McCormick & Schmick’s highlights local fareMcCormick & Schmick’s highlights local fare

Lisa Jennings

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants is testing a farm-to-table program that would shift to the use of local suppliers of produce, dairy and other ingredients in markets across the country, the company’s chief executive said.

The program, which is likely to be rolled out within a year, is an effort to reconnect with the brand’s “heritage,” chief executive Bill Freeman said Tuesday at a restaurant industry conference hosted by law firm Davis Wright Tremaine in Portland, Ore., where McCormick & Schmick’s is based.

The menus at the 96-unit McCormick & Schmick’s restaurants change daily, depending on seafood availability and the seasons. Each restaurant has its own menu built around seafood options available in each region — a model the chain said has helped it navigate rising commodity costs.

While McCormick & Schmick’s menus have long noted the waters-of-origin for each fish or shellfish item on the menus, the farm-to-table program also will allow each restaurant to highlight the local source for produce, meat, dairy and other products.

Freeman said the company has been testing the farm-to-table program in 10 of its locations.

At a test restaurant in Houston, for example, the menu lists local suppliers of produce, dairy and other provisions. Among them are Silver Streak Farms Redfish from Palacios, Texas; Texas Pecan Co. of Dallas; and Slow Dough Bread Co. and Pola Artisan Cheeses, both in Houston.

Like most of the chain’s restaurants, the Houston menu also highlights the daily “fresh list” of seafood specific to that location and where it came from, such as rainbow trout from Buhl, Idaho, blue crab from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico; and Wellfleet oysters from Massachusetts.

During an earnings call earlier this month, Freeman said McCormick & Schmick’s has made changes to its supplier strategy in a cost-cutting move that would allow for more flexibility to use local producers in each region.

The farm-to-table movement has grown in popularity among independent restaurants and smaller regional chains, and Chipotle Mexican Grill has promoted its shift to local farmers where possible. However, few other national chains have attempted such a move.

Freeman said the farm-to-table effort has been well received by guests at test locations. Though logistically “a challenge,” he said, “It’s certainly something we’re committed to.”

Last year, McCormick & Schmick’s restaurants conducted a strategic review of the “brand DNA” and restaurant portfolio to determine what changes would help drive traffic and sales, and improve margins.

One change is to refresh existing restaurants. The company is dedicating $10 million to $15 million toward a remodeling program over the next two or three years, with upgrades varying by location.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 29, McCormick & Schmick’s reported a widened loss of $25.1 million, or $1.69 per share, compared with a net loss of $16.6 million, or $1.12 per share, a year ago.

Same-store sales dropped 1.0 percent for the quarter on revenues that increased 3.4 percent to $91.6 million.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].