McCormick & Schmick’s to Open at Easton

By Barnet D . Wolf, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Feb. 21–Doug Schmick says there’s a “bit of my body and soul” in each new restaurant developed by his company, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants.

That means some of his DNA now is in Ohio.

The company is scheduled to open its first Buckeye State fishhouse at tony Easton Town Center on Monday, following several invitation-only events this week.

Schmick said he looked at Easton as a possible site for several years, calling it a “great example of a suburban environment creating an urban feel.”

This is the 60 th restaurant for the chain, which dates to 1972 when William P. McCormick bought Jake’s Famous Crawfish, a century-old restaurant and saloon in Portland, Ore.

Schmick, then a management trainee, soon became McCormick’s partner. The first McCormick & Schmick’s-branded restaurant opened in 1979.

The company’s restaurant count stood at 14 in 1994, when a private-investment firm took a majority stake in the business. The chain changed hands two more times during the next seven years but continued to expand. It went public in 2004 and earned $11 million last year on $278.8 million in revenue.

The Easton location, as with the chain’s other restaurants, is custom-designed. They all feature an Early Deco design approach, with lots of wood and glass, but each has local touches, down to the subjects of the glass etchings.

McCormick & Schmick’s has been “committed to freshness from day one,” said Schmick, the company president. Menus change daily, depending on the varieties of fresh fish available.

Typically 35 to 40 varieties of fish are on the menu, which also features a handful of beef and chicken dishes. Dinner entrees usually run $18 to $22. The average check is $44 a person.

There’s also considerable emphasis on the bar.

“It is the gateway to the restaurant, and freshness is important there, too,” Schmick said.

Expect that screwdriver to have OJ that’s squeezed right there in front of you.

The Easton location has generated some controversy. Local restaurateur Cameron Mitchell, whose empire includes the seafood-themed Ocean Club at Easton, was upset that the developers didn’t tell him personally about the addition.

“We know we have competition everywhere,” Mitchell said, “but I was unhappy with how (Easton officials) handled it.”

Schmick said he’s confident there’s room for both.

“What Cameron has created in Columbus is something very special,” he said. “Our restaurant will not be detrimental. The whole center will benefit.”

Each McCormick & Schmick’s location costs about $3.5 million, including the landlord’s improvements. The average annual revenue is a healthy $5.3 million.

The Easton restaurant will employ 160 and seat 320.

Florida native Jeff Sacchet, who has 19 years of food-andbeverage industry experience, is general manager at the restaurant, 3965 New Bond St. He had been an assistant general manager at the Hilton at Easton.

Chef Joel Cain most recently was executive chef at the Confluence restaurant and before that was at Brownstone on Main and Black and Blue.

Sold out again

At the same time that McCormick & Schmick is opening, a local tradition will continue at Spagio and Spagio Cellars.

Selected chefs from central Ohio and peers from Chicago and Dallas will be featured at the ninth Celebration of Wine, Food and Dining with the Stars to benefit the pediatric hospice at Children’s Hospital.

The event is sold out at $195 a pop.

Breakfast’s on

If you want to see what Wendy’s is considering for its breakfast menu, stop in at the chain’s restaurant at the corner of Glick and Dublin roads.

The breakfast sandwiches feature bacon, ham or sausage with eggs on several types of breads, including biscuit or panbread. The rest of the menu includes potato nuggets, muffins, yogurt, Minute Maid orange juice and Maidstone coffee. Maidstone also roasts coffee for Wendy’s sister company, Tim Hortons.

Parts is parts

— Jodi Aufdencamp, owner of the four-location Mama Mimi’s Pizza chain, is among four finalists in the Pizza Festiva competition at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in March. Her entry, Mama’s Marmellatta Amor, translated to Mom’s Jammy Love, features roasted rosemary chicken, caramelized onions, apricot preserves, red pepper flakes, fresh herbs and a blend of provolone, mozzarella and blue cheeses.

— Marco’s Pizza, a Toledobased chain, will add a second central Ohio parlor, this one in Delaware.

— Smokey Bones opens its fourth area location March 14 in Grove City.

— Burger King and Chipotle aren’t the only companies with central Ohio locations to launch initial public stock offerings. Gordon Biersch, the 25-unit chain that has a place in the Arena District, wants to raise $50 million from its offering.

— For the obit file: With a sad recording left on its phone line, the quirky Lu Lu’s closed Friday after five years in business.

On Restaurants is a weekly column about the restaurant industry . Please send ideas , information and news releases to bwolf@dispatch.com or call 614-461-5264.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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