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Steve Ottmann was cooking over a sizzling wok Tuesday at Stir Crazy's, a casual Asian restaurant in Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg. Ottmann wanted to return to a more creative restaurant management approach, similar to what he shared with Lettuce founder Rich Melman when he helped to create the 1950s diner-concept, Ed Debevic's. \"Steve is a terrific guy and they're very fortunate to have him,\" Melman said about Ottmann. \"I think he'll be a perfect fit for them.\"

\"I'll tell the right people,\" [Rich Melman] recalls [Rick Barry] saying. The next morning, Greg Dollarhyde, president and CEO of Baja Fresh, was on the phone to Melman. The new entity will mean a management change at Lettuce. Chief Executive Steve Ottmann will step down to partner with Melman in the new venture. Melman, chairman of Lettuce, will add CEO duties for the time being. Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Baja Fresh is one of the fastest- growing quick casual restaurant concepts in the United States. There are 171 restaurants in 16 states. Melman will go head-to-head with other chains, including McDonald's Corp.'s Chipotle concept. Ironically, Melman and McDonald's had an informal consulting arrangement on concepts unrelated to Chipotle.

As for [Rich] Melman, 57, devoting full time to the creative side-- \"that's his main love,\" says [Steve] Ottmann, who has worked closely with Melman in recent years, as have some of Lettuce's other key executives-partners--like Kevin Brown, 44, president of the Big Bowl division, and Howard Katz, 39, president of the Wildfire division. Ottmann's former job as chief operating officer isn't being filled.

Goodman not `retiring' sort: Look for Ellis Goodman, the outgoing chief executive of Barton Inc. here, to open an office in the next few months to pursue other business opportunities. \"I'm not retiring,\" says Goodman, who will be 61 in March. His departure from Barton, effective at the end of the month, surprised industry observers. But the parent Canandaigua Wine Co. decided to eliminate a layer of high-level management here. In this case, it was Goodman, who was pretty much left alone after Canandaigua acquired Barton five years ago. Canandaigua, whose corporate offices are in Fairport, N.Y., wants to have a stronger hand in running Barton, which, with annual sales of $800 million, has been the parent's spirits and beer division. Barton, an importer of Corona beer, is believed to be very profitable, and with Goodman's job not being filled, the bottom line will get even fatter. Why Goodman couldn't have remained is still to be answered. \"His (Goodman's) departure was amicable,\" says a Canandaigua spokeswoman. Nevertheless, sources say Goodman's leaving was initiated by Canandaigua. Andy Berk, president-chief operating officer of Barton Inc., will continue in that post, reporting to Marvin Sands, chairman-CEO of Canandaigua, whose wines include Inglenook, Paul Masson and Almaden. Berk joined Barton in 1990. Goodman has been with Barton for 15 years.

Jul. 25--In a stunning jump to a major competitor, MindShare Media Chicago chief Kathleen Brookbanks moves to Omnicom Group media arm OMD Worldwide as managing director of its Midwest office. Her move leaves a gaping hole in a very important office of MindShare, which sources said had tried to keep her in the WPP Group family. Significantly, MindShare handles all of Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s media buying here, as well as BP and other clients. Both Sears and BP are extremely important to MindShare, and Brookbanks played a key role in serving several clients. Brookbanks will now oversee the Chicago, Dallas and Minneapolis offices of OMD, which includes 200 employees and more than $1.7 billion in media billings for clients such as McDonald's Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Quaker Oats, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. and others.

Gayle Ottmann has taken a part-time job as the new Main Street Manager of the Windsor Downtown Program. The program is an arm of Windsor Improvement Corp., which works on economic development in town. Ottmann said her 18 years of experience as the Hartford chamber's executive director would serve her well. \"(Windsor) reminds me a little of what White River was,\" Ottmann said last week. \"It took 20 years for White River to get to where it is today.\" \"I'm trying to do all I can to be upbeat about Windsor's future,\" [Steve Cottrell] said. \"As far as the recent economic downturn, we've been there for 20 years.\"