Sometimes in the foodservice industrywe lose sight of the fact that thebusiness is not always about the latestmenu trend or marketing gimmick orfashionable décor. More often itrepresents a job, and a restaurant ameans of providing for your family.

In 1957, Bud Brinkman opened Bud’sChicken, a 1,000 sq. ft. take-outrestaurant in Boynton Beach, Fla.,essentially to do just that—provide for agrowing family.

“He started the restaurant to take careof eight kids, four boys and four girls,”says Michael Brinkman.

Today, the four brothers—Mike, Mark,Tom and Tim—oversee the operation ofseven Bud’s Chicken & Seafoodrestaurants in Palm Beach County.Despite the growth, not all that muchhas changed in the 50-plus years sincethe first unit opened.

“There’s no magic to it,” Mike Brinkmansays. “You get up every day, put yourshoes on and go to work.”

The four brothers divide up whateverwork has to be done without worryingabout fancy titles. “Some days we allwear a lot of hats,” says Mark Brinkman,“and others we all wear the same one.Whatever has to be done gets done.”

The original take-out restaurant featureda varied menu, but soon specialized insouthern-style fried chicken, friedshrimp and barbecued ribs. It catered tothe lunch and dinner crowd. Over theyears, Bud’s experimented with newmenu items and even ventured intobreakfast at one point. But therestaurant kept coming back to itsroots.

The restaurant expanded, addingindoor seating, and Bud’s found itsniche, offering fried chicken andseafood, ribs, homemade coleslaw,garden salads and more in a relaxed,family-friendly atmosphere.

Tragically, Bud’s founder died in 1969,when oldest son Mike Brinkman wasstill in his teens. But Mike had beengoing to work at the restaurant with hisdad every day after school and was ableto step in and help keep the familybusiness running. Fortunately, the

restaurant’s employees have been asloyal over the years as its customers.

“You have to have good help to besuccessful,” Mike says. “Some of ourmanagers who are now in their fortiesand fifties started working for us whenthey were in high school.”

The restaurant was so popular in thearea that Bud’s opened a second storein 1976. Two more stores followed in theearly 1980s, and by the mid-1990s thefamily-owned chain had grown to sevenunits.

The seven restaurants average about3,000 sq. ft., with dining rooms that seataround 55 customers. All the storeshave drive-through windows, and take-out business still accounts for two-thirds of Bud’s sales. Most stores serveabout 850 meals a day between 10:30a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and checks averagearound $12-$15.

While fried chicken, fried shrimp andfried fish fillets still constitute the bulk ofthe chain’s sales, the menu also offersscallops, clam strips, barbecue ribs andpork, and a variety of sides, includingcrinkle-cut french fries, beans, cornfritters, mac and cheese, macaronisalad and potato salad along withcoleslaw. Specials have includedcalamari, crab cakes, oyster anddifferent combo plates.

The family has tweaked the menu overthe years to accommodate itscustomers. “We added chicken tenders

Pictured left to right: Jim Wick, Keating of Chicago,Inc.; Eliza Keating, President, Keating of Chicago, Inc.;

Mark Brinkman, Owner - Bud’s Chicken & Seafood;Eliza Ann Keating, Keating of Chicago, Inc.; Jeff Kinni,

Keating of Chicago. All Bud’s Chicken & Seafoodlocations exclusively use Keating fryers, and none else.

“Serving Those Who Serve The Very Best®”

about 15 years ago,” says MarkBrinkman. “They’re popular, andbecause they’re boneless they’re easierto eat in the car.” Ten years ago, theyadded Buffalo chicken wings to themenu, too.

There’s no secret to the popularity of thechain’s food, either—no special herbsand spices or centuries-old familyrecipes. “Quality ingredients make aquality product,” Mark Brinkman says.“We’ve been fortunate enough to beable to get pretty much the sameingredients and make the same foodsince we opened.”

The biggest challenge Bud’s faces, theBrinkmans say, is the rising cost ofcommodities. “When the price ofcommodities like flour goes through theroof,” Mark says, “there’s always thetemptation to use lower qualityingredients and raise menu prices. Wehave to resist that temptation if we’regoing to keep our customers.”

Bud’s uses fresh, ice-packed Grade Achicken, mild cod fillets and two sizes ofshrimp. All items are hand-breaded, andall seafood items are cooked to order.Chicken is batch-cooked and heldunder heat lamps for a short time while

orders are filled.

“I know that I can hold chickenfor 20 minutes without anychange in quality,” Mark says.“You can’t do that with seafood,so we cook to order.”

Now that the family has sevenstores, they use a 2,500 sq. ft.central commissary to preparesome menu items. Most sidessuch as coleslaw, macaroni andpotato salad, and baked beans,as well as cocktail, tartar andbarbecue sauces are preparedthere. The commissary also hasa smoker to prepare ribs andbarbecue pork.

Just about everything else is preparedon site, almost all of it in fryers. Beansare heated in a convection oven andribs are reheated in a microwave. Butchicken, seafood, fries and fritters are allcooked in a bank of fryers. Most storeshave five to seven 14-in. fryers forseafood and fries and a bank of three orfour 18-in. fryers for chicken.

The equipment has to produce and bereliable. The seven restaurants gothrough 15,000 lbs. of chicken, 15,000lbs. of fried, 3,000 lbs. of fish and 2,500lbs. of shrimp every week.

“We’ve used Keating fryers since thebeginning,” Mike Brinkman says.“They’re simple to use, they work, andthey’re easy to service.”

Over the years, the family has triedfryers made by other manufacturers, butuses Keating exclusively now. “In 1985,we opened a new unit and tried all newfryers,” Mark says, “but we just weren’thappy. They had very slow recovery

time and some otherproblems as well. Keatingfryers are very reliableand easy to service. Wehave several that are 25years old.”

To the Brinkmans,running restaurants isn’t aglamorous job. It’s a wayto provide for theirfamilies, which is theessence of why Bud’sChicken & Seafood wasfounded in the first place.Hard work, qualityproduct and loyalemployees have helped

them maintain a thriving familybusiness. Their Keating fryers may notbe glamorous, either, but they work justas hard as anyone in the family atgetting the job done, too.

Michael W. Sherer writes frequently about food andthe foodservice industry.

02/09 Bud’s Chicken & Seafood

KEATING OF CHICAGO, INC.1-800-KEATING

www.keatingofchicago.com

Bud’s Chicken chef, Chris Mattingly, cooks up a crispy batch ofchicken tenders in one of their many Keating fryers.

An efficient and reliable line-up of Keating fryers at Bud’s Chicken &Seafood, some of which still run after 25 years!