With a name like Steel Platt, you might expect an 80s pro wrestler or a ski movie antagonist.

But he's actually the founder of perhaps the chain restaurant industry's biggest 21st

century success story.

Platt first rose through the ranks of the hospitality business in Denver before moving out west

to sunny SoCal in the mid 90s for a fresh start.

In 1996, while tending bar nearby Huntington Beach, Platt spotted a four lease sign on the

property in Long Beach's waterfront shoreline village neighborhood.

He recruited a trio of investors to begin an upscale sports bar concept centered on size,

large footprint, giant menu, and its piece to resistance, a staggering 250 beer taps

served ice cold and knee high glassware.

Coming on the cusp of the gastropub trend, the restaurant also emphasized quality.

It's higher than average price menu encompassing both traditional pub fare and more daring

items with an Asian fusion influence.

The shoreline village location was a local sensation, helped along with the gentrification

of the LBC's downtown area, as well as the opening of the nearby Long Beach Aquarium.

By the year 2000, Platt's eatery boasted the third highest per capita sales in the entire

restaurant industry.

The single location was grown into a chain, quickly expanding across California and then

throughout the US, west of the Mississippi, with expansive real estate secured for every

dining space.

In a 2011 interview with Palm Springs Live Platt, a classic rock fanatic, claims to have

personally curated the playlist for the restaurant chain's in-house music for 15 years.

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