Today we’d like to introduce you to Terry Commons.
Hi Terry, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up in Pocatello, I figured I’d grow up to be a farmer like my father. That was until I saw a magician perform at my elementary school. Then I knew what my true calling was– I was going to be a magician if it was the last thing I did. I worked my butt off practicing magic and building props and performing for my friends, but it became abundantly clear to me when I graduated high school that it was a challenging proposition to get booked as a magician anywhere. So I came up with an inspired plan– I would build my own theater to perform in and I wouldn’t have to worry about getting anybody to book me. My first Mystique Dining Theater took off like a house on fire and I rapidly became the biggest fish in that little pond. I kept expanding and growing right up until the crash of 2008. That’s when the roof fell in. But, I knew my concept was unique and people loved it. No one had created a place that served a five-course meal followed by Close Up magic so I refused to give up. It took me a few years to regroup, during which I learned everything I could about the restaurant and hospitality business. I was convinced that superb food presented in this extraordinary atmosphere of a Victorian drawing room would knock people out. Now I had a refined plan and I wasn’t trying to do everything myself. I hired the best chef, Darwyn Fishinghawk, I could find and he put together an absolutely unbelievable menu of scrumptious delights with our world-famous prime rib as the centerpiece. Then I reached out to the top magicians in the world and offered them a place where they could perform and be showcased as befits their expertise.
All I needed now was a better place to build my little dream palace. That turned out to be Folsom, California, a beautiful little town with a ton of history and a charming little Old Town area. I opened the Mystique Dining Theater in 2016 and it was an immediate success from the beginning. The success of this second foray was a great personal vindication for me. I knew that if I created a place where the food was gourmet level and the atmosphere was off the charts and the magicians were world-class that people would flock to us., Buoyed by the success we were enjoying, I set my sights on a location I had always thought would be perfect in Utah– Gardner Village! In 2018 Mystique Dining at Gardner Village opened and it was packed from the beginning. Utahans took to this place even more enthusiastically than Californians and it encouraged me to create another concept I had been thinking about since Pocatello. You see, Mystique is designed to be very intimate, everyone is close to the magicians and that’s why our motto is “Magic so close you can taste it.” But, I wanted to create a venue for bigger magic, some of the magic I loved as a boy, so I build The Prestige right next door. Now guests can choose which kind of magic they want to see– or they can visit one night and come back to check out the other the next night.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I had all the struggles you associate with opening a fine dining establishment, but I found that I had one new card up my sleeve– the internet! A lot of the problems we had back in Pocatello were easier to solve, especially spreading the word about this unique kind of dining experience when we turned to Facebook. Then there was the little matter of covid-19. Mystique in Gardner Village was really gaining momentum when BAM– we were forced to shut down for almost 18 months during the pandemic. I didn’t know if people would remember us when the lockdown was lifted and I don’t mind telling you I had more than one sleepless night wondering what we were going to do. But, as soon as we announced on Facebook that we were reopening reservations started flooding in. I can’t begin to describe how that made me feel. I don’t take any of this for granted. To see that people wanted to get out of the house and have a spectacular meal and amazing entertainment really made me feel like our customers are family. Now that we’ve been open for a while we have people bringing their friends and relatives back again and again.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve had my share of challenges in this business. It’s hard for people to understand if you haven’t built a business from scratch. There was no blueprint for something like Mystique Dining. It’s never been done before. But, that’s the part I like the most. I’ve always been fascinated by designing spaces and filling them with the artifacts that create an exotic atmosphere. In the motion picture business, they call this Art Direction. It involves every detail from the dimensions of a room to the style of wallpaper to the flatware people will eat with to the costumes the servers will be wearing. This is my favorite part– designing is like creating your own private universe. You can make it anything you want. The chandeliers in Mystique I found online from someone who had a movie set they were tearing apart. The lighting throughout the place is strategically arranged to create pools of illumination alternating with shadows. I LOVE this stuff. I’m constantly scouring the internet looking for the things I know will add to the Mystique Dining experience. You have to have an eye for it. Sometimes, you’ll see something that looks hideous, but, I can look at it and think, “Hmmm, if I strip that down to the bare wood and paint accents of gold over a dark mahogany it will look like a chair a duke would sit in.”
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is doing what you love. It’s planting seeds and seeing them grow. I know some folks think success means doing enough so you can relax and take it easy. I hope I never feel that way. I look forward to the challenge of doing something I’ve never done before– something that others say can’t be done– and figuring out a way to make it a reality. That’s an enormous feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. I have some secret dreams I never thought I’d get the opportunity to tackle and now, because of the success of Mystique, they’re all within my reach.
Pricing:
- $50 – $85
Contact Info:
- Website: mystiquedining.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mystiqueutah
