Six years ago, Champ Akkarapol took over the restaurant he renamed Thai Neighbor at 250 W. Chicago Ave. in Oak Park. Now, with the business transitioning to new owners, he felt the time was right to transition into a consultant for the restaurant industry, helping other owners understand what they need to do in order to sell their businesses.
“I want to be a voice,” Akkarapol said. “Because a lot of time when I ran into other business owners, when I look at them eye to eye, I know that they’re thinking of it too. They just don’t know where to start. There’s so many aspects that I can share. From being a customer and now being a business owner and now that I’m being the next level where I help other people.”
He stressed that selling should not be thought of as a negative.
“We talk about flavors, we have talked about obstacles or challenges like construction, loss in traffic,” he said. “We talked about delicious food. we talked about customer favorites, but we barely talk about the real deal of business. Some people do restaurant business because of their passion of cooking. Maybe some people want to become an entrepreneur.”
Akkarapol has been an entrepreneur for 19 years. There are many reasons for a restaurant owner to make a transition.
“I want to remind owners and everybody in the community too that leaving the company is not failing,” he said. “It’s more like sometimes the trend comes and goes, right? Sometimes the flavor profile has become familiar. A lot of time, business owners feel stuck because the creativity run out. They just run out of ideas. So sometimes exit strategy not necessarily mean that they have to sell or get out, but maybe transform, recoup the idea and then make a new restaurant.”
Being organized from the start is the best way to prepare to exit, according to Akkarapol.
“Food operators are so busy being an operator they are not being really an owner in businesses,” he said.
Those day-to-day operations can take most of an owner’s attention.
“Their bookkeeping is not organized. That’s my number one concern,” he said. “In order for restaurant owners to be able to execute the sale, or successfully transfer the asset, I do believe that they have to be somewhat between 25 to mid 30% in profitability. If restaurant owners who want to exit and they are not able to show 25% profitability, it’s going to be a little bit difficult.”
When Akkarapol takes off his chef hat and apron and leaves the kitchen, he wants to encourage others to organize their back office, so they can take advantage of opportunities that may come their way.
“I am moving on from this restaurant in the next few months,” he said. “I just want to share my success and be a change in the community where we think outside the box, think of possibilities. I just want to share my expertise.”
In the meantime, Thai Neighbor is open and still serving customers the food Akkarapol has hand-crafted over the past few years. He said that will continue, even after he is gone.
“Delicious food still here,” Akkarapol said. “Everything is the same. The recipe is the same. And I can give you the hint that the group of these people [new owners] are the same age as me. They have passion in becoming an entrepreneur. I was very selective of who will be continuing my legacy.”