MILWAUKEE — Justin Aprahamian is a soft-spoken and humble guy.

You won’t hear him brag that he’s an award-winning chef running his own restaurant. What you will hear are solutions to problems during these challenging economic times.

“I think in a restaurant there is always some amount of uncertainty, just with what we do, so much of a restaurant is subject to so much of what is happening around us,” said Aprahamian.

Aprahamian is the owner and chef of Sanford Restaurant in Milwaukee. His upscale eatery spent 14-months serving takeout during the pandemic.

It now faces the challenges of dealing with inflation.

“We’ll figure out a way and honestly, the chaos of COVID and then going into inflation, I don’t know if we ever stopped and thought, wow, inflation is going to be the thing that gets us,” Aprahamian said.

His easy-going view comes from being taught early on how to keep costs down by being creative with ingredients. He uses the ones that are in season or cost effective.

When the cost of food is high, he keeps his menu prices stable by creating dishes that cost less to make but are still interesting to eat.

“For us it really gives these dishes more depth and more meaning and there is just a little more to them and I think that resonates, that resonates with people,” said Aprahamian.

He believes it’s all about maintaining value in the dining experience while being even more creative in his kitchen.

“It’s great to look at this as an opportunity instead of a hurdle to overcome. For us, it is a way for us to showcase ingredients in a different way and make the fining experience really special for people,” he said.

Aprahamian, and his wife Sarah, who is co-owner of Sanford Restaurant, also give back to the community.

They donate time and resources to organizations like Guest House of Milwaukee, Hunger Task Force and Ronald McDonald House.

For more, visit https://sanfordrestaurant.com/.