Show notes 5/1/23 Bjs brewhouse BJs Brewhouse Tinkers with quick service " eat at counter" model in a handful of restaurants. Customers who order before seated arent necessarily tryibg to get in and get out as quickly as possible. Same avg time spent and some going back up to order additional items They are known for their brew house theater positioning that makes them unique. Several great initiatives inacted by their CEO  and increassd 12.6% in their restaurant margins! Wow! National restaurant association Free webinars on their website!! Operators series is the current series and they have upcomong webinars for hiring, restaurant Tax credits and more! Heres the link: https://restaurant.org/ Panda Express uses robotic wok They call the PAW (Panda Auto Wok) has been in development since 2015 and is now installed in over 240 locations as of 2023. This makes them one of the leading adopters of robots in the food industry. It cooks food faster and eases the cooks duties. It works by automating part of the wok handling process including mixing ingredients and cooking large batches of rice and noodles. It can operare at 25% faster speed than a manual wok and eliminates steps for the Crew which make their jobs easier. Automation has a place in the restaurant industry and Panda is using it to help alleviate some of the hardest jobs of the team to improve their quality of life. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/panda-express-unveils-robotic-wok What number one characterstic do you look for in a great Restaurant Leader? So many.  But i think its best if we approach this from a different stand point. I dont think its fair to say on what Restaurant Leaders must have to be successful in this industry but rather what people do they have around them. What is their support structure? The jack of all trades manager is like a unicorn. Very rare. So instead of finding that one person that is great at everything, marketing, training, operations, etc we must look for someone who isnt an expert at all things, but knows how to leverage others into accomplishing a common goal. Some people may say "the final piece to the puzzle" but i say, the restaurant leader is like the puzzle master instead. They are the person who places pieces where they should fit. They see the end goal and they know with patience and perseverance, they would be able to use all the pieces they have to finish the puzzle itself. With that said, having the ability to delegate and inspire and motivate others are the end all in the role of a Restaurant Leader is number one. You cant be like that without two things: Vision and Passion.  The vision to see the end goal you are working your team towards and the passion needed to persevere in the hardest parts of that journey. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thailur-kachenchai/support