Photo by Bryan Clapper Crescendo chef and owner Robert Tewes stands beside a baby grand piano in his restaurantÕs dining area.

When Robert Tewes designed his downtown Albert Lea restaurant, it was no accident that the name he chose for it encompassed both his passions: music and food.
“Food and music are both art forms,” the chef and Crescendo owner said.
Tewes tries to keep the menu fresh and enticing, changing it about every six weeks. He’s now on his 50th menu since opening in May 2001, and he said it’s almost like opening a new restaurant each time the menu changes.
“It depends on how the weather changes,” he said. “The food gets saucier as the weather gets cooler. The summer features things that are lighter and fruitier.”
How does an entree, or “magnum opus,” make it on the Crescendo menu?
“It’s a matter of always keeping my eyes open,” Tewes said. “I always have ideas and a menus-in-progress file. And it’s amazing the number of cookbooks I’ve amassed.”
The chef said much of what he does involves visualizing himself in a particular season and what flavor he may be craving at that time. It also involves what commodities are in season, since he uses
fresh ingredients.
That’s how the last menu — which included such entrees as Grilled Chilean Sea Bass Wrapped in Corn Husk, Sesame Ginger Teriyaki Glazed Ahi Tuna, Seared Sea Scallops with Orange Vinaigrette, Chicken and Vegetable Pad Thai With Cilantro and Peanuts, Pork Tenderloin with Mango Mint and Lavender Salsa and Crescendo Filet Mignon with Brandy and Shallot Reducti

on — evolved.

“I try to make the food visually enticing. I put a lot of effort into presentation. I look for things based on how they will look on the center of the plate,” he said.
He also tries the dish out. “I make sure it tastes the way it does in the mind’s eye,” Tewes said. “We’ve cooked a lot of the products. It’s more about the sauce than the cooking technique.”
Tewes also attends trade shows to see what, if anything, is new on the food front.
“The idea of continually changing and breathing fresh air into the business is risky, but it keeps it interesting,” he said. “It gives it an energy.”
Patrons have been good about embracing the changes.
Tewes was in college when he discovered he had the palate for discerning ingredients that were background to a dish. Then he’d go home and try to recreate the flavors.
Tewes did quite a bit of dining out in the Chicago area with his future father-in-law in those days.
“He was a vice president with Motorola, and we’d go to the places he would take his clients,” Tewes recalled.
Though he was a music student at the time, Tewes always had the idea of opening his own restaurant — perhaps when
he retired.
But when the opportunity came much earlier to realize his lifelong dream,
he took it.
Tewes opened Crescendo after working for 11 years as the minister of music at First Lutheran Church in Albert Lea. He and his wife, Patty, purchased the building at 118 S. Broadway Ave. in December of 2000, and began renovating it in earnest in January of 2001.
Decorating the restaurant was a community effort, with paintings by Troy Doyle on the walls and cabinetry by Jim Finseth.
Hard surfaces, such as a wooden floor and brick on the walls, were used to help carry the sound. A baby grand piano sits near the wine racks in the restaurant, and Tewes comes out to play it nightly.
“If we’re really busy, it’s later in the night. And even if it’s not me sitting there, through the magic of technology, it’s me playing,” he explained.
“A lot of people come to hear the music,” Tewes added.
The room is also set up with lots of room between the tables. “People like the fact that the tables aren’t on top of each other,” he said. “It’s patterned after a lot of restaurants my wife and I have been at, and we’ve taken notes or shared observations.”
In the restaurant, a lot of Tewes’ philosophy on food comes through. It’s the antithesis of a fast-food restaurant.
“People spend a length of time here. We try to create a food event and bind friendships and romance,” he said. “We’ve seen so many of the touchpoints of life and special occasions, including engagements, weddings — even family gatherings after
a funeral.”
Because it’s meant to be an experience, “People continue to say they’re so relaxed here,” Tewes said.
Wines also play a big role at Crescendo. “Pretty much all of them are ordered,” the chef said, adding he enjoys how food pairs with wines. Full bar service has been added to the restaurant’s offerings.
Crescendo also offers wine dinners about three times a year. Tewes “choreographs” each course of the meal to go with wines from a particular winery.
“These are very well received,” he said.
Tewes urges people to think of dining at Crescendo as an evening’s entertainment. If they decide to dine out on the spur of the moment, they shouldn’t be shy about calling and seeing if the restaurant is busy.
He credits not only his staff, but the fact that Albert Lea is located at the crossroads of two interstates for his restaurant’s success. The fact that he’s received favorable reviews in the Minnesota press hasn’t hurt, either.
It’s amazing to hear where people who are dining at Crescendo come from, Tewes said. Patrons have come from California, the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast and even London.
“There’s no common link between them,” Tewes said. “But it’s always fascinating to hear their stories.”
Tewes has seen an increasing number of patrons from other communities in the region, particularly Austin, but more people are coming from Owatonna and Mason City and Clear Lake in Iowa.
To determine what nights Crescedo opens — Thursday through Saturday — Tewes has taken into account the outstate-Minnesota aspect of the community. That’s not to say he wouldn’t welcome being open other nights, but these are the nights people are most likely to eat out.
Crescendo also is available for private parties, which Tewes schedules on evenings the restaurant is not normally open.
Being open three nights a week enables Tewes to spend time with his three daughters while they are young. In addition to running the restaurant, he is the part-time organist and music coordinator at Grace Lutheran Church. “My job at Grace just dovetails right in,” he added.
He has no regrets about pursuing his dream. “I’m glad I did it,” he said. “It’s been very rewarding.”l