Kevin Boehm’s Bottomless Cup

A Restaurateur Who Built an Empire—and Then Fought to Save an Industry

By Lisa Marie Burwell

On most nights, Kevin Boehm can be found gliding through one of his restaurants—shaking a hand, straightening a candle, or tasting a sauce with the quiet precision of a conductor tuning his orchestra. It’s a rhythm he’s followed for most of his life.

For Boehm, the hum of a dining room isn’t background noise; it’s the heartbeat of a dream that began long before Michelin stars or James Beard Awards. It started in Springfield, Illinois, where a ten-year-old boy memorized menus and imagined what it might feel like to create a restaurant of his own.

Today, as co-founder of Boka Restaurant Group, one of the most celebrated hospitality collectives in the country, and as a driving force behind the Independent Restaurant Coalition, Boehm’s story reads like a recipe for resilience—equal parts grit, grace, and heart. Now, he invites the public into his world to experience it all in his new autobiography, The Bottomless Cup: A Memoir of Secrets, Restaurants, and Forgiveness, out November 4.

The Restless Apprentice

Before there was Boka, before the accolades and elegant dining rooms, there was a young man with energy to burn and a résumé that was, at best, imaginative. After leaving the University of Illinois, Boehm moved to the Florida Panhandle with little more than ambition and a love of restaurants.

“I told a place I’d been a captain before,” he admits with a laugh. “I had no idea what that even meant.”

He learned fast. Those early years became his version of culinary school—long shifts, small paychecks, and lessons learned in the heat of service. By 1993, Boehm had opened his first restaurant, named Lazy Days Café, a six-table spot in Seagrove Beach, Florida. Two years later and a few miles down the road in Blue Mountain Beach came Indigo Wine Bar, which famously catered the dailies for The Truman Show during filming.

Each restaurant taught him something new about people, timing, and the unteachable magic of hospitality. “When the room fills, when everything hums—that’s the moment,” he says. “You can’t fake it. You have to earn it.”

A Meeting of Minds

In 2002, fate—and Chicago—introduced Boehm to Rob Katz, a nightlife entrepreneur with business acumen that matched Boehm’s creative drive. The pair couldn’t have been more different: Boehm was heart and instinct; Katz was polish and precision. But together, they built something rare—a partnership grounded in trust, taste, and an almost obsessive pursuit of excellence.

Their first collaboration, Boka, opened in Lincoln Park that same year. The name BOKA itself was a nod to the partnership—a combination of the first two letters of their last names, BOehm and KAtz. Sleek but soulful, elegant without arrogance, the restaurant became an instant hit and set the tone for what would become the Boka Restaurant Group (BRG).

Over the next two decades, the dynamic duo of Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz has since built a half-billion-dollar empire, including chef-driven concepts such as Girl & the Goat with Stephanie Izard, Momotaro, Swift & Sons, and many others—each one distinct yet bound by a shared philosophy: vision, detail, and warmth.

“We don’t chase trends,” Boehm says. “We chase people—chefs with a point of view, designers with a story to tell, teams that believe in the same heartbeat.”

That heartbeat has earned Boehm and Katz a constellation of accolades, including a Michelin star for Boka every year for more than a decade. And, to their credit, they won the coveted James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur in 2019. But for Boehm, the real reward has always been about connection—the kind that happens when a guest leaves happier than they arrived.

The Night the Music Stopped

In March 2020, that connection disappeared.

As COVID-19 swept across the country, Boehm watched dining rooms go dark. One week, BRG was thriving; the next, it was silent. Hundreds of employees were furloughed. Tables sat perfectly set but empty—haunting symbols of an industry built on togetherness, suddenly outlawed.

“It felt like standing in an empty theater after the curtain falls,” Boehm recalls. “All that energy, gone in a heartbeat.”

But Boehm didn’t stay quiet. Along with chefs Tom Colicchio and Naomi Pomeroy, he helped found the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC)—a grassroots movement born from desperation and hope. What began as late-night Zoom calls turned into a national advocacy force for independent restaurateurs.

Boehm became one of its leading voices, testifying before Congress, rallying the press, and fighting for policy that would keep small restaurants alive. The coalition’s efforts culminated in the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a multi-billion-dollar lifeline for thousands of businesses.

“I never planned to be a lobbyist,” Boehm says. “But when your world is burning, you grab a hose.”

The fight wasn’t just political—it was personal. “Restaurants are people’s dreams,” he adds. “And you can’t just let dreams die quietly.”

Redefining Hospitality

The pandemic changed Boehm, and it changed how he defines hospitality. For him, the table has always been sacred, but now its meaning runs deeper.

“Hospitality isn’t just about the dining room,” he says. “It’s about care—how we show up for others, and for ourselves.”

That philosophy inspired Bian, a private wellness club in Chicago that Boehm co-founded in 2020. Bian merges fitness, medical care, and mindfulness under one roof—a concept that, in typical Boehm fashion, treats well-being as a form of hospitality.

He’s also turned to writing, contributing essays to Esquire and Fast Company that explore leadership, loss, and the emotional cost of running restaurants. His forthcoming book, The Bottomless Cup, due to debut on November 4, is already tracking to hit The New York Times Best Seller list. Boehm has a robust book-signing tour scheduled and has already completed twenty speaking engagements in October alone. With a glowing endorsement from award-winning actress Angela Bassett, who counts him as a friend, as well as many others, Boehm’s star power continues to soar.

“It’s not a business book,” he says. “It’s about joy, failure, and finding purpose—even when the lights go out.”

The Alchemy of the Room

Walk into any Boka restaurant and you’ll feel Boehm’s invisible touch. The lighting is low and warm. The music flows but never competes. The staff move with an effortless rhythm that comes only from deep pride and shared purpose.

That harmony—that intangible “it” factor—is what Boehm calls the hum. It’s the sound of a room coming alive, of strangers being transformed into guests.

“There’s a spiritual element to it,” he says. “Hospitality is saying, ‘I see you. You matter.’ The food, the wine, the design—they’re all just ways of saying that.”

It’s a simple belief, but it has shaped Chicago’s dining scene for over twenty years. Boehm and Katz’s restaurants are more than places to eat—they’re landmarks of emotion and memory. Anniversaries, proposals, late-night toasts—all unfold in the soft glow of rooms that Boehm helped imagine.

Most recently, Boehm signed a three-restaurant deal with developer Jason Romair, who is creating Kaiya Beach Resort, poised to become one of the most elevated resorts in Northwest Florida. The first concept, This New Day, will feature a luxe twist on breakfast, brunch, and more. Boehm’s return to the famous Scenic Highway 30-A, which is fast emerging as the world’s New Urbanism mecca, where his career began, feels like a full-circle moment.

Legacy and Renewal

Now in his fifties, Boehm speaks less about expansion and more about evolution. BRG continues to grow—new restaurants, new cities—but his focus has shifted toward mentorship and meaning.

He serves on the boards of the Illinois Restaurant Association and 826CHI, a nonprofit organization that supports youth literacy and creativity. He mentors young chefs and operators, encouraging them to view hospitality not as service, but as storytelling.

“I’ve been lucky,” he says. “Now it’s about helping others find their voice—maybe with fewer bruises than I got.”

And yet, the restless spark remains. There are still new ideas percolating, new spaces to dream up. “The beauty of this business,” Boehm says, “is that every night is opening night.”

The Table That Connects Us All

Kevin Boehm’s story isn’t just one of culinary success; it’s a story about connection—the invisible thread that ties people together through food and care.

Whether he’s fighting for restaurant workers in Washington, designing a wellness retreat, or fine-tuning the playlist in one of his dining rooms, Boehm is driven by the same mission: to make people feel seen, valued, and at home.

In a culture that often prizes speed over soul, his philosophy feels radical—and refreshingly human. “A great restaurant is a mirror,” he says. “It reflects who we are, who we want to be, and the joy of sharing it all.”

For Kevin Boehm, that reflection—that shimmer of connection between host and guest, between kitchen and table—is still the most beautiful sound in the world.

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For our readers in the Northwest Florida region, Kevin Boehm will be in Seaside, Florida, for a book signing at Sundog Books in Central Square on November 25, with a reception at 87 Central Wine Bar to follow. His book, The Bottomless Cup, is available for purchase on Amazon in hardback, paperback, and e-book formats as of November 4—preorders are now open.

Hear more from Kevin live at The Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Florida, on VIE Speaks: Conversations with Heart & Soul podcast hosted by Lisa Marie Burwell and guest starring Oliver Petit, available on YouTube @vietelevision and all podcast platforms. Visit BokaGrp.com to learn more about his restaurants, and follow @kevinboehmboka on Instagram for more updates.