Spotlight on Restauranteur Chris Glass

09/14/23

Dishing Up Sumptuous Entrees Served with Style

Arizonans have a lot of choices when it comes to spending their money to dine out. That’s why restauranteur Chris Glass and his wife Kim work especially hard to ensure when people come to one of their three restaurants around the Valley, they get an experience that will bring them back for more.

How do they do it? “By focusing on exceptional customer service, treating everyone with respect – including staff, customers, vendors, and neighboring businesses – providing a great quality product, and always looking to get even better,” says Chris.

The restaurant business has always been a part of Chris’s life. His parents were in the business, and he worked with them or for them for many years before moving from his home state of Montana to Arizona.

After a career in sales with a wholesale restaurant food supplier, Chris retired in 2013 to realize his dream of opening a restaurant in the Valley. The husband and wife team opened High Tide Seafood & Bar in 2014, building the business from scratch. The restaurant achieved phenomenal success with support from extremely loyal customers and employees.

That success allowed them to open their second restaurant, Pescado Borracho just five years later. “Pescado Borracho is a Mexican restaurant with a Southern Baja seafood emphasis that is Chef Eric Emlet’s passion,” says Kim. The restaurant is known for its Baja-style gourmet tacos and 90 different types of Tequila. Pescado Borracho is run by Chris and Kim’s daughter Lauren, making the endeavor a true family affair.

Restaurant number three – High Tide at the Steelyard – came three years after opening Pescado Borracho. The high demand for the restaurant’s unique steam kettle style expedition cooking prompted the opening of this third location in Gilbert.

Happy Customers & Unique Offerings

“The support our repeat guests give us, and their understanding of our vision has enabled us to branch out and open additional stores,” says Chris. “Not to mention the fact that my family supports me like crazy.” But no matter if you’re a first-time customer or a regular three-times-a-week customer, you will be treated with the same respect, outstanding service, and fresh tasting unique dishes that keep customers coming back for more.

Some of the unique dishes offered at Hight Tide use a steam kettle style of cooking that allows the seafood to cook quickly and consistently, says Chris. Then the dishes are prepared to order in front of the guests.

Not a seafood lover? No worries. While the High Tide restaurants specialize in seafood – including a bewildering variety of oysters – their fried chicken, pork chops, and other meat-based dishes will delight any carnivore. The restaurants also have wine cellars providing an extensive list of wines from which to choose.

Caring Culture Retains Dedicated Staff

Chris and Kim are unwavering in their commitment to providing an enjoyable work environment for their employees. “We want our employees to have a great place to work and be happy,” says Kim. “We close on holidays so they can enjoy time with their families.” That caring culture is rewarded with dedicated, longtime employees including dishwashers and servers who have worked with the company since it opened.

“The one thing that keeps me up at night is knowing that if our restaurants don’t succeed, I have to tell 130 people they don’t have a job,” says Chris. “I don’t ever want to do that.”

It’s another reason Chis, Kim, and their team are always striving to get better, even though they’ve won several awards for their restaurants, including Best of Gilbert for 8 years in a row. “We want to keep getting better and better at what we do,” says Chris. “A lot of ideas come from our employees. We’ll try it and if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.”

More Good Things to Come

Expansion continues! The couple’s newest High Tide restaurant is scheduled to open in Goodyear next year. They also want to expand their award-winning sushi offerings and perhaps add another Mexican fast-casual restaurant possibly in the Queen Creek area.

It all Started with a Solid Banking Relationship

Getting funding to start a new business from scratch can be difficult. But those in the restaurant biz can find even more roadblocks than with other industries. And that was the case for Chris and Kim. “We were turned down for a loan by about 20 banks,” says Chris. “But then Republic Bank of Arizona actually reached out to us after another lender referred us to them.”

“The bank believed in our vision and drive and supported our business model,” says Chris “They took us aboard in the very beginning and we have had a great relationship since then. Every time I see Todd (Grady) and Amy (Blunt), I thank them for believing in us. The bank has been a wonderful partner because, like us, they truly care about their customers.”

“We are so grateful to have Chris and Kim as customers,” says Amy, the bank’s chief credit officer. “Their dedication and commitment to their business, customers, employees, and the community is phenomenal. It’s been a pleasure to work with them and support their business growth and success. We look forward to many more years of our shared story.”