Boca Raton restaurateur Nick Nickolas stresses hospitality

Published Sunday December 9th, 2007

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

Early in life, Nick Nickolas knew the career he wanted to pursue.

The son of Greek immigrants growing up in Oakland, Calif., young Nick learned about quality food and good service from his father, a produce dealer.

“Everything I learned, I learned from my dad – about quality and integrity,” said Nickolas, sitting in the Polynesian atmosphere of Nick’s Fish Market of Hawaii – the 34th upscale eating spot he has opened in a restaurant career that spans 50 years.

Nick’s latest venture is located at 150 Palmetto Park Road, at the north end of what is becoming Boca’s Raton’s “Restaurant Row.”

Not far away – and easily visible from Nick’s – is the Boca Raton Resort & Club, where Nickolas spent the better part of two decades as a restaurant operator and head of the food and beverage department. He parted company with the Resort a year or so ago – after it was sold to the Blackstone Group.

Another Start

He then took over the former Bong restaurant, embellished it with a Hawaiian motif and was back in business.

Hawaii has a special place in Nickolas’ heart. “Hawaii was an interesting place to start,” said the restaurateur who opened his first “Nick’s” in the 50th State when he was in his mid-20s.

“At that time, you had to BE someone to go to Hawaii,” he said. “Now, anyone can go,” he said.

He still has a few restaurants in Hawaii, being operated by his nephew. The Nick’s name still adorns a couple of places in Chicago.

But Boca has been home for a long time. A single dad, he has two daughters, age 16 and 17, at Boca Raton Community High School.

Clearly a family man, Nickolas said he takes his daughters to school in the morning, then heads for the restaurant to start his day. “I drop the girls off, then I come here, I vacuum, I clean up. No one cleans as well as I do – and I save $40,000 a year!” he said whimsically.

The evening Nick Nickolas is just as whimsically, but more suave, with a finely tailored suit, welcoming customers at the door with a firm handshake -- and wishing them a good night as they leave.

Comfortable Feeling

It’s more than good service, he said. “It’s hospitality. I always talk about hospitality. It is the way you make the guests feel.”

Nickolas admitted he has toyed with leaving the trade, but “I love this business passionately. The business still needs me because I teach the business.”

It’s one thing to train someone; it’s another, he said, to teach. “Your high school teachers didn’t train you, they taught you.”

And he has taught generations of employees. Many have been with him for years. He can name them. “Oscar, he’s been here 10 years. Franklin,16 years. The five guys in the kitchen, between them they have 80 years of experience.”

He ends each night with a 15-minute meeting with all employees to recap the day – and talk about what needs improvement.

For Nickolas, restaurant work is all encompassing. As he walks through his dining spot, “I stoop over and pick up rubbish, straighten out napkins, look at water glasses, cook, answer the phone.” He even picked up when the Boca Raton News called for an interview.

What Nickolas doesn’t like is the current emphasis in the dining business on corporate control and money. “If you are in the business to make money, you won’t be successful. You have to stick it out – and hope the money comes in.”

Dale M. King can be reached at 561-549-0832 or at dking@bocanews.com.