Corner Booth Podcast

Episode 39: Bob Yacone

Bob Yacone won first place in the nation for traditional pizza at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada the same year he won first place at the National Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival in Buffalo, New York. 

 

But his life hasn't always been a series of impressive awards. In this episode, we learn how he went from a difficult life in Brooklyn, New York to a successful restaurant operator in the Southwest. "My adopted grandmother got me interested in food. She raised me and was wonderful in the kitchen," he says, adding, "I enjoyed it immediately."

 

Bob launched full-service Italian restaurant Forghedaboudit! in Deming, New Mexico, home to his wife Kim’s family. He explains how he successfully developed a large loyal guest following in a challenging secondary market and - in spite of the pandemic - launched a smaller-footprint counter-service and take-out version of the concept in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Bob plans to expand Forghedaboudit! via franchising, with the next location to be slated for opening in El Paso, Texas sometime next year.

Episode 38: David Jones

Tune in to this episode to learn how to go from good to excellent. An engineer by training, David Jones applied his analytical and business expertise to restaurant management education. He is the founder of The Excellence Advisory, a premier hospitality leadership development group. His approach has helped many independent restaurant operators increase their effectiveness, improve staff retention, and turn their managers into better leaders.

 

David spent seven years on the Pal’s Business Excellence Institute, the Tennessee-based management development arm of Pal’s Sudden Service restaurant group, the only quick-service restaurant chain restaurant to earn a Malcolm Baldrige award. “The more we think like our customers, the more we realize the importance of quality and value,” says David, adding, “when we think like our staff we realize the importance of a quality work environment and being valued!”

 

In the wake of the pandemic, David believes operators have a “second chance to make a first impression on returning guests and staff.” The winners will be concepts that engage their staff and empower their management team.

Episode 37: David Tripoli

David Tripoli has 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry as a manager, multiunit supervisor, concept developer, and operations executive. He most recently directed independent restaurant company Truluck’s Ocean's Finest Seafood & Crab with its expansion to 12 units in five states with annual revenue exceeding 80 million. "Successful expansion is found within your concepts bench strength," David tells us, "because it’s a people business after all."

 

In this episode, David shares his philosophy on management leadership development and his proven steps to follow from management selection, initial training and supervision, to ongoing development.

 

"Management is about managing situations, but leadership is motivational and creates the positive culture today's staff members look for and deserve," says David. "Restaurants perform so much better when staff is inspired and not simply overseen."

 

David’s successful experience with developing good managers into great leaders has helped many others grow and exceed their expectations. "Positive character development and personal growth is another result of successful leadership," says David. 

 

Considering today’s competitive labor market, it has never been more important to maintain a positive work environment where managers properly lead and staff excel and grow. This is a must-listen.

Episode 36: Alex Canter

Alex Canter is CEO of Nextbite, which states as its goal "to ensure every kitchen with extra capacity is not only surviving, but thriving" with off-premises virtual brand sales. Alex is not just a young tech entrepreneur. He is a savvy and seasoned restaurateur, who at age 12 started working in his family's business - the landmark Canter's Deli, an iconic Los Angeles dining destination serving locals, tourists, and celebrities.

 

Alex successfully preserved the time-honored traditions of a fourth-generation family-owned restaurant while modernizing it with cutting-edge technology to streamline operations and online ordering. In the process. Alex discovered his passion for restaurant industry innovation. "If you aren't thinking about the next generation of your restaurant, there may not be one," he says.

 

In this episode we learn how Alex conceived and developed Nextbite to help independent operators maximize revenue with very little additional operating costs. "Fitting the right virtual brand into an independently owned restaurant operation helps raise revenue from currently underutilized kitchens," he explains.

 

Nextbite's successful virtual brands include George Lopez Tacos, Wichcraft, Crave Burger, Wild Wild Wings, Grilled Cheese Society, Lucky Dragon, and many more. Nextbite also provides menu execution and operations assistance, and an ordering platform that simplifies third-party delivery orders and transactions. Alex also explains the company's unique revenue-sharing program with partner restaurant operators.

 

Considering takeout and third-party delivery sales comprise as much as half the revenue for many independent operators, that alone is good reason to tune in and learn Alex's bold vision of the future of off-premises dining.

Episode 35: Aaron Lyons

Aaron Lyons came to the restaurant industry to create the guest experience he wanted. With a solid business background and education, but no restaurant industry experience, his years of business travel and dining out inspired his desire to develop a new fresh, farm-to-table concept. Following a career in finance and armed with an MBA, Aaron created a business plan for a new flex-casual restaurant with healthier menu offerings and an improved guest experience.

 

In this episode, we learn how Aaron’s process of concept development, site selection, and raising capital resulted in the launch of the first unit of Dish Society in 2014. 

 

He shares the challenges of a new concept, including long ticket times and inventory management problems, along with the systems and procedures he employed to create consistency.

 

"We are a people-forward company," says Aaron. "A strong team led by my director of operations is why I expanded this concept into a five-unit company within six years." 

 

Earlier in 2022, Aaron and his team opened Daily Gather, a new full-service restaurant and bar with intentions of expansion. Dish Society and Daily Gather utilize current technology to market and operate more efficiently and effectively, with online orders for pickup and third-party delivery accounting for more than 40% of total revenue. 

 

With high unit success and multiple brands in operation, Aaron has no plan to slow down anytime soon. And despite his success in off-premises demand for his brands, says Aaron, "I remain bullish on the dine-in guest experience and believe in the need for people to have a place."

Episode 34: Brian O’Neill

Brian O’Neill’s foray into the restaurant business began as a teenager working in his parents' diners in Manhattan. This led to positions at well-known New York concepts including the venerable Russian Tea Room and the original Hard Rock Cafe. Brian later moved to Boston where he managed the Bull and Finch Pub, the setting for the television sitcom “Cheers”.

The story didn’t end there. In this episode, Brian explains what brought him to the Lone Star state and his purchase of the historic Alamo Springs Cafe in Fredricksburg, TX. He shares the old-school secrets of his success in this restaurant venture: “Core values based on a commitment to quality and service work no matter what the concept.”

Brian takes pride in preserving the special history of Alamo Springs Cafe while improving the menu, the entertainment offered, and its operations. “There is always room for improvement,” says Brian.

Listen in and learn how a restaurant management veteran stepped into ownership over an iconic existing concept and led it toward future success while honoring its unique past.

Episode 33: David Cordua

The award-winning restaurants the Cordua family created include Churrascos, Américas, Artista, and Cordua Events. A product of this distinguished legacy, Executive Chef David Cordua gained his appreciation for and education in Latin cuisine as a child in his grandmother’s kitchen. With a degree in culinary arts and restaurant experience in Europe, he eventually launched his own concept The Lymbar Kitchen and Cocktails, named after the street of the first family home in America. It is scheduled to open in Spring 2022. “Lymbar is my opportunity to take the Latin culture and tradition I learned and present it in my own way,” says David.

In this episode, David discusses his experience launching a new restaurant concept in the current market, including location, financing, design, construction, menu development, and staffing decisions.

Learn from this bright young entrepreneur his strategies to overcome the obstacles to starting a business post-pandemic and why he believes today’s business environment offers tremendous opportunity.

Episode 32: Meredith Sandland

Join us for a fascinating interview with Meredith Sandland, coauthor of “Delivering the Digital Restaurant: Your Roadmap to the Future of Food.” Meredith, a former Yum Brands/Taco Bell and Kitchen United executive, joined forces with her United Kitchen colleague Carl Orsbourn to pen this best-selling tome. They artfully explore the current disruption facing American restaurants through first-hand accounts of restaurateurs, food industry veterans and start-up entrepreneurs. 
 
A detailed, insightful and lively read, “Delivering the Digital Restaurant” is, indeed, a roadmap for independent restaurant operators hoping to successfully navigate the future of the business. In fact, helping independents prepare “for this new frontier was a big motivation behind the book,” says Meredith.
 
In this episode of the Corner Booth, Meredith leads us on a deep dive into the development of ghost kitchens and virtual concepts, how and why they work, how they are different, and how more restaurant operators can succeed by using these models to expand their businesses. She also shares her three steps for takeout/delivery success that every independent operator should be doing today.
 
Many of us are fully aware that the digital age of restaurants is in full force. Listen in as Meredith explains how you can leverage it to build your brand. (By the way, you can order “Delivering the Digital Restaurant” directly from the publisher at https://www.deliveringthedigitalrestaurant.com)

Episode 31: Alex Brennan-Martin

The Brennan family has created one of the most respected restaurant dynasties in America, with concepts including the famous Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Alex Brennan-Martin grew up in that world, working in the back and front of the house, the front office, and on the front line. Today, he is regarded as an expert on all facets of the restaurant business.
 
In this episode, Alex shares his views on legacy dining and how tradition has risen to meet and satisfy the guest experience demanded by today’s dining public. He explains how he has helped his family’s acclaimed fine-dining brands both leverage their guest loyalty and remain relevant post-pandemic by combining high tech with high touch. 
 
Alex also discusses how his family continues to be able to attract high-quality staff in the current labor shortage. Finding and recruiting top talent is part of the Brennan family’s proud tradition, with staff alumni such as Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme who passed through their kitchens on the way to their own celebrity.
 
While so much focus today is on restaurant delivery and takeout, Alex believes "there will always be a demand for fine dining," adding, "holidays and family events require a working culture that is more than serving guests. We are in the business of making memories.”
 
The pandemic is simply one more challenge the Brennan family has met and overcome. Brennan’s Houston has survived hurricanes and a devastating fire. Alex has been pivoting long before it became a buzzword, most recently adapting his family’s brands to takeout and retail grocery distribution.
 
If you need a shot of inspiration on the power of a great brand, commitment to quality, and wisdom that only comes with experience and tenacity, please tune in. The Brennan legacy is showing no signs of slowing down and Alex looks forward to many more years of making memories.

Episode 30: Shammi & Mithu Malik

Join us at the Corner Booth as we visit Houston's "Musaafer", which was recently named one of the Best 100 Restaurants in the world by Time magazine.

Husband and wife owners Shammi and Mithu Malik share their compelling and unique story of their concept development and road to restaurant success. Musaafer translates to “traveler” in Urdu, one of the languages spoken in India. Not surprisingly, their concept was inspired by a culinary journey of more than 100 days, in which their team visited every state within the country of India. 

"It was most important for our executive chef to actually experience the various regional tastes rather than simply study the recipes," says Mithu. Shammi explains how architects using construction materials and furnishings from their home country of India created a guest experience to match the authenticity of the food. The restaurant takes guests on a virtual journey to India in a way that could not have been accomplished without such attention to detail. This two-year project resulted in a beautifully designed 10,000-square-foot facility offering seasonal menus for lunch, dinner, tastings, and private parties. 

Learn how their ingredients are sourced, their seasonings created, their wines selected, and their staff educated and trained so that guests not only taste but experience the rich culture of India.