McCormick & Schmick's Seafood

Since teaming up in the early 1970s, Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick have established more than 50 restaurants and catering operations throughout the country - an extraordinary feat in a business with the highest attrition rate of any in the United States. The two men, very different yet surprisingly compatible, have established themselves as entrepreneurs with one collective vision: to run the nation's premier family of seafood restaurants.

The history of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants began when Bill McCormick purchased Jake's Famous Crawfish Restaurant located in Portland, Ore., and brought the more than 100-year-old landmark back to life.

When asked the secret of how he revitalized a restaurant on the brink of closing, McCormick says, "I like nothing better than being a good host." In addition to his spirited personality, McCormick has an ability to bring out the best in other's managerial skills and strengths, a combination essential in a successful business.

Part of the managerial talent McCormick tapped was Doug Schmick, a management trainee. The two formed a partnership in 1974, creating Traditional Concepts, a precursor to today's McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants. In 1979, they opened the original McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant in Portland, Ore. Since that time, the company has expanded to more than 50 restaurants across the country.Less