C.J. Fishman entered the Commercial Food Service field at the age of thirteen, working in his family restaurant design and equipment company. Mr. Fishman graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. In 1980 he returned to Cleveland to work in his family’s expanded Food Service Equipment Company. From 1980 to 1982 Mr. Fishman’s area of concentration was focused in the design and layout department with additional time spent in all other areas of the business. In 1982 he left the family business and moved to Venice, Florida. He joined a small commercial refrigeration company in Sarasota and expanded it into a restaurant equipment company with major emphasis on design and layout of commercial kitchens. In 1986 he opened Fishman & Associates, Inc., an independent commercial food service equipment design, layout, sales and consulting organization which is located in Venice, Florida. C.J. Fishman sold his business unsolicited to a buyer in 2018. Fishman & Associates, Inc. currently does work throughout the state of Florida, nationally and internationally.