But today, McCormick and Schmick's has more than 50 restaurants across the country, including three in Seattle and most recently, one in Bellevue's new Lincoln Tower:

"The Lincoln project has been on the books for a lot of years, and so we've always said if we're coming to Bellevue, this was really our first choice where we wanted to be," says Doug Schmick.

Doug met Bill more than 30 years ago at Jake's Famous Crawfish in Portland - which Bill owned:

"I went to work for him right out of college as a bartender, and within a couple years he made me a partner."

From there, the two opened their second restaurant: McCormick's Fish House in downtown Seattle.

"I'll never forget the unique element of that because that's before downtown Seattle was really happening," Schmick said. "We were the only restaurant in downtown, really. And we were standing there many nights waiting for customers to come through the door!"

Being a restaurateur was far from the dream Doug originally had which was to write the Great American Novel.

But when he got into the restaurant business, he found out it wasn't really a writer he wanted to be - it was actually being in a creative profession.

"It's a wonderful business if you love to think on your feet and create and handle a diversity of challenges and tasks."

Doug says after 34 years in the business, one of the biggest changes he's seen in the culinary landscape is customer expectations.

"Just doing a good job was good enough 20 to 30 years ago. In today's retail environment, people need more than that if you're going to get any word-of-mouth recognition and customer loyalty."

As for what keeps him fresh and active, Doug credits his employees, which he says "just blow my mind!"

He says people are now eating away from home more often. They're better traveled and more sophisticated and like trying new things. He says the industry has really blossomed, and as a result, people are making legitimate careers out it.

"Yes. There are still people that work in the industry to earn extra cash for school. But there is an entire sector of true professionals that have realized they can make a very good living and have a lot of free time and be stimulated by the high activity level of the industry."

That dedication to the industry can be seen in McCormick & Schmick's food and atmosphere.

Doug says, "We've always had a commitment to 'fresh' before 'fresh' was as popular as it is today."

With that said, Bill and Doug print their menus twice a day, bringing in as many as 42 fresh species of fish daily.

That attitude extends to the bar program, where all drinks are hand-shaken and made with fresh ingredients.

While all McCormick & Schmick's are independently operated and have their own character, they all have a strong sense of tradition; a turn-of-the-century feel with lots of mahogany, stained glass, custom light fixtures and traditional tile patterns.

Doug says going out to eat is a necessity in today's stressful times.

"I can go home and have a crisp, nice glass of chardonnay that's as good as any chardonnay that I serve in my bar. But why would I want to go to my bar instead of home? It's because there's an interactive element when I go out. There's a social component and it rounds out my day. Exploring new restaurants and experiencing fresh environments, I think, keeps you intellectually stimulated. I think it helps motivate your social inclinations. Restaurants have become much more than just special occasion spots. It really has become a legitimate extension of the home."

And as far as that Great American Novel, Doug says he's just trying to live it!

Places Doug likes to "Go Eat!": any road house that serves wonderful fried chicken and American non-micro beer. Loves Tad's Chicken and Dumplings in Portland.

For more information:

www.mccormickandschmicks.com