Award-winning restaurant announces General Manager and Executive Chef of new waterfront location at Las Olas Marina
Ocean Prime, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ (CMR) dynamic seafood and steakhouse, is set to open on Tuesday, April 29, at Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale. The two-story waterfront dining destination boasts 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor terrace seating, a private dining room for up to 32 guests, and stunning views of the Intracoastal waterway and the brand-new Las Olas Marina. The restaurant will be led by General Manager Jason Brown and Executive Chef Charlie Tkacik, a duo that brings a combined 22 years of experience with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants across the country.
Located on the Intracoastal Waterway at 171 Las Olas Circle, the nationally acclaimed restaurant embodies the energy and sophistication of Fort Lauderdale’s coastal lifestyle, and diners may visit by boat or by car. The first restaurant to open in the highly anticipated marina, Ocean Prime delivers an elevated experience with exceptional ambiance, a chef-curated menu, signature handcrafted cocktails, a Wine Spectator honored wine list and genuine hospitality.
Overlooking the Intracoastal waterway, docked yachts and passing boaters, the restaurant’s interior is a nod to the sophisticated nautical setting featuring dark wood tones contrasted with light accents and textural details. A light fixture, designed by Giulio D’Amore, an Ocean Prime associate from the Denver Tech Center location, is sculpted from ash wood using hand tools and stained with a black finish, and from various perspectives, resembles a musical note from the side and a sailboat at the base. Accented by lush vegetation, the inside and exterior dining spaces integrate seamlessly, and the large outdoor terrace promises to revolutionize waterfront dining.
“Award-winning dining, exceptional hospitality and stunning views are all in store at Ocean Prime Fort Lauderdale,” says General Manager Jason Brown. “With gorgeous outdoor terraces on both the upper and lower levels, the restaurant will offer unmatched waterfront views in the heart of Las Olas.”
Ocean Prime Fort Lauderdale is the fifth Ocean Prime location in Florida and the first on the east coast. With an associate-first philosophy, Ocean Prime has hired over 130 associates to join their team to make “Yes” the answer and raving fans of the Fort Lauderdale community team that makes raving fans.
Led by Chef Tkacik, guests can expect culinary excellence, including Ocean Prime signature dishes like the Smoking Shellfish Tower, Sea Scallops with Parmesan Risotto and the iconic Ten Layer Carrot Cake. Tkacik brings more than a decade of professional culinary experience and nearly four years with Ocean Prime to his new role in the Sunshine State. Born in Rhode Island, Tkacik attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami before returning to the Northeast where he secured a prestigious internship at Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York City. His professional culinary career thrived as he made his impact at several restaurants across New England before joining Ocean Prime Boston as executive sous chef and then the Ocean Prime Dallas team as executive chef.
Brown joined the CMR family in 2007 as dining room manager at Ocean Prime Detroit before joining the company’s sister restaurant, Rusty Bucket, and leading the opening of the second Rusty Bucket as general manager in Northville, Michigan in the span of one year. He was named regional director in 2011. Ten years later, Brown joined Ocean Prime Troy as assistant general manager before serving as general manager of Ocean Prime Chicago in 2023. Brown was named the 2022 Ocean Prime Manager of the Year by CMR and is known for his passion for people, food and wine and his calm people-forward approach to working with the Ocean Prime team.
Las Olas Marina features a waterfront promenade with public access boat slips to accommodate mega yachts in a world-class marina. To learn more about Ocean Prime, visit Ocean-Prime.com.
About Ocean Prime
Ocean Prime is a nationally acclaimed, dynamic seafood & steakhouse from the award-winning Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. Ocean Prime delivers an extraordinary experience with stunning settings, a chef-curated menu, signature handcrafted cocktails, and a Wine Spectator honored wine list. Every Ocean Prime restaurant is uniquely designed to capture the energy and elegance of each city – making it an unmatched destination to socialize, talk business, celebrate, and indulge. Each restaurant also offers a private dining experience ideal for an elegant private dinner, hosting a small group business or social event, or memorable celebration.
Guests can expect best-in-class hospitality from passionate and knowledgeable associates coast-to-coast. Embracing its midwestern roots, Ocean Prime places the highest value on their people. The company cares deeply about delivering authentic hospitality and believes that every member of the team is essential to creating a memorable Ocean Prime experience. Ocean Prime empowers associates to say “Yes is the answer. What is the question?” Guests can experience Ocean Prime in 21 locations around the country: Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver (Tech Center and Larimer Square), Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Naples, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sarasota, Tampa and Washington, D.C., with future locations coming soon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Nashville, Tennessee (2025). Visit Ocean-Prime.com or follow @oceanprime on Instagram and @oceanprime on Facebook.
Founded by Cameron Mitchell in 1993, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, LLC (CMR) has built a diverse portfolio of varied concepts, ranging from multi-location upscale destinations to single neighborhood favorites. Today, CMR operates 51 restaurants company-wide under 20 different concepts, with 23 locations in Columbus, Ohio, including Budd Dairy Food Hall. In addition, Cameron Mitchell Premier Events, the premier catering and event planning company in central Ohio, oversees three venues in Columbus. The national Ocean Prime brand has 21 locations in 15 states plus the District of Columbia, with upcoming locations opening in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Nashville, Tennessee in 2024-2025. The Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern, a sister company of CMR, currently operates 19 locations in four states. CMR and the various concepts have received numerous culinary, leadership, entrepreneur, community service and readers’ choice awards. For more information, visit CameronMitchell.com.
As seen on CNN, Forbes and Smart Business, Mitchell shares his story and the wisdom he has gained through the years in his book ‘Yes is the Answer. What is the Question?’, available at ShopCameronMitchell.com
