Multiconcept operator Chow Fun welcomes challenges of 2008

Nation's Restaurant News,  March 17, 2008  by Susan Holaday

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- John Elkhay, whose title is "maestro" of the Chow Fun Food Group, draws on his artistic inspiration and sense of fun to orchestrate the measured growth of his multiconcept restaurant company.

In the past 10 years, he has brought to this city his innovative takes on steak and sushi, seafood, wine bars, and the cuisines of New Mexico and the Pacific Rim through XO Steak House, 10 Prime Steak & Sushi, Big Fish and Citron Wine Bar & Bistro.

This month, the chef-restaurateur opened his fifth restaurant, Chinese Laundry, an upscale Asian noodle bar, and plans are on tap for the unveiling of an irreverent barbecue joint to be called Rick's Roadhouse later this year. He estimates that Chow Fun Food Group's annual sales will reach about $9 million in 2008.

"I have two or three more [concepts] inside me," he said.

Boston also looms on the horizon, Elkhay said. He plans to shop for sites there this fall.

His most recent foray, Chinese Laundry, has become, in his words, "the biggest aggravation ever in the history of restaurant openings," but exemplifies his attention to detail.

Chinese Laundry, which has been in the works for four years, is located in a small building that actually had been a Chinese laundry since 1910. Elkhay's goal was to maintain the exterior and thoroughly revamp the interior.

"Because we have glass floors for viewing the private dining room, we had to steel frame the floor as well as the "O" Lounge, since its entire wall is glass that is fire-rated," he said.

The private dining room, Jewel Bako, which means "jewel box," has its own entrance for VIPs and is below grade, so an intricate pump system was needed to ensure that no moisture could get into the space. Elkhay also needed a backup generator to be sure that in a power outage, the room would still stay dry.

"That's also where we store our wine," he said.

The project became more complex with custom-made yellow onyx tile floors, faux bamboo walls, hand-cut tiles in the main bar and other personal touches.

A 6-foot-by-10-foot kitchen "had to be customized as well," he said. Meanwhile, between the restaurant's conception and actual opening, the menu changed.

Elkhay originally planned a $40 average check. But after a new tire code limited the main dining area to only 14 seats, he decided to "make it an incredible dining experience," he said.

"We fly in oh-toro tuna that costs us $64 per pound before trimming, Kobe beef from Japan at $120 a pound, prime tenderloin, Osetra caviar, foie gras, etc.," Elkhay said. "We're trying to do something different."

Next, Elkhay will make over his Big Fish fresh seafood, pasta and pizza concept into Rick's Roadhouse, which he describes as a "unique steakhouse experience" and barbeque restaurant with "slow-cooked down-home food and State Fair desserts baked on-premise daily."

The 6,500-square-foot restaurant is scheduled to debut this summer with an average check of $18 to $22.

"[It] will be very fun," said Elkhay, who plans to have a barbeque team that will compete nationally. Two barbeque aficionados, Andy Husbands and Ed Doyle, both Boston chefs, consulted on the project.

Elkhay was unable to avoid having the two openings within a few months of one another.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Somehow, I knew they'd probably open together," he said. "Sometimes it's a blessing, but sometimes it's not. The good news is, I have the management teams in place for both."

Elkhay began his restaurant career during his early teens and earned a degree at Johnson & Wales University in Providence. He honed his skills at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, the Jared Coffin House in Nantucket, Mass., and many West Coast restaurants, where he was lured by regional cuisine and local, fresh products.

After returning east, he joined Guy Abelson at Cafe in the Barn in Seekonk, Mass., and later at InProv, a tapas bar concept in downtown Providence that Elkhay called "ahead of its time."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In 1997, he opened his first solo restaurant, XO Steak House, putting his own touch on the classic steakhouse with items such as a bento box filled with tempura mushroom fries. At the same time, he formed Chow Fun Food Group.

Next came 10 Prime Steak & Sushi, which reflected his contention that steak is "comfort food" and sushi is "a way of life."

Big Fish followed, and then Citron, with its West Coast vibe and a menu featuring Pacific Rim, New Mexican and California influences and all-natural, sustainable and organic fare.

Elkhay, who fibbed about his age at 14 to get his first restaurant job as a dishwasher, says cooking is in his blood.

"I love to cook," he said. "I get my thrills out of throwing a lot of dinner parties. I need and love the hospitality business, and love cooking, eating and drinking wine. The restaurant business is very much like giving a dinner party. You find a place for your guests to park easily, take their coats, usher them in, seat them, serve them drinks, food, wine, dessert, coffee, and later, walk them to their cars.