April 17, 2017

Meet Jimmy Veeranarong of The Red Snapper Seafood Restaurant in Atlanta

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Veeranarong.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jimmy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I came to Atlanta, GA from Thailand in 1974 and started working as a dishwasher at McKinnon’s Louisiane Restaurant making $1.85/hour. Eventually I moved up the ranks from washing dishes to doing food prep and some line cook duties. The restaurant’s owner, Mr. McKinnon, liked me. He respected my work ethic and promised to teach me everything I needed to learn about the restaurant business. But after a year at McKinnon’s I took an opportunity at another restaurant.

Over the next decade, I grew up a lot – in both my personal life and in the restaurant business. I married my wife Somporn Veeranarong in 1977. She was a nurse working at DeKalb Medical. We had a daughter in 1980. Throughout it all I worked in different kitchens at restaurants, hotels, and country clubs, building my skills as a restaurateur.

In 1985, I had a call from Mr. McKinnon. He wanted to move the location of his restaurant from 2100 Cheshire Bridge Road to its present location in Buckhead. He asked if I was ready to pursue my dream to open a restaurant. He’d sell me the store location and help me get started. Mr. McKinnon was a mentor and a friend. He coached me and pushed me to create a signature dish that would help to differentiate my restaurant. I came up with the Ginger Snapper. Thirty years later, it’s still a popular dish. The Red Snapper Restaurant officially opened in 1986. I had come full circle by becoming the chef/owner of the very location where I started as a dishwasher.

My wife continued to work as a nurse while The Red Snapper got up and running. But soon after opening, we decided to put all of our eggs in this basket. Somporn quit her nursing job and became a talented, self-taught chef. She loved helping people but learned she could do that more with her food more than with medicine. In 2006, she went back to school and earned her culinary degree from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Today, she is the creative force at The Red Snapper. She is constantly looking for ways to enhance our dishes and the diners’ experience.

Mr. McKinnon has since passed away but he is never far from our hearts. He truly helped us to realize our dreams.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The restaurant business is never a smooth road. There is always new competition cropping up left and right. Employee retention is a constant challenge. And there are many ad-hoc things to juggle.

We had a unique struggle initially. We were Asian people cooking Cajun/Creole-style food. People didn’t believe we could do it, let alone do it well. But after they came in once, they kept coming back – we knew we were doing something right.

Today, we still have many regulars who support us. We’ve come to think of them as part of our extended family.

Please tell us about The Red Snapper Seafood Restaurant.
We are proud to be a local Atlanta establishment. While our menu is largely Cajun/Creole-style seafood, we have touches of Asian influence.

We are known for our signature dish, Ginger Snapper, a sautéed, lightly floured filet topped with shrimp and mushrooms in a fresh ginger sauce. Other popular dishes include the classic Oysters Rockefeller, Seafood Gumbo, Snapper Yvonne and our Fried Seafood Platter.

In recent years, we’ve become well known for our homemade Coconut Cake. We use many parts of the coconut to make this dessert. Often, guests will reserve a slice of the Coconut Cake before ordering their meal.

We are a unique, local establishment. We aren’t part of a chain. And we offer a consistency of dining experience that our regulars appreciate. When you dine with us, you can tell we are a family business – that’s a feeling that starts with our staff and extends to our customers.

As a company, I’m most proud of the partnership with my wife – we’ve helped each other succeed for a very long time in a very tough business. While our restaurant has persevered, and grown, so has our relationship.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I grew up as the middle child in a family of three brothers. I remember when my mom would cook she would always let me taste the food first. She’d ask me my opinion about what was missing. I’d always tell her if the dish needed to be sweeter, spicier, or saltier – I loved that she always asked me.

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