Schwartz Brothers

The Making of a Seattle Icon

Most of us know there's lots of competition in Seattle's restaurant industry.

We all know that international, as well as local, events have contributed to a downturn in the economy.

Most of us are quite aware that the Pacific Northwest is one of the worst-hit areas economically—first to go down, last to recover—anytime there's a recession.

What we don't know is why one family of restaurants is doing so well otherwise.

Schwartz Brothers Restaurants was founded in 1970 by brothers Bill and John Schwartz. They opened with The Butcher restaurant in Bellevue and have been creating and improving upon various concepts ever since. Lindsey Schwartz, Bill's son, now leads the company.

Like many kids whose parents own restaurants, Lindsey (left) spent a good part of his youth working for the family. He was a dishwasher and prep cook at The Butcher, a prep cook at Benjamin's when he was 13 (we're checking on child labor laws as this is published), and had numerous other jobs throughout high school at Schwartz Brothers Delicatessen, Cucina! and Daniel's.

Although he skipped town to get his degree in entrepreneurial studies at USC, Schwartz Brothers opened a Benji's Fish and Chips restaurant off campus in L.A. which Lindsey ran during his junior and senior years. (Remember the Benji's Fish and Chips boat behind Benjamin's on Lake Union? There was probably a ten-year-old cousin behind that walk-up window.)

When he returned to Seattle, Lindsey started the Cucina! retail products division, selling food items throughout the Northwest. Some things are hard to give up—he still manages that business even though Cucina! has been sold. He served as Vice President of Marketing at Cucina! and Vice President of Sales and Marketing before moving into his current position as President of Schwartz Brothers Restaurants.

When asked about the reason behind their success, Lindsey points to the usual suspects: great food, great locations, and great service.

"If I had to pick one thing, though, I'd always pick service," he says. "We know that when times are tough, each visit needs to be a special occasion whether it's an anniversary, a birthday or just dinner out," Lindsey says. "It's a people business and people make the difference, so we're very serious about training. We want to be known for having the best people and being top of the line in service. That means everyone at Schwartz Brothers needs to be on the same page."

Along with careful hiring, they offer fair compensation and benefits that are at the top end for the restaurant industry. "People who work with us really care about the customers; you should love what you do" says Lindsey.

"We're also concerned with value vs. price," explains Lindsey. "Someone can pay $1.50 for a muffin and feel they got a bad deal, yet pay $80 for steak and lobster at Daniel's and think it was a great value. We want to offer an experience that exceeds peoples' expectations."

How well is this working?

Sales at Daniel's have risen over the last few years, and Chandler's is up 20 percent over last year.

According to Dan Thiessen, Executive Chef at Chandler's, they've emphasized making people feel welcome and remembered. Dan himself is out in the dining room talking with customers.

"Dan is really good at this," says Lindsey. "We want customers to know that the chef is part of the experience. The chef cares about the customer, as does the waiter and the busboy."

Schwartz Brothers also understands that people are always looking for something new and different. Concept ideas come from different sources. The executive team and senior managers take road trips around the county, looking for what's hot, then put a Northwest spin on it--or they may purchase a restaurant already in existence.

If you look back at Schwartz Brothers history, you see how it works. For instance, they came up with the concepts for Cucina! Cucina!, Chandler's and SPAZZO.

Cucina! Cucina! did so well they opened five more locations and spun it off as a separate company. Eventually, there were restaurants in five states. Realizing they didn't want to be traveling all the time and wanting to focus on what they do best, they sold the company to Wolfgang Puck Worldwide. "I like to go into our restaurants and know the people," Lindsey says. "I couldn't do that with places in five other states." Interestingly, they haven't severed all ties. If you buy a Schwartz Brothers gift card, it can still be used at Cucina! Cucina! Italian Café and Cucina! Presto! (and, as you know now, from reading this entire article, Lindsey is still managing the Cucina! retail products company).

Benjamin's, on the other hand, was purchased from a Bellevue firm, and later the Lake Union site was opened. It had a great run, but they felt it was time for a change. They had purchased Daniel's in Leschi and decided to really focus on that concept after Cucina! was sold, replacing the Lake Union Benjamin's with Daniel's and adding a Bellevue location. The Bellevue site of Benjamin's is now SPAZZO, a Mediterranean grill and tapas bar.

Schwartz Brothers also chose to combine their catering company with that of Gretchen Mather's, Gretchen's of Course, renaming it - Gretchen's of Schwartz.

They then opened Schwartz Brothers Bakery and Columbia River Bakery. Items baked here are sent to all their restaurants and sold wholesale to hospitals, hotels, the airport and Amtrak.

They also purchased Nordstrom's Shoe Box lunches renaming it Gretchen's Shoe Box Express. In addition, Gretchen's has the concession at Benaroya, not only providing wine, cookies, and café food, but also catering.

Seattle Design Center has had a Schwartz Brothers presence for years and now has two spots—the Atrium Café serving lunch only, and the Piazza Italian Café, mostly "grab and go" salads and sandwiches, plus baked goods and pastries.

The Chandler's concept has been very successful and, in fact, was shopped by a restaurant company from Japan who liked it so much while on their own road trip that they became a franchise owner.

In 1997, a Chandler's opened in Yokohama. Schwartz Brothers executives travel there twice a year to update the menu. But even the most successful concepts get reviewed and Chandler's now has a new look, menu, music, and uniforms (see full article by Mina).

"We're very excited about the changes," says Lindsey. "It's still world-class seafood and we're still delivering a world-class experience, but it's reenergized. We want to set the standard, whether it's for the US or internationally."

Schwartz Brothers Restaurants is planning on further expansion for current concepts as well as development of new concepts, and Lindsey sees expansion staying in the Northwest. That's good news for our area.

Connie Adams/Summer 03