She’s Behind Celebrated Chattanooga Restaurants Little Coyote, Easy Bistro & More

Not only is Amanda Niel at the helm of many of the day-to-day operations at three of Chattanooga’s top restaurants, but she also redesigned each venue. The Tennessee native co-owns Easy Bistro & Bar, Main Street Meats, and Little Coyote with her husband, Chef Erik Niel. Easy Bistro & Bar, a pillar of Chattanooga’s food scene, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Amanda has been key to the success of all three restaurants, overseeing general operations, human resources, marketing, events, catering, and more. We’re excited to introduce our newest FACE of the South, Amanda Niel.

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Easy Bistro recently celebrated 20 years. What has been the key to your staying power?

We’re always doing something fun and new and refreshing ourselves. We print our menus every day. It might be two things on the menu that change, or it might be five things. Because we’re constantly reinventing ourselves, we’re never stagnant. We’re not a restaurant where you go in, have that laminated menu that never changes, and always get the same chicken parm. I’m sure those restaurants make a lot of money, but we would be so bored if we didn’t get to do fun seasonal cocktails and dishes and change the wine list.

What inspired you and your husband to revamp Main Street Meats and open Little Coyote?

My husband always dreamed of having a taco place. He’s from Texas and wanted a Tex-Mex place. But he also wanted barbecue. So, Little Coyote is a meld of both. It’s smoked meats and fresh tortillas. It’s a melting pot of Tex-Mex cuisine and Texas barbecue.

For years, Main Street Meats was just our neighborhood butcher shop; it wasn’t a restaurant. About 10 years ago, we were asked to consult on a project, and we loved it so much that we bought in. Now, we’re majority owners. It started out as this little counter shop where you came in and got your ground beef, steaks, and pork chops, and we expanded it from there. Now, it has 60 seats, and we have over 420 bourbons and whiskeys.

You grew up with grandparents who operated a family-run construction and plumbing company. How did that influence you?

I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I didn’t necessarily know what field I wanted to be in. For the longest time, I thought I wanted to have my own design studio because I went to school for interior design. But the entire time I was in school, I worked in restaurants. I always loved restaurants, too.

My grandmother was a big influence in my life because she pretty much ran those companies. My grandfather was the one who would have crews out doing the work, but she was responsible for invoicing, collecting, and keeping all of the books updated. She was responsible for the day-to-day running of the business. She always babysat me when I was little, so I remember being in her office. When she got to the age where she couldn’t do it anymore, my aunt took over. I would ride the bus to my aunt’s house after school and work with her.

It was really empowering to have a family of women who ran the business. This was during a time when you didn’t think of women running construction and plumbing companies! Watching them work also taught me you have to be super detail-oriented, especially when it comes to finances.

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How has your design background helped you in the restaurant business?

It helps with the little things. I notice when something’s out of place — maybe the lights need to be turned down lower, or the ambiance is off. In design school, it’s very rare you’re not working with a group of people on a project. I learned a lot through that process. It’s really helped me in restaurants, because your team is really important. If you have somebody on your team who’s not performing, it can bring the whole business down.

I designed Little Coyote. When we built out Main Street Meats and turned it into a full-service restaurant, I designed that. When Easy Bistro was redesigned in 2020, I did that, too.

How have you managed to maintain Easy Bistro’s success while also building Main Street Meats and Little Coyote?

We have a really good team. We have talented people who have moved from larger cities, like New York and Paris. Because we’re 20 years old, I have people who have worked with me for 14 years, 12 years, and 10 years. When those people take a sense of ownership, it really is easier to step away, because they take their jobs so seriously.

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What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I love to be outside. I love hiking and paddle boarding. My husband is an avid fisherman, and I recently went and caught a fish that was seven and a half feet long!

What are some of your favorite places for outdoor recreation?

I love Lula Lake and Big Soddy Gulf.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

The best advice I’ve been given is to not be hasty in my decision-making. Sometimes — because the restaurant industry is go, go, go — if you get an email or a negative review, you want to respond immediately. Or your feelings are hurt over something, and then you say the wrong thing, and it just spirals. You have to sit and take it in before you handle a situation.

If I have to handle a negative situation with an employee, I might take a few days and then sit down with them and address it directly. Another thing that has really helped me is something I was told by a manager, “Anyone can ‘problem identify,’ but good managers are problem solvers.”

Aside from faith, family, and friends, name three things you can’t live without.

Tacos, triple lipid moisturizer by SkinCeuticals, and flavored sparkling water.

LIGHTNING ROUND

What’s on your travel bucket list? Morocco and San Sebastian, Spain.

Last great meal at a restaurant (that wasn’t yours)? Talat Market in Atlanta. We did their tasting menu, so we had everything from raw hamachi to the most amazing fried rice dishes.

Last great book you read? Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

Go-to birthday gift to give? Succulents

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Southern women are doing remarkable things. Meet more of them in our FACES archives!