Chad Clift – Preparing to Sell Your Restaurant

Chad Clift hopes that he will never have to sell his restaurant, the Swanky’s, but he is not naive enough to believe that it could never happen. Even successful restaurateurs can find themselves in a situation that would require selling their venture. When a business stagnates, or worse, it never really takes off, having these notions are obviously even more legitimate. Sometimes it comes down to it, and there is nothing anybody can do to avoid the painful solution.

Doing an Appraisal

There are four major aspects that influence the value of the establishment: location, architectural and infrastructural quality, the financial situation of the restaurant, and finally the management.

Location

One of the most obvious factors, the location of a restaurant highly influences its general productivity. An average location can be overcome with high quality food and good management, but being in a bad location likely forever hinders the development of the restaurant.

Presentation

The quality of the building and how well the kitchen and the dining area are situated within the restaurant, play a huge factor in the appraising process.

Management

If a restaurant has a quality management in place that creates a good team with certain camaraderie and willingness to go the extra mile for the others, these factors will raise the value significantly. A restaurant that is still under management is more valuable for a variety of reasons, one of them being flexibility. When someone buys a restaurant with the management intact, they can basically start their new business overnight. As of now, Chad Clift would almost certainly reject any offers for his restaurant, but certain factors could change his mind in the future.

Sources:

https://marketing4restaurants.com/preparing-to-sell-your-restaurant-tips-to-improve-your-chances-of-selling-and-the-price-you-get/

 

Chad Clift – Why Freshness Matters

Chad Clift owns a Japanese restaurant in Seattle’s International District called Futoji Aji. As any Japanese restaurant would, he has an extensive sushi menu there, full of traditional Japanese favorites, a mix of sushi popular in the United States, such as the good old California Roll, and a few of his own inventions that he continues to create with his sushi chefs in his kitchen to keep his menu fresh. According to most sushi experts, the number one way to ruin sushi is to settle for fish that is not fresh. Since sushi relies on raw fish as its primary ingredient, this is not appealing and could even be dangerous. Before Clift opened his sushi menu at his restaurant, he made sure he could always get his fresh from his suppliers fresh and ready to be turned into the most delicious sushi dishes he could possibly make.

To people like Chad Clift and anyone who enjoys food, fresh ingredients is a no-brainer. But many customers would be surprised by how many restaurants settle for less than fresh food. Most wouldn’t serve you spoiled meat or fish, of course, but there are ways that restaurants can save on operating costs by buying refrigerated fish that has been sitting around for a time after it was caught. Japanese restaurant owners like Clift must take care to get their fish from the source just as soon after it has been caught out of the ocean as possible. This preserves the natural flavor of the fish and allows it to be fully appreciated by customers expecting fresh sushi.

Fresh fish isn’t always easy to come by. Sometimes local suppliers, even in Seattle, a place known for its fresh fish market, can be it with shortages at times. Chad Clift keeps his suppliers local and also has several options for his restaurant to buy from. He maintains these supply lines with relationships that he has formed over his many years in the industry. Clift learned during his days at the Oregon Culinary Institute and by working as an apprentice for a Thai restaurant chef in San Francisco that getting the freshest ingredients is all about maintaining trusting relationships with all of his suppliers, something that he takes very seriously.

Chad Clift encourages everyone interested in Japanese cooking to try it at home. But, he warns that the results won’t be you expect if you don’t’ commit to supporting local markets that always have the freshest ingredients. For all chefs in the Japanese tradition, fresh ingredients are what make their dishes what they are. Don’t try it without getting the freshest ingredients for yourself first. Clift is currently enjoying running his own business while teaching his daughter the ropes of Japanese cooking as well.

 

Chad Clift – Three Essential Ingredients for Home Japanese Cooking

Chad Clift is the founder and head chef of a Japanese restaurant in Seattle called Futoji Aji. He is constantly looking for new ways to wow his customers with his spin on new and traditional Japanese dishes. Clift first drew and interest in Japanese cooking when his father, who is from Japan, taught him how to cook at home using traditional Japanese ingredients and methods. Over time, he discovered a talent for Japanese cooking that his mother, a local small business owner, helped him refine into a business model. He gathered experience at the Oregon Culinary Institute and later at a Thai restaurant in San Francisco, where he worked as an apprentice. He returned to Seattle to open his own Japanese restaurant and serve his dishes to his community.

Chad Clift encourages everyone to cook at home, at least when they’re not dining at his restaurant, that is. He learned how to be an excellent chef and how to start a career in cooking at home and he encourages anyone else to do the same if they are passionate about cooking. He especially encourages people to try Japanese dishes in their homes to create new experiences and tastes for themselves. In order cook Japanese food at home the right way, you have to find the right ingredients. Here are three essential ingredients to excellent Japanese food in your own kitchen:

• Mirin. This is an essential condiment used in many Japanese dishes for any reasons. Chad Clift learned early in his life cooking with his dad that Mirin can be used to sweeten dishes, cut down the smell of fish dishes and to give some vegetables their signature shiny appearance. Mirin is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, but with much less alcohol content. It’s about 50% sugar.
• Fish stock powder. Hon Dashi, or fish stock powder is used in almost every Japanese meal much in the same way that chicken stock is used in many Western dishes. It adds a subtle flavor to many dishes. Think of miso soup. That dish is made with Hon Dashi, water, and fish stock alone. Almost all Japanese dishes call for Hon Dashi in one quantity or form or another. Make sure you stock up on this if you’re planning on cooking many Japanese meals.
• Japanese mayonnaise. Chad Clift says that you should be very careful about using mayonnaise in any Japanese dish, and to never think that Western mayonnaise is the same as Japanese mayonnaise. Japanese mayonnaise is nothing like Western mayonnaise made with eggs and has a spicy kick to it that makes it perfect for use in curries and the popular Japanese dish, Ebi mayo.

Chad Clift hopes you can try your own Japanese dishes at home with these ingredients.

 

Chad Clift – Why Scuba Classes are at Your Own Pace

Chad Clift did everything he could to pass his scuba classes and become a certified diver as quickly as possible. He took the online basic knowledge course ahead of time, he completed all the tests and answered all the questions he knew he had to ask before he signed up for classes including, is he healthy enough to do this? Does he have time, etc.? All of these things are recommended by scuba instructors around the world. Clift wanted to scuba dive because he wanted to explore the underwater marvels of his surroundings on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. He wanted to get in the water as quickly as he could to explore both the deep waters off of Washington’s coast and the unique habitats of Puget Sound. He would only learn later that it’s best to learn at your own pace.

 

In order to earn your scuba certification, you have to pass a test for certification and complete a certified course in scuba diving, usually provided by your local diving or surf shop. Chad Clift signed up for the class thinking that he would be able to pass the class without much trouble. He struggled for the first several days, however. Finding your breath and learning how to deal with the underwater pressure pushing down on you and your lungs is hard work. Chad Clift had to stay behind most of the other classmates and learn on his own time. His instructors were very patient, however, and helped him through all the necessary and difficult physical skills he had to learn, and he was very grateful for this when he dove unassisted for the first time.

Chad Clift lives and works in Mossy Rock.

 

Chad Clift – Three Things to Know before you Skydive for the First Time

One of the many passions of Chad Clift includes skydiving, a pastime that he has grown fond of in recent years. He has been running the community upscale restaurant Swanky’s in Mossy Rock, Washington for over 15 years, and skydiving has a relaxing effect on him. Still, there were many facts that he wished he had learned before he took his first jump off of a plane. Here are his top three facts he wished he knew:

• Yes, your skydiving partner is certified and experienced. To be a certified skydiving partner, you have to have jumped hundreds of times and you have to pass many tests and exams to do it professionally. They always prepare you in the event of any emergency.
• Emergencies happen in the air. Chad Clift was worried about every possible thing that could go wrong skydiving before he took his first jump from a plane, don’t worry, the skydiving instructors always tell you what to do in rare cases involving instructors passing out or somehow incapacitating themselves in the air. You’ll be fully prepared to land safely even in the extremely rare event of an emergency.
• The scariest part of skydiving isn’t jumping from a plane. Chad Clifton knows that the scariest part of skydiving is actually riding up to jumping altitude in a small plane that seems sketchy but is actually safe. Jumping out of the tiny aircraft might actually be relieving in a way.

Chad Clift has jumped out of many small planes that don’t seem safe, and he loves it. He recommends skydiving to anyone who wants an intense adrenaline rush.

 

Chef Chad Clift Debunks the Myths on Fat

With obesity rising to an alarming level, Chef and restaurateur Chad Clift works hard to educate his staff and customers about the dangers and benefits of fat. It is widely accepted in the scientific and medical communities that a low fat diet is one of the keys to a healthy and long life. Most people, however, do not realize that you should not remove all sources of fat from your daily diet. In reality, there are fats that are good for you, and vital to your growth and development. While the bad fats increase your chances for heart related illnesses and obesity, good fats work to protect your heart and help your brain function properly.

All dietary fats stem from the plant and animal based foods that we consume. The four types of dietary fats are saturated fats, trans fats, polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats. All four types of fats will deliver the same amount of calories to the body. If you are counting calories, one is not better or worse than the others. Yet, if you desire a body that is healthy, you should work on replacing the unhealthy fats that you eat with the super fats that promote health. This means that your fat intake should be limited to only monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Chad Clift states that these types of healthy fats can be found in ingredients like avocados, walnuts, olives, fatty fish, and natural peanut butters.