| By TD Houchen |
If making a long-standing contribution to a community is the mark of a man, Chris Zarodkeiwicz has plenty of marks. His restaurant/sports bar creation ‘Shooters’, located in Fushimi, smack-dab in the center of Nagoya, was the first of it’s kind in the area, is ‘famous’ by any standard, known by almost every foreigner in the region, and has far surpassed being just a good place to get great food, it’s an establishment, an icon, like Yankee Stadium or Mt. Fuji-it ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Chris’s real estate business ‘Interlink’ has helped scores of businesses and ‘regular’ people to find adequate living spaces here in Aichi. Cezars Kitchen, originally an offshoot of Shooters, continues to feed delicious food to thousands of international school children throughout Japan’s international schooling system. Recently, Chris has taken on a stake in the ‘AquaAlpine Hotel’, a posh boutique ski resort hotel located in Hakuba. You might think with all these accolades, Chris Z could be a bit untouchable, one of those frozen business guys with no time, no personality, no love.
Wrong.
Chris dispels the age-old notion that ‘nice guys finish last’ by being a decidedly nice guy, approachable, friendly and successful. He’s a family man, wife and two kids in tow, he’s in great shape, has a disarmingly genuine and some might say ‘goofy’ raucous laugh, and when you get to know him, you can feel his native New Jersey affable characteristics oozing off him, just don’t mention Bon Jovi. He’s down to earth, low key and chill, and takes great pride in his community. He’s the consummate all-around Success Story, but he’s also the kind of guy you’d drink a beer and talk sports with. We did just that and spoke with Chris to find out just what makes him tick...
td: Let’s start with the locally-famous conversation greaser, ‘how long have you been here and why’d you come’?
cz: I’ve been in Japan 16 years. Prior to coming I had always wanted to live and work abroad. I had a friend who was here and worked for a company that owned restaurants and he was in need of staff. I was living in Toronto at the time and hired
5 Canadians to come here and work. Then the same friend told me they were planning to open another restaurant and asked me to come and manage it. The place was called ‘Santa Barbara’ and I ran it for about a year and a half. At the time it was the biggest foreigner establishment in Nagoya with good food, two stories, an outdoor patio, and a great atmosphere.
td: So, you had no ‘plan’ to come to Japan before you came... in other words, you didn’t spend your life dreaming of Japan, you weren’t heavily into anime or Geisha or sushi, the opportunity came and you just went with it....
cz: When I was working in New York for The Hilton Corporation I had requested an international transfer and hoped to be moved to some Spanish-speaking country, Spain, South America, etc. That was my dream. My language skills at the time were not sufficient to get me to any of the Latin countries but I did eventually get transferred to Canada. I think I was looking for something a little more exotic though.
td: So, you’re from Jersey, I’m from Brooklyn, some similarities between the two, did you ever go to Seaside Heights when you lived in Jersey? (Seaside Heights is a sort of sleazy blue collar carnival-cum-amusement park located on the seashore, if you’ve seen the recent super cheesy yet somehow totally entertaining ‘Jersey Shore’ on TV, the show takes place in and around Seaside Heights. Pub. Note)
cz: I loved it as a kid and have taken my kids there a few times on visits back to the states...I’m a Jersey guy through and through.
td: Would you say you’re Nagoya’s Jon Bon Jovi?
cz: (Half joking) Listen, don’t ever say that. It’s actually somewhat annoying. If you want to say anything about my musical tastes related to New Jersey you can mention Bruce Springsteen, okay? Ask anyone in Japan what they know about New Jersey and they mention Bon Jovi. Come on!
td: I should know better. Gomen Nasai. So, you were working in NY at the Hilton, they offered you a transfer to....
cz: Nova Scotia. It was a great experience and I lived in Halifax, but when I was made the offer I didn’t actually know what or where Halifax was. I believe I thought it was in Greenland.
td: So, eventually you make it to Nagoya and..
cz: So I was here for a year or so, managing Santa Barbara and got to know most of the foreign community. I joined the ACCJ, (American Chamber of Commerce Japan/at that time the ABCN)-developed a network of people here and started to put together a business plan. From there I met my partners..
td: What exactly is a ‘partner’? How do you meet your ‘partners’? I need a ‘partner’, how can I find a ‘partner’ Chris?
cz: I really like this part. So I’m standing in Santa Barbara one day and this young guy comes in and says he’s from Nanzan University. He tells me his professor is doing a research paper on how to start a restaurant in Nagoya and I thought ‘wow” that’s exactly what I want to do. So, I get the professor’s information and call him. We both had the same idea regarding a new venture and
I think if you start a business, you have to be totally focused and committed. There is no failure or alternative to making it work. That’s the philosophy I had at the time and I believe that’s what I still believe in. I can’t ever imagine failing. There are a million excuses or reasons out there why a business might fail. I think you just need to have your blinders on if you
discussed becoming partners. This part didn’t really work out, but it got the process started. From there I made a business plan, and started looking for investors. Eventually we split, he opened his own place, and I opened Shooters in Takaoka.
td: So a partner sounds very important to the process, how does a person who wants to start a business find this ‘partner’?
cz: I think it all starts with a business plan or just an idea that you are passionate about. Once you have that then it’s all about asking the right people. Finding people you can trust. In addition, the restaurant I had been working for at the time (Santa Barbara) was busy every day so I had a proven track record and business experience. This definitely helps to find the right people. I currently have two great partners.
td: So tell me this, what exactly did your business plan consist of?
cz:—A good plan includes what the concept is, who your target audience is, how much initial investment is required, how long it will take for you to get a return on your investment, all financial forecasts, size, proposed location, and any other specifics related to the business along with your resume and background information.
td: Did you know Shooters would be successful from the beginning? cz: I was at the old Dragons stadium watching a game with one of my old partners, and we were discussing what kind of restaurant we wanted to get involved in and we came up with the idea of a Sports Bar. It was like a big light went on over our heads. I knew that was the concept. There were no sports bars in Nagoya at the time except one place called “Balls”. They had “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot” sitting on the bar counter and that was their “sports. Today there are sports bars on every corner. If you go inside it’s usually a coffee shop with baseball on the TV. I had a pretty good feeling it would work.
start thinking like that.
td: What do you think of the climate for business NOW in Nagoya?
cz: Over the last 6 months I think things have definitely improved. Towards the end of
last year it was a pretty challenging time for many businesses in Nagoya. As an entrepreneur I think if you have a great idea it is a good time and place to get something started.
td: Sounds like lots of what you’ve been able to achieve has come from relationships..
cz: Yes, definitely. Nagoya has a reputation for being pretty conservative. I think if you show commitment to living and doing business in Nagoya then the relationships will come that help you achieve your goals.
td: Staying here long term? Definition of success?
cz: Long term... we’ll see?? I love New Jersey. Love the home state of Bon Jovi(joke). I also love Nagoya but when it comes to retiring and thinking long term I like to imagine myself somewhere that’s warm all year.... My most successful moments are when I feel like I’m not chained to my business, when I feel ‘free’, and can choose the things that I want to get involved in. I also think being able to balance work, family and personal is a very big key to really being successful. Personally my greatest success is my two children.
td: If you could be Mayor of Nagoya for a week, what might you change about it? cz: (Drums his fingers on table for an inordinately long amount of time-then-) I like Nagoya. If I could make a few changes I would have more grass in the parks and more benches on the streets. Other than that it’s a great place to raise a family. My kids have gone to good schools, there is a great community spirit in the area and it’s a fantastic place to do business. I like it here. Nagoya’s cool. Not Bon Jovi cool, but cool.
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