Articles & Awards

Cameron Mitchell Recognized as One of the Nation’s Most Outstanding and Accomplished Foodservice Operators

Cameron Mitchell, president and founder of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR), has been honored with a 2007 Silver Plate Award by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA). Silver Plate Awards are presented annually to the most accomplished, innovative and distinguished foodservice operators.  Mitchell is one of only nine recipients nationwide to receive the award this year.

“In our company, associates come first, and our past, present and future success is directly attributed to our people,” said Mitchell.  “This award is a shared tribute to the accomplishments and dedication of our entire team.” 

Silver Plate Award winners are evaluated on management, marketing, human resources and industry and civic participation.  Recipients are chosen in nine categories by a jury that includes national trade press editors. Mitchell was honored for his accomplishments in the Chain Full Service category.

A 25-year foodservice veteran, Mitchell has built thriving restaurant concepts through careful planning and smart growth.  His company boasts 31 successful restaurants that span nine different concepts and a catering division.  Serving more than 3 million guests in 2006, Mitchell credits the success of CMR to a culture and philosophy that focuses on associates, knowing that guests will have a wonderful experience only when associates are truly happy.

“Cameron has demonstrated his long-term commitment to the success of all associates,” said Chuck Davis, vice president of human resources for CMR.  “He offers his associates a fun, positive and rewarding atmosphere in which to work every day, and he is truly deserving of this prestigious award.”

Mitchell’s contributions to the industry have come at both the local and national levels.  He served on the Central Ohio Restaurant Association Board of Directors and later on the Board of the National Restaurant Association.  He also served as chairman of the National Restaurant Association’s political action committee and on the Culinary Institute of America’s Board of Trustees.

IFMA is a leading trade association comprising more than 500 of the world’s most prestigious food, equipment and supply manufacturers in the foodservice industry.  Mitchell received the award at the association’s 53rd Annual Gold and Silver Plate Celebration in Chicago in May.

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC operates nine different concepts encompassing 31 restaurants and a catering division in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Newport and Louisville, Kentucky; Tampa and Sandestin, Florida; Lansing and Detroit, Michigan; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Concepts include Cameron's American Bistro, Cap City Fine Diner & Bar, Martini Italian Bistro, M, Molly Woo's Asian Bistro, Marcella’s, Cameron’s Steakhouse (a.k.a. Mitchell’s Steakhouse), Mitchell's Fish Market (a.k.a. Columbus Fish Market), Mitchell’s Ocean Club and Cameron Mitchell Catering Company.  Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern currently operates seven units with four in development.  For more information on Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, visit www.cameronmitchell.com.

 

Cameron Mitchell, President and CEO Awards

AWARDS:

Silver Plate Award
International Foodservice Manufacturers Association
2007
 
Cameron Mitchell, 2007 Commitment to People Award
The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART)

Industry Recognition Award
The Ohio State University Hospitality Management Program
2006

Richard Melman Concepts of Tomorrow Award
Restaurant Hospitality Magazine
2005

High Performance Restaurant Leadership Award, Multi-Concept Restaurants
Restaurant Business Magazine
2001

Entrepreneur of the Year, Ohio
Ernst & Young
2001

Inducted into the “Society of Concepts of Tomorrow Visionaries”
Restaurant Hospitality Magazine
2000

Food Service Operator of the Year
Central Ohio Restaurant Association
1999

Named one of the "50 New Taste Makers"
Nation's Restaurant News
1999

Small Businessperson of the Year
United States Small Business Association & Greater Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce
1999

Forty Under 40 Award
Columbus Business First
1996

POSITIONS HELD:
National Restaurant Association Board of Directors
2000-2002

Culinary Institute of America
Board of Trustees
1999 – Present
Alumni Committee
2003-Present

Central Ohio Restaurant Association Chairman of the Board
1998

Central Ohio Restaurant Association President
1997

 

 

 

 

 

Awards for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants

“The Best Place to Work in Columbus” Runner up
Columbus Business First
November 2006

"Chef Showdown" Competition Winner
Columbus Museum of Art
April 2006

Richard Melman Concepts of Tomorrow Award
Restaurant Hospitality Magazine
2005
 
Corporate Caring Award Finalist
Columbus Business First
2004

National Finalist for "Restaurant Neighbor Award"
Recognizes Outstanding Commitment to Surrounding Community
National Restaurant Association
2001

Fast Fifty
One of 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Central Ohio
Columbus Business First
1996-2000

Best Diner - Cap City Diner & Bar

Columbus Monthly 2007 Readers Poll

Best Diner- Cap City
ThisWeek Community Newspapers Readers Poll 2007

Best New Restaurant, Other Paper Best Of 2007

Best New Restaurant, ThisWeek Community Newspapers Readers Poll 2007

2008 Greater Columbus Arts Council's Business Arts Partnership Awards Cameron Mitchell Catering Company, Winner of Medium Business Category
"The Cameron Mitchell Catering Company topped its first canapé in 2002.  Since then, with great success, the company has established itself as one of the premier caterers in Columbus.  The company has 30 full-time employees and contracts with about 100 additional central Ohioans as needed for events.  BalletMet's partnership with Cameron Mitchell Catering Company began in 2003 for The Nutcracker Ball, the organization's gala event.  The company has remained BalletMet's exclusive caterer for this event for five years, along with acting as the caterer for the Dance with the Dancers Martini parties for the past three years.  The dedication of Cameron Mitchell Catering Company's staff to make sure that BalletMet is perceived as a world class arts institution makes a dramatic impact for event guests.  BalletMet calls the impact of the partnership "immeasurable."

America's Top 1000 Italian Restaurants 2008
Zagat Survey
America's Top 1000 Italian Restaurants 2008
Martini Italian Bistro - Columbus, OH
"This high-energy little sister in the Cameron Mitchell group provides an enjoyable, not too expensive menu of solid Italian fare matched by the sensational house cocktails; the staff if attentive, catering largely to the younger after-work set."

2008 Columbus Alive Best of Dining Readers Poll

Best Italian: Marcella's
The hectic and crazy-loud ambience in Marcella's — Cameron Mitchell's newest and best mini-chain concept — suits its ebullient and bold-flavored food. Specializing in small plates to share, the fabulous fare at Marcella's is surprisingly affordable, too. Try the addictive caponata (roasted eggplant with capers, olives and raisins), pillowy gnocchi in browned butter with chopped walnuts, top-notch pizzas such as the Sicilian (a major meat munch), superb salads (like the Insalata di Scarola), and the best tiramisu in town.
 
Best Dessert: Cap City
Cameron Mitchell's more upscale joints sometimes attract the most attention, but his updated version of the vintage diner remains a favorite of anyone who's after tasty post-dinner fare. Treats include the Banana Foster Bread Pudding (with delicious rum caramel sauce) and the 24K Carrot Cake (with decadent white-chocolate cream cheese topping), as well as unique takes on more familiar desserts. Both the Grandview and Gahanna locations are perfect for grabbing some sweets on the cheap.
 
Best Splurge Restaurant: M
When you splurge on a great meal, you expect the finest food and a sumptuous atmosphere. Cameron Mitchell's signature M offers the best of both. The creative menu features Asia-via-California flavor mash-ups, while the riverfront location is elegant and stylish but not stuffy. Don't forget to have a drink at the soothing, cool-colored bar.
 
Best Dining Service: Mitchell's Ocean Club
As soon as you enter Mitchell's Ocean Club, you realize you're not visiting a place as much as a time. The cool wood-paneled decor, live music from the piano bar and even the servers' crisp white coats all evoke the Rat Pack era, when fine dining meant elegant food as well as impeccable service. The attention to detail continues right down to the signature martinis, which are shaken tableside and poured over dry ice — the soothing atmosphere literally bubbles from your cocktail. That's as classic as it gets
 
Best Asian: Molly Woo's 
 
Best Romantic Restaurant: M
 
Best New Restaurant: Marcella's
 
Best Pie: Cap City 

Restaurants Business: February 2008

In November, Cameron Mitchell reached a deal to sell two-thirds of the multi-concept restaurant company he’d spent 14 years building to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Inc. Such a windfall might send another person in search of R&R someplace tropical. But Mitchell, 44, was back at work the next day, jazzed about being debt-free and flush enough to plow money into three new concepts he’s confident will take his down-sized Cameron Mitchell Restaurants even farther, faster.

“We have three newer brands that we’re very excited about building. We own Marcella’s and Mitchell’s Ocean Club and we own a piece of the Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern. We want to build four to six Rusty Buckets, four Marcella’s and three to four Ocean Clubs a year,” Mitchell said.

“The day after the closing, I went back to work free of my bank debt, with my partners rewarded, my personal risk gone, my financial security in tact and my company’s infrastructure established. This is just another chapter in what hopefully becomes a very long story.”

Chain Leader: 1/31/08

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants will no longer be able to count 17-unit Mitchell’s Fish Market, two Columbus Fish Markets, two Mitchell’s Steakhouses and a Cameron’s Steakhouse as part of its portfolio of upscale and casual-dining concepts. In a deal announced in November and expected to close in the first quarter, the Columbus, Ohio-based multiconcept company sold the brands to Ruth’s Chris Steak House Inc.

“We’re building our Ocean Club restaurant concept, our Marcella’s and Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern. We just decided to build 20 some restaurants in a year to build out all those brands at their potential right now,” said Mitchell. “We love to build and create restaurant concepts. And we will continue to do that. At the same time, we will develop the brands we currently have in our stable.”

Nation’s Restaurants News: 1/28/08

Columbus-based entrepreneur, Cameron Mitchell, president and founder of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC, last November orchestrated the sale of 22 restaurants under the Mitchell’s Fish Market, Columbus Fish Market, Cameron’s Steakhouse and Mitchell’s Steakhouse brands to Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The sale was one of the higher multiples among foodservice industry deals in 2007.

Mitchell says the deal will allow his company to further develop its growth concepts such as Marcella’s and Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern.

The Columbus Dispatch: 11/11/07

Cameron Mitchell, the Columbus restaurateur whose empire has grown to 33 restaurants, is reinventing his company.

Mitchell said he will sell 19 Mitchell’s Fish Market restaurants and three steakhouses to Ruth’s Chris Steak House Inc.

“We’re a $120 million company this year. We expect to be a $120 million company again in 2010, 24 months after (the close of the sale). I’m not selling our growth potential. We are building no less restaurants next year than we would if we didn’t sell. In fact, we’re probably building more,” Mitchell said.

Columbus Business First: 11/06/07

Cameron Mitchell put his Fish Market chain on the acquisition menu earlier this year, but in closing a deal, he added a side of steak.

The restaurateur’s Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC announced the sale of its 19 Fish Markets, two Mitchell’s Steakhouses and one Cameron’s Steakhouse to Heathrow, Fla.-based Ruth’s Chris Steak House Inc.

“This sale paves the way to achieve our goals innovation and expansion,” he said.

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants also manages the Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern, which is scheduled for four new locations in 2008 as well.

Columbus Monthly 12/2007

Sir Thomas, The Alcohol Man, Columbus Alive

Walking down High Street, you may suddenly be drawn in by Marcella's open-air seating. Unlike the usual patio, at Marcella's the huge windows just open up to let the restaurant and the sidewalk seemingly become one. Someone passing by might just be able to reach in and steel a glass of wine right off your table.

Inside is a fun, casual, comfortable atmosphere, enhanced by exposed brick on one wall coupled with wood on the back bar. Then there's the Italian flavor in the decor. The fresh fruit hanging in baskets at the bar provides more than just an excellent ingredient for cocktails; it helps give Marcella's an Italian mercato feel.

In front of the kitchen is the salumeria, where the Berkel fly wheel slicer provides patrons with paper-thin slices of Italian meats. A large party table is situated right in front so guests can feel like part of the action. One final touch is the cappuccino machine, a must-have for any Italian-style bar.
"Our bartenders are not just mixologists, they are baristas," assistant general manager Jenn Rossi said.

The booze

Marcella's all-Italian wine list has around 50 labels, organized by body. Everything is available in three carafe sizes: Quartino, a little more than a glass; mezzolitro, a half bottle; or litro, a full bottle. Purists, no worries; all the wines are still presented. Many regions are represented and several of the quartini are only $5. Some of the country's finest wines also make the list, including Barbaresco, Bolgheri, Barolo and Brunelo di Montalcino. In true Italian countryside style, all wines are served in a tumbler.

For the cocktail lover, Marcella's has many unique concoctions, as well as a few standards. The most popular drink is the citrus white sangria ($5/glass, $20/litro), but they also offer a Primitivo red variety.

Fun twists on classic cocktails are another option, such as the bittersweet Grapefruit Negroni ($9) made with Bombay gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, fresh grapefruit juice and tonic. If you are in the mood for something a little more contemporary, the Kiwi Crush ($9) should do the trick, with Belvedere Cytrus vodka, Cointreau, Midori and fresh kiwi puree.

The Food

Marcella's offers a few larger items, but its menu is heavier with small plates, pizzas and pastas, which are great for sharing as a meal or a bar snack. The Sicilian pizza ($9) with capacola, salami, meatballs and Asiago is, as Rossi described it, "a meat eater's delight. The veal meatball with ricotta cheese melts in your mouth."

The meatball is also available by itself ($7) or served with fettucine ($10). Another popular dish is the pesto shrimp pizza ($10), made with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese.

A large selection of olives ($3), formaggi (3 for $10, 5 for $14) and salumi ($4) is a good place to start your small-plate adventure (the last two are cheese and deli meat, if you don't speak Italian). Several cold and hot small plates ($4 to $7) are also offered. The fritto misto with calamari, roasted garlic aioli and lemon is quite popular and the melted pecorino cheese is shipped in from Italy just for Marcella's.

 

Nation’s Restaurant News

Tucson, Ariz. – The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers will honor Cameron Mitchell, president and founder of Columbus, Ohio-based Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, as the 2007 recipient of the Commitment to People Award. The presentation will be made during CHART’s 74th semi-annual conference, to be held Aug. 4-7 at the Lowes Ventana Canyon Resort here.

CHART presents the award every year to a leader of a restaurant or hospitality business who demonstrates a commitment to developing employees.

Several business consultants and industry professionals also will address conference attendees. Among the keynote speakers are Hyrum Smith, creator of FranklinCovey, a productivity training and products company, and Harry Paul, co-author of the best-selling book “Fish!,” who will discuss the guiding principles of Seattle’s landmark Pike Place Market. The conference will include several workshops on training practices for hourly workers, managers and executives.

Marcus Herzberg, CBUS

Want someplace fun to grab some good Italian food anytime of night? Try Marcella’s, the newest member of the Cameron Mitchell Restaurants family. Reminiscent of an Italian café, the restaurant opened its doors this spring in the Short North. Floor-to-ceiling windows adjacent to the bar area are removed in fair weather for an open-air feel. A brick accent wall, aged wood floors, clean white tile, and an orange pressed tin ceiling add to the Old World feel. The dining room is separated from the kitchen by a mock salumeria – with meats and cheeses displayed in deli cases.

Complementing the décor, the mood at Marcella’s is relaxed and convivial – perfect for the Short North. Dish towels serve as napkins and maps of Italy are printed on the paper place-settings. Selections from Marcella’s all-Italian wine list are served either by the glass-size (quartino), half-bottle (mezzalitro), or bottle-size (litro) carafes. Rather than stemware, the wine is then poured into quaint tumblers, sending the message that atmosphere is more familial than formal.

The focus at Marcella’s is on sharing and service. Small plates are stacked in the center of each table so that patrons can share appetizers, pizzas, and entrees as well. Assistant General Manager Jenn Rossi tells me that she’s even seen guests passing plates between tables, making new friends as they enjoy dinner. Dining Room Manager Chrissy Pannunzio and the wait staff provide service that is just the right mix of attentive and fun. For appetizers, Marcella’s offers cold and hot small plates. Start with the Shaved Prosciutto and Ripe Melon ($4), or the Calamari ($7), which comes with both marinara and a wonderful creamy roasted garlic aioli. The pizzas feature tasty toppings and some of the freshest-tasting crust I’ve ever had. Try the classic Four Cheese, or the lovely Margherita, with tomato, mozzarella, and basil ($9 each). Even better yet is the fantastic Pesto Shrimp Pizza, with roasted tomato and tangy goat cheese ($10).

 

Marcella’s offers half a dozen Pasta dishes in manageable servings ($10 each). The traditional Capellini al Pomodoro, with fruity blistered tomatoes, basil, and garlic, is delicious, and even better when you add chicken or shrimp. There’s also a spicy Penne alla Arrabiata, and the Ravioli Mezzaluna, stuffed with rich goat cheese and topped with smoky Italian bacon. Or, you can select a nice entree, like Seared Salmon ($15) with glazed carrots and arugula vinaigrette, or the Skirt Steak ($17) with sea salt potatoes and gremolata butter. The Chicken Giardiniera ($12) is also quite flavorful – crispy pan-seared chicken in a lemony broth, topped with pickled carrots, cauliflower, red pepper, and celery. You really can’t make a bad choice for dessert ($5). The Profiteroles is a lot of fun to share – pistachio, chocolate, and honey vanilla gelato, each sandwiched in a miniature puff pastry and doused

with warm chocolate ganache. The thoroughly excellent Cherry Crustada is a must-try, with a buttery almond crumble and honey vanilla gelato. And the Double Chocolate Torte, topped with chopped pistachios, is so deliciously rich, it just might make you swear out loud. Marcella’s certainly makes its point: a restaurant doesn’t have to be rigid or stuffy

to serve good food. What’s also great about Mr. Mitchell’s latest venture is that you can drop in for a thoroughly enjoyable appetizer, dinner, and a dessert, yet not be so

stuffed that you’ll have to be wheel-barrowed out to the valet.

Miriam Bowers Abbott, The Other Paper

Cameron Mitchell has been the reigning Master of the Meatloaf since his Cap City Diner first came on the scene. Now, it’s time to give the meatloaf maven a new title: King of the Meatball.

Yes, indeed, the meatballs at Mitchell’s newest project, Marcella’s (615 N. High St.) are good—sinfully good. But the Short North stop aims to be more than a meatball joint. It’s a Ristorante Pizzeria Wine Bar, and that makes Marcella’s the pinnacle of appropriateness for the restaurateur’s empire.

Mitchell’s joints, even the upscale ones, have a reputation for loud ambient cacophony. Love it or hate it, it’s his unapologetic signature. But thankfully, mayhem happens to be perfectly suited for Marcella’s.

It’s a big, hip, tight-seated stop, where the vino and vittles practically pour from the kitchen. Here, however, there’s less of an element of performance in the attentive service as the team of bustling servers drops off an endless parade of eats.

It’s entirely possible to dine conventionally—with an appetizer, than a salad, then an entrée—but the right way to dine at Marcella’s involves ordering a thoughtless mass of concoctions and sharing whatever the kitchen brings.

With this guiding credo, enter the Meatball ($10). It’s achingly tender, with a warm wonderfulness that literally dissolves in your mouth. The masterpiece sits atop a worthy plate of fettucine, drenched in alfredo, surrounded by a tidy ring of sweet marinara and something the menu calls “torn bread crumb” which are chunks of oily bread to sop up residual sauce.

The saffron-tinged Rissoto ($11) is another are of competence. There’s a rich decadence in texture and flavor that teams nicely with simple (and comparatively austere) shrimp.

On the greener side of things, Marcella’s makes a handful of salads, including a particularly interesting offering called Tre Colore ($6). Bitter wisps of greens are set off with golden beets, radicchio and a few crumbles of gorgonzola. For those weary of the trend of sugary fruits in salad, this one’s for you. Even the dressing is without a hint of sweetness.

The Formaggi ($14) plate seems to be a big seller—and what’s not to like about a giant plate of cheese? It’s a flavor tour of the range fermented milk, from a familiar buffalo mozzarella to an aggressive aged goat cheese. This one’s built for sharing and for conversation.

If sharing appetizers doesn’t appeal to you and if an entrée is an absolute must have in your dining experience, Marcella’s is equipped to meet your needs. The Skirt Steak ($17) is abut as meat-and-potatoes—literally—as it gets, and the steak is suitably savory and tender.

So Marcella’s certainly makes the cut as a Ristorante and a Pizzeria. As for its qualifications as Wine Bar: Yep, there’s wine, and it’s sold by the cutesy-named quartino, mezzolitro and litro.

The wine menu categorizes its beverages according to descriptors, so the “fruity whites” are separated from the “rich whites” (pun duly noted and deferred). Wine fans accustomed to quiet, thoughtful beverage debates are ill-suited as Marcella’s customers since the place is too loud and too crazy for any profoundly academic discussions. On the other hand, decadent souls who enjoy the raw sensory experience of eating and drinking will do just fine.

By Barnet D. Wolf, Columbus Dispatch

This isn't your typical Cameron Mitchell restaurant.

The stacks of plates at the center of each table vary in design. Only a few chairs at the table match.

Heck, even the tables are different sizes.

The maestro of upscale metro Columbus dining has gone way casual with his newest restaurant, Marcella's, scheduled to open a week from today in the Short North's Yukon Building.

"It's going to be boisterous, it's going to be crowded, and, we hope, it's going to be a fun place where people will get together to try lots of different types of great Italian food," Mitchell said.

The new restaurant represents a U-turn for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, which runs 30 others under eight nameplates.

Marcella's, 615 N. High St., is two blocks north of the Greater Columbus Convention Center and just below the first arch at the Short North's entrance. It was designed to emulate an Italian enoteca.

These traditional wine bars typically are casual places where you can eat a home-style meal, sip some wine and kick back.

The atmosphere reflects that, from the wood floor and distressed mirrors to the menu items and variety of Italian wines served in different-size carafes.

The magazine rack located just past the restaurant's front door holds Italian magazines and newspapers. The servers are receiving lessons in Italian pronunciation.

Meanwhile, the windows along High Street will fold, accordion-style, to link the restaurant to the sidewalk. Tables are placed close to one another.

"This is all about sharing," Mitchell said. "Sharing the food with one another, sharing friendships. Being part of the community. This is something we really wanted to do."

Sharing is the reason for all the small plates on the tables. The idea is to let everyone at the table sample the cheeses, cold cuts and appetizers, as well as the main dishes

The wine glasses are small - juice-size. And although Marcella's has the typically high Mitchell wine markup, the prices are consistent: A quarter bottle is a quarter of the price of a full bottle.

The restaurant (pronounced mar-CHELL-uz) takes its name from the woman who prepares meals for Mitchell and his family when in Tuscany during summer vacation.

Marcella's carries the tag "ristorante, pizzeria and wine bar."

Another of the authentic touches is the four-sided salumeria, or delicatessen, in front of the open kitchen.

That's where the meats and cheeses are sliced and the almonds and olives are stored.

The antipastos join the pastas, pizzas, salads and some special entrees on the menu. Most of the pastas cost $10. The most expensive dish is the Veal Milanese at $19.

Marcella's will make its own sangria and lemoncello.

The new restaurant cost $1.2 million, about half what it usually costs the company to open a store. The price is just one indicator of the approachable nature of Marcella's.

"This is something we're doing for fun," Mitchell said.

The restaurant will seat 120, including at the bar, located along the north side of the building. It will be open seven days a week from 4 p.m. "until late." Reservations are recommended.

Mitchell's other recent venture, Mitchell's Ocean Club, was created with its expansion into a chain in mind. A second Ocean Club is set for Troy, Mich., with a third in Scottsdale, Ariz., and possibly another in New York.

But there are no such expectations for Marcella's. Still, he said, if the reception is overwhelming, "Who knows? We would never say never to anything."

 

Lisa Bertagnoli

Columbus, Ohio, is home to Ohio State University and its fabled Buckeyes. It’s also headquarters for more than its fair share of chains: Wendy’s, Bob Evans, White Castle, Max & Erma’s, Steak Escape, Damon’s, Donatos Pizza, Bravo Cucina Italia and its sister concept, Brio Tuscan Grill.

“That’s $10 billion in chain-restaurant sales a year,” says Cameron Mitchell, president and founder of another Columbus-based company, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, a multiconcept operation with 29 restaurants in eight states.

Mitchell agreed to take us on a culinary tour of Columbus, a market he describes as not unsophisticated, but not totally grown-up, either.

Columbus, population 800,000 and the capital of Ohio, lacks the national presence of its bigger siblings, Cleveland and Cincinnati. But Ohio State University and a handful of Fortune 500 companies lend a certain cachet, not to mention economic stability, to the city.

“Between New York and Chicago, we’re the most upscale restaurant community in the Midwest,” says Gail Baker, executive director of the Central Ohio Restaurant Association. Baker mentions Handke’s Cuisine, owned by culinary Olympian Hartmut Handke; and Michael Reams, owner of the upscale Burgundy Room and G. Michaels restaurants, and The Refectory, a fine-dining establishment with a nationally known wine list.

A lease-negotiation meeting for a new restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz., kept Mitchell occupied for some of the morning, so Carolyn Delp, operating partner and vice president of marketing at Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, serves as tour guide for the first part of our Road Trip.

Under the Arches

Around 11 a.m., we begin driving north on High Street, the road that bisects Columbus. CMR is headquartered in a low, industrial building on the south end of Short North, a warehouse district packed with art galleries, cafes and specialty retailers.

One of Short North’s landmarks is North Market, the city’s only remaining public market and a busy maze of restaurants, ethnic food shops and cookware stores.

Driving north, we notice a dozen or so iron arches over High Street. Similar arches spanned the area at the turn of the 20th century, giving Columbus the nickname Arch City. The new arches, erected in 2002, mark the city’s growing arts district.

As we drive, Delp explains that Columbus is growing mostly to the north and east; notable sites include Polaris, a 3-million-square-foot shopping mall on the north side that houses 100 restaurants.

One popular destination is the Arena District, home to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the city’s professional hockey team. Gordon Biersch Brewery, BD’s Mongolian Grill and Ted’s Montana Grill all have locations there.

Our first stop is Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, which has three units in Columbus. “They talk about this steakhouse and ours,” Delp says, referring to four-unit Mitchell’s Steakhouse. An expansive patio with two-story-high black drapes and granite tables looks like something you’d see on the West Coast, not in the nation’s midsection.

Our next stop is the space that, come late May, will be CMR’s newest concept: Marcella’s. Inspired by Quartino in Chicago and Pastis in New York, the small-plates concept will offer salumi, antipasti and stone-oven pizzas, with no entree priced more than $15. “See the tin ceiling? And there will be booths over there,” Delp says excitedly as we tour the half-built restaurant.

College Town

Further north on High Street, the Gateway, a retail-restaurant development, marks the beginning of the OSU campus. We see Eddie George’s Grill, named after the famed OSU running back. Chains abound including Potbelly Sandwich Works, Panera Bread and Caribou Coffee.

On our way to Polaris, we stop at Rusty Bucket, a casual bar and grill at Lane Avenue Shopping Center, an upscale strip mall. CMR handles back-office work for the fledgling chain and takes a management fee in return.

“It’s a neighborhood bar—fun, friendly and fast,” Delp says as we survey the dining room and prominent bar. The decor is limited to neon signs and sports photos and memorabilia. “The economic model is great,” Delp says; the bars cost $900,000 to build and average $2 million in annual sales. By the end of this year, there will be 12 Rusty Buckets in operation, all in Ohio.

Soon we arrive at Polaris. CMR has two restaurants there: Molly Woo’s, a full-service Asian concept named after Mitchell’s wife, and Martini Italian Bistro. The decor at Molly Woo’s, which is 7,800 square feet and has 250 seats, is Chinatown-worthy, with red paint, black lacquer and Chinese lanterns.

It’s almost 1 p.m., and Delp orders spring rolls to go. While we’re waiting we check out Lindey’s, Bravo Development Inc.’s casual-upscale bistro. BDI’s founders, brothers Chris and Rick Doody, went to high school with Mitchell; the three remain friends.

Still Vanilla

1:30: Lunch at last, at Columbus Fish Market, Mitchell’s first seafood concept. Lunch is a Shang Hai Seafood Sampler, a Harpoon Shrimp Salad, Asian salmon, and penne pasta with roasted vegetables and marinara. Mitchell, who joins us at the restaurant, begins lunch with a cup of gumbo.

During lunch, he talks about OSU’s influence on the city. “All the sports teams, recruiting, entertaining, general business,” Mitchell says. “The school keeps the economy stable, as does city government.” And the students “make a nice youthful work-force base,” he adds.

Until the mid-’ 90s, Columbus “was a boring meat-and-potatoes town,” Mitchell says. Several factors helped change that, including an influx of executives from New York to work at companies such as Limited Brands. “Those people wanted style,” he says.

Despite the efforts of Mitchell, the Doody brothers and other entrepreneurs, Columbus remains “vanilla,” Mitchell says. “It doesn’t have any kind of ethnicity.” Figures from the 2000 Census back him up. Columbus’ demographic makeup is roughly 68 percent white, 24 percent African-American and 3.55 percent Asian. Cleveland, for its part, is 41.4 percent white, and Cincinnati, 53 percent.

“We don’t dumb down our food, but we are cognizant of the taste profile of our locations,” Mitchell says.

May 1, 2007

Nancy Byron, Smart Business Columbus - May 2007

He’s built nine well-known brands in the past 13 years.

His empire, worth more than $100 million, spans eight — soon to be nine — states. What’s even more impressive is that he’s done all that in a highly competitive — some might even say cutthroat — industry notorious for chewing up and spitting out wannabes by the dozens every year.

Clearly, Cameron Mitchell knows how to build a brand.

“It’s amazing the power of the concept,” says Mitchell, president of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. “We have multiple concepts, and some are better than others. Some outperform others. If you can get that concept to be just right, you can build a hell of a brand. But it takes a lot of work.”

Here’s how Mitchell has successfully built his collection of diverse brands, from retro diners to Pan-Asian bistros, from supper clubs to sophisticated steakhouses. It’s a formula that’s proven to drive growth and is based on some universal concepts.

Define yourself
Mitchell says the foundation for any brand must be built upon a company’s core values and philosophies.

“I think any business venture has to ask themselves, ‘What do they want to be?’” he says. “We want to be an extraordinary restaurant company.

“Any organization also needs to define itself and say, ‘Who are we?’ You need to be able to answer that basic question. We answer that by saying we’re great people delivering genuine hospitality.

“Our third plank of our philosophy is, even though we have 2,500 associates and we all have different job descriptions, we all have the same role in the company. And that is to make raving fans of the five groups of people we do business with: our fellow associates, our guests, our purveyors, our partners and our community. If we make raving fans out of those five groups of people, we will succeed in making raving fans of anyone we come into contact with.”

Those three core philosophies go a long way in driving the brands that Mitchell creates.

And although he acknowledges that each restaurant concept he’s created has become a brand of sorts, the underlying, unifying brand behind all of them remains Cameron Mitchell Restaurants itself. Every restaurant concept has to adhere to that brand.

“What is our brand? Our brand is quality food, quality ambiance and, hopefully, great service to go with it,” he says. “We want our guests to be able to count on that.”

So no matter if that guest is dining at the Columbus Fish Market or the swanky M, customer expectations should be exceeded on all fronts.

“We try to be consistent with that throughout,” Mitchell says.

He makes it sound so easy, but the introspection required to start building a brand can’t be taken lightly. It’s the identity of your business. It’s your calling card. Your signature.

“What do you want your brand to be known for?” Mitchell says. “You have to develop that brand promise. The brand promise is what you want to deliver to people.”

To read the complete article online, please click here to go to the Smart Business website.

Carolyn Walkup, Nation’s Restaurant News

…Cameron Mitchell Restaurants of Columbus, Ohio, which has 28 restaurants in eight states, is primarily expanding its Mitchell’s Fish Market, with 13 branches now open in seven states.  The company also has been opening one of its complementary secondary concepts in some of the same markets.

A Cameron’s Steakhouse opened in December in the revitalized Bayshore Mall in Glendale, Wis., and a Mitchell’s Fish Market will open soon in another mall in the same Milwaukee metro area.  The Summit in Louisville, Ky., has both a Mitchell’s Fish Market and a Martini Italian Bistro.

Allison Perlik, Restaurant & Institutions

As he prepares to open the eighth location of Mitchell’s Fish Market, Columbus, Ohio-based multiconcept restaurant leader Cameron Mitchell talks about why the upscale-casual seafood concept has what it takes to succeed on a broad scale.

Q: What are the criteria a concept needs to be successful as a multi-unit operation?
A: You have to look at three circles and where they interconnect: No.1, what do you have a passion for? No.2, it has to have a great economic engine. It’s got to work financially. And No. 3, we have to be the best in the market and have wide market acceptance.  Any concept that fits in those areas [can work].

Q: How does Mitchell’s Fish Market match these qualities?
A: When you look at the Fish Market, we’re passionate about it.  We love seafood.  We think we do a great job at it. It’s got a great economic model.  We’re averaging about $4.6 million in volume.  It’s got labor numbers that work, economics that work.  And we think we’re the best in the market.
 From a freshness perspective, no one does it like we do, with a refridgerated fish kitchen where it’s butchered right there… Some of our competitors have a commissary, and they cut their own fish, pre-portion it, wrap it and send it out to their restaurants.  We buy only top-of-the-trip fish.  It comes into our kitchen and is butchered right there.  From the time it’s out of the ocean to on out guests’ plates is only a couple of days.

Q: What kind of growth potential do you see for this “upscale seafood” niche?
A: We’re looking at the marketplace for opportunites like our [planned] development in Tampa.  They’re not going to put three steakhouses in these big developments.  In the Tampa development we have P.F. Chang’s, Maggiano’s, The Palm and Mitchell’s Fish Market.  You’ve got Asian, Italian, steak and seafood.  We’re really trying to position ourselves as the marquee player in that high-end, upscale-casual seafood segment, so those are the kind of neighbors we want.

Q: Did you make any changes to the concept to make it more amenable to multimarket success?
A: We’ve done a new [design].  Our décor used to have a lot of blue and really leaned toward a Northeastern look.  This is much more coastal.  The color scheme is much more female-directed.  We didn’t appeal as much to women before.  Now we have a stronger bar presence, and we use reds, creams, and burgundies [in our color scheme].  The first one we did in this new décor package is in Birmingham, Mich., which is a highly affluent market.  It’s our No. 1 store.  It did just under $6 million last year.  We want to be in affluent, high-density, suburban or urban locations.  Our real estate selection process is all geared that way.

Q: By the end of this year Mitchell’s Fish Market will have 11 units in six states.  What are your expansion plans looking ahead?
A: We want to build four to six units a year, and we want to be highly selective.  We’re searching for the best possible real estate out there, and we can afford that luxury.  We’re not a public company that’s compelled to build 10 or 12 restaurants [per year] and has to start making exceptions for real estate sites.  Do I want to say national expansion? Let’s just say growth is the exhaust of running a great company.

 I’ve seen too many guys who say they’re going to build X number of restaurants and be nation by [a certain date] and [today] they’re out of business.  That’s where we’d like to be, but we’ve got a long way to go.  It’s a long span of time to get there from here and it takes a lot of skill, a lot of hard work, and a lot of effort.  In the meantime, we’ll focus on what we’re doing here today and take it one step at a time.

Susan Deutschle, Business First

Restaurants cook up equity programs to keep management turnover rate low

When an industry soars at the exact same time its labor pool nosedives, the experience creates lasting memories for those who rode, and survived, the wild ride.

Seasoned restaurateurs asked to reminisce about the late 1980s and early 1990s keenly remember hiring "anyone with a pulse" just to keep up with the explosive business from customers who began eating out with unprecedented frequency at a time when the demographic for entry-level workers reached an all-time low.

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons that emerged from that period was the importance of retaining good workers.

Although the labor picture is much improved, the proportion of young people who are willing to work has dipped and shows no sign of rebounding to previous levels, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Yet the restaurant industry continues to expand and is expected to remain strong, based on research by several industry trend watchers, including the Rosemont, Ill.-based NPD Foodworld, a publication for the foodservice industry.

So the ongoing reality of a booming industry with a limited worker base has led to some innovative approaches for hanging onto good employees. While many of these efforts have focused on entry-level staffers, a growing number of restaurant companies are upping the ante to keep management-level employees from moving to a competitor's payroll.

Equity incentive programs are just one of the carrots being dangled to engender loyalty and long-term service from management personnel, particularly in multi-unit restaurant chains.
 
"There's definitely a trend toward giving managers a piece of the action," said Bob Welcher, president of Columbus-based Restaurant Consultants, Inc.

Sense of ownership
Max & Erma's Restaurants Inc. has taken the equity concept a step beyond the usual offering of stock options. The Columbus-based chain with over 90 corporate and franchised stores has a managing partner program"that was created to foster a deep level of ownership among its management staff.  General managers who own at least 500 shares of Max & Erma's stock are eligible to participate.

It works like this: The employee agrees to let the company hold 500 shares for five years. In exchange, they become a managing partner and are guaranteed to stay in one location for the contract period with a predetermined net profit requirement. This compares to general managers who are often shuttled from location to location and have to meet net profit goals on a quarterly basis.

Max & Erma's program isn't peerless. The Outback Steakhouse chain has long been known for its managing partner program where a general manager invests $25,000 in his own restaurant location. In return, he pockets 10 percent of the store's bottom line.

Locally, another restaurant company known for being active in wanting management-level employees to feel a sense of corporate ownership is Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, operator of brands such as Columbus Fish Market, Martini Italian Bistro and Mitchell's Steakhouse.

Some members of Mitchell's executive team, including corporate chefs, also are known as operating partners. They receive a small percentage of company profit, said Carolyn Delp, a company spokeswoman.

"After two years of exemplary performance as a general manager or executive chef, key associates are eligible to become an operating partner," Delp said. "The partnership interest fully vests after 10 years of employment."

At Max & Erma's, 25 percent of anything generated above the established profit quota goes to the managing partner, in addition to annual performance raises based on mystery shopper scores.

It's an arrangement that has worked well for Keith Johnson. His five years as the managing partner of the company's Hilliard store ends on Oct. 31. He'll most likely have an opportunity to sign on for another five years, or be promoted. If the latter happens, Johnson is convinced that managing partner program has been a good training ground.

Dina Berta, Nation's Restaurant News

Cameron Mitchell's educational philanthropy began a few years ago with $500 scholarships for students at Columbus State Community College. In addition, about 20 CSCC students intern each year with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, a company the Ohio restaurateur founded with a single bistro 11 years ago. The business now boasts a multiconcept chain of 22 restaurants in three states with projected gross sales of $83 million for 2004.

As the company has increased in size, so has Mitchell's giving. He established a scholarship four years ago at his alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., to memorialize a young employee killed in an auto accident, and he has funded other scholarships at the school. As a member of the school's alumni committee, he recently decided to up the ante. Mitchell pledged to match every dollar his fellow alumni give to support the CIA during the next five years, up to $250,000.
Why have you been so generous in offering scholarships?

When I went to culinary school, I didn't have a dime to my name. I struggled to pay for gas for my car. I worked all the way through school. I made many trips to the financial-aid office.

The restaurant industry has been very good to me, and the CIA had a lot to do with my success in this business. I think most people want to give back and help people coming up behind them.

I also think the industry is starting to realize there is such a huge shortage of people in our business. If we want qualified young people to make [the restaurant industry] a career, we have to do our part to help them.

Tell about the Ian Van Hyde Memorial Scholarship. Who was Ian?
Ian was a high-school kid who worked at the Martini [Italian Bistro in downtown Columbus]. He was very effervescent. When you met him, he made you feel good. He was a bright ray of sunshine, a great kid. His whole dream was to go to the CIA.

What happened?

He was driving to school one day; it was his senior year. He was in a car wreck. I was sitting in an annual meeting at the CIA when I heard the news. I thought "What can I do?" We wanted to do something for the family, something lasting. We said we would do a $1,000 scholarship every year for 18 years, one for each year of his life. Each student who is awarded the scholarship must write a letter to [Ian's] parents and tell them about himself, what he's doing, his aspirations. We wanted it to be a way for the family to keep Ian's dream alive.

Steve Stover, City Scene

Columbus Bachelors and Bachelorettes Weigh in on What Makes For a Romantic Dinner Date
 
Many believe that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  And so, it appears, is romance, or at least romantic dining.  our CityScene survey revealed significant differences between bachelor's and bachelorette's choices for the most romantic Columbus restaurants.
 
She Said...
 
M, 2 Miranova Place 629.0000
M, Cameron Mitchell's high-style marquee restaurant, may have one of the most beautiful rooms in Columbus, if not in Ohio.  The decor is swank, contemporary and upscale, from the remarkable lighting that changes colors during the evening to the flowing drapes separating tables and providing an air of intimacy.  One male "reviewer" put it this way - "the room has an air of fantasy to it; you always get credit for going all out when you choose this venue."
 
He Said...
 
Mitchell's Steakhouse
45 N. Third Street, 621.BEEF
7619 Huntington Park Drive  888.CHOP                                 
 
Mitchell's downtown, located in an old bank building, with high ceilings and a luxurious ambiance, including dark wood and burnished metals, has the look and feel of a New York City steakhouse.  Mitchell's Crosswoods has more of a supper club atmosphere with live music.  Booths allow for privacy, and moving over to the lounge is a great way to end the night.  And the fireplace in the bar area adds a special feeling.
 
Best of Columbus Romantic Dining
 
Best Room
Mitchell's Steakhouse Downtown
M
 
Best Oysters
Mitchell's Steakhouse (two locations)
Columbus Fish Market (two locations)
 
Best Chocolate Dessert
M - "Decadence of Chocolate"

Restaurant Hospitality, December 2005

When we asked Rich Melman five years ago to lend his name to our Concepts of Tomorrow Award, we understood then that he takes a different tack than those who give birth to a great concept and grow that concept into a regional or national chain.

Melman, the genius behind Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises in Chicago, has such a fertile mind that he chooses to create one great concept after another. It's for this reason that the award—The Richard Melman Concepts of Tomorrow Award—bears his name.

The 2005 winner of the Melman award, presented during a grand dinner at this year's Concepts of Tomorrow Conference, more closely mirrors Rich Melman than any other past recipient of the award.

Cameron Mitchell is the guiding force behind nine different concepts in seven states. This he accomplished in a mere 12 years under the banner of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, a $100 million company.

But it was Mitchell's decision several years ago to take just one of his concepts— Mitchell's Fish Market—and develop it into a growth vehicle. The concept, which currently consists of 14 units, is growing at a rate of three to four units a year, with each averaging $5 million in sales.

The editors of RH are convinced that Mitchell, at a mere 42 years old, has unlimited potential as a multiconcept operator and as the entrepreneurial force behind a Concept of Tomorrow.

Before accepting his Melman award at night, Mitchell kicked off the conference agenda. He told a packed audience that the key to his success and the success of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants is a strong culture that lives by three principles—be passionate, maintain your integrity at all times and believe in and trust your people.

Those principles, not so coincidentally, have made Rich Melman the icon he is.

 

C the Columbus Magazine

Cameron Mitchell is a Columbus icon.  His restaurant concepts consistently prove to be tremendously popular, no matter that they differ greatly.  Cameron likes to cook at home, but doesn’t do so at work any more.  Cheese is an essential ingredient to have in his kitchen, as is Fresca (although it’s not really an ingredient).  He, like Joe Saccone and Chris Doody, thinks that Korean Barbeque is the only restaurant concept we suggested to him that has a chance of succeeding, and he ought to know.  Concept, he says, is the most important factor in the success or failure of a restaurant, and he would advise anyone wishing to take their operations multi-unit to make sure that their culture and values are alive and well in every one of their operations.  He and Chris Doody agree that the best movie dinner scene is form Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson.  Ever the diplomat, he refused to use the superlative when choosing a breakfast place, but did admit that he and his family love to eat breakfast at Marshall’s in Grandview.

A customer once asked Cameron why on earth he wanted to open a seafood restaurant in Columbus, when the nearest water is Buckeye Lake.  He says that stuck with him more than almost any other comment he received, and surely had a profound impact on the care he put into the development of both his Ocean Club and Fish Market concepts.  Although Cameron does agree that there are too many restaurants in Columbus, he let us pick his brain for a little advice that could benefit another upstart.  Behold the wisdom of Cameron Mitchell:

C Magazine: Given the expansion of the residential capacity of downtown Columbus, what do you think small and medium-sized business owners should focus on to capitalize on the rapid development we are seeing?
Cameron Mitchell: Learn to cater to the many new guests who will be living downtown.  Find out what their needs are, and enhance their downtown living experience.

C Magazine: Is there a correlation between increasing economy of scale and decrease in the quality of product being produced?  I.E. as your companies have gotten bigger, have you noticed that practices like producing food at commissaries or sub-contracting out production has had a negative impact on the overall quality of the product?
CM: We do not use commissaries or sub-contract out production of products.  We operate all of our restaurants as if they are a single entity.

C Magazine: How difficult is it to maintain consistency of product with a multi-unit operation?
CM: It is very difficult.  We continually train, train and re-train.

C Magazine: What advice would you offer someone starting out in multi-unit operations to ensure consistency of product?
CM: First and foremost, make sure that your company culture and core values are in place.  Putting associates first is core to Cameron Mitchell’s way of doing business – a strategy that strongly differentiates us from most every other competitor in the industry.  We know that the true path to great guest satisfaction lies in having truly happy associates.  Happy associates care enough to help us maintain consistency.

Congratulations to the following Columbus restaurants on their recent awards!
 
Citysearch Best of 2006 Awards

Best Brunch
Best Dessert
Best Group Dining
Cap City Diner

Best Fine Dining
Best Special Occasion Dining
M

Best Date Spot
M, Runner Up

Best Romantic Dining
M, Runner Up

Best Wine List
M, Runner Up

This Week Readers Poll 2006:

Best Casual Dining
Cap City Diner

Best Diner
Cap City Diner

Best Desserts
Cap City Diner, Runner Up 

Christi Ravneberg, Nation's Restaurant News

Cameron Mitchell, who as president and chief executive of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants oversees a $102 million, 26-unit restaurant company, has come a long way since he had his career-defining moment as a teenager working as a host and line cook at a Max & Erma’s restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

“One Friday night I had an epiphany,” he says.  “It was just mayhem.  The restaurant was really busy.  There was a line out the door, order tickets hanging in the window.  Time froze.  I said, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

That night Mitchell, who calls himself the poster child for the “dish room to board room” career path, put pen to paper and defined his career goals for the next 15 years.  And he hit each one:  student at The Culinary Institute of America after high school, executive chef at 23, general manager at 24, regional manager at 30 and finally, at 35, president of his own restaurant organization.

Today as head of the Columbus-based company, he’s still looking ahead.  Cameron Mitchell Restaurants currently has four new units in development and maintains a stable of 11 concepts in Ohio and five other states.

In Columbus there are 13 units representing nine of the concepts:  Mitchell’s Steakhouse, a classic high-end steakhouse; Columbus Fish Market, a fine-dining fish house; Cap City Fine Diner and Bar, and upscale diner; The Ocean Club, a seafood concept with an undersea design motif; M, a fine-dining downtown venture featuring American cuisine with European and Pacific Rim influences; Molly Woo’s, a Pan-Asian bistro; Cameron’s American Bistro, the company’s first concept; Martini Italian Bistro, an Italian concept offering an extensive list of its namesake cocktail; and Columbus Brewing Co., a brewpub offering sandwiches and pizzas in the city’s Brewery District.

He’s also expanded to Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Michigan with two growth concepts, Mitchell’s Fish Market and Cameron’s Steakhouse.  Additional units of those concepts are slated to open in Tampa, Fla., and Milwaukee in early 2006.  Mitchell’s Fish Market, which specializes in fresh fish and features a raw bar, has an average unit volume of $4.7 million and seats 250 guests in its 7,000-square-foot buildings.  The sophisticated Cameron’s Steakhouse posts about $5 million in sales each year and seats 200.  Decorated with dark leather and woods, the classic steakhouse offers aged, corn-fed beef as well as seafood items.  Average dinner checks are $70. 

A third growth concept, Rusty Bucket, which Cameron Mitchell Restaurants manages for another company, has four units in Columbus and is expected to expand outside of Ohio as well.  The upscale-tavern concept seats about 150 and has a footprint of about 4,000 square feet.  Checks average $11 at lunch and $20 at dinner.

Mitchell estimates his restaurants will gross a total of $120 million in 2006, up from $102 million in 2005.  In addition, aggregate same-store sales for all the concepts are up about 3 percent.

The development of diverse concepts, like the other steps in his career, was by design.  “I never had a dream to build one restaurant.  I was starting a company,” Mitchell says.  “Our first goal was to build a multiconcept company and be king of the hill in our own backyard.  I saw what Rich Melman did in Chicago and I said, ‘ Columbus is ripe for this.  We need some cool restaurants around here.”

Doral Chenoweth, the “Grumpy Gourmet,” a veteran restaurant critic who covers dining for The Columbus Dispatch, says Mitchell has successfully made his mark in Columbus.

“He dominates the city,” Chenoweth says.  “He’s done an excellent job of marketing himself in this town.  He’s as well known as Coca-Cola here.  He’s sold the brand, but he’s always backed it up with quality.”

That quality is clearly evident on the menus at Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ concepts, according to Chuck Kline, vice president of food and beverage.  Though they vary cuisine, all of the concepts focus on made-from-scratch sauces and dressings, as well as high-quality meats and seafood.

Because fresh fish is central to several of the concepts, including The Ocean Club, Columbus Fish Market and Mitchell’s Fish Market, menu items change often to feature the freshest available fish, flown in from around the world.  At the Fish Market concepts, menus are printed daily to reflect the most up-to-date offerings.  “We’re in the middle of the country, but I’d put our seafood up against anyone,” Kline says.

One of the company’s signature dishes is fish served Shanghai-style – steamed with ginger and scallions and served with sticky rice, spinach and rice-wine soy sauce – at Columbus Fish Market and Mitchell’s Fish Market.  Comfort food, namely wild-mushroom meatloaf with buttermilk-chive mashed potatoes, broccoli, chili onion rings and barbeque gravy is a favorite at Cap City Fine Diner and Bar.

“That’s what we’re trying to create, those dishes you have cravings for,” Kline says.  “Those dishes where you’re sitting on your couch and say, ‘I can’t wait to go back to the Fish Market and get that Shanghai fish’ or ‘That salad at Cap City is awesome.’”

Kline adds that he’s witnessed the maturing of the Midwestern market, as diners have become less resistant to higher prices and more open to high-end ingredients like Kobe beef, which is served at the M in downtown Columbus and the Michigan unit of Cameron’s Steakhouse.  “I’ve always wanted to be – and our company has always wanted to be – the educator,” Kline says.  “We’ve kind of led the trend here in Columbus.  I think we’ve been very influential in this town.”

Dan Eaton, Business First

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC and Bravo Development Inc. long have been staples of the Columbus dining scene, but now the booming businesses are becoming bigger players nationwide
Armed with menus bearing fish, steak and pasta, the dining companies have been reaching beyond Ohio and the Midwest into some of the biggest, busiest markets. And both are doing it by taking small, manageable bites.

Mitchell stands at 27 restaurants in eight states, including a restaurant that opened this month in Tampa, Fla. Two more are scheduled to open by the end of the year.

Bravo has 51 restaurants in 19 states, counting the newest one in Canton, with seven more expected this year and one that will be relocated.

Darren Tristano, managing director of Technomic Inc., a restaurant research firm in Chicago, said industry trends are playing into the hands of Mitchell's and Bravo, making it an opportune time to expand operations.

"There has been a lot of blending and blurring of menus in recent years," he said, citing operations such as Applebee's International Inc., whose menu stretches from steaks and seafood to pasta and barbecue. "People are starting to want more specific meals, trending toward the upscale casual niche. (Mitchell and Bravo) already fit there."

Big fish story

Mitchell runs 13 restaurants in Central Ohio in styles ranging from casual Americana at the Cap City Diner to Chinese at Molly Woo's Asian Bistro to fine dining at M, the firm's self-proclaimed marquee restaurant.

From that smorgasbord, the company picked the Columbus Fish Market, renamed Mitchell's Fish Market for non-Central Ohio sites, as its primary growth driver. It is in 12 locations with another to open this year.

The Tampa restaurant is the company's first outside the Midwest, but it won't be the last.

"We have a good brand name in the Midwest," said CEO Cameron Mitchell. "California, the Southwest, Texas, Florida - those are big markets where people from the Midwest tend to gravitate. We hope to leapfrog into places like Texas and California."

Carolyn Cullers-Delp, vice president of marketing, said the company is pursuing sites in Stamford, Conn., Cherry Hill, N.J., and Summerland, Nev. - suburbs of New York, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. Mitchell said a goal is to have a Manhattan outlet.

Tristano said choosing to grow through the Fish Market was a good choice because seafood is increasingly popular with health-conscious diners.
Also, Mitchell offers a step up in quality and atmosphere in a seafood market dominated by Red Lobster, owned by Darden Restaurants Inc.

"For a chain restaurant, it feels upscale and feels like an independent," he said.
Other competitors include the 63-unit Bonefish Grill Inc., owned by Outback Steakhouse Inc.; Legal Sea Foods Inc., with 31 restaurants; and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc., with 52 restaurants.

Bonefish has a Dublin eatery, and McCormick & Schmick's is set to open at Easton Town Center this month.

The Columbus dining company is beginning to branch out with other nameplates as well.
Mitchell's Steakhouse, renamed Cameron's Steakhouse outside the region, will locate in two outside cities by the end of the year, with a restaurant in suburban Milwaukee joining one that operates in suburban Detroit.

Mitchell said the company hoped to expand the Fish Market and the Cameron's Steakhouse operations at the same rate, but the steakhouses face more competition. He said company executives have discussed expanding Molly Woo's beyond Columbus, but there are no immediate plans.

"Eventually, we'd like to do some new concepts, but for now our focus is on those two brands," Mitchell said. "We'll grow as far as we can grow. If we continue to perform well, we'll continue to grow."

Italian expansion

Bravo has varied restaurant styles in Central Ohio, like Mitchell's, and has hitched its national fortunes to its Bravo Cucina Italiana and Brio Tuscan Grille.

Rick Doody, chief executive, said executives are pleased with Bravo's growth - an expansion of eight to 10 restaurants annually since 2003. This is the last year of a four-year growth plan and includes three new cities for the company - Albuquerque, N.M., Buffalo, N.Y., and Greensboro, N.C.

Tristano said Bravo has succeeded despite a hit to the Italian food segment by carb-counting customers, a trend that has spun itself out, putting pasta back on an upswing.
He credited the company's gain to customer service and an ability to operate unlike a chain. And for Bravo, as for Mitchell, the chief competition comes from Darden and its Olive Garden operation.

"The food quality and service perception is higher with Bravo (than Olive Garden)," Tristano said. "When you walk in there is more of an aroma and it feels less like a chain. ... They will continue to do well."

The groundwork is laid for continued expansion in 2007 and beyond with locations in Detroit, St. Louis and Chicago signed and Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Lehigh, Pa., as possible destinations for the year.

Brios are aimed at major cities, "trophy locations," Doody called them, such as Chicago and Las Vegas, while the firm's Bravos fit best in smaller cities like Des Moines, Iowa and Canton.
Nicole Roope, Bravo's director of marketing, said the company had been growing at an almost 2-to-1 ratio of Bravos to Brios, but recently the split is closer to even because there have been more opportunities for Brios. Ultimately, the goal is 150 Bravos and 100 Brios, she said.

Doody credited much of the success to the company's ability to establish itself as a go-to restaurant anchor for lifestyle retail developments such as Easton Town Center, which is home to Brio and the company's Bon Vie Bistro & Bar, which offers French-American cuisine.

Roughly 80 percent of the company's restaurants operate in those complexes, which attract plenty of customers and lead to savings on landscaping and maintenance.

"We have no plans to grow exponentially," Doody said. "We can handle this growth. Eight to 10 restaurants a year is a good number."