TAPPING INTO A Market.

THE YARD HOUSE RESTAURANT AND ITS 180 KINDS OF BEER QUENCH A THIRST FOR NEW DINING EXPERIENCES

As impressive as 99 bottles of beer on the wall might be, the Yard House in Long Beach has 180 different kinds of brew on tap - with five and a half miles of beer lines connecting its 250 tap handles to its climate-controlled keg room.

That massive reservoir, combined with a popular menu and waterfront location, has made the Yard House into one of the fastest-growing restaurant/bars in L.A. County.

Located at Long Beach's Shoreline Village, the Yard House was opened in late 1996 by two business acquaintances that had known each other from the Denver restaurant industry.

Steele Platt, 42, chief executive, and Steve Reynolds, 41, chief operating officer, had been talking about opening a restaurant for some time. Then one night over drinks they jotted down a business plan on cocktail napkins.

The idea was to take Platt's experience owning and running restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Denver and merge it with Reynolds' experience as the Western division manager for Absolut vodka. They would open an upscale pub and eatery near the ocean.

They figured they would do something akin to The Boiler Room, a restaurant and bar that Platt opened in Denver in 1986 and then sold. It would offer dozens of beers, classic rock 'n' roll, and a solid menu.

"I felt comfortable that this particular concept could be successful, the timeless element of classic rock 'n' roll, cold beer and good food," said Platt, a native of Hawaii who graduated from the University of Denver's School of Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management.

They formed Icon Restaurant Group. Reynolds was in charge of researching how many draft beers could be offered. (He came up with 450.) Platt's job was to find a good location for the restaurant. To get rolling, Reynolds and various friends put together a $150,000 start-up fund.

Location discovery

One day Platt was riding his bike up the coast from Orange County, where he lives, and came across Shoreline Village, a tourist spot across from the Queen Mary and near the Aquarium of the Pacific. Sitting near the water was an enormous space that had been vacant for three years. It had once been a restaurant with a large patio facing the water, where sailboats were docked.

After talking to the building's landlord, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Platt put together a business plan, estimating it would take $800,000 to open. His estimate was based on Denver costs from 1985, the last time he had put together a major restaurant business plan. Ultimately, it took $3.2 million.

As part of the lease agreement, Northwestern said it would spend $400,000 to improve the building in exchange for 6 percent of the restaurant's gross revenues.

But as soon as the contractor went in to remodel the building, a slew of structural problems were found. Pipes were rotting. The plumbing was inadequate. Everything had to be replaced.

While construction was going on, Platt and Reynolds needed to raise another $825,000, so the pair held weekly investment get-togethers to show the space to friends and family members, and explain their concept. Over the next year, they sold 55 investment units for $15,000, and opened the Yard House in December 1996. During their first full year of operation, revenues totaled $4.2 million; they grew to $6.4 million the following year.

"That's outstanding," said Hal Sieling, president of the restaurant consulting firm Hal Sieling & Associates. "I think if they have a good variety of beer, which they obviously do, and good food, it can be a winning concept.

Growing chain

The Yard House has become so popular that the partners expanded the concept in 1999, opening up a location at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa and then a third location at the Irvine Spectrum in Orange County. A fourth Yard House is set to open at the end of this year in Rancho Mirage, and a fifth is planned for downtown San Diego next year. Manhattan Beach is another possible location.

Since starting their first restaurant, Reynolds and Platt have added two partners, Carlito Jocson, the corporate executive chef, and Harald Herrmann, president.

Spotlight

Icon Restaurant Group

Year Founded: 1995

Core Business: Restaurants that serve 180 beers on tap

Revenue in 1997: $5.3 million

Revenue in 2000: $20 million

Employees in 1997: 110

Employees in 2000: 730

Goal: To grow to $100 million in annual revenues

Driving Force: Huge assortment of beers on tap