Coming Home to Revery: How Bennett Disser is Putting Greenwood’s Scratch Kitchen Back on the Map

Revery was never just another stop in Bennett Disser’s culinary career, it’s the kitchen and restaurant that taught him the hospitality business, showed him what scratch cooking actually is, and 10 years later, became the place he couldn’t pass up owning.

“I didn’t know, until I came here, what cooking actually was,” Revery Owner and Executive Chef Bennett Disser said. “That’s where I fell in love with an actual kitchen.”

Established in 2014 along Main Street, Revery quickly became one of Greenwood’s most treasured restaurants, but under the new ownership of Disser, a previous employee and longtime regular at Revery, the beloved scratch kitchen is set to return to the glory of years past. 

With more than a decade of experience in hospitality, Disser knows his way around a kitchen, but nothing truly beats the opportunity to come back to the place where it all began. 

“I started [at Revery] in 2016 and worked on and off until about 2018, and it was always kind of my favorite place I’ve worked at,” Disser said. “The original owner, Mark [Henrichs], was the Executive Chef and he taught me a lot about the restaurant business, and 10 years later, when he was ready to sell, there was a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy the restaurant that was my favorite.”

Despite his admiration for Revery from the start, Disser’s path to Executive Chef was a bit more explorative, with a side of tenacity, than his success would suggest.

“I dropped out of high school when I was a dishwasher,” Disser said. “I had no idea what I was going to do. I had no idea that I wanted to be a chef. I think I became a line cook at this place called ‘The Tie Dye Grill’ on the East Side, which was a legendary East Side staple with crazy burgers—very hippie menu, and when we parted ways, I kind of wanted to see if I could step up my game there.”

Along this winding path, Disser experienced a wide variety of success when he worked for Cunningham Restaurant Group as the Sous Chef at Boulder Creek and later as the Chef Du Cuisine at Commission Row under Adan Sandoval. But, according to Disser, it was during this period of his career when he quickly realized he hated that style of cooking.

“[Scratch kitchens] are much more my style,” Disser said, “so I typically try to stick to New American fine dining. My version of Revery is fine dining done casually.”

And this time around, he’s calling all the shots.

“We got rid of some things that are kind of dated on the menu, but we kept the staples,” Disser said. “Like the ‘Lambolo’, the filet, and the salmon because all of those have to stay or I’d probably be kicked out of Greenwood very fast. These are the staples that built this place, and now I just rotate five or six new entrees and new appetizers.”

Guided by a commitment to restore the Revery of old while adding his own culinary flare, Disser has a proactive energy about his plans for the New American style restaurant going forward.

“I’m constantly making new menus,” Disser said. “My goal is to be two menus ahead. The fall menu is almost done, and then I’ll roll into the winter menu. Every time the seasons change, my menu will change. That’s really important to me. Continuing that rotation of menus, not getting stuck with a menu from 2019—like when I bought this place.”

Beyond wanting to keep the menu fresh, Disser recognizes the quality and value of crafting the dishes with only the harvests of those seasons.

“I only cook with what’s available,” Disser said. “You’re never gonna see carrots or winterized anything in my summer menus. We’ve got the gazpacho on our appetizer menu because the strawberries and tomatoes in the summertime are great. That was the blueprint for this place, and somewhere along the lines, they lost that. That’s all I’m doing. I’m doing what we did when we were the best restaurant in the city.”

From receiving whole fish and primal cuts every day before dinner service to filling the dining room with patrons excited to taste such fresh and bold flavors, the sense of pride Disser has for his kitchen is experienced in every bite.

“We’re actually cooking here,” Disser said. “I’m still making stocks, we’re still getting whole fish, we’re getting primal cuts, like there’s no freezers in this building. There’s no frozen product. Everything that we cook came in the back door—today. I genuinely care about every single plate I put out, and I want it to be the best. We’re not cutting corners here.”

However, rebuilding the restaurant is not solely dependent on the cuisine Disser is offering.

With his position as CEO, as well as Executive Chef, half of Disser’s job has nothing to do with the culinary fare that’s plated to savor each night. Although this climb to the top of the kitchen ladder was not always what Disser knew he wanted, he ensured his work was intentional and useful for his ventures ahead. 

“I’ve been very selective on where I work and I have a reason why I work there,” Disser said. “I learned financials at Texas Roadhouse. I was a kitchen manager for them for three years, and there’s a reason they’re the most profitable steakhouse in the world. I wanted to know why, which helped me on the business side of things, but other than that, I kind of always stuck to the scratch kitchens and restaurants.”

When it comes to scratch kitchens, Revery is as fresh and house-crafted as you can expect, but through Disser’s energetic and dynamic approach since his adoption of ownership, Revery has yet to see an empty dining room, nor a seat left open at the bar top. Attributed to the casual, yet refined experience Disser has cultivated in his short time at Revery, the renowned New American restaurant has evolved into a destination you’ll be eager to revisit.