By Maya Linwood
I’m Maya Linwood. Most of you know me from the evening news, where I spend an unreasonable amount of my life explaining what happened today and, increasingly, why nobody saw it coming.
Justin Hammer agreed to sit down with me at the House of Hammer, the notoriously private restaurant he owns beneath Retro-Mart. Getting the interview was easier than getting a reservation.
The House itself is difficult to describe without making it sound like I’m trying to sell you something. It is elegant without being ostentatious, intimate without feeling small, and staffed by people who seem to know what you need several seconds before you do. There is no obvious attempt to impress you.
Which, of course, is impressive.
Hammer is much the same.
In person, Justin is relaxed, attentive, and considerably harder to read than he appears. He doesn’t dominate a room. He seems to let the room come to him. During our conversation he was warm, occasionally funny, and unfailingly polite.
He also answered exactly as much of every question as he wanted to.
We talked about the House of Hammer, the increasingly difficult environment surrounding independent businesses, his unusual approach to hospitality—and some of the persistent rumors about what happens beneath Retro-Mart after dark.
Personally, I like the man. But he is so mysterious…
MAYA: Let’s start with the obvious question. Why put a restaurant under a Retro-Mart?
JUSTIN: Rent.
MAYA: That’s it?
JUSTIN: You asked why we started there. You didn’t ask why we stayed.
MAYA: All right. Why did you stay?
JUSTIN: Because people found us, and wanted what we offer.
MAYA: You make that sound accidental.
JUSTIN: The best things usually are.
MAYA: The House of Hammer has become one of the most difficult reservations in the city. Politicians eat here. Business leaders. Entertainers. People with considerable influence. Was that the plan?
JUSTIN: The plan was to make a place where people wanted to come back.
MAYA: Those aren’t exactly ordinary people.
JUSTIN: They’re surprisingly ordinary when they’re hungry.
MAYA: What makes the House different?
JUSTIN: We pay attention.
MAYA: Every restaurant says that.
JUSTIN: Most restaurants mean they remember how you like your food. We try to remember why you came.
MAYA: That’s either very thoughtful or slightly creepy.
JUSTIN: I’ve discovered there’s a narrow line between excellent service and surveillance.
MAYA: And which side are you on?
Justin smiled good-naturedly.
JUSTIN: Spectacular service, without a doubt.
MAYA: Business owners across the city are complaining about increased regulation, supply restrictions, identity requirements, and Directorate oversight. How much has that affected you?
The smile disappeared—not dramatically. Justin simply became more focused.
JUSTIN: A lot.
MAYA: In what way?
JUSTIN: In every way, every year there are more rules governing what businesses can purchase, what they can sell, who they can employ, what information they have to collect, and who they’re required to share it with. Any individual rule can sound reasonable. As my general manager, Amir, likes to say: A thousand reasonable rules build a dangerous cage.
MAYA: Dangerous, in what way?
JUSTIN: To one’s freedom.
MAYA: That’s a strong word.
JUSTIN: I chose it carefully.
MAYA: You have been publicly critical of some Directorate policies.
JUSTIN: I’ve always been publicly critical of bad policies.
MAYA: The Directorate might argue there’s a difference.
JUSTIN: That’s why we’re lucky to have talented journalists like yourself.
MAYA: Nice try.
He laughed.
JUSTIN: It was worth a shot.
MAYA: Change of topic. Let’s talk about the food.
JUSTIN: Finally. Something I might be qualified to discuss.
MAYA: The House has a reputation for serving things that are difficult to find elsewhere.
JUSTIN: Our team creates brilliant menus with great food from excellent suppliers.
MAYA: Including beef?
JUSTIN: Ersatz beef. The absolute best ersatz beef.
MAYA: That’s what you like to call it?
JUSTIN: That’s what it is.
MAYA: Justin, I’ve eaten ersatz beef.
JUSTIN: I’m so sorry.
I laughed.
MAYA: I’ve also eaten here.
JUSTIN: Then I’m not sure what you’re saying. Is this a customer complaint?
MAYA: No, not at all. I am not complaining. I’m asking whether what I ate here was actually ersatz beef.
Justin studied me for a moment, the beginning of a smile appearing.
JUSTIN: Maya, I could be mistaken, but you seem to be implying that I might be involved in something that isn’t entirely legal.
I laughed.
MAYA: Justin, I’m not even sure that would offend you.
Justin laughed with me.
JUSTIN: Deeply offended. I’m a very sensitive man.
MAYA: Can you please answer the question?
Justin’s expression changed completely. He leaned forward and looked directly at me. For a moment, the humor was gone.
JUSTIN: Okay Maya. It’s true. I actually am a very sensitive man.
There was a beat before we both broke up laughing.
Justin leaned back in his chair, still smiling, and glanced across the dining room.
JUSTIN: What people miss about the House is that the food isn’t really the point.
And just like that, the subject had changed.
MAYA: That’s an interesting thing for a restaurant owner to say.
JUSTIN: Please don’t misunderstand me, when you come to the House you will get the best food there is. But people don’t come here because they’re hungry. They can solve hungry in lots of restaurants in the city. They come here because, for a couple of hours, they want to be somewhere they’re known. And hopefully well understood. Somewhere the person across the table matters more than whatever is happening outside. Somewhere that is completely committed to you having an experience that is exactly what you needed that day. Whatever that might be.
MAYA: And apparently somewhere with unusually convincing ersatz beef.
Justin leaned back and smiled broadly.
JUSTIN: Please don’t mock our ersatz, we take our ersatz very seriously.
MAYA: You’ve described the House as being about people. Who are those people to you?
Justin took a moment before answering.
JUSTIN: Family.
MAYA: Amir? Tone? Your staff?
JUSTIN: All of them. And others less seen. And our clients. Our primary focus is always on our clients.
MAYA: You’ve built something of a family here.
JUSTIN: I wouldn’t say I built it.
MAYA: What would you say?
JUSTIN: I got lucky enough to recognize something amazing and unique that was happening around me.
MAYA: You also have a reputation for being fiercely protective of them.
JUSTIN: I’d be a fool not to be. Worse than that, I’d be a bad businessman.
MAYA: Some people might say too protective.
JUSTIN: Those people probably aren’t family.
MAYA: Is loyalty that important to you?
JUSTIN: It’s everything.
There was no smile this time.
MAYA: Even when loyalty comes at a cost?
JUSTIN: If it doesn’t cost you anything, it’s probably not loyalty.
MAYA: Are you worried about the future of the House?
He looked around the restaurant again. This time the pause was longer.
JUSTIN: There are many things I have concerns about. The House is not one of them.
MAYA: What would those things be?
JUSTIN: How much freedom we’re willing to exchange for convenience. How much privacy we’re willing to surrender for security. How many decisions we’re comfortable letting systems make because making them ourselves is difficult.
MAYA: That’s considerably bigger than running a restaurant.
JUSTIN: Most things are, but me? I’m just a simple restaurant guy.
MAYA: Do you think we’re heading in the wrong direction?
JUSTIN: I think we’re heading really fast in a direction without asking enough questions about where we are going.
MAYA: And what do you think is at the end?
He smiled.
JUSTIN: That’s your job. Like I said, I’m just a simple restaurant guy.
MAYA: There it is again.
JUSTIN: What?
MAYA: You are answering my question without answering my question.
JUSTIN: Gosh, and there I was, thinking I was getting better at it.
MAYA: You are very good at it.
JUSTIN: Thank you.
MAYA: That wasn’t a compliment.
Justin looked at me and winked.
JUSTIN: I know Maya. But that was me, choosing to take it as one.
MAYA: So, what’s next for Justin Hammer?
JUSTIN: Dinner.
MAYA: That’s all you’re giving me?
Justin stood.
JUSTIN: Oh no. If you haven’t eaten yet, I’m also giving you dinner.
I looked toward the dining room.
MAYA: Is the beef real?
He stopped and looked back at me.
JUSTIN: Maya…
MAYA: Justin…
He smiled, leaned down, and gently placed his hand on my shoulder.
JUSTIN: You’re going to have an experience you won’t ever forget.
I knew that he was already right.
And that was the end of the interview.
Not the answer to my question.
Just the interview.
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