Corner Booth Podcast

Episode 69: Johnny Carrabba (re-visit)

Johnny Carrabba’s legendary restaurant, Carrabba’s Italian Grill is turning 37 years old and is receiving the gift of reinvestment from its owner and creator. Redesigned private dining rooms, enhanced ambiance, and updated background music are just a few of the ways Johnny is refreshing the interior of his landmark original Carrabba’s on Kirby in Houston, Texas. "I have been blessed with a very strong customer base and an incredibly loyal staff," says Johnny. "Half of my staff have been with me for over 15 years and we are serving the children and grandchildren of many of our original guests."

 

Johnny first visited Corner Booth as a guest in December 2019. During that episode, we learned about his strong commitment to guest service and how his staff has become extended family. In this episode, we learn how his concepts have adapted to the guests' buying habits post-pandemic. Says Johnny, "People demand more convenience now, we are experiencing 23% to 30% of our revenue coming from car side pickup."

 

With nine units, including full-service Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Grace’s and fast-casual Mia’s concepts, Johnny is an expert on multiple-unit management. "Owners can do what they want, but the customer is the real boss," says Johnny, adding, "the closer you stay to your customers the smarter you remain." He spends his time working with management and engaging with staff members. 

 

In this episode, Johnny shares insights into the use of technology to support operations while enhancing the guest experience through "hands-on" hospitality. "You always return to where you feel you belong. More than food and drink, it’s the service that makes a great experience."

Episode 68: Eric Sandler

Eric Sandler is the Houston metro food editor for CultureMap, a digital media company that covers food, wine, entertainment, fashion, and sports. As part of his job, Eric stays current on trends and consumer preferences. “I have always been passionate about food, interested in dining and curious about food service," says Eric. "My job allows me to experience all areas of the restaurant industry and see things from the guest's point of view.”

 

In this episode, Eric explains how he covers the myriad faces of the restaurant community and what he finds interesting and newsworthy. Eric feels that COVID changed our relationship with restaurants and underscored the importance and necessity of providing meals via delivery and takeaway service. He views current industry challenges as balancing convenience with offering quality full-service experiences that guests seek after two years of social distancing.

 

"We are social people, and we seek communal experiences," says Eric. Despite increasing cost, labor and supply-chain challenges, Eric believes the industry will continue to expand. Diners are increasingly adventurous, creating demand for ethnic and other concepts that break the mold of typical fare. Learn more about Eric on his podcast "What’s Eric Eating".

Episode 67: Grace Wang

A native of Beijing, Grace Wang moved to the US and eventually entered a career in accounting and finance. She decided, however, that the restaurant business was her true calling and gained experience as a restaurant server and manager before opening her first concept Duck n' Bao, offering the traditional fare of her birthplace.

Her first year in business was challenged by COVID, which allowed for takeaway service only. "Working with family and a very small crew at first, we developed a loyal following from the Chinese community," says Grace. "Then, as on-premises service was allowed, we added more to the menu and happily watched our customer profile broaden and grow."

In this episode, Grace explains how she built a successful full-service neighborhood restaurant serving family recipes. In 2023, she leveraged that experience to open Hongdae 33, a counter-service Korean barbecue concept. 

Grace looks ahead for further concept and unit expansion. "I find myself more interested in the restaurant business every day. Working closely with staff keeps me connected. I believe you never stop learning."

She involves her team in her financial planning, menu development, and marketing decisions. "Some of my managers may want to open their own restaurant one day and I will be there to help them."

Episode 66: Lauren Fernandez

Lauren Fernandez is the founder and CEO of Full Course, a three-year-old foodservice business incubator/accelerator and private equity firm. Lauren followed her love for food and interest in working closer to the consumer market into the restaurant business following her career as an attorney advising and representing pharmaceutical companies.

 

Her transition into the restaurant industry began with creating a business partnership for the purchase of three Chicken Salad Chick franchised locations. She added eight additional units to her enterprise, developed a catering and delivery program at the units, and sold them to Chicken Salad Chick Corporation in 2018.

 

In this episode, Lauren describes her path to founding Full Course. She says she realized “a true development solution was needed to assist small restaurant companies and Full Course was created to fill that need," says Lauren. Full Course assists startups with education, operations management, and raising capital, putting proverbial skin in the game with an equity interest in the businesses.

 

Lauren’s advice for independent restaurant operators wanting to succeed and grow includes balancing labor and technology, building loyalty through quality and guest satisfaction, and playing the long game to build true brand value.

Episode 65: Mason Ayer

Mason Ayer is a self-described "recovering attorney" who, after three years of corporate law practice, left the profession to join the family restaurant business Kerbey Lane in Austin Texas. "I was literally born into the business," says Mason. "We were living in the garage apartment above the converted bungalow home that was the first restaurant 42 years ago."

 

What began as a small neighborhood full-service cafe known for offering great breakfasts has grown into a 10-unit family enterprise in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Many things may have changed over the years, but the core purpose at Kerbey Lane remains to be a place that feels welcome...to its team members and guests.

 

In this episode, Mason shares his strategy for expansion without becoming chain-like. "We look to replicate the experience rather than add units," says Mason. This places an emphasis on building a team that fits the concept and its values. Kerbey Lane remains committed to scratch cooking, “quirky" unscripted service that’s personalized, and active community-based marketing. Their popular “Kerbey Kindness” program rewards selected neighborhood charities with donations each quarter.

 

"Our food speaks volumes," Mason notes. "The cinnamon roll pancake and eggs Francisco are most popular and help us routinely get voted Best Breakfast in the City." Mason's management style helps connect with management and engage with staff. He has received some of his best suggestions for improvement by including management and staff in discussions regarding daily operations and plans for the future.

 

The future looks bright. Mason plans to stay close to operations and keep the corporate structure lean while continuing to create the Kerbey Lane experience in other major cities throughout Texas.

Episode 64: Mario Johnson

Mario Johnson founded the Original Sleepy Potato limited-service quick-service concept in 2018, in shuttered restaurant space next door to his downtown Detroit barber. Today, his startup has grown to a seven-unit chain in Detroit and Atlanta.

 

Says Mario, "Initially the concept was called Mojo’s Motown Eatery, serving burgers and wings," adding, "It wasn’t until the next year when I moved to Atlanta and added stuffed potatoes that the concept really took off. So, I changed the name to the Original Sleepy Potato."

 

"We keep the menu simple, using high quality, extra-large russet potatoes, sixteen stuffings, and a wide variety of grilled protein toppings, including beef, chicken, lamb, and shrimp," he says. The menu offers specialty non-alcoholic beverages using Kool-Aid® flavoring.

 

The counter-service concept favors second-generation restaurant spaces ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 sq. ft. With an eye toward franchising as a pathway for expansion, Mario is upbeat about the future of his restaurant business.

Episode 63: Michael & Robyn Bordes

In this episode, a husband-and-wife team share their story of how combined experience in the building trades and restaurant operations led to a series of successful restaurants in second-generation spaces. Meet Michael and Robyn Bordes. 

 

Michael is a seasoned contractor. Robyn started working in restaurants at the age of 13. In the summer of 2021, Robyn found an unoccupied space in their hometown of Greenwich Connecticut. The next day, they purchased a 50-year-old deli that needed a lot of work. “Thankfully, I was able to do most of the re-do,” says Michael.

 

With a menu based on their family’s favorites, they named the restaurant after Robyn’s father. Constantino’s is a small, casual, full-service Italian concept that has quickly become a neighborhood favorite for pasta and pizza.

 

They opened a second Constantino’s unit a year after the first, in a neighboring town 15 minutes away. The Bordes then found another small space that became available in the wake of a Covid business closure. There, they created “Constantino’s Homemade Ice Cream”.  

 

The couple continues to seek opportunities for expansion. “We have found locations nearby for two concepts we are developing right now,” says Michael. “We look forward to opening Constantino’s Pasta Bowl, a counter-service build-your-own pasta dish concept, as well as Love you Latte, a small breakfast and lunch coffeehouse later in 2023." 

 

Operating several locations, six days a week, and with more than half of sales from takeout and delivery business in the early days of their business, required them to ramp up systems and procedures to assure quality and consistency.  “We learned very quickly how important it is to create a staff that works together as a team and helps each other like family," says Robyn. Adding to the couple’s recipe for multiunit success are hands-on ownership, quality ingredients, active social media, and community involvement.

Episode 62: Chris Schultz

Chris Schultz, CEO of Portland, OR-based Voodoo Doughnut, has four decades of restaurant industry operations and growth experience. Before joining Voodoo Doughnut in 2017, he was Senior Vice President of Operations for MOD Pizza, where he led the concept’s expansion from a single unit to 350-plus locations.

 

In this episode, Chris shares the story of two friends’ desire to fuse hospitality with a bold and edgy product to open the first Voodoo Doughnut in 2003. At their first location, squeezed between two nightclubs in downtown Portland, they joked about “world doughnut domination”. In 2008, they opened a second unit. Today, Voodoo Doughnut boasts 17 locations in six states.

 

Chris shares with the Corner Booth his plans for product innovation, business culture, and growth. “Although there will be 24 units in operation by the end of the year,” says Chris, "I see us creating a series of stores rather than a chain." He explains, “It’s important [for the units] to be similar rather than identical," adding, “We win when we adapt to the neighborhoods we serve." As far as product, says Chris, "we must remain crave-able." 

 

Chris takes a hire-for-attitude approach to staffing. "We hire interesting people with the will because we can teach the skill." He reminds all he works with, however, not to take themselves too seriously. "We make doughnuts after all."

Episode 61: Alex Smith

Alex Smith is CEO of Maryland-based Atlas Restaurant Group, with 30 restaurant properties located in Maryland, Florida and Texas. His restaurant career began in 2007, as a Häagen-Dazs franchisee, when he noticed the need for a lunch concept in the neighborhood. This inspired him to create his first concept, Harbor East Deli in 2009. 

 

After 16 years of concept development and expansion, and armed with a team of 1,800 staff members, Alex feels the brightest days for Atlas Restaurant Group lie ahead. "Being big still means thinking small to me," he says, going on to say, "The closer I stay to the market and the more engaged I remain with the staff, the better I become."

 

In this episode, Alex explains the three pillars of his operating principle for success: product integrity, entertainment, and hospitality. "Balancing these three key items maintains the unique identity of each restaurant concept," he explains.

 

"We remain a people-first company," he adds. "My success depends on my team." 

 

Alex takes pride that his first manager is now the COO and a business partner. “I am very proud that so many staff members have found a home with the Atlas Restaurant Group.”

Episode 60: Meredith Sandland & Carl Orsbourn

In this episode, we welcome back previous Corner Booth guest Meredith Sandland, along with her publishing partner Carl Orsbourn. Sandland, a former executive with Yum Brands/Taco Bell joined forces with United Kitchens executive Orsbourn to educate restaurant operators on how to succeed at digital marketing, operations, and customer service. As co-authors of the best-selling "Delivering the Digital Restaurant", they share best-practices advice from their second book "Path to Digital Maturity."

 

Says Orsbourn, "There are tips and tricks that set the foundation for building a mature guest digital experience," which, Sandland adds, can "increase guest satisfaction and loyalty." Orsbourn and Sandland explain how the path to digital maturity also includes gathering consumer data that can be compiled and analyzed to improve the menu, labor scheduling, and operational efficiency. Join us for an engaging conversation on how to place your concept on the cutting edge of the restaurant industry’s digital transformation.