For most of us, our career as restaurateurs is defined by making due with what we can afford. Sure it would be fantastic to bring on a Chief Financial Officer, a director of HR, and a day to day bookkeeper, providing real time analysis of our restaurants, but who can afford all of that? Well, through the internet and this globalized world we live in, there’s now hope for all of us. Today we sit down with Darshak Mehta of Analytix, an offshore Advisory firm changing the face of our industry by...

You are not what you say you are. You are what you do on a daily basis. So if you want to be a great leader, you must act like a great leader. But what does that look like in practical application? Today we find out. We’re sitting down with Jason Brooks, famed multiunit operator, to discuss his path to leadership and the tactics, tools, and strategies he developed over decades to transform his restaurant family into a high performance team.  You can pick up his book, Every Leader Needs...

I believe restaurants have always had a pervasive culture, albeit at times not the healthiest culture. Restaurateur Ellen Yin is out to change that and she’s leading by example. Today we sit down to discuss her unorthodox path through the industry and how in breaking the mold, she’s developed the formula to heal our industry.  For more information on Ellen and her restaurant group, visit https://highsthospitality.com/. ____________________________________________________ Full Comp is...

I think we’ve seen in recent years that we get further faster when we work together. Few individuals exemplify this ideology more than chef Dustin Valette. Through strategic partnership, the chef has managed to grow a profitable restaurant, a successful wine brand, and contribute greatly to his community and our industry. Today we sit down to discuss how to build these valuable relationships and how to leverage them for the greater good.  For more information on the chef and his...

Three words for you: global pretzel empire. Today we’re chatting Anne Beiler, the founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and the author of the book Overcome and Lead. We sit down to discuss the best practices she honed while scaling this company and the lessons she learned along the way. Time and time again, we keep hearing the same foundational idea revisited: personal growth is professional growth.  To check out her book look for Overcome and Lead wherever books are sold....

The hurdles we must overcome to be successful as restaurateurs are daunting at best, but what does it look like in the most extreme cases? Today we chat with Chef Jarad McCaroll of the Ocean Club located in the Caribbean Islands. With stiff competition, high expenses, and scarce resources this is easily one of the most challenging restaurant environments in the world. Jarad sits down to share how they’ve overcome these obstacles and many more to thrive and expand stateside.  For more...

Can a sandwich save the world? Today we chat with Hannah’s Bretzel founder Florian Pfahler who’s setting the standard for green operation in our industry. With more than half a dozen restaurant’s under his belt, Florian proves that it’s possible to scale sustainably. Today we discuss the path to profitability and sustainability as he’s scaled from one to many units over the past two decades.  For more information on Hannah’s Bretzel, visit...

You probably listen to this show,  hear the success stories, and wonder, "Could that be me?"Yes, it absolutely can be you.I'm inviting you to join me for the FREE 5-Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge, beginning April 22nd to unlock the simplest path to scaling your restaurant’s profitability.This is for every restaurateur who's tired of being overwhelmed and earning less than they deserve.Here's a breakdown of what each day has in store: DAY 1 we’ll cover the 3 Keys to Scaling...

We’re better together. As an industry, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we work in collaboration with each other. But who’s going to be the hero that brings us together? In Orange County, California, that hero’s name is Stephen Ronnow. Stephen is the creator of the Restaurant Executive’s Luncheon, a monthly invitation-only event that brings together restaurant owners and operators in the spirit of community, collaboration, and education. Today we sit down to discuss what it takes to...

For those of you that know Gocha Hawkins, the first thing that probably comes to mind is fashion. As a celebrity stylist and reality TV star, Gocha made a name for herself styling the rich and famous. In recent years, she’s turned her attention to the hospitality industry, launching a breakfast concept in Atlanta, Georgia. For most, this would have been a recipe for disaster but, surprisingly, the concept has thrived. Today we sit down to discuss how she made the transition from stylist to...

In any industry but, especially in ours, it’s vital to control the controllables. For most of us, sales is not one of the things we can control or even influence. But what if we could? Today we’re sitting down with Jonathan Morse, founder of TripleSeat, an event management software helping restaurant owners scale sales and create predictable revenue streams through events and catering. We’ll pair my winning strategies for generating event business with his software which makes it easy to...

Chef John Currence did not set out to build an empire when he opened his first restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi but that’s what happened. John is a guy a lot like us. He built one concept, then two, then three in a very linear way over time. Then can Big Bad Breakfast. This is a restaurant that John launched for $65,000 and it became a national brand in a matter of years. Today we discuss how his brands have evolved to reach a national stage and how he’s had to evolve as an entrepreneur and...

Chef David Lawrence has paved the way for anyone with culinary aspirations to follow. He’s worked in some of the best restaurants in the world and he’s opened successful restaurants of his own. David has accomplished this with a smile on his face the whole time, avoiding the overwhelm and the melancholy so closely tied to leadership positions within our industry. In our conversation today, we unpack the chef’s formula for consistent success. As it turns out, aspiring to live a good life,...

Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball that could tell you what your customers will care about in the future? Candace Macdonald and Andrew Freeman have built that crystal ball. Today they run us through their 2024 industry trends report so that we can stay ahead of the curve and at the forefront of our guests minds.  To download the industry trends report, visit https://www.carbonategroup.com/. ____________________________________________________ Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp...

As a business owner, we’re all making strategic bets on the future…trying to create something people will love today while maintaining relevance in the future. There aren’t many of us making bigger bets than Justin Amick. Justin is betting big on the “eatertainment” space, pioneering it in his own market with his eyes set on national domination. Today we discuss what it takes to open a 30,000 square foot concept and the strategies he uses to pack the house.  For more information on Justin...

For many of us, our point of sale system will be one of the largest investments we make when opening our restaurants. It’s also one of the most critical. None of us got into this industry to become technologists and so I thought it wise to discuss the best practices and mistakes to avoid with a POS expert. Mike Willard, owner of Washburn POS, is that expert. Mike has spent decades in the POS industry and today he runs us through how these devices have evolved over the last several years and...

Aging gracefully is not always the easiest thing to do. Our world has changed so much in the last 10 years and our values have as well. That has led some brands to thrive while others have withered. Hooters, a divisive brand to many, intends to maintain its position in the cultural zeitgeist and today we chat with Larry Linen, their COO, to discuss what’s changed with the times and what’s stayed the same over the last few decades.  For more information on Hooters, visit...

We all wear many different hats but the hat we seem to wear the least is that of a business owner. Chef Adrianne Calvo launched her restaurant at 22 year old and miraculously has managed to overcome the odds, surviving the great recession and a global pandemic. How did she do it? She may have started as the chef of her own restaurant but over time evolved into a restaurateur, running her business instead of allowing her business to run her. Today we discuss how that evolution took place and...

If someone was to ask me what is the most common issue that comes up for today’s restaurant owner or operator, it would be labor. Finding great people, effectively managing that talent, and retaining those individuals sits at the forefront of our minds. Few industry experts have a more unique vantage point to our labor crisis than Jordan Boesch. Jordan is the founder of 7Shifts, a labor management tool revolutionizing the way we onboard, manage, and retain our teams. Today we sit down with...

We all look to the brands in our industry that have been massively successful out of the gate for inspiration but there’s much more to learn from the brands that have been forced to turn things around. Today we chat with Jeff Drake, the CEO of Protein Bar and Kitchen. Jeff was brought in to turn around this decade old brand and has done so beautifully. We sit down to discuss who and what needs to be adjusted to change the perception of a restaurant brand.  For more information on Protein Bar...

By my count, there are about one thousand different elements that need to come together to run a successful restaurant. Today’s guest, Les Tomlin, has gotten that number down to about three. Les is the founder of Pizza Forno, a first of its kind vending machine, scaling rapidly across North America. I know most of us never aspired to own a vending machine in our industry but there’s a ton to learn from the efficiency and high level strategy that Les put into creating this disruptive company....

How do you motivate an employee that doesn’t want to work for you? For so many of our line level employees, a restaurant job is a pitstop on the way to their true destination and, as a result, most owners struggle with motivating and leading them. But it doesn’t have to be that way according to Scott Greenberg. Scott is a motivational speaker that turns phrases like culture and values into actionable information. We sit down today to discuss the tactics, tools, and strategies he’s perfected...

As you know, I've coached hundreds of restaurateurs to scale profitability through effective marketing and optimizing operations. These bonus episodes serve as mini-coaching sessions where I provide you with quick lessons to help you achieve the same amazing results without spending a dollar on marketing and advertising. Enjoy! __________________________________________________________ Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp...

Travis Talbot is a renaissance man who’s dedicated his life to learning and teaching. Far from the day to day grind of restaurant life, the chef travels the world, immersing himself in new cultures and cuisines for the benefit of his clients. We may not all aspire to be jetsetters but we are here to learn and Travis does not disappoint, sharing the tools and strategies he’s used to improve his life and the lives of restaurant owners globally.  For more information on the chef and his...