PHOTO BY HAILEY WILLIAMS
(“That’s trademarked,” notes Schussler. “We’ve trademarked more things than in the history of restaurants.”) And there are ducks. The gift shop (“The Boatique”) is full of them, from Elvis rubber ducks to T-shirts with sayings like “Quack quack, you duck hater.” The Boatique does about $5 million a year in sales, and duck merch alone generates an estimated $123,000 annually—though that’s not includ- ed in the restaurant’s $51 million revenue last year, which only refers to gross food- and-drink sales. The Boathouse is a well-oiled machine when it comes to turning tables, while also juggling multiple bars (including one on the dock), private events and weddings. This year, the restaurant expects to serve up nearly 100,000 steaks (about 275
per day); 2 million warm Parker House rolls topped with honey butter; 550,000 oysters (1,500 per day); and 43,000 bright blue Duck Duck Razz cocktails, each served with a tiny rubber duck floating on top. And then there are the desserts. Brad Warner, The Boathouse’s executive chef, said the restaurant expects to sell about 60,000 desserts this year, which he acknowl- edges is “insane” given one slice of key lime pie weighs more than a pound and serves six people. (In fact, the 21-layer chocolate cake, at $26 per slice, is so big and showy, when a slice is served, it’s like a virus that spreads around the room. “I’ll have one of those,” can immediately be heard.) The kitchen alone is 5,000-square-feet, but still not big enough. There are usually
about 500 employees staffing the operation (including the Amphicars and retail side), with about 30 front-of-house and 25 back- of-house managers/supervisors, 115 hourly line cooks, dishwashers and other staff, and 325 servers/hosts/bussers/polishers. The Boathouse’s menu was developed by the Gibsons group, a familiar name on the Top 100 list. Known for its Chicago-area steakhouses and concepts like Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House, Quartino Ristorante and Luxbar, Gibsons Restaurant Group has eight concepts on the Top 100 list this year—in- cluding The Boathouse, which ranks the highest. “Gibsons is, by far, the best I’ve ever seen, used or partnered with in the world,” said Schussler. “People may come once for that wow factor. They come once because
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