'Mama' taking entire staff on taste trip to N'awlins

COEUR d’ALENE — They’re all mad here.

Featuring an aesthetic best described as “Alice goes to New Orleans,” the cozy midtown Coeur d’Alene eatery Ten/6 offers Creole and Cajun-inspired food and a magical atmosphere.

Soon, the chefs and servers who invite patrons into their whimsical world will travel to their own Wonderland: Jill Davis and Taylor “TJ” Taylor, the mother and daughter who own Ten/6, will whisk their 13-person staff to New Orleans in late April, just shy of the restaurant’s first anniversary.

“Our guys are cooking [Cajun food] every day, but it’s so important that they get to experience the real thing in the city,” Davis said.

The trip is meant to be both educational and inspirational. It’s also something of a family vacation. In the year since Ten/6 opened, the staff has become incredibly close. The employees affectionately call Davis “Mama.”

Family is at the heart of everything for Davis and Taylor, who dreamed of opening a restaurant together since Taylor was a little girl.

“I was a single mom, and cooking was the time we spent together,” Davis said.

For years, the mother and daughter duo filled notebooks with recipe ideas and planned how they would decorate a restaurant that didn’t yet exist.

When their dream became a reality, a New Orleans-inspired menu simply made sense. Cajun isn’t just a style of cooking, Taylor said. It’s a way of life, centered on family and community — which is part of why the two women connected so strongly with it.

“Food, music and company are what life is about,” Taylor said.

Davis said she and Taylor are inspired by Ella Brannon, a restaurateur who specialized in haute Creole cuisine — and whose photo is displayed at Ten/6. They often look to the example she set as a woman who broke into the restaurant industry with her family.

“I think that sets us apart from most restaurants around here,” said head chef Dylan Campbell. “We’re trying to emulate that sense of community. We’re changing the game.”

Ten/6 recently expanded into a new dining room. The “Mad Tea Room” is available by reservation for parties of seven to 15 guests and features exclusive beverage options.

If stepping into the main restaurant is like falling down a rabbit hole, then the Mad Tea Room takes guests all the way through the looking glass, with its checkered black-and-white floor and artful hodgepodge of decorative items. The Cheshire Cat’s tail peeks out from greenery that spreads across the ceiling. Even the music that plays in the tea room is different than in the main restaurant, giving it a distinct atmosphere.

The Mad Tea Room is already booked for weekends through the month of April.

For Davis and Taylor, the upcoming New Orleans trip is more than a celebration of a great first year for Ten/6. It’s a celebration of the people who’ve made it possible.

The staff is a melting pot of folks from different backgrounds, many of whom never worked in a restaurant before Ten/6 opened. In fact, Davis was a nurse for 22 years before taking the plunge. The crew has learned and grown together.

“I’ve never worked for anyone else who cares so much about the business and the people,” said Chantel Clifton, a server at Ten/6 who comes to work each day dressed in a themed costume. “I never thought you could get that kind of experience from a job, but we are definitely a family.”

Davis and Taylor became emotional when they spoke about their 13-person staff, as well as the friends and family who’ve supported them along the way.

“We’re excited to be here with a year under our belts, but we couldn’t be more grateful and appreciative to have these incredible people who have gotten us here,” Davis said.

In particular, the co-owners expressed gratitude to the “family”: Dylan Campbell, the head chef; chefs Kramer Veloski and Riker Morrow; line cook TR Rupinski; servers Ezra Christopher and Chantel Clifton (Clifton also is head waitress); head hostess Nicole Cronin; front house manager Brittany Zornick; PR director Cori Campbell; as well as Justin Davis, Craig Taylor and Glenn and Chelsea Marves.

Life is hard, Taylor said, so it’s crucial to make sure people know their value. That’s what this trip is all about.

“Mama always taught me that life’s too short not to live it up with the most important people in your life,” Taylor said. “That’s what we try to do every day.”

Ten/6 will be closed while the staff is away, from April 21 through April 26. The restaurant will reopen on Saturday, April 27.

Info: www.ten6cda.com