Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> February 15, 1999
ROBERT L. SPIVAK is President, CEO and a founding director of Grill
Concepts, Inc., a company that was originally formed in 1988, and became
publicly held in 1995. Mr. Spivak, a 40-year veteran of the restaurant
and food industry, comes from a family that ran restaurants in Los
Angeles from 1946 to 1972. He began his career working in the family-
owned chain of Smokey Joe's barbecue restaurants. He managed several of
the family's operations, including the landmark Redwood House in the Los
Angeles Civic Center. He left the family business to manage the food
operations at the Fedco discount department stores, and along with the
owners of Fedco Foods, he developed the much copied Soup N' Such
restaurant chain. In the early 1980s, Mr. Spivak formed a partnership
with Michael Weinstock to open the highly successful Beverly Hills
restaurant, The Grill on the Alley, a traditional American grill with
the by-words, 'Quality Without Compromise.' The Grill was inducted into
the Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation's Restaurant News in 1995.
Considered one of Los Angeles' 'power spots,' The Grill is the upscale
model for the Daily Grill, a concept based on the high quality food and
service at a price point that reaches a far wider audience. Mr. Spivak
is a Director Emeritus for the California Restaurant Association and is
also past Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Collins School of
Hotel & Restaurant Management. In September 2000 he received the 'Spirit
of Life' award from the City of Hope. This is the most prestigious award
given by the City of Hope. Profile
of its history, just to set the stage for our readers?
Mr. Spivak: We're in the restaurant business and 15 years ago we
