 The career of Chris Karakosta,
president and CEO of southwest Florida’s popular Mel’s Diner chain, has
encountered countless ups and downs, but remains rooted in family
values.
Bonita Springs, FL -- Restaurants have been in Chris Karakosta’s blood
from the beginning. Born in Chicago in 1953 and raised in nearby
Elmhurst, Ill., Karakosta spend a majority of his childhood and high
school years surrounded by the food industry, primarily in the kitchens
and dining rooms of the two eateries his parents owned and operated in
the city, one an upscale establishment, and the other a family-style
diner called Dimitri’s.
“All through high school, I worked in those restaurants,” says
Karakosta. “I never did prom or homecoming. I worked
instead, because it was a passion.”
He graduated from York High School in Elmhurst, Ill. and soon after
headed off to college in Durango, Colorado. However, he came back
after only a week and a half and transferred to Northern Illinois
University, where he stayed a mere six months. “I just didn’t
have an interest in school,” he admits.
In place of a formal education, Karakosta’s father made him manager of
Dimitri’s. This was in 1972, and Karakosta took the position as a
means to gain practical experience in the restaurant industry. He
was just 19 years old at the time and had a total of 25 employees under
his wing.
“My father pretty much gave me the keys to the family restaurant and
said ‘Run it,’” says Karakosta. “He never questioned any of the
decisions I made at that restaurant. I made a lot of mistakes
there, but my father let me make those mistakes to teach me what to do
and what not to do. This was my schooling.”
Soon after, Karakosta was given an opportunity to do a joint venture,
opening in a shopping center in the Chicago suburb of Norridge.
He jumped on the idea and ended up opening a restaurant called On
Stage, a family style eatery with a Hollywood theme.
“That was the first real restaurant I created from the start,” says
Karakosta. “It was a Planet Hollywood before it’s time. We
did a lot of renderings of movie stars, named entrees after actors and
actresses – it was a huge success.”
In 1980, soon after On Stage opened a second location, Karakosta broke
his partnership with that restaurant, applied for and received an
S.P.A. loan, and opened the restaurant Reel People, another
Hollywood-themed establishment in Skokie, Ill. Like its
predecessor, it became wildly successful. However, overspending and
poor budgetary planning forced Karakosta to close the restaurant in
1982.
“That’s where not going to college really hurt me,” said Karakosta.
“There were a million ways to come out of that and do well, but all I
knew how to do was run a restaurant and cook. It was heartbreaking, and
I was devastated. It was a very tough time for me.”
Around the same time, Karakosta learned that a friend of his from
Chicago was opening a family themed restaurant in Naples, Fla. In
March 1983, he moved his family (wife and three children) southward to
become a part of it. Karakosta’s original plan was to stay in the
Sunshine State for only one year. However, he quickly fell in
love with the community and decided to stay permanently.
In the coming years, Karakosta made additional partnerships, including
ones with South Florida restaurant equipment supplier H.J. Fox and
Landmark Bank president Bill Seifert. Together, they opened The
Green Onion, a successful high-end steak and seafood establishment that
catered mostly to the area’s seasonal residents, and then with his son,
Stephen, he opened Stevie Tomato’s Sports Page, one of the area’s first
true sports bars.
“We were crushing in the season and dying in the summer,” says
Karakosta. “In those days, Naples was very, very seasonal. We decided
to close the restaurant in the summer and started looking for something
that was going to carry us through the off-season.”
That search led him to buying a restaurant in nearby San Carlos, which
ended up becoming the first Mel’s Diner. This was in 1989.
The name was chosen more for its familiarity than for its tie-in to the
popular TV-show, Alice. “We never put any of the character names on the
menu or did anything related to the show,” says Karakosta.
The staff at the time consisted primarily of Karakosta and his family,
and the atmosphere was low-key, friendly and very customer-based.
“My father was in the kitchen,” he said, “and my mother was out front.
We really went back to basics, and it worked. Within a couple of
months, we had a great response from both the community and the
media. I think the theatrical name was part of its initial
success, but it was also a great price for a great meal, and everything
was made from scratch. When you look back to 1989, anyone who
walked into our diner was treated like they were visiting our home.”
That success continued in the coming years. In 1992, Karakosta opened a
second Mel’s Diner in Ft. Myers and then a third in Rochester, N.Y.
(The latter remains open today but is unaffiliated with the other Mel’s
Diner locations in Florida.) By 2004, Karakosta oversaw
operations at 10 stores throughout southwest Florida.
In addition, Karakosta and his son, Stephen, returned to the
sports-themed restaurant concept and opened Big Al’s Sports Grill in
2003. While this restaurant still catered to sports fans like
Stevie Tomato’s, it also took on a more sophisticated approach, so that
customers are encouraged to come for a quality meal, not just to see
the big game. Big Al’s menu boasts a playful mix of traditional
American sports bar favorites, like burgers and wings, as well as more
elegant fare, like filet mignon and freshly made salads, and
international specialties, such as enchiladas and gyros.
Despite these successes, however, an overall lack of systemwide
structure has caused Karakosta to seek leadership help with his
corporation. As a result, he brought aboard several talented
managers from some of the nation’s most respected restaurant chains. In
addition, he began to share ownership of select locations
(“partnership” as he calls it), to ensure his vision remains focused
throughout.
“The expansion took a couple of years to get control of, so I decided
to surround myself with people who have the knowledge and corporate
experience to help,” says Karakosta. “It’s sometimes difficult to
accept major changes within a company that has always been family-run,
but it was something that needed to be done to take us to the next
level.”
However, he will also be careful to stay true to his roots and maintain
the values that have built the successful reputation of his restaurant
company: its family friendly atmosphere, quality home-style cooking and
unbeatable value.
“Our biggest concern is to not lose the culture,” says Karakosta. “The
thing for us is to write the right script. That’s the key. We’ve got a
$25M-a-year company here. We’ve got a great base. We’ve got tremendous
opportunities to explore.”
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