Michael Luria has an affinity for the restaurant business, although at an early age he learned that the food side of the industry was not the place for him.
At 36, Luria, president and one of the owners of Terra Cotta at 3500 E. Sunrise Drive, represents the second generation in directing the fortunes of the Foothills restaurant.
He was introduced to the food industry as a young teen when he worked as a dishwasher and food service helper at the Tasting Spoon at Fort Lowell Road and Tucson Boulevard in the early 1980s. Luria's father, Don Luria, owned the school, along with a gourmet takeout catering company, Gourmet To Go. His stepmother, Donna Nordin, was a traveling guest chef who taught at the Tasting Spoon.
"I started in the back of the kitchen as a dishwasher and then got to work as a helper at the cooking school," Luria said. "Eventually I graduated to working catering parties, like the memorable back-to-back parties in Oro Valley put on by Shearson Lehman featuring the Beach Boys."
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Lousy as a busboy
Don Luria and Nordin opened Cafe Terra Cotta in St. Philip's Plaza in 1986, and Michael Luria got a promotion in the new restaurant.
"I was in high school at that time and worked as a busboy, which we now call an assistant server," Luria said. "I was lousy as a busboy; I would always be putting water in someone's glass of Sprite or something like that."
Fortunately for Luria, the original Cafe Terra Cotta also had a Gourmet To Go counter at the front of the restaurant, so he worked as a host, greeting people and handling administrative details.
"At age 17 I found I had a knack for front-end restaurant work," he said. "Before long, I was doing the administrative work for all three of Don and Donna's restaurants in town — Cafe Terra Cotta, Los Mayas and Prima Donna."
All three restaurants were in St. Philip's Plaza at the time.
Luria next got a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Arizona and then completed an executive internship program at Macy's California in San Francisco in the early 1990s.
"I got a job offer from them to work in California, but knew I wanted to be in the restaurant business," Luria said. "So I used the Macy's offer as leverage with my father and negotiated a job at Cafe Terra Cotta."
Luria completed an informal restaurant manager training program at the restaurant and performed all the administrative work for the original Cafe Terra Cotta, as well as one they operated in Scottsdale from 1992 to 2001.
Terra Cotta reborn
Today, Luria and his wife, Maya, run Terra Cotta, which was renamed and rebuilt after a July 5, 2004, fire that put it out of commission for six months. It has been said that fire has a cleansing effect, and Luria thinks the fire, while a difficult hurdle to overcome, allowed him the chance to create a rebirth for the restaurant.
"We decided to be more aggressive with our changes after the fire," he said. "We chose to make Terra Cotta a bit warmer, more contemporary and more comfortable."
Luria and Maya found a much more pleasing color palette for the restaurant with latte as a base color, accented by purple and pumpkin, and made changes in fixtures, such as cherry chairs with a jewel-tone pattern fabric, and a new bar and lounge area with high-top tables and couches.
"The response to our changes has been excellent," Luria said. "People tell us they like the look and feel of the place. We've received very positive feedback."
Even Michael's and Maya's two children, 8-year-old Kelsey and 5-year-old Max, know their way around the restaurant and are regular visitors.
"Our kids are a big passion in our life and we want to spend as much time as possible with them," Luria said. "And we want them to see what we do with a sense of normalcy and good fun."
Luria says he hopes that in a few more years, perhaps the third generation of the Luria family will open the copper front door at Terra Cotta and step inside to begin a career.
