just about cuisine or ambience," she emphasizes. "It's about bringing that Mediterranean way of living here."
Join us for this inspiring conversation about embracing change, discovering hidden talents, and creating community through food and hospitality. Whether you're contemplating your own reinvention or simply appreciate stories of creative transformation, Rena's journey from tech executive to restaurant owner offers a beautiful blueprint for turning life's unexpected turns into opportunities for growth.
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- LinkedIn: /reenamiglani/
- Restaurant Website: amararestaurants.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tonya J. Long (00:03):
Hello everyone and welcome to our not so
standard venue for RESET withTonya.
I'm here with Reena Miglani,one of my most favorite people
that I met during my time with awomen's organization here in
the Bay Area, and Reena and I wejust had a I will call it a
(00:26):
soul connection and we don't seeeach other much.
But that's the beauty of trueconnection is you don't have to
see each other all the time tostill recognize the value of
being together.
Reena Miglani (00:42):
Right and we are able to pick it up whenever we
meet and even seeing each otheron social media and kind of
feeling that soul connection andkind of being proud of each
other, of all the our journeyand all that we've achieved.
Tonya J. Long (00:58):
Yeah, I have been following you for several
months now.
We, by the way, where are we?
We are in Belmont, California,mid-peninsula, at Amara.
Amara is a Mediterranean fusionrestaurant that Reena has just
opened three months ago, fourmonths ago, three months ago yes
(01:18):
, Okay, so three months ago andI mean you guys have got to come
here.
This is, it is exquisite, and Ifollowed you online and that
journey, it's a I would call ita radical departure from what
you were doing.
Yeah, yeah, RESET is all abouttransitions.
This is the most beautifultransition.
It is exquisite.
(01:39):
It is truly remarkable and is acreative side of you that you
probably never used or neverknew exist.
Oh, I love this, so tell uswhat, what the transition was
for you, for you to do yourreinvention?
Reena Miglani (01:56):
Sure, sure so, and I spent more than two
decades in various roles at techcompany, mostly on the business
side, supporting sales, sales,engineering, go to market
strategy, all around software,working on different industries,
and then, late in 2023, got thesad news that most of my team
(02:19):
and myself were being told tolet you know, go find, find it,
figure out what you need to do,because it's bye-bye, sayonara
from that position.
And it was hard, it was.
It felt really hard, especiallywhen you've been with the
company for so long.
I keep telling my husband Ithink that's what a divorce
(02:42):
would feel like.
It was that painful and aftersome time off, much needed
relaxation, I went back tocorporate, did a few months of
chief operating officer role ata smaller manufacturing company
manufacturing company and then,in the meantime, my husband and
(03:03):
I, who have, who had becomeempty nesters around the advent
of COVID, had been meaning tospend more time with each other.
We had always thought ofexpanding our family business.
So my husband, who's also anex-techie, but left that side of
the world two decades back, hewised up quicker than he did, he
did and I think he was put onit on this earth to be his own
(03:25):
boss from day one, so he figuredit out pretty early in his
career.
So he owned two successfulrestaurants in the Bay Area and
then we decided to expand andsigned the lease at this
location, this gorgeous locationin Belmont, which is in Belmont
Hills, close to 101 corridor,280 corridor.
(03:47):
So we felt it's a greatlocation and the outside garden,
the inside of the restaurantjust showed a lot of potential
to us.
So we signed the lease and thenthat's when I formally joined
the family business yes, andthen almost of a year of finding
, you know, doing many things tobring it to life.
(04:10):
We are here at the beginning of2025 and we have our I call
this my grandchild.
First, two restaurants werelike my two kids and now we've
learned so much and now we arethe grandparents for.
Tonya J. Long (04:25):
Amara, and I love that you embrace it.
So many women our age kind ofaren't ready to say that they
can have grandchildren, butyou're like just racing into it
that you know.
I'm, it's my grandchild so.
I love that.
What?
What these listeners can'tappreciate clearly they see
behind us that you've got acouple of different waterfalls,
(04:45):
this lush lush.
What do you call this back area?
Reena Miglani (04:50):
We call it actually just Amara's Garden.
Tonya J. Long (04:53):
And I want to emphasize garden just because
it's truly a garden.
Reena Miglani (04:56):
You go to so many outdoor spaces.
There are patios or somethingoff the street.
This is really an Oasis.
You need to walk through my Icall this amara's dining room an
extension of my living room, soyou're actually walking through
the living room, coming to theback of the restaurant and then
walking downstairs into thegarden.
Tonya J. Long (05:15):
I wish that my personal living room was
designed and had the decor ofyour extended living room,
because that's what strikes meabout this, and all through the
process on social media, becauseyou brought your community.
You know, we came from amulti-thousand person community
where we met um and you camefrom a.
I don't know how many peopleare at your prior company, but
(05:38):
it's one of the largestcompanies on the peninsula has
been around for decades, yeah,um.
So you have a huge network andyou shared that with us as you
were designing and building thisyou know, you were showing me
some of the rooms down here inthe garden and you were so proud
of what you had designed and Idon't know that you ever
(06:01):
considered yourself creativebefore you had an opportunity to
put this together.
Reena Miglani (06:07):
No, actually I did not, because you know,
working in technology andsoftware, you never really
realize there is actually acreativity there, especially
when you're designing a userexperience and all that.
But you really don't think ofyourself as an artist and all
that.
But you really don't think ofyourself as an artist.
(06:27):
And you know, when I was inthat in-between sabbatical for
sabbatical, I started to getacclimated more with design,
started following some amazinginfluencers, the thousands of
followers, and starting startedto experiment some of their way
of arranging flowers and objectsin my house and start to see
how much I enjoy that.
(06:48):
And I'm so, I feel so luckythat I got the opportunity to
then bring that to Amara'sdesign aesthetics.
And when I was designing Amarafor me, I kept thinking to the
life in the Bay Area, in SiliconValley, how Hurried we are and
how, as opposed to our life here, when you're in the
(07:10):
Mediterranean, those vacations,that way of life is so laid-back
and how do I bring that here,even if it's for a couple of
hours?
So I designed the space to feellike once you enter Amara, you
will.
It's a sensory experience.
We have a scent that wedesigned to make you feel
(07:31):
relaxed.
The colors that we chose justthe different textures, how they
come into play.
I want people to come inwithout us saying anything,
their shoulders to drop youdesigned the scent.
Tonya J. Long (07:47):
Yes, saying anything their shoulders to drop
.
You designed the scent.
Yes, I designed.
When I, when I walked through,I thought I was gonna ask you
this is yummy, so and it's, andit's perfect.
Thank so, there's not a detailthat you didn't have a direct
hand and creatively designingthis exquisite.
That's just the word that keepscoming to me because it's so
beautiful.
Reena Miglani (08:07):
And thank you, I'm so proud for you, thank you,
thank you and as I said it wassomething that I wanted to open
up for our community, not justbelmont but beyond, in this bay
area where you have this hardway of life, why not come in,
you know, spend couple of hourswith us and just feel relaxed?
That's, that was what I wasgoing for, and the other thing
(08:29):
that I was thinking is you know,we have this notion, we all do
where we save our best China,best silverware for what one day
yes, I want us to change thatthought process and use the best
things you have every day.
So that's why the space, thefood it uses, the best
ingredient, it looks the mostbeautiful.
(08:49):
It feels like paradise, butit's not paradise for one day.
It's paradise that you enjoyevery day.
Tonya J. Long (08:55):
Okay, well, I'll be here for dinner tomorrow
night.
It's um, it is reallyconvenient.
I mean it's halfway between SanJose and.
Reena Miglani (09:05):
San.
Tonya J. Long (09:05):
Francisco and it's just a mile and a half or
so, I think, off the freeway andyou don't realize when you pull
up what you're going to becoming into yes, it's almost a
surprise.
Yes, because it is so grand andI'm, so I'm.
It was so ambitious of you todo this right, but it's a it's
(09:26):
clearly a passion projectdefinitely, definitely, and I'm
so.
Reena Miglani (09:31):
I am feeling so lucky that those who come in
really appreciate it and theconvenience of being close to
you, know the silicon valleys,different hubs, whether it's
biotech or vc corridor, and youdon't have to look for parking
so no, that is that was yeah.
Yeah, I will not go off on myparking tangent and then, once
(09:54):
you're in here, our staff isthere's a big focus on
hospitality.
It's not service, it's beyond,it's hospitality.
As I said, I tell them it'sextension of our living room.
Tonya J. Long (10:05):
Yeah.
Reena Miglani (10:05):
So you need to.
If I'm not there doesn't meanthat people are not guests at my
home.
Tonya J. Long (10:11):
One of your team brought us water earlier and he
was just delightful, you couldtell he enjoys serving people.
Reena Miglani (10:18):
He wants to take care of people and it's.
Tonya J. Long (10:21):
It's really when you curate that kind of team and
I think that we had experiencesin leadership where people who
come through other trajectorieslike if you had done restaurant
hearing all of your life, youwould have had a different
approach.
But we have really hadexperience to learn how to lead
(10:42):
people, how to manage how tomotivate and inspire people, and
so I can see why you would havea team that's very happy to be
here with you.
Reena Miglani (10:52):
Yes, and it's very important.
I tell them come in here andlet's have our eyes and ears and
all our senses working.
Don't be robotic Every day isdifferent.
Tonya J. Long (11:02):
This is not transactional.
Reena Miglani (11:03):
Yes, Bring your whole self in Watch what you're
doing.
You are a salesman when you'reapproaching the table, but it's
not about the sales.
You want to make sure it'sabout the customer.
Yes, the sales it's.
You want to make sure it'sabout the customer.
So, bringing in, as you said,you know, all the skills that we
learn working and managing bigteams intact and also learning
(11:24):
from some of not superexperiences we had, that we
build teams with, build culturesthat are sustainable, not just
for us, not for profit-making,but just for the community, for
your staff, for what they bringto the customers so I love it.
Tonya J. Long (11:40):
Mm-hmm, let's talk a little about community.
Mm-hmm, this is three monthsold, so you are just starting to
build community here, Imentioned earlier, you came from
very, very large corporateentity yeah that you came from,
and then, of course, you and Imet through a pretty large
community of female executiveshere on the it's, it's national,
(12:03):
but but but a large group here.
I think community is criticalto everything that we do
especially as we evolve, beingable to curate all those
different components of what hasbeen important in our lives and
bringing those communitiesalong with us as you've
(12:26):
transitioned.
What have you brought forwardfrom your past communities, or
what are you planning to?
This is young, right, so howdoes that look for you in terms
of using this as a vehicle tobuild community?
Reena Miglani (12:40):
So you know, if you talk about community, there
is just so many aspects that Ican probably talk about that for
an hour.
But first thing that I'll startwith not just what I want to do
with this space, that I wantpeople to realize that you know
a table at a restaurant is notjust a table.
The restaurant tours and thepeople behind that actually
(13:02):
bring that to the community, tohelp you bring to build a
community around, to create anexperience you meet your friends
there.
The day you don't want to cook,you go out.
You celebrate your birthdays,your special milestone.
So, first of all, restaurantsare a community builder space
and that's kind of what I'vestarted to realize.
(13:23):
Okay, secondly, the communitythat we are in and the space
that Amara is in itself has arich history which we are slowly
finding out.
We had operators before us andslowly we've had people come in
and tell us.
We had a board meeting and oneof the gentlemen who was part of
the company's board told usthat his granddaddy in early 60s
(13:48):
owned a Chinese restaurant hereand he showed us pictures and
this gentleman was in his 70sshowed pictures of him playing
here as a kid.
Then we had another lady justknock the door.
We closed on Monday.
She goes.
She was knocking.
I thought that was a customerlooking to find out if we're
open for lunch.
She comes in and says, hey, I'mso-and-so and I used to be the
(14:10):
GM of Pinebrook Inn and I knowPinebrook Inn was a German
restaurant in this space and bigabout a big in this community.
Yes, a lot of our customersstill come in and talk about
Klaus who was the owner and chef, his family and what a
community they had built.
Tonya J. Long (14:28):
So there's a rich history there and it becomes a
shared experience yeah, becauseyou're in this space and it
connects you to what people didin the 60s and 70s in this space
.
I love that they're stopping by.
Reena Miglani (14:39):
Right, and you know other operators who've been
here.
They've been coming in, they'vesent us emails, they've sent us
old pictures.
In fact I want to do a boardwith a flow chart of all the
history.
I know you know right where,you know the hallway leading up
to the restrooms, and thenpeople in the community will see
and probably they'll bring ussomething else.
So that's one thing.
(15:00):
The other thing is, you knowthis is a beautiful space.
People like to come incelebrate their milestones.
I just ordered a Polaroidcamera.
I want to take everybody'spicture celebrating, give them
one and put one on our littleboard.
So I think that's right buildingcommunity, taking memories and
experiences and capturing thoseright, so that love it and
(15:21):
coming from you know the bigtech side, so that's the b2c
angle of our business.
From a b2b perspective, youknow 50 of the restaurant is
built for then that part of thecommunity, people having a
lovely space with amazingservice and food for board
meetings, which we're startingto see some of that Nice, this
beautiful garden.
here we had another event wherepeople did a cocktail, passed
(15:45):
hors d'oeuvres.
They enjoyed this mingling.
Then they went up for a moreserious board meeting and sat
down.
So there's multiple aspects ofthe community and then, as I
said, this is a topic close toheart.
So I'll add one more thing.
And we didn't start.
We're not starting from scratchwith our other two restaurants.
We have a big community.
Tonya J. Long (16:03):
All right, I didn't think about that, you're
right and then they've beenfollowing on your brand?
Reena Miglani (16:08):
Yes, years right, and they've been following our
journey.
And you know, at Saffron, ourfirst restaurant here in San
Carlos, we've seen a few coupleswho actually proposed at our
restaurants.
Then they had babies.
Those babies went away tocollege, but butter chicken was
their favorite meal with a naan.
(16:28):
When they get down at SFO, theyfirst come to Saffron before
they go home, because they wanttheir favorite meal in town.
What a great story and, you know, again, not a very happy thing
to say.
But we've also had few peoplethat their families sent us an
email hey, can we pick up foodbecause my so-and-so relative is
passing away?
Your food is their favorite.
Tonya J. Long (16:49):
And it was the comfort, and that was their last
meal they had.
Oh not even.
Reena Miglani (16:55):
Yes, wow so two people that I know their last
meals were from our restaurantbut yes, it's such a privilege.
Yeah, to have that space rightin someone's right right right,
and then you know I also admirewhat Ajay, my husband running
the other two restaurants, likethe community that he has built.
People really admire him andalso, when they meet me, they're
(17:19):
like, oh my god, you're such alucky woman.
He always talks about you.
So you know, it's one of thosethings that you feel exceptional
.
Yeah, you feel lucky that youknow you.
Your spouse talks such greatthings about you and then it's
all part of the community andthat's what I've been telling
the girls that you know I'm.
I'm like you're not hostesses.
(17:40):
I want to change your title.
You are my customer experienceofficers and you know you and I
we go to so many places.
It's transactional that firstmoment when you come in and if
something irks you, your wholeexperience starts to go downhill
.
I'm like you girls.
We've given you the softwarethat has great CRM.
I want you to know who's comingin here, what their likes or
(18:03):
dislikes are, how many timesthey've been here.
You need to guide the servers.
The servers then guide theexperience, because that's what
true hospitality is.
So my next goal that's anelevated experience.
Tonya J. Long (18:15):
You realize that's very uncommon.
Reena Miglani (18:16):
Right, right.
So, and again it's aboutpersonalization, making sure
that the customer is notrepeating themselves.
Also, if they always try thesame drink, maybe teasing them
to try something else.
So you already know.
Tonya J. Long (18:31):
This is where your history in technology is
pulling forward into an industrythat hasn't used technology
that much other than thetransaction supply chain, I
think to make it easy for yourteam to know the customer and to
(18:51):
react to that individual,teasing them to try a different
kind of drink or knowing inadvance that it's a special
event, knowing what theirfavorite table is, right, right,
when I used to go to India allthe time they would mark a table
for me that.
Reena Miglani (19:06):
I would have breakfast at every morning.
Tonya J. Long (19:08):
Right, right.
And I knew that I was family tothat hotel staff when they'd
start putting out a littlereserved sign on that table with
a newspaper and I just felt sospecial that I would show up.
Reena Miglani (19:23):
And suddenly my breakfast table was always saved
for me and you know thatfeeling, that old show Cheers
right where everybody knows yourname.
That's what I want to buildwith all of our restaurants.
Kind of take it to that nextlevel, mm-hmm, because for me
biggest joy of transitioninginto being a restaurateur
actually has been meeting myguests, having those
(19:45):
Conversations and seeing themhappy, feeding them and seeing
them happy.
There's no bigger joy than that.
You get to be a mama.
Tonya J. Long (19:55):
Yeah, and I want to talk about mama, yeah, yeah,
you know it's no surprise to methat you have Transitioned and
been so strong in coming from avery Important corporate career
into this creative serviceoriented role.
I had the absolute pleasure ofmeeting your mother.
(20:16):
Was it last October?
Reena Miglani (20:19):
Yeah, I think so yes.
Tonya J. Long (20:21):
And was just so enamored with her.
I'm going to tell it and youcorrect it if I'm wrong, but but
I met Reena mama.
She was here for an event thatwe did at Saffron.
Reena Miglani (20:31):
That you did at.
Tonya J. Long (20:31):
Saffron.
And well, I'll tell the story.
I asked Reena, does your momspeak English?
Because she was wearing a fullsari and it was a dressy event,
but still she was in.
And she's, how old is she?
She's 81.
She's 81.
And it's clear she's 81.
And and it's clear she's and.
And I've spent a lot of time inIndia, I know the invite.
(20:52):
So I said Reena, this isterrible, but you remember this.
I said.
I said, is her English good?
Because I didn't want to justpounce on her without you know,
without knowing her level ofcomfort, and Reena informed me
that her mother has a doctoratein English literature.
I was pretty embarrassed anddelighted because someone in my
(21:19):
family at that age would neverdidn't go to college, much less
have a doctorate in English, andit just said a lot to me about
your family and ambition, thedesire to do more and be more
than the environment, especiallyfor her age frankly, because I
(21:42):
don't think you'll find a lot of81 year olds here that are
running around with doctoratesbecause it just wasn't available
to women of that era.
So I loved your mama.
She was delightfully precious.
Reena Miglani (21:56):
No, I would say we've been lucky.
My family has been veryprogressive, yes, and none of
the stereotypes of girl versusboy.
I think the girls had a littlemore advantage in our family.
Probably the boys will say Ithink we were the persecuted
strong.
Tonya J. Long (22:15):
How is your mom doing?
She's?
Reena Miglani (22:17):
doing great.
She's actually traveling alittle bit.
Right now she's in Chicago.
Tonya J. Long (22:21):
Yeah, she's getting on a plane yeah as it
should be, yeah be sure to tellher that I said hello and that I
look forward to seeing her nexttime I'm here, which might be
tomorrow night Of course, you'vealready invited me for dinner.
Reena Miglani (22:36):
You are Anytime, anytime yes, for sure.
Tonya J. Long (22:39):
Excellent.
Well, everyone, we are at Amarain the heart of Belmont,
halfway up the peninsula AmaraRestaurant it's on apple maps,
it's very easy to get to andplenty of parking, and I haven't
sampled the food yet, but I amabsolutely confident that it is
exquisite, because everythingelse I have touched has been
(23:03):
just over the top in terms ofright and you know it's not just
I.
Reena Miglani (23:09):
Amara is not about just cuisine or the
ambience.
It's kind of bringing thatMediterranean way of living here
and as you get to experiencethe food, you'll see the chef
calls this a table of abundance,even though it's fine dining.
Abundance, that's a big wordLove it.
Yes, it's fine dining but wedon't course it, we want the
(23:30):
spreads not finish and bringsthe next course so you can use
the spreads with your nextcourse and kind of that taste
lingers on till the end.
The pastry program run by chefLinda all women team is amazing,
and then you'll see thesustainability aspect of using
(23:51):
head to tail.
Using the top of the stem tothe bottom of the fruit or the
vegetable is kind of you'll seethat because whatever appears in
the in your big plate as a side, probably that stem will be
used as an infusion for one ofthe cocktails, so kind of be
sustainable.
Sustainable, but not for the,just for the show, but just
(24:14):
really feeling it that let's dowhat we can.
Yes, let's do what we can.
Yes, less wastage.
And the flavors.
It's a pan-mediterraneancuisine, so spans all of the
Mediterranean coast.
You might find one daysomething from southern Spain or
Algiers or Tunisia or Morocco,so it's, it's just Mediterranean
(24:35):
way of living and eating.
Tonya J. Long (24:39):
You're making me hungry because it all sounds so
wonderful and I would meet youat a fast food restaurant.
And I would meet you at a fastfood restaurant, just to have
time with you.
Thank you so much To have timewith you in this amazing
environment that you created,that you birthed.
(25:01):
I think you have turned yournext chapter.
I wrote on LinkedIn a couple ofdays ago about the next day.
Melinda French Gates' new bookand your next day is so
remarkable.
It's an inspiration to all ofus.
Reena Miglani (25:20):
And it's not the last day.
I know there's more coming, ofcourse.
Tonya J. Long (25:25):
Beautiful, beautiful.
Thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you so everyone.
This is Reena Migliani andTonya Long, with RESET with
Tonya in the first of what maybe a series of talks from
Amara's garden Wonderful.
Reena Miglani (25:43):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Hello everyone and welcome to our not so
standard venue for RESET withTonya.
I'm here with Reena Miglani,one of my most favorite people
that I met during my time with awomen's organization here in
the Bay Area, and Reena and I wejust had a I will call it a
(00:26):
soul connection and we don't seeeach other much.
But that's the beauty of trueconnection is you don't have to
see each other all the time tostill recognize the value of
being together.
Reena Miglani (00:42):
Right and we are able to pick it up whenever we
meet and even seeing each otheron social media and kind of
feeling that soul connection andkind of being proud of each
other, of all the our journeyand all that we've achieved.
Tonya J. Long (00:58):
Yeah, I have been following you for several
months now.
We, by the way, where are we?
We are in Belmont, California,mid-peninsula, at Amara.
Amara is a Mediterranean fusionrestaurant that Reena has just
opened three months ago, fourmonths ago, three months ago yes
(01:18):
, Okay, so three months ago andI mean you guys have got to come
here.
This is, it is exquisite, and Ifollowed you online and that
journey, it's a I would call ita radical departure from what
you were doing.
Yeah, yeah, RESET is all abouttransitions.
This is the most beautifultransition.
It is exquisite.
(01:39):
It is truly remarkable and is acreative side of you that you
probably never used or neverknew exist.
Oh, I love this, so tell uswhat, what the transition was
for you, for you to do yourreinvention?
Reena Miglani (01:56):
Sure, sure so, and I spent more than two
decades in various roles at techcompany, mostly on the business
side, supporting sales, sales,engineering, go to market
strategy, all around software,working on different industries,
and then, late in 2023, got thesad news that most of my team
(02:19):
and myself were being told tolet you know, go find, find it,
figure out what you need to do,because it's bye-bye, sayonara
from that position.
And it was hard, it was.
It felt really hard, especiallywhen you've been with the
company for so long.
I keep telling my husband Ithink that's what a divorce
(02:42):
would feel like.
It was that painful and aftersome time off, much needed
relaxation, I went back tocorporate, did a few months of
chief operating officer role ata smaller manufacturing company
manufacturing company and then,in the meantime, my husband and
(03:03):
I, who have, who had becomeempty nesters around the advent
of COVID, had been meaning tospend more time with each other.
We had always thought ofexpanding our family business.
So my husband, who's also anex-techie, but left that side of
the world two decades back, hewised up quicker than he did, he
did and I think he was put onit on this earth to be his own
(03:25):
boss from day one, so he figuredit out pretty early in his
career.
So he owned two successfulrestaurants in the Bay Area and
then we decided to expand andsigned the lease at this
location, this gorgeous locationin Belmont, which is in Belmont
Hills, close to 101 corridor,280 corridor.
(03:47):
So we felt it's a greatlocation and the outside garden,
the inside of the restaurantjust showed a lot of potential
to us.
So we signed the lease and thenthat's when I formally joined
the family business yes, andthen almost of a year of finding
, you know, doing many things tobring it to life.
(04:10):
We are here at the beginning of2025 and we have our I call
this my grandchild.
First, two restaurants werelike my two kids and now we've
learned so much and now we arethe grandparents for.
Tonya J. Long (04:25):
Amara, and I love that you embrace it.
So many women our age kind ofaren't ready to say that they
can have grandchildren, butyou're like just racing into it
that you know.
I'm, it's my grandchild so.
I love that.
What?
What these listeners can'tappreciate clearly they see
behind us that you've got acouple of different waterfalls,
(04:45):
this lush lush.
What do you call this back area?
Reena Miglani (04:50):
We call it actually just Amara's Garden.
Tonya J. Long (04:53):
And I want to emphasize garden just because
it's truly a garden.
Reena Miglani (04:56):
You go to so many outdoor spaces.
There are patios or somethingoff the street.
This is really an Oasis.
You need to walk through my Icall this amara's dining room an
extension of my living room, soyou're actually walking through
the living room, coming to theback of the restaurant and then
walking downstairs into thegarden.
Tonya J. Long (05:15):
I wish that my personal living room was
designed and had the decor ofyour extended living room,
because that's what strikes meabout this, and all through the
process on social media, becauseyou brought your community.
You know, we came from amulti-thousand person community
where we met um and you camefrom a.
I don't know how many peopleare at your prior company, but
(05:38):
it's one of the largestcompanies on the peninsula has
been around for decades, yeah,um.
So you have a huge network andyou shared that with us as you
were designing and building thisyou know, you were showing me
some of the rooms down here inthe garden and you were so proud
of what you had designed and Idon't know that you ever
(06:01):
considered yourself creativebefore you had an opportunity to
put this together.
Reena Miglani (06:07):
No, actually I did not, because you know,
working in technology andsoftware, you never really
realize there is actually acreativity there, especially
when you're designing a userexperience and all that.
But you really don't think ofyourself as an artist and all
that.
But you really don't think ofyourself as an artist.
(06:27):
And you know, when I was inthat in-between sabbatical for
sabbatical, I started to getacclimated more with design,
started following some amazinginfluencers, the thousands of
followers, and starting startedto experiment some of their way
of arranging flowers and objectsin my house and start to see
how much I enjoy that.
(06:48):
And I'm so, I feel so luckythat I got the opportunity to
then bring that to Amara'sdesign aesthetics.
And when I was designing Amarafor me, I kept thinking to the
life in the Bay Area, in SiliconValley, how Hurried we are and
how, as opposed to our life here, when you're in the
(07:10):
Mediterranean, those vacations,that way of life is so laid-back
and how do I bring that here,even if it's for a couple of
hours?
So I designed the space to feellike once you enter Amara, you
will.
It's a sensory experience.
We have a scent that wedesigned to make you feel
(07:31):
relaxed.
The colors that we chose justthe different textures, how they
come into play.
I want people to come inwithout us saying anything,
their shoulders to drop youdesigned the scent.
Tonya J. Long (07:47):
Yes, saying anything their shoulders to drop
.
You designed the scent.
Yes, I designed.
When I, when I walked through,I thought I was gonna ask you
this is yummy, so and it's, andit's perfect.
Thank so, there's not a detailthat you didn't have a direct
hand and creatively designingthis exquisite.
That's just the word that keepscoming to me because it's so
beautiful.
Reena Miglani (08:07):
And thank you, I'm so proud for you, thank you,
thank you and as I said it wassomething that I wanted to open
up for our community, not justbelmont but beyond, in this bay
area where you have this hardway of life, why not come in,
you know, spend couple of hourswith us and just feel relaxed?
That's, that was what I wasgoing for, and the other thing
(08:29):
that I was thinking is you know,we have this notion, we all do
where we save our best China,best silverware for what one day
yes, I want us to change thatthought process and use the best
things you have every day.
So that's why the space, thefood it uses, the best
ingredient, it looks the mostbeautiful.
(08:49):
It feels like paradise, butit's not paradise for one day.
It's paradise that you enjoyevery day.
Tonya J. Long (08:55):
Okay, well, I'll be here for dinner tomorrow
night.
It's um, it is reallyconvenient.
I mean it's halfway between SanJose and.
Reena Miglani (09:05):
San.
Tonya J. Long (09:05):
Francisco and it's just a mile and a half or
so, I think, off the freeway andyou don't realize when you pull
up what you're going to becoming into yes, it's almost a
surprise.
Yes, because it is so grand andI'm, so I'm.
It was so ambitious of you todo this right, but it's a it's
(09:26):
clearly a passion projectdefinitely, definitely, and I'm
so.
Reena Miglani (09:31):
I am feeling so lucky that those who come in
really appreciate it and theconvenience of being close to
you, know the silicon valleys,different hubs, whether it's
biotech or vc corridor, and youdon't have to look for parking
so no, that is that was yeah.
Yeah, I will not go off on myparking tangent and then, once
(09:54):
you're in here, our staff isthere's a big focus on
hospitality.
It's not service, it's beyond,it's hospitality.
As I said, I tell them it'sextension of our living room.
Tonya J. Long (10:05):
Yeah.
Reena Miglani (10:05):
So you need to.
If I'm not there doesn't meanthat people are not guests at my
home.
Tonya J. Long (10:11):
One of your team brought us water earlier and he
was just delightful, you couldtell he enjoys serving people.
Reena Miglani (10:18):
He wants to take care of people and it's.
Tonya J. Long (10:21):
It's really when you curate that kind of team and
I think that we had experiencesin leadership where people who
come through other trajectorieslike if you had done restaurant
hearing all of your life, youwould have had a different
approach.
But we have really hadexperience to learn how to lead
(10:42):
people, how to manage how tomotivate and inspire people, and
so I can see why you would havea team that's very happy to be
here with you.
Reena Miglani (10:52):
Yes, and it's very important.
I tell them come in here andlet's have our eyes and ears and
all our senses working.
Don't be robotic Every day isdifferent.
Tonya J. Long (11:02):
This is not transactional.
Reena Miglani (11:03):
Yes, Bring your whole self in Watch what you're
doing.
You are a salesman when you'reapproaching the table, but it's
not about the sales.
You want to make sure it'sabout the customer.
Yes, the sales it's.
You want to make sure it'sabout the customer.
So, bringing in, as you said,you know, all the skills that we
learn working and managing bigteams intact and also learning
(11:24):
from some of not superexperiences we had, that we
build teams with, build culturesthat are sustainable, not just
for us, not for profit-making,but just for the community, for
your staff, for what they bringto the customers so I love it.
Tonya J. Long (11:40):
Mm-hmm, let's talk a little about community.
Mm-hmm, this is three monthsold, so you are just starting to
build community here, Imentioned earlier, you came from
very, very large corporateentity yeah that you came from,
and then, of course, you and Imet through a pretty large
community of female executiveshere on the it's, it's national,
(12:03):
but but but a large group here.
I think community is criticalto everything that we do
especially as we evolve, beingable to curate all those
different components of what hasbeen important in our lives and
bringing those communitiesalong with us as you've
(12:26):
transitioned.
What have you brought forwardfrom your past communities, or
what are you planning to?
This is young, right, so howdoes that look for you in terms
of using this as a vehicle tobuild community?
Reena Miglani (12:40):
So you know, if you talk about community, there
is just so many aspects that Ican probably talk about that for
an hour.
But first thing that I'll startwith not just what I want to do
with this space, that I wantpeople to realize that you know
a table at a restaurant is notjust a table.
The restaurant tours and thepeople behind that actually
(13:02):
bring that to the community, tohelp you bring to build a
community around, to create anexperience you meet your friends
there.
The day you don't want to cook,you go out.
You celebrate your birthdays,your special milestone.
So, first of all, restaurantsare a community builder space
and that's kind of what I'vestarted to realize.
(13:23):
Okay, secondly, the communitythat we are in and the space
that Amara is in itself has arich history which we are slowly
finding out.
We had operators before us andslowly we've had people come in
and tell us.
We had a board meeting and oneof the gentlemen who was part of
the company's board told usthat his granddaddy in early 60s
(13:48):
owned a Chinese restaurant hereand he showed us pictures and
this gentleman was in his 70sshowed pictures of him playing
here as a kid.
Then we had another lady justknock the door.
We closed on Monday.
She goes.
She was knocking.
I thought that was a customerlooking to find out if we're
open for lunch.
She comes in and says, hey, I'mso-and-so and I used to be the
(14:10):
GM of Pinebrook Inn and I knowPinebrook Inn was a German
restaurant in this space and bigabout a big in this community.
Yes, a lot of our customersstill come in and talk about
Klaus who was the owner and chef, his family and what a
community they had built.
Tonya J. Long (14:28):
So there's a rich history there and it becomes a
shared experience yeah, becauseyou're in this space and it
connects you to what people didin the 60s and 70s in this space
.
I love that they're stopping by.
Reena Miglani (14:39):
Right, and you know other operators who've been
here.
They've been coming in, they'vesent us emails, they've sent us
old pictures.
In fact I want to do a boardwith a flow chart of all the
history.
I know you know right where,you know the hallway leading up
to the restrooms, and thenpeople in the community will see
and probably they'll bring ussomething else.
So that's one thing.
(15:00):
The other thing is, you knowthis is a beautiful space.
People like to come incelebrate their milestones.
I just ordered a Polaroidcamera.
I want to take everybody'spicture celebrating, give them
one and put one on our littleboard.
So I think that's right buildingcommunity, taking memories and
experiences and capturing thoseright, so that love it and
(15:21):
coming from you know the bigtech side, so that's the b2c
angle of our business.
From a b2b perspective, youknow 50 of the restaurant is
built for then that part of thecommunity, people having a
lovely space with amazingservice and food for board
meetings, which we're startingto see some of that Nice, this
beautiful garden.
here we had another event wherepeople did a cocktail, passed
(15:45):
hors d'oeuvres.
They enjoyed this mingling.
Then they went up for a moreserious board meeting and sat
down.
So there's multiple aspects ofthe community and then, as I
said, this is a topic close toheart.
So I'll add one more thing.
And we didn't start.
We're not starting from scratchwith our other two restaurants.
We have a big community.
Tonya J. Long (16:03):
All right, I didn't think about that, you're
right and then they've beenfollowing on your brand?
Reena Miglani (16:08):
Yes, years right, and they've been following our
journey.
And you know, at Saffron, ourfirst restaurant here in San
Carlos, we've seen a few coupleswho actually proposed at our
restaurants.
Then they had babies.
Those babies went away tocollege, but butter chicken was
their favorite meal with a naan.
(16:28):
When they get down at SFO, theyfirst come to Saffron before
they go home, because they wanttheir favorite meal in town.
What a great story and, you know, again, not a very happy thing
to say.
But we've also had few peoplethat their families sent us an
email hey, can we pick up foodbecause my so-and-so relative is
passing away?
Your food is their favorite.
Tonya J. Long (16:49):
And it was the comfort, and that was their last
meal they had.
Oh not even.
Reena Miglani (16:55):
Yes, wow so two people that I know their last
meals were from our restaurantbut yes, it's such a privilege.
Yeah, to have that space rightin someone's right right right,
and then you know I also admirewhat Ajay, my husband running
the other two restaurants, likethe community that he has built.
People really admire him andalso, when they meet me, they're
(17:19):
like, oh my god, you're such alucky woman.
He always talks about you.
So you know, it's one of thosethings that you feel exceptional
.
Yeah, you feel lucky that youknow you.
Your spouse talks such greatthings about you and then it's
all part of the community andthat's what I've been telling
the girls that you know I'm.
I'm like you're not hostesses.
(17:40):
I want to change your title.
You are my customer experienceofficers and you know you and I
we go to so many places.
It's transactional that firstmoment when you come in and if
something irks you, your wholeexperience starts to go downhill
.
I'm like you girls.
We've given you the softwarethat has great CRM.
I want you to know who's comingin here, what their likes or
(18:03):
dislikes are, how many timesthey've been here.
You need to guide the servers.
The servers then guide theexperience, because that's what
true hospitality is.
So my next goal that's anelevated experience.
Tonya J. Long (18:15):
You realize that's very uncommon.
Reena Miglani (18:16):
Right, right.
So, and again it's aboutpersonalization, making sure
that the customer is notrepeating themselves.
Also, if they always try thesame drink, maybe teasing them
to try something else.
So you already know.
Tonya J. Long (18:31):
This is where your history in technology is
pulling forward into an industrythat hasn't used technology
that much other than thetransaction supply chain, I
think to make it easy for yourteam to know the customer and to
(18:51):
react to that individual,teasing them to try a different
kind of drink or knowing inadvance that it's a special
event, knowing what theirfavorite table is, right, right,
when I used to go to India allthe time they would mark a table
for me that.
Reena Miglani (19:06):
I would have breakfast at every morning.
Tonya J. Long (19:08):
Right, right.
And I knew that I was family tothat hotel staff when they'd
start putting out a littlereserved sign on that table with
a newspaper and I just felt sospecial that I would show up.
Reena Miglani (19:23):
And suddenly my breakfast table was always saved
for me and you know thatfeeling, that old show Cheers
right where everybody knows yourname.
That's what I want to buildwith all of our restaurants.
Kind of take it to that nextlevel, mm-hmm, because for me
biggest joy of transitioninginto being a restaurateur
actually has been meeting myguests, having those
(19:45):
Conversations and seeing themhappy, feeding them and seeing
them happy.
There's no bigger joy than that.
You get to be a mama.
Tonya J. Long (19:55):
Yeah, and I want to talk about mama, yeah, yeah,
you know it's no surprise to methat you have Transitioned and
been so strong in coming from avery Important corporate career
into this creative serviceoriented role.
I had the absolute pleasure ofmeeting your mother.
(20:16):
Was it last October?
Reena Miglani (20:19):
Yeah, I think so yes.
Tonya J. Long (20:21):
And was just so enamored with her.
I'm going to tell it and youcorrect it if I'm wrong, but but
I met Reena mama.
She was here for an event thatwe did at Saffron.
Reena Miglani (20:31):
That you did at.
Tonya J. Long (20:31):
Saffron.
And well, I'll tell the story.
I asked Reena, does your momspeak English?
Because she was wearing a fullsari and it was a dressy event,
but still she was in.
And she's, how old is she?
She's 81.
She's 81.
And it's clear she's 81.
And and it's clear she's and.
And I've spent a lot of time inIndia, I know the invite.
(20:52):
So I said Reena, this isterrible, but you remember this.
I said.
I said, is her English good?
Because I didn't want to justpounce on her without you know,
without knowing her level ofcomfort, and Reena informed me
that her mother has a doctoratein English literature.
I was pretty embarrassed anddelighted because someone in my
(21:19):
family at that age would neverdidn't go to college, much less
have a doctorate in English, andit just said a lot to me about
your family and ambition, thedesire to do more and be more
than the environment, especiallyfor her age frankly, because I
(21:42):
don't think you'll find a lot of81 year olds here that are
running around with doctoratesbecause it just wasn't available
to women of that era.
So I loved your mama.
She was delightfully precious.
Reena Miglani (21:56):
No, I would say we've been lucky.
My family has been veryprogressive, yes, and none of
the stereotypes of girl versusboy.
I think the girls had a littlemore advantage in our family.
Probably the boys will say Ithink we were the persecuted
strong.
Tonya J. Long (22:15):
How is your mom doing?
She's?
Reena Miglani (22:17):
doing great.
She's actually traveling alittle bit.
Right now she's in Chicago.
Tonya J. Long (22:21):
Yeah, she's getting on a plane yeah as it
should be, yeah be sure to tellher that I said hello and that I
look forward to seeing her nexttime I'm here, which might be
tomorrow night Of course, you'vealready invited me for dinner.
Reena Miglani (22:36):
You are Anytime, anytime yes, for sure.
Tonya J. Long (22:39):
Excellent.
Well, everyone, we are at Amarain the heart of Belmont,
halfway up the peninsula AmaraRestaurant it's on apple maps,
it's very easy to get to andplenty of parking, and I haven't
sampled the food yet, but I amabsolutely confident that it is
exquisite, because everythingelse I have touched has been
(23:03):
just over the top in terms ofright and you know it's not just
I.
Reena Miglani (23:09):
Amara is not about just cuisine or the
ambience.
It's kind of bringing thatMediterranean way of living here
and as you get to experiencethe food, you'll see the chef
calls this a table of abundance,even though it's fine dining.
Abundance, that's a big wordLove it.
Yes, it's fine dining but wedon't course it, we want the
(23:30):
spreads not finish and bringsthe next course so you can use
the spreads with your nextcourse and kind of that taste
lingers on till the end.
The pastry program run by chefLinda all women team is amazing,
and then you'll see thesustainability aspect of using
(23:51):
head to tail.
Using the top of the stem tothe bottom of the fruit or the
vegetable is kind of you'll seethat because whatever appears in
the in your big plate as a side, probably that stem will be
used as an infusion for one ofthe cocktails, so kind of be
sustainable.
Sustainable, but not for the,just for the show, but just
(24:14):
really feeling it that let's dowhat we can.
Yes, let's do what we can.
Yes, less wastage.
And the flavors.
It's a pan-mediterraneancuisine, so spans all of the
Mediterranean coast.
You might find one daysomething from southern Spain or
Algiers or Tunisia or Morocco,so it's, it's just Mediterranean
(24:35):
way of living and eating.
Tonya J. Long (24:39):
You're making me hungry because it all sounds so
wonderful and I would meet youat a fast food restaurant.
And I would meet you at a fastfood restaurant, just to have
time with you.
Thank you so much To have timewith you in this amazing
environment that you created,that you birthed.
(25:01):
I think you have turned yournext chapter.
I wrote on LinkedIn a couple ofdays ago about the next day.
Melinda French Gates' new bookand your next day is so
remarkable.
It's an inspiration to all ofus.
Reena Miglani (25:20):
And it's not the last day.
I know there's more coming, ofcourse.
Tonya J. Long (25:25):
Beautiful, beautiful.
Thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you so everyone.
This is Reena Migliani andTonya Long, with RESET with
Tonya in the first of what maybe a series of talks from
Amara's garden Wonderful.
Reena Miglani (25:43):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Host
Tonya J. Long
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