Chris Bredesen is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader, born and raised in the South Bay. At a young age, Chris fell in love with surfing and was fortunate enough to compete as a professional surfer all around the world. He attended the University of Southern California for his undergraduate degree and earned his MBA from Pepperdine University. He owns several notable restaurants throughout the South Bay, including Rockefeller Hermosa Beach, Rockefeller Manhattan Beach, Rockefeller Redondo Beach, Primo Italia, Riviera Mexican Grill, Riviera Mexican Cantina, and Captain Kidd’s. He is also involved in R10 Social House, serves as the President of CB Services Management Inc., and is a Board Member for the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce. Chris is married and has two young children.
Walk us through your morning routine.
I have two young kids, so I am typically up no later than 6:30 a.m. I spend time with my wife and kids in the morning, then I take my son to school. After dropping him off, I start visiting the restaurants—I try to visit every restaurant each day.
Do you follow a specific diet?
I do not follow a specific diet. My eating habits are probably not as good as they should be, just because of the sheer amount I fit into every day. Even when friends want to get together and go eat dinner at one of my restaurants, I cannot relax because I am constantly thinking of what can be improved. I truly believe that the success of each restaurant lies in the details, so I am hyper-focused on them.
What are some hobbies you enjoy?
I was a pro surfer for almost 25 years, so I still enjoy it, but it’s much harder to get away. I used to surf The Cove in Palos Verdes twice a day when I was younger. I love surfing in Mexico and the Maldives. I also try to focus on exercising and being healthy—I go on runs, but I don’t do anything too revolutionary due to time constraints.
How did you get into the restaurant and hospitality industry?
When I was a kid, my dad owned several Burger King franchises. While I wasn’t in the stores working, I was always around them, and it was a big part of my childhood. When I was at USC for undergrad, I did a lot of event promotion work, and then I went to Pepperdine to get my MBA. When I was graduating from business school, I was fortunate to open a little café with Kevin Barry. That café is where I truly learned the business because I had to do everything—learn payroll, fix things that break, purchase goods, and manage people. After a few years, I had the chance to start a new concept, the Rockefeller, with our first location in Hermosa Beach, and since then, it has been off to the races.
Have you considered opening up any restaurants outside of the South Bay?
Great question, and yes. I have looked in Santa Barbara and Long Beach, and I like those locations, but the problem is that I am so involved in each restaurant that I need to live nearby. It is definitely not out of the question that I would explore a location outside of the South Bay for a future restaurant.
How do you evaluate new opportunities for restaurants today?
The first thing I always look at is the financials to make it work—most importantly, what is the rent, and how much do I need to sell just to pay the rent. Expenses have increased across all major categories—labor, cost of goods sold, insurance, rent, etc.—and everything is passed on to the customer. It is so important to know your numbers when starting out because restaurants can go bad really fast. Regarding new opportunities, I am most interested in and open to expanding our current brands as opposed to starting something new.
Can you name a few restaurants that you are inspired by?
The Simms Family—they are South Bay royalty in the restaurant world, and they set the bar very high. They own an incredible portfolio of restaurants—MB Post, Arthur J’s, Tin Roof Bistro, Simmzy’s, Fishing with Dynamite, and Ryla.
Do you have any life mottos or principles you follow?
Always ask the question—how can I be of service? I try to live this personally, and I also encourage all of my employees to do the same. I do my best to display this motto with my employees so that they, in turn, can deliver the best possible service to our customers.
Is there anything that you haven’t done that you still want to do?
It used to be skydiving, but I was able to do that for my Bachelor Party. I have been fortunate to travel so much already, but I would eventually like to do a European trip with just my wife for a few weeks.