Spartan Profiles: Kevin Brown
LETTUCE ENTERTAIN YOU
Chicago is known for a series of creative restaurants under the umbrella of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE), Inc.—favorites such as Shaw’s Crab House, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Big Bowl, Everest, Mon Ami Gabi, R.J. Grunts, The Mity Nice Grill, Vong’s, Tru, and several dozen more. The president of this $200 million culinary empire founded by the legendary Rich Melman is Kevin Brown, ’77, who might have been destined for the job. “I was the first college graduate interviewed by the company, and I was their first hire,” Brown recalls while savoring a California roll at Shaw’s Crab House, a restaurant he developed in 1984.
A native of Pittsburgh, Kevin became enamored of the restaurant business while working at a seafood restaurant at an Atlantic resort. Four colleges were recommended to him to pursue his interest. “One was MSU,” he recalls. “A secretary basically laid out the entire blueprint for the program. She was very helpful. That’s how I ended up at MSU.” Kevin says he acquired good management and financial skills at MSU and “what I really loved was the emphasis on practical education.”
He touts Don Bell, Lew Minor, and especially Mike Kasavana as his major influences. “(Kasavana) let me do an independent study on what the computer could do for the industry,” Kevin recalls. “He really stretched my mind.”
Once in Chicago, Kevin learned the basics of the industry at R.J. Grunts, then learned the high end via The Pump Room. In 1992, Kevin opened the first Big Bowl, a concept so successful that it has expanded to Minnesota and Virginia, and was bought by Brinker International in 2001 for further expansion. “I love this business,” says Kevin, “and I’m very grateful for an opportunity at MSU, where I met my wife and lifelong friends. We’re in the business of providing value and comfort. That’s what people are looking for.”
