Bar and restaurant concept partners Clayton Parker (left) and Micky Doherty outside Metro, the newest venture of their company Eclipse Management

Hong Kong's love affair with dining out has been a recipe for success for food and beverage business partners Clayton Parker and Micky Doherty, co-founders of Eclipse Management.

Eclipse, so-called because of its mission that every outlet it opens will, by its progressive success, cast a shadow across previous successful operations, has lived up to its name, if judged on the two newest establishments. Metro, a French brasserie and lounge, and Blowfish, a modern Japanese restaurant and bar, both opened in February to immediate accolades from local press.
 
Over the past decade the company has kept seven concept restaurants and bars operational and popular on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, the partners' joint experience contributing to their success story.

Mr Doherty, an Irishman and accountancy graduate, gained front-of-house experience training as an area manager for up to 25 public houses for Joshua Tetley's & Sons brewery in the UK. He then managed pubs in Hong Kong. American Mr Parker devises menus, having trained as a chef in Paris and worked in the kitchens of some top French restaurants in New York - such as Maxims de Paris and Mondrian.

Land of opportunity

In Hong Kong, Mr Parker built on his back-of-house knowledge with a restaurant development and management position in growing food and beverage group Elite Concepts. "Hong Kong is a place where you get some amazing opportunities that come along, and this was one of them," he recalled.

When the pair met through bar operations, some brainstorming led to a commitment to create their own concept establishments, with Delaney's Irish pubs being the starting point in 1993. "We started with the minimum we needed - a small office, a couple of computers and four marketing and clerical staff ," Mr Parker said. "It was a very organic operation and we did not have any calculated budgets for running costs. Recently, though, we spent HK$500,000  (US$64,000)  updating software for the Eclipse office's staff of 12."

"The main cost for us is in the setting up of the places themselves," adds Mr Doherty. "This costs us anywhere between HK$1.5 million to (US$192,000) HK$12 million (US$1.5 million)."

Eclipse has a regular pool of investors who help provide the liquidity required during the setting-up period but the company is always the largest shareholder.

"Holding a large stake is a great incentive for us to make sure that we are completely motivated for all the outlets," says Mr Doherty. Both he and Mr Parker divide all establishments between them and are on the floors and in the kitchens daily, monitoring operations.

An entrepreneur's dream

"Hong Kong is an entrepreneur's dream," says Mr Parker. "It's so easy to register a business, taxation is low, there is a transparency of conduct everywhere and lack of corruption."

"And, importantly for us, people love to eat out here," adds Mr Doherty. "Homes are traditionally quite small, so there's a long tradition of going out to socialise here. Most of the working class can afford to eat out, which is a good reason why we are not in a hurry to try outlets in the mainland or other parts of Asia, where this is not the case.

"In the 10 years we have been in business our client base has become more Hong Kong Chinese, which reflects a change in local dining habits. Many of these diners have spent years studying in Canada, the US, UK or Australia and have acquired a taste for Western-style food and atmosphere when they go out."

"Our ambition is to build up from what we have here to about a total of 12 outlets," said Mr Parker. "And to keep improving on all the ones we already have," added Mr Doherty.

Related link:
Eclipse www.eclipse.com.hk