“Can you believe my company? I bet you’ve never seen anything like it.” I hear that all the time. “We have things we have not addressed for years. We are successful, but we could be doing so much better.” After almost three decades advising owners of successful multi-unit independent restaurant companies, I don’t see much … Continued
What would your employees text you—the successful owner of an independent, multi-unit restaurant group—if they had the chance? Michael Lastoria, CEO and founder &pizza, gave every one of his 750 employees at his 35-units his cell number—and the open invitation to text him. You may have read about him last week in Nation’s Restaurant News … Continued
Recently I had the pleasure of buying a new car. I did not have a choice—mine got totaled. (We are fine, by the way. No injuries.) Having no idea what I wanted, that meant interacting with lot of car dealers and a lot of car salespeople. Four strange things happened: Two salespeople I met gave … Continued
Whatever your dream is, my wish for you is that you get to live it. At work, at home, in your community. In that spirit, as we start a new year, here’s a gift from me – a free download. Fill out the box below to get my Toolkit for Creating a Dream Restaurant Business. Everyone … Continued
When you use one of my many suggestions to improve your business and your life, that makes it all worthwhile to me—and extremely gratifying. If you are regular reader of this newsletter, you are appreciated! Thanks for following my work, keeping in touch, and sending me your comments and topic requests. Missed a few of … Continued
Everyone likes a good story. Storytelling is how we communicate and influence people. Storytelling goes one step further than what you are currently doing. – Do you want to order the fantastic, juicy steak? Or order the steak the owner specifically chose because of how she felt first tasting it? – Do you want to … Continued
If you really want to make progress, grow your company, preserve your free time, and build wealth and happiness for yourself and others, pay attention to the big decisions. In Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism, one graphic I really like illustrates how one big decision can have a much greater impact than an assortment of small … Continued
We all work so hard on our food. But the truth of restaurant success is that, for most independent restaurant companies, food just gets you in the game. The guest experience, the price/value relationship, location, atmosphere, hospitality level, and even seemingly small things like parking and access are what cause people to make a decision … Continued
Nothing happens in a restaurant dining room until someone creates a recipe, orders the food, preps and cooks the food, and an expediter puts the order together. The best successful multi-unit independent restaurant companies create enthusiasm and loyalty with their back-of-house personnel by constantly telling them – through shift meetings, staff meetings, or just one-on-one … Continued
Every independent restaurant company has its strengths. Some are more guest focused; some are more production oriented; and others are outstanding at concept or locations. What I do with my clients, owners of successful independent multi-unit restaurants to truly maximize their revenue, profits, and net worth, is to make their organizations good at all of these things … Continued