• FOUNDERS FORUM •
CONCEPT FOUNDERS SHARE WHAT MADE THEM SUCCESSFUL
Tim McEnery of Cooper’s Hawk, Nick Stone of Bluestone Lane coffee, Cameron Mitchell of Ocean Prime offer insights on CREATE panel
P anelists on the CREATE the Event for Emerging Restaurateurs’ Founders Forum tackled issues that made three companies suc- cessful. The panel was moderated by Sam Oches, editorial director for sponsor Nation’s Restaurant News, and fea- tured Tim McEnery, founder and CEO of Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restau- rant; Cameron Mitchell, founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants; BY RON RUGGLESS
and Nick Stone, founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane. “We have 64 restaurants across the country from Beverly Hills [Calif.] to New York City,” Mitchell said. “Ocean Prime is our national brand. We have 21 brands in total and we’re in 16 states.” Mitchell said he “had an epiphany” while working at a local restaurant as a fry cook, and he pursued education at the Culinary Institute of America. He opened Cameron’s Bistro in October 1993.
“You have to set your goals,” Mitchell said, “and you have to write them down and you have to then communicate them to everybody else — everybody you can.” Ocean Prime locations can total rev- enue as much as $22 million in a year, he said, citing the Tampa, Fla., location, and average unit volume is $13 million. “It’s just such a great seafood restau- rant and a great steakhouse combined,” Mitchell said, adding that he considers it a successful “triangular relationship” between associates in the company,
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PHOTO CREDIT: EDIN STUDIOS
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