Chapter 3

Florida Expansion

With the creation of the Westwood Restaurant Group, Paul was named Vice President of Operations. In July of 1981, Paul left for Florida. Paul was in charge of restaurant operations and Gary Mitchell was in charge of food operations. Not only did the Westwood Group buy the restaurants, but—because the company was still relatively small and based in Boston—the Westwood Group hired all of the existing managers and much of the existing staff.  

All the restaurants went through renovations, some more than others.

All went through name changes.

Policy manuals and training manuals needed to be written.

Food specifications, recipes, and menus had to be written.

The list of things to do continued to grow.

Bottom line? The Westwood Group should never have gone to Florida. It was a different market than the Northeast. Eventually, all the locations were sold.  Paul and the rest of the organization gratefully returned home.

The Westwood Group turned its focus back on the Northeast. Paul continued in his role as Vice President of Operations and Gary Mitchell remained the Vice President of Food Operations. The expansion continued with the Charley Saloons, J.C. Hillary’s, Famous Atlantic Fish Company, Joe’s American Bar and Grill, and Raz Riverside Café. In their careers, Paul and Gary would open fourteen restaurants.

The journey was not over.