Episode 44: Arlene Spiegel

Arlene Spiegel experienced the challenges of daily operations while spending her teen years working in the family restaurant. She mastered the basic principles of guest service and joined the health movement by opening her first restaurant, The Garden of Eating. Arlene was sought after for her opinion and business knowledge by industry magazines and many neighboring restaurants. She enjoyed assisting others with their operational issues and worked to implement improvements.

 

In this episode, we learn how Arlene decided to sell her restaurants to her partner and begin a full-time career in consulting. She tells us about her years working with Price Waterhouse and Cooper as their global restaurant expert. She shares her experiences from her days working with regional chains and national brands, and tells us how her admiration for the hard-working independent restaurant operator grew.

 

Arlene moved on to create Arlene Spiegel Consulting in order to focus her time and energy on independent start-ups and small growing restaurant companies. Decades later Arlene finds herself busy with a variety of restaurant, hotel and casino clients. "The recent pandemic simply exaggerated many issues restaurants were already having within their operation," says Arlene.  She continues "Improving customer convenience, streamlining daily operations and improving the staff experience were issues I helped many of my clients with."

 

Her "Come Back Strong" program was developed to assess issues, provide direction and help implement improvements quickly and successfully. We learn how this approach led some restaurant clients to move into retail and how hotel casino buffets morphed into popular food halls. Arlene tells us "I see consulting as the process of finding solutions and providing the tools required for successful implementation!"