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Success News
Jeff's Maine Sea Food
St. Albans is home to nearly 8,000 people for whom a diversity of jobs, real estate, health care, grocery stores, etc. translates to a higher quality of life. Once their primary concerns are satisfied, most people search out additional options, like best places to eat. Unfortunately, many of Vermont’s smaller towns lack the customer base that would support a variety of “sit down” restaurants. Failure rates for new restaurants are notoriously high and as a consequence, many banks won’t touch a loan to would-be restaurateurs. Not so in the case of Jeff’s Maine Sea Food, a St. Albans restaurant tracing its origins to a fish-delivery service offered by a man named “Jeff.” As the present owner and head chef of Jeff’s Maine Sea Food, Jamie West first realized he wanted to purchase the restaurant when he learned it might be for sale. Back when he was a young employee with a two-year tenure at Jeff’s, West was full of ideas and wanted to bring in a live jazz band on Friday nights. The owners at that time, Michele Bessett and Bob Iwaskiewicz, politely listened to his suggestions and said, according to West, “If you want to do that type of thing, you gotta buy it.” When West learned they were serious, he contacted his sister and two brothers and convinced them to purchase Jeff’s as a family partnership. They reached out to a local lender but were advised that the bank was unwilling to fund a restaurant. However, St. Albans is a fairly small town and word of West’s need for funding got around. According to West, “It was no time before a Chittenden Bank loan officer approached me saying the bank would be willing to finance us.” With a loan from Chittenden Bank, guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, West and three family members funded their purchase of Jeff’s in 1996. The purchase included two large dining rooms, two kitchens, an in-house retail fish market, office and storage space – around 5,000 sq. feet in total, plus all equipment and all recipes. “There was literally not one snag,” West said. “We discussed buying it in February, and we signed the papers in less than six months.” West was 25 years old and not a little amazed that his high school ambition of owning a restaurant had been realized. For all his ideas about innovation, West and his family made no immediate changes. The transition to new ownership was virtually seamless, but the demands of running a new business required steady, concentrated focus. For the first three years, West says profit margins were thin, but the restaurant easily paid for itself and provided paychecks for all 22 employees. Since 2000, revenues have steadily climbed, and profits have soared anywhere from 50 to 150 percent. But for West, success isn’t measured solely by the dollar. Asked how he defines success, he replied, “I love making people happy and giving them a product they enjoy. And if I didn’t have certain things on the menu, I’d probably be drawn and quartered in the town square,” West laughed. The restaurant continues to serve traditional dishes like baked sea scallops with garlic white wine butter and lobster tail with basil chiffonade, but over time, deliberate changes have made their way into the scene. West has expanded the menu, developed a thriving catering service and shifted the ambience into elegance. In 2003, he converted the restaurant’s retail fish market into a dining area. “We do still sell fish,” West said. “We have some really loyal, local clientele who know the fish is in the cooler, and all they have to do is come to the counter and ask.” In fact, in Jamie West’s mind, it’s the arrival of fresh seafood every day that sets the restaurant apart. How many Vermont towns with less than 10,000 residents can offer fine dining to the tune of fresh seafood? It’s a draw few people can resist. # # # | ||