Steele Platt founded Yard House Restaurants in Orange County, CA in 1996 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2012 when he divested his interest to the Darden Restaurant Group. DRG purchased Yard House for $585 million in an all-cash transaction. Steele created his first restaurant concepts called Kailua’s at the Tivoli in Denver, CO. in 1985 and The Boiler Room in 1987 offering twenty beers on tap, classic rock music and great food. After moving from Denver to Southern California in the early 90’s, Platt envisioned creating an American beer hall even bigger than The Boiler Room and thus the Yard House was born.
Platt received the coveted 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Orange County, CA) as well as the recipient of the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year from the Orange County Business Journal. Platt is a 1982 graduate of University of Denver’s School of Hotel & Restaurant Management.
Walk us through your morning routine.
Having sold the Yard House in 2012 my mornings have changed quite a bit compared to the days when I created Yard House and then heading up the operation in Long Beach. During the process of creating Yard House and writing the business plan, I was bartending and would work late nights. I would wake up later in the mornings, have some coffee and do most of my writing later in the day or night as my creative and thinking skills were at their peak. That eventually changed when I started working at the Long Beach office after the actual Yard House company was formed. Being the very first employee of the Yard House, I would spend time on the job site in Long Beach and deal with the architect and contractor in getting the first Yard House built in addition to trying to raise money from investors. In addition, I started hiring management starting with the General Manager and the Chef. The new company was a complete start up, so I had the responsibility of getting everything rolling.
Once the first Yard House was open, I would most often go to sleep between midnight and 2:00 am. I would get up around 9am, have some coffee and then drive up to the Long Beach Yard House (store #1) around 10am from Huntington Beach. I would review the sales from the day before and basically involve myself with all aspects of the operation along with the managers. Then I would include myself during the lunch, happy hour, dinner, and late-night hours watching the operation work.
Four years later I started the corporate offices in Irvine Spectrum next to the third Yard House. Those offices eventually grew to over 20,000 square feet and housed close to 70 employees. Those days I would show up around 10 am and leave around 4pm. I would usually visit stores during lunch and dinner most nights of the week, in addition to working out of the corporate offices.
Do you have an exercise routine?
I wouldn’t call it routine but rather I exercise at call. When I was running Yard House, I would work out when I could and felt like it but never had a set routine.
Do you follow a specific diet?
It is hard to have a specific diet when you kind of have to taste everything on the menu. I enjoy all foods and help inspire the menu at the Yard House from the very beginning with about 40 items up to when the menu eventually had over 100 items. I would try to stay healthy if I could and pick the right foods.
How many hours do you sleep each night?
I would get a least five good hours in and try to get 8 if I can. But I could never set my clock to it – no pun intended.
What are some hobbies you enjoy?
I enjoy cooking a lot, all different kinds of food. I also like hiking and golf and enjoy taking my boat out.
Do you have any life mottos or principles you follow?
I started Yard House with no money. I went bankrupt when I was 34 and had to start over. I opened the first Yard House in 1996. During that time, I came up with a couple of my own mottos.
You can’t bounce back unless you hit the bottom.
Hit your reset button every day and start the day new.
The day you think you are successful is the day you fail.
How do you approach setting goals?
I don’t think you have to literally set goals but rather remain in the present and deal with “daily goals” in small steps and one at a time. Every day is a challenge depending on the hurdles and head winds. The best thing one can do is remain positive and focus on being positive and not allowing anyone to convince you otherwise. Stay on track.
What is your favorite way to learn new things?
I love to listen to what everyone has to say. My best ideas come from others. I am just the filter on what I consider good ideas and what aren’t. I always have an open mind and I am always thinking.
If you could leave one piece of advice for someone younger, what would you share?
If you like working for others by all means do it. It’s safe and you can sleep at night. But if you want to work for yourself and be your own boss – the time to do it is when you are young – while you can take chances and risks. If trying to be your own boss doesn’t work, then you can always get a job and be at the same place you would be if you didn’t take the risk.
What are some ways your life has changed since you sold Yard House?
I have a lot more of free time for sure. A sense of calm. But instead of worrying about how to make money I now worry more about not losing the money I have. I enjoy not having to do anything if I don’t want. But being retired takes a lot of work coming up with things to keep one busy.
Is there anything that you haven’t done that you still want to do?
I am going to write a book about my life and the creation of The Yard House. Life lessons mixed with business acumen. Hopefully a book that will help inspire others.