WASHINGTON — When Ocean Prime opens its doors on Oct. 6, just blocks from the White House, diners will find everything from Malbec to Manhattans on the beverage menu. But those in the know will order a chocolate milkshake.
It may seem like an odd choice at a chic restaurant where a 10-ounce filet will set you back nearly $50 — and some wines by the glass come close to that — but the cool treat embodies everything Cameron Mitchell set out to achieve 24 years ago.
In seventh grade, Mitchell, a native of Columbus, Ohio, had his first cigarette. By 15, he dropped out of school and ran away from home.
“I literally had no shoes. I had a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and that was it,” he said.
He eventually returned to Columbus — and to school — and got a job as a dishwasher at a local steakhouse. When his classmates left for college, Mitchell stayed behind and took up a second job “for beer money.”
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I had no drive, no direction whatsoever,” he said.
But a three-day suspension from work, which Mitchell received for being late for his shift too many times, provided some answers.
“I had this total epiphany; I just froze. I said, ‘This is what I’m going to do the rest of my life. I love this business,’” Mitchell said.
That night, he wrote out a series of career goals. He vowed to graduate from culinary school and become an executive chef by the age of 23. Then, he planned to work as a regional manager for a restaurant group and eventually own his own company by 35.
“Literally, overnight, I was the hardest working guy in the kitchen,” he said.
Fast-forward to today and Mitchell, founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, has achieved all of those goals. This month, he’s opening his 51st restaurant in the historic Colorado Building at 1341 G St. NW — that’s after selling 22 restaurants to Ruth’s Chris in 2008.
Ocean Prime, which has 12 other locations, specializes in steaks and seafood. Under the direction of Executive Chef Jason Shelley, the kitchen will serve sushi, shellfish towers, king crab legs, lamb chops and New York strips to guests in the 8,556-square-foot dining room.
Including Ocean Prime, Mitchell owns 13 different restaurant concepts in several states throughout the U.S., and he attributes a lot of his success to the chocolate milkshake — or at least the idea of it.
About five years into his company, Mitchell was out to eat with his family and ordered a chocolate milkshake for his son. The restaurant had larger milkshakes, ice cream and chocolate milk on the menu, but the manager said making a child-sized milkshake was not possible.
Mitchell used the experience as an example of how not to treat customers while delivering a keynote speech at a business conference. A week later, someone from the audience approached Mitchell and told him he tested the chocolate milkshake story by ordering one at Mitchell’s restaurant — but the bartender said it wasn’t possible.
“It’s like he punched me in the gut right there in the street,” Mitchell said.
That day, “the milkshake policy” was written into the company’s culture and values. Now, employee orientation starts out with chocolate milkshakes to show what employees can do, and Mitchell makes milkshake toasts at company meetings. Guests can order one at any time, even though milkshakes are not on the menu.
“We make thousands and thousands of chocolate milkshakes every year. I always joke that I’d hate to see our milkshake bill,” Mitchell said.
In addition to the frozen dessert, Mitchell says all of the employees in his restaurants — from the dishwashers to the bussers to the prep cooks — have helped him get to where he is today.
It wasn’t that long ago that he was one.
Ocean Prime opens at 1341 G St. NW on Oct. 6.
