Sarkis Restaurant Group history

In 1983, Sarkis expanded outside of his base, buying five restaurants in Florida and opening them as J.C. Hillary's locations.

In 1984, he opened Joe's American Bar & Grill in Back Bay, five blocks from the original Charley's on Newbury Street.

In 1985, he introduced The Famous Atlantic Fish Company, a concept that combined a bistro and raw bar and featured a wide variety of fresh seafood.

In 1986, Hillary's opened in Wayland, Massachusetts, a more formal, upscale version of J.C. Hillary's.

By 1988 there were eight Charley's in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

In 1990, he renovated a Florida location and reopened it as Rayz Riverside Cafe.

By the end of 1994, there were 13 units, with two located as far south as New Jersey.

David Loeb, a restaurant analyst with The Chicago Corp. in Chicago, put it succinctly to Robin Lee Allen of Nation's Restaurant News in a 1995 article, "As someone at Shoney's said to me, 'In casual dining, the seats are growing faster than the fannies to fill them."

The new year did not begin well, as the Blizzard of 1996 dropped more than 100 inches of snow in Back Bay's major market.

By 2002, Back Bay Restaurant Group consisted of 35 restaurants on the East Coast, including the Abe & Louie's, J.C. Hillary's, Atlantic Fish Co., Coach Grill, Joe's American Bar & Grill, and Papa Razzi chains.