Who's Richard Sandoval and what's it like owning 45 restaurants?

You might not recognize the name Richard Sandoval. And he's fine with that.

Just so people know his restaurants, which are flung across the globe: in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New York, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Dubai, Hong Kong, Mexico, Tokyo, Qatar, and Serbia.

Most menus are based on Latin cuisine, befitting Sandoval, 50, a son of a Canadian woman and a Mexican restaurateur who grew up in Mexico. (His brothers Alfredo, Felipe, and Patricio have restaurant holdings of their own.)

Among Richard Sandoval's collection are Pampano in New York City (a partnership with opera star Placido Domingo), Raymi in New York, and Toro Toro, Masa 14, El Centro D.F., and Zengo in Washington.

Aqimero - a Spanish idiom for "right here, right now" - just opened inside Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Broad Street. It's his 45th restaurant and is focused on coastal Latin cuisine. The 46th restaurant is due to open this year in Chicago.

Q: You're from Mexico. Why did you start in the business in New York?

A. I moved to New York to learn how restaurants worked. I was coming from Mexico. I opened a small restaurant [Savann] to learn about reviewers and how the newspapers wrote, and what people liked. It was a very competitive dining scene. My goal was eventually to do Mexican, but I wanted to learn how Mexican was viewed. Twenty years ago in New York, there were probably two known Mexican restaurants. Today, there's hundreds. Then I opened Maya [in 1997], which got two stars by the New York Times. That's kind of what I wanted to do. That was my steppingstone to what I was going to do.

Q: What do you look for in a space and a city?

A: I think a city is very important when I'm going to open a restaurant. So normally we come in, we spend a week or two coming and going on weekends, just trying to understand the dining scene, what people do, what they eat, what they don't like. It's an evolving food scene. I think Philadelphia has that. I think the last 10 or 15 years, it really has evolved into a great restaurant city. Those elements are very important to us.

Q: I know you were considering opening a restaurant here a couple of years ago. What held you back then?

A: It was just the space. I didn't find the space that I liked, that fit what I do. We were in negotiations for a couple locations, and at the end, I didn't feel comfortable. When this came up, it was just a spectacular room. That's very, very important. Today more than ever, eating out's a lifestyle. Before, 20 years ago when I first started, it was just food, a good wine list, and good service. Today, they want lighting. They want music. They want mixology. You have to have all the elements.

Q: In 25 words or less, could you describe Aqimero?

A: Unique. It's going to be a roller coaster of flavors. There's a lot of passion here. A very well-grounded and diverse menu. I think the great thing about this menu is that diners can come to a lounge with friends and sit and have some cocktails and have some sushi and ceviche. You can order from our menu, from our chef specialties, but also you have a wood-burning grill. I think it's a very unique menu that has all these components and elements.

Q: OK. That's more than 25 words. You can order anything from anywhere in the restaurant?

A: Yes. We're going to recommend that people have their proper dinner in the dining room, but if a guest sitting in the lounge wants to order one of our regular menu items, absolutely. We're going to allow that.

Q: How do you think people are going to use this restaurant? You think it's going to be a destination for suburbanites or is it going to be just the city people or tourists?

A: I think all of the above. Obviously, it's a great brand, Ritz-Carlton. That's always a plus. People are always looking for new chefs, new styles. My not having any restaurants here, I think it will be attractive for people. The style of cuisine is unique. I think it will attract tourists, people from the suburbs. I think tourists, people staying in the hotels. I think we're hoping to tap into all the different types of people.

Q: How much time do you spend here?

A: At the beginning, I've been coming here almost every week, for the last couple of months. Typically I'm here at least a week before opening, a week after opening. Then just depending on how I feel the menu has evolved and the training is going, I 'll either stay more if needed. Then I'll come at least once a month. Then I kind of taper off to once every couple of months. I have my corporate chefs here, Jose Luis and Mauro Gomez. They're the core of my team. Before I come, they're here two, three months out, hiring, training. Then I come in a week before, taste all the menu, make adjustments.

Q: How do you keep a handle on everything?

A: I have great people working with me.

Q: Let's talk about the restaurant scene here. When we spoke previously, you compared Denver and Philadelphia. They're really comparable?

A: I think so. When I first opened in Denver 20 years ago, the restaurant scene was mostly chains. Where it is today, I think it's really one of the top 5 food cities in the country.

Q: Really?

A: Yes. It was rated just recently, and before that it was rated one of the last. I kind of see that happening here, with all the new restaurants opening and the chefs coming. I see some similarities between the two markets.

Q: Is there any dish at Aqimero that you've never put on a menu before?

A: The strip loin with crab mash and truffled mushroom chimichurri.

Q: Do you have an end game?

A: I was going to sell the company last year, but I realized that this is what I like to do. When I stop liking it, then I will stop.