McCormick attended
Roger Williams University and
Boston University while serving in the
United States Army Reserve Military Police until he was
honorably discharged in 1963. He then moved to northern California and worked in the
brokerage office of Connecticut General Life Insurance Companyin San Francisco until 1965. It was at this time that he became a partner in the Refectory Steak House Restaurant chain. By the early 1970s McCormick had moved further north to
Portland, Oregon, and sold his interest in the Refectory Restaurants. In 1971, he purchased the restaurant
Jake's Famous Crawfish and within the year had partnered with Doug Schmick. While growing the restaurant company, he attended the
Harvard Business School, Executive Management Program, in 1979. At that time, there were 60
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants in 22 states employing over 8,000 people. McCormick and Schmick's is owned by
Landry's, Inc. Throughout his business career McCormick's civic and charitable involvement was far-reaching. For example, he has provided thousands of pounds of food for the Pasadena, California, food bank and 11,000 books for disadvantaged children in Los Angeles County. He began the Shamrock Run twenty-seven years ago for the benefit of many service organizations in Portland, Oregon. McCormick was awarded the Secretary's Award by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs for his contributions to, and recognition of, the nation's veterans. Each year McCormick & Schmick Seafood Restaurants provides over 17,000 complimentary meals to veterans visiting any McCormick & Schmick Restaurant on
Veterans Day. As co-chair of the Portland Opera Foundation, he was successful in raising $24 million to help sustain that organization in the future. Under President
George W. Bush, McCormick served on the
President's Committee of the Arts & Humanities, whose Honorary chairman is
First Lady of the United States, then
Laura Bush. ==Personal life==