Our Amazing Chef Rick Shay and his wife Aloha Shay
If you want to know anything about Rick just ask him.
Below is an article published in the Manistee News Advocate regarding Rick Shay's former racing career and restaurant business. Enjoy!
From Racing to Restaurants
By Matt Wenzel
Sports Coordinator
Manistee – Whether he’s in the pit changing an entire rear end in four minutes or frantically running around his restaurant making sure every customer is happy, Rick Shay is no stranger to pressure.
Shay, a former race team owner, is the new owner of Shay’s Chop House in Onekama and he’s just as dedicated to making his patrons happy at his establishment as he was ensuring his cars ended up in the winners’ circle.
On the surface, there may not appear to be much in common between racing and restaurants, but Shay thinks differently.
There is a reason that racing is known as a team sport. It’s a collective effort from everyone involved. From the driver to the pit crew, everyone has to be on their game to ensure success.
Shay says operating a restaurant is similar and it all comes down to the camaraderie.
“Some of the things are very similar,” Shay said.
While sitting at the bar of his restaurant, with a beautiful view of Portage Lake visible from the large windows in the main room behind him, Shay elaborated on the parallel between the two.
“It’s a team effort and we want everyone to work together,” he said. “We used to have a lot of fun (in racing) and we do a lot of that in the restaurant. I brought that team atmosphere to the restaurant and we have a good staff.”
Shay is more than familiar with heading up a quality group.
As the owner of Rick-A-Shay Racing, he led his team to a championship in the Viper Racing League in 1999 and 2000.
In 2000, he had two cars on his team in the endurance race and they finished first and second. So, Shay walked away from the sport on top.
Why?
“Money ruined the sport” Shay said. “They took the fun out of it with the cubic dollar.”
That may be the biggest reason, but Shay also worked ridiculously long hours and watched friends get killed by the sport.
“I’ve been up for six weeks building a car, 18 hours a day,” Shay said. “Then, we take it out and smash it on the first lap. Then I’m up six more weeks fixing it.”
Although that kind of commitment to a job can be draining, there are certainly some benefits involved.
Shay loved the camaraderie, and, in the end, the time he spent as mechanic/team owner/head chef – cooking meals for his team outside trailers – provided insight to a future career which foreshadowed his current investment in the restaurant business.
“It’s my love for food,” Shay said. “Just to cook out on the paddock for everyone else with the team was fun.”
And, ultimately, that was his calling when he was searching for something different.
“It referred me back to what I wanted to do in the end,” he said. “And, I wanted to be back in Michigan.”
While, at first glance, his background in food may sound like what you would find at a top-notch tailgate, Shay is no stranger to high-quality food.
He was a personal chef to a wealthy family that held residences in Florida and California and he catered to some particular tastes.
California may be a long way from Northern Michigan – in more ways than one - , but, people are people no matter where you go.
So, along with satisfying them with delicious good, Shay wants to entertain them.
He recently renovated the main dining room and is in the process of transforming the restaurant to a more multi-faceted establishment.
“It’s a restaurant, and that’s what it’s going to be,” Shay said. “But we want to progress into live entertainment. We want to let people know we are here. There’s not much to do up here other than go to the casino.”
So, Shay is taking the initiative to providing area residents an alternative to acquiring chronic tendonitis in their right arm from pulling the handle of the slot machines too much.
He’s already brought in a few bands and recently hosted a comedy night with two nationally renowned comedians.
While Onekama may not be the biggest town, Shay said he wants to treat all of his customers like they are his biggest clients.
He said he regularly makes the rounds during the night to talk to his clients and make sure everything is copacetic.
“We could have the grumpiest of people in and if I stop by, I can fire them up and make them smile,” Shay said.
His ability to treat everyone the same has been a staple of his life.
While he was still involved in racing, he spent time on the same circuit as famous actor Paul Newman.
Newman raced for the Lotus team and the two spent a lot of time hanging out together in Shay’s trailer, drinking coffee and eating home-cooked meals.
Shay said Newman didn’t like to spend much time around his own trailer because of all the commotion around it and he seemed to just want to hang out with other racers.
“He just wanted to get away,” Shay said. “I never bugged him. I didn’t treat him any different then anyone else. Maybe that’s why he liked to come over.”
Despite all of the fun, friends and accomplishments, Shay seems to have moved on from the racing life. And, as far as whether or not he misses that life, “not really” was the answer.
The Onekama fair grounds may not be Daytona, but for Shay, that’s just fine.
“I did it for 20 years. I’ll always have the memories.”
The Chef
"If you like food....
you'll love Shay's"
I take pride in providing great taste for a great value. With my menus selections you are sure to find a favorite or even two.
