1851

The story of Boka Restaurant Group won&rsquo;t surprise you. That&rsquo;s because it&rsquo;s not shocking to witness how hard work, dedication and ingenuity pay off.

But what makes the story of Boka Group so interesting has less to do with its success, and everything to do with how teamwork and discernment helps a dream come to fruition. Chef-driven restaurants in Chicago weren&rsquo;t yet the massive trend they are now when Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm, founders of Boka Restaurant Group, met in 2001. For the past 15 years, the co-founders and friends have brought the trend to Chicago, working diligently in the background as they encourage some of the world&rsquo;s best chefs to take center stage.

&ldquo;I think we had some very good timing,&rdquo; said Boehm. &ldquo;There was a proliferation of these TV programs that were making chefs superstars when we were taking off. We realized that we&rsquo;re really good at managing restaurants, but it wasn&rsquo;t until we realized that we had an opportunity to make the chefs a star in their own kitchens that we had our breakthrough moment.&rdquo;

The duo&rsquo;s first restaurant, Boka, an American concept &ldquo;with soul,&rdquo; opened in 2003 and featured Chef Lee Wolen. It was an instant success, and since then, has&nbsp;received a Michelin Star every year since its inception. The group has now opened 16 additional concepts, most notably Girl &amp; The Goat alongside chef and partner Stephanie Izard; GT Fish &amp; Oyster with chef and partner Giuseppe Tentori; and Balena, which was the first combination of Boka and B. Hospitality Co., with chef and partner Chris Pandel. Katz and Boehm have been lauded for the high quality and uniqueness each concept brings, having been named &ldquo;Restaurateurs of the Year&rdquo; by major publications, being named &ldquo;Best Restaurateur in America&rdquo; semi-finalists&nbsp;and being&nbsp;finalists at the James Beard Awards in 2015 and 2016.

Before all of this success, however, Katz and Boehm were just two guys who had big ambitions for the restaurant industry. It wasn&rsquo;t until they met and began collaborating that the true magic began occurring.

&ldquo;Mutual friends thought it would be a good idea for us to meet, and it ended up being very fortuitous,&rdquo; said Katz, who became a partner at a bar at a very young age and fell in love with the hospitality industry in Chicago. &ldquo;The past 15 years with Kevin have been pretty action-packed. We were feeling out our ability, and sort of becoming experts in our field, and becoming comfortable with our voice and what our ambitions are. We were very much so aligned. There are things that Kevin is really good at and that&rsquo;s great because I&rsquo;m not nearly as strong in those things. It just seemed to be one of those perfect partnerships.&rdquo;

Recognizing that their partnership played&nbsp;a key role in the success of Boka, Katz and Boehm place that same kind of attention into finding the right people to help realize the group&rsquo;s vision, from chefs that they partner with to the bartenders to the wait staff.

&ldquo;We have a pretty specific vision going into each restaurant, but it can only be accomplished if you find the right people to execute that,&rdquo; said Katz. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re pretty good at finding and identifying talent, but it takes a lot of people. It&rsquo;s not enough that we have a great idea--we&rsquo;ve got to find a bunch of people who think like us and are talented enough to bring our vision to life. There are other people who do what we do, and the competition is so fierce that filling every position with the right people is very difficult, but necessary.&rdquo;

To not only attract, but retain those well-suited individuals, Boka Restaurant Group makes sure of three main things: that employees are valued (which the group shows through time off, benefits and fun group events like softball tournaments and day trips), that they feel like their voice is heard, and that they see opportunity for growth.

&ldquo;The new battle cry is grow or die,&rdquo; said Boehm. &ldquo;You end up losing these great people who work for you if you don&rsquo;t have restaurants that allow them to grow. We did not think it was going to get this big. We were always ambitious. We always knew it was going to grow. But neither of us thought it would be this--this was a wildest dreams scenario. I&rsquo;m just exceptionally proud of our company. We&rsquo;ve been burying our head and working for a long, long time. Every now and then you look up and see all these amazing people. It&rsquo;s very humbling.&rdquo;

How Boka Restaurant Group Blazed the Trail for Chef-Driven Concepts in Chicago

1851 Franchise

Founders Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm still find ways to keep the hype alive in a notoriously risky industry.

how-boka-restaurant-group-blazed-the-trail-for-chef-driven-concepts-in-chicago

Paris Baguette Canada

Photo of exterior of a Paris Baguette location

How Much Can I Make as a Paris Baguette Franchisee?

paris-baguette-franchise-disclosure-document-analysis

Busy Bee Jumpers

Busy Bee Jumpers: Where Proven Success Meets People-First Franchising

busy-bee-jumpers-franchise-culture-success

busy-bee-jumpers-consumer-positioning-image-kids-jumping-bounce-house

Delivering Fun With a Smile: How Busy Bee Jumpers Earns 5-Star Raves From Families Across New England

busy-bee-jumpers-party-rentals

busy-bee-jumpers-franchise-positioning-image

Bouncing Into Business: How Busy Bee Jumpers Is Building the First National Bounce House Franchise

franchise-opportunity-busy-bee-jumpers-franchise

Layne's Chicken Fingers

Photo of exterior of Layne's Chicken Fingers restaurant

Layne’s Franchisees Capitalize on First-To-Market Advantage in Chicken Finger Frenzy

laynes-franchise-first-mover-advantage

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Homebuyers Keep Buying — And That’s Good News for Home Service Franchises - 1851 Franchise

Homebuyers Keep Buying — And That’s Good News for Home Service Franchises

homebuyers-keep-buying-and-thats-good-news-for-home-service-franchises

AI Could Push Unemployment to 20% — Fueling a Surge in First-Time Franchise Buyers - 1851 Franchise

AI Could Push Unemployment to 20% — Fueling a Surge in First-Time Franchise Buyers

ai-unemployment-impact-white-collar-job-loss

How To Sell Just One Franchise: What You’ll Learn at FranCamp NJ 2025

how-to-sell-just-one-franchise-what-youll-learn-at-francamp-nj-2025

House Passes Tax Relief Package With Key Benefits for Small Businesses and Franchises

house-passes-small-business-tax-relief-bill-2025

McDonald’s To Hire 375,000 Workers as It Prepares for Major U.S. Expansion

mcdonalds-to-hire-375000-workers-as-it-prepares-for-major-us-expansion

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How To Create a Strong Incentive

how-to-build-strong-incentives-to-attract-prospective-franchisees

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How to Position Your Value Proposition

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How to Position Your Value Proposition — Point of Differentiation

how-to-position-your-value-proposition-with-a-point-of-differentiation

franchise supplier award design with Locate AI logo and 1851 Franchise badge

Franchise Real Estate Services | Locate AI — Emerging Leaders in Franchise Support

locate-ai-emerging-leaders-in-franchise-support

Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How To Build a Successful PR Campaign

ultimate-guide-to-selling-franchises-how-to-build-a-successful-pr-campaign

The Top 20 Handyman Franchises To Invest in for 2025

top-handyman-franchises-to-invest-in

The Top 20 Cleaning Franchises to Invest in for 2025

top-cleaning-franchises-to-invest-in

How Car Sales Taught Buddy's Home Furnishings’ Mitchell Lee the Secrets of Franchise Development

how-car-sales-taught-buddys-home-furnishings-mitchell-lee-the-secrets-of-franchise-development

Affordable Franchise Opportunities: Exploring Low-Cost Home Service Franchises Under $50K

affordable-franchise-opportunities-exploring-low-cost-home-service-franchises-under-50k

franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Brianna and Matt Fitchett, Seniors Helping Seniors logo

Nonprofit Leaders to Bring Seniors Helping Seniors® Franchise to East Bay, California

nonprofit-leaders-to-bring-seniors-helping-seniors-franchise-to-east-bay-california

How Boka Restaurant Group Blazed the Trail for Chef-Driven Concepts in Chicago

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS