'MICHAEL'S SEAFOOD' SET TO OPEN IN DECEMBER IN DELRAY RETAINS
TransMedia FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

CONTACT: Wendy Houghton 561/750-9800 x22
whoughton@TransMediagroup.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BOCA RATON, FL., October 24, 2000-- The TransMedia Group today announced it has been retained by restauranteur Michael Bilton to publicize his newest restaurant creation 'Michael's Seafood' opening in December on trendy Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach at the site of the former jazz spot Ernie's. The site has been completely gutted out and is undergoing elaborate renovations.

After successfully managing, owning and consulting for restaurants in Chicago, Bilton came to South Florida in 1994 and opened '32 East', also on Atlantic Avenue. '32 East' fast became one of South Florida's best restaurants according to numerous media reviews. Now building on that success, he is creating a new magnum opus.

To create a unique dining experience Bilton recruited Chef Devlin Roussel from New Orleans. His menu will be mainly seafood with global influences. Chef Roussel has cooked and created his way around the Big Easy at such haute cuisine haunts as Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill and Bizou. Esquire Magazine voted Bizou among the top ten restaurants in the nation at the same time Chef Roussel was Executive Chef. According to Roussel, "The wine list will be comparable with each menu item so there will be no "wrong" decisions, hence encouraging experimentation." 'Michael's Seafood' will also offer 15 to 20 wines by the glass.

Bilton has consigned internationally recognized architect Marve H. Cooper who developed such projects as the Taj Hotel Group in India, Foodlife at Chicago's Water Tower Place and Fulton's Crab House at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island. "For 'Michael's Seafood', I have created a fun, hip version of a south seaboard restaurant. A deco delight, upbeat and bold" said Cooper.

The interior will be lined with a 52- foot mural by noted London artist, Susy Pilgrim Waters, who earned the prestigious honor of being selected for the American Illustration book three years running. "My creation for 'Michael's Seafood', which is a word/picture mix, can be described as expressionistic, fun and whimsical" said Waters. Waters has illustrated for such notables as the New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, Better Homes and Gardens and The Charles Hotel in Boston.

"Together, Chef Roussel and I will enthuse and unite the diverse demands of the ever growing Atlantic Avenue which has fast become the restaurant mecca for South Florida. With this brilliant combination of food, wine, art and atmosphere, 'Michael's Seafood' promises to be an energetic, elegant yet unpretentious, epicurean experience" said Bilton.