Over the past few weeks, the name "Canlis" keeps popping up. The Wall Street Journal ran an article in their column, “Power Tables: Where The Business Elite are Eating” featuring Canlis. The article describes how the Canlis family has forged relationships with the city’s elite throughout its history. The Boeing family. John Wayne. Joe DiMaggio. Bill Gates. Steve Ballmer. Wynton Marsalis. Laurence Fishburn. James Sinegal, CEO of Costco. Rick Fersch, CEO of Eddie Bauer. Conan O’Brien. Ted Baseler, CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. The list goes on.
In the past few weeks, Starbucks has been featuring Casi Cielo, a single source, sustainably grown, shade grown, fair trade coffee that has won the world’s Douro Cup three times. No other coffee has won even twice. And it happens that this coffee was developed by Starbucks after they came to Canlis to learn how to create a coffee for the finest restaurants in the country.
I was very proud of Canlis, happy for the well deserved attention that they were receiving.
A little over ten years ago, I was introduced to Chris and Alice Canlis through a mutual friend. Very shortly after that, Chris kindly accepted a key role on the advisory board of the organization that I headed. In the ensuing years, he taught me much about the Canlis philosophy and how they operated their business.
Two of my staff members even worked at Canlis for a few days to get insight into how the restaurant performed. Due to the generosity of Chris and Alice, my family was treated to an incredible evening at the restaurant, with Alice guiding us through the menu’s many courses. It was all topped off with Chris guiding us on a tour of their award winning wine cellar that had just won the prestigious Wine Spectator Grand Award. I have to confess that the evening totally spoiled my whole family. The kids, to this day, benchmark all dining experiences by their evening at Canlis!
The innovations are many. The magical valet parking experience where you enter the restaurant suddenly realizing that you did not receive a valet ticket, but somehow the car is waiting for you at the front door when you are ready to leave without having been summoned by you. The first restaurant in the U.S. to serve Kobe-style Wagyu beef. The aforementioned Casi Cielo coffee. Team styled service. The first restaurant with the kitchen exposed to the dining room. The pioneer in what is today called Northwest cuisine.
The attention to detail is incomparable. Sit down with Chris and Alice and listen them talk about why specific fabric was chosen to upholster the chairs. Look at the ancient Japanese door that greets you as you come in the front. The door was from a village vault. In ancient Japan, the treasures of the community were kept safe in this vault. And the door is the Canlis way of telling each guest that their special occasions and memories will be treasured and kept safe at Canlis. There’s not a detail that hasn’t been thought through.
And the service is impeccable, subtle, unobtrusive, caring. What a graciously elegant touch that extends from the initial warm greeting to the dining experience to the final magical moment when your car appears at the front door.
While accolades to Canlis are many and articles appear to describe the Canlis experience and legend, what most do not recognize is that the innovations, the exquisite details, and the incomparable service that craft such unforgettable experiences derive from a humble faith in Christ and a deep abiding biblical worldview. I knew this from my personal interactions with Chris, and this was only confirmed by my visits to the restaurant.
The care and attention and creativity don't just flow out of their personalities but out of a deep faith in Christ and a passion to love Him and honor Him in all they do. And the whole restaurant experience, as successful as it is, is also an expression of their genuine love for people…their family, their team members, their guests, their community.
Take the time to tour their website. Look at how their commitment to their household is expressed. And when I talk about “household” I’m using the term in the biblical sense of “oikos” – the extended family of all those in your network of relationships. Look at how they view and honor former team members by “retiring their jersey” and holding up their contributions. Look at the multigenerational view that honors Grandpa Peter who founded the restaurant and grooms the third generation in their current and future responsibilities. Look at their community involvement. Look at their sense of place, art, architecture, and music. Look at how their worldview shapes even how they select ingredients and purveyors and farmers.
You get the picture. I could go on and on. But one point I want to make is that they haven’t tried to "Christianize" their business with their choice of music or decor or any of the many things that people do in order to “spiritualize” their business. What the Canlis family has done is to create a masterpiece that at every level and in every detail reflects their beliefs and values. What they believe is so deeply integrated into the fabric of the restaurant that the result is a powerful and authentic experience that flows out of a biblical worldview. Nothing contrived or staged. It’s not performance, it’s what they are. What they have created is truly good, in every sense of the word. It is true, in every sense of that word. And it is beautiful.
Again, take the tour of the website. Study it with your colleagues to get ideas for your business. But better still. Schedule a trip to Seattle and make reservations at Canlis. Experience the Canlis way. Your evening will become a memory masterpiece that you will savor for years to come. Like I said, my family still talks about it…
