Who's Here
By Debbie Tuna

Steve Haweeli's life path has been about as unusual as his last name (pronounced HA-WEE-LEE). You might have seen him in Crocodile Dundee, he almost entered the priesthood, and he prides himself on making a mean martini. Although he never knew what he wanted to be when he grew up, he never imagined that all his years spent bartending and waiting on tables would pave the way for a successful career in restaurant public relations.

Since he started WordHampton Public Relations in East Hampton fourteen years ago, Haweeli has tried everything - from matzo-ball eating contests to Hamptons Restaurant Week, in an effort to publicize over forty restaurants and wineries that have become his clients. In addition, his five-person company, located in the modest but cozy house deep in the heart of Springs, has added other clients, from home security to contractors to mortgage brokers.

When asked the secret to his growing list of clients, Haweeli said, over lunch at Rowdy Hall, a client in East Hampton, "There's no company like WordHampton on the East End, especially when it comes to our niche, which is the food and beverage business. I feel it really helps that I spent 17 years in this business, going from a waiter to a bartender to a maitre d' and then manager."

As self-proclaimed, "unreasonable rebel," Haweeli graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and steered clear of a career on wall street in favor of seeing the world. "I rejected going down the mainstream path, and I as soon as I graduated I hit 19 countries in six months, from the Mid-East to North Africa, including Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, where I have roots," he said. "Traveling was the best thing I ever did, since it took me out of my everyday culture and exposed me to new civilizations and non-Western cultures."

Upon his return, Haweeli got a job as a food broker for Lysol, Dixie, Welch's and Swiss Miss, and during a trip to St. Croix to visit a friend, he decided to become a waiter as a way to more quickly pay for his extravagant trip.

"My first waiting job was at Manero's Steak House in Roslyn," said Haweeli, who grew up in Manhasset, and whose father was the Superintendent of Herrick's School District, while his mother was a former teacher.

Haweeli, whose eyes light up behind his trademark designer eyeglasses at the mention of the restaurant business, explained his passion. "I liked the camaraderie in the kitchen, the banter of the customers, and it's a live show every night. I also loved bartending, because it's a real art to be a great bartender- to know the people, and how to make really great cocktails."

After Manero's, he bartended in the Virgin Islands, and then worked at a string of trendy Mexican restaurants in Manhattan, including Cantina, Memphis and Santa Fe. He also worked in the well-known Raoul’s in Soho, and Rakel in the West Village, with Thomas Keller, whom he called "America’s best chef."

"In my 20's, I was still trying to figure out what to do with my life, and I started business school, tried entering the Seminary, and studied acting at Lee Stratsberg's studio, where I became an extra in the subway scene of Crocodile Dundee," he said. "I also was a part owner of a music recording studio."

But deep down, Haweeli said he yearned to write the "great American novel," and he stumbled upon copywriting when he was asked to write a training manual for the staff and management of one of the restaurants he worked for.

"I have never worked for an agency, and I never studied public relations," said Haweeli. "One day in April of 1991, someone asked me if I had ever written a press release, and I said, "What's that?" He said the first press release he wrote was for a $5 lunch deal at the "Red Caddy" restaurant in Greenwich Village.

But, Haweeli said, "Sometimes, success can be overwhelming for restaurants, like in the case of Ben's Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant and Caterers in Manhattan. They hired us for several years in a row to promote their matzo ball eating contest, and we got them so much press that they became overburdened and canceled the contest this year." Haweeli said this event, which raised funds for the Interfaith Nutrition Network in Nassau County, "allowed our company to stretch our wings as a firm, and create some amazing publicity, which was picked up by all the major TV networks and newspapers. We left no stone unturned."

WordHampton also helped to initiate other major food events, namely "Taste of the Nation," held each June for the past several years, which benefited the food pantries of Long Island, "Taste of the Hamptons," for the Family Service League of Suffolk, and the annual "Hamptons Restaurant Week," which kicks off this year from April 3-April 10.

Haweeli said this year, over 45 of the best restaurants and 16 of the finest vineyards, from both North and South Forks, will offer discounts. The restaurants will offer three-course dinners for the pre-fixe price of $19.95 all night except for Saturday when it will only be from 6-7 p.m. Certain restaurants will offer bottles of Long Island wines for $19.95.

"This is a great chance to go to gourmet restaurants for about one-third to one-half off the regular price," said Haweeli. "There is no other promotion which actually brings new people in to try different restaurants like this one does, and some people have been known to go out five nights in a row. We've had tremendous feedback from the public, and a surge in our restaurant busness by 50 percent."

Haweeli will be working up an appetite when he takes his latest excursion, accompanying his 11-year-old son, Ned, on a trip to "surf camp" in Costa Rica later this month. "As much as I love work, I love adventure, and I get my best ideas on the road," he said.

For more information on Hamptons Restaurant Week, check their web site at www.hamptonsrestaurantweek.com.