Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Restaurateur makes his own waves

Christopher Campbell of Braddah's Island Style

L.E. Baskow

Christopher Campbell is the owner of 5 Braddah’s Island Style locations and has a specific relationship with Chipotle.

As an area manager at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Christopher Campbell helped train and develop employees for the fast-casual chain and played a key role in the company’s expansion to Las Vegas in 2005.

A Southern California native, Campbell moved to the valley with his wife and newborn baby for his career. Then, he got fired. Campbell said it was because he voiced dissatisfaction with Chipotle leadership.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time, but rather than let the experience bring him down, Campbell used it as inspiration to start his own business ­— one with a model similar to Chipotle’s.

Campbell came home the night he was fired and wrote a five-page business plan for Braddah’s Island Style, a Hawaiian-themed fast-casual restaurant specializing in burritos, bowls and tacos.

“I designed Braddah’s with Chipotle in mind,” said Campbell, 48. “I thought I could do it better.”

The idea didn’t take off right away. Campbell moved across the country to work for another company before moving back to Las Vegas almost seven years later. He opened the first Braddah’s in June 2013.

While many Yelp reviews refer to Braddah’s as the “Hawaiian version of Chipotle,” Campbell said his restaurants have much more to offer. Several locations have drive-thrus. Sauces are homemade. Meals are served in real bowls with real silverware.

Braddah’s also serves meats that stay true to the restaurant’s theme, including Huli Huli chicken, Kalua pig, Pulehu steak and grilled fish. And Campbell’s wife, who is from Hawaii, created a signature coconut bark dessert.

“We have an aloha spirit,” Campbell said. “When people come to Braddah’s, I want them to imagine being on an island with salty hair and sandy toes.”

Today, Campbell owns four Braddah’s locations in the valley, and a fifth is on the way. But he admits his company still struggles.

“I invested my entire life savings into this dream, and I’m not seeing revenue yet,” he said. “But I knew when I set out on this that I would not make much money in the first few years. I am more concerned with investing in building the brand rather than just a restaurant that won’t last.”

Campbell says he believes the tide is beginning to turn. One restaurant location is starting to break even.

“I look at it like waves in the ocean,” he said. “The swell is just the beginning with trials and tribulations, but in order to surf, you have to break the wave. Once you do that, there’s magic.”

Campbell even has come to terms with being fired by Chipotle brass. Now that he’s in charge of a company, he understands a management perspective.

“In every company, you have to let some people go and do what’s best for the business as a whole,” he said. “I like to offer opportunities for everyone, whatever their experience may be, but unfortunately as a businessman, you have to make those tough decisions.”

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