860: Kevin Cornish owner of KC's Rib Shack

Kevin Cornish opened the original KC's Rib Shack in 1998. Prior to that he owned a printing company in Manchester, NH, as well as a rock club in Miami. The rock club lasted about 5 years from late 80's to mid-90's when he returned to Manchester. After barbecue-ing with friends he decided to open up his own restaurant. The first location was in Litchfield, NH and had only a handful of tables. The concept soon moved to the much bigger city of Manchester. Now, KC's Rib Shack is a staple in Manchester with over 300 seats.

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and get your first 30 days on me!  Connect with my past guest and a community of superfans.
• Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
• Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
• Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)

Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "We are in the hospitality industry first and foremost."

In this workshop with Kevin Cornish we will discuss:

• Staff longevity
• BBQ mail order
• Operating a music venue and bar
• Being busy but not making money
• Proof of concept
• Pop ups
• When investors pull out
• Where passion gets you when money fails
• Opening a restaurant in the 90s with 4,000 dollars
• Guerilla marketing
• Email marketing
• Facebook marketing
• Yelp
• Mug clubs
• RestaurantOwner dot com
• Labor

Today's sponsor:

7shifts is a modern labor management platform, designed by restaurateurs, for restaurateurs. Effectively labor management is more important than ever to ensure profitability and restaurant success. Trusted by over 400,000 restaurant professionals, 7shifts gives you the tools you need to streamline labor operations, communicate with your team, and retain your talent. Best of all 7shifts integrates with the POS and Payroll systems you already use and trust (like Toast!) turning labor into a competitive advantage for your business. Restaurant Unstoppable members get 3 months, absolutely free.

Talk To The Manager – Nowadays, most guests don't want to call you on the phone or give you their feedback face-to-face.
With TalkToTheManager, guests can avoid making a scene by sending you comments and questions anonymously by text message, allowing you to respond and handle issues in real-time. It's easy to set up and simple to use for both staff and visitors. No software integration. No downloads, and no apps to install.

Over 20,000 restaurants trust ChowNow (chownow.com/unstoppable) for their online ordering. With ChowNow, you'll take control of your online presence, connect with more local diners, and keep your hard-earned profits. Join the free ChowNow Marketplace to reach new customers without commissions. Want to go big? Put your restaurant in the spotlight with ChowNow Direct—a full suite of branded ordering and marketing tools, including your own app! For a limited time, Restaurant Unstoppable listeners save 30% on a ChowNow Direct annual plan.

 

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Hospitality
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Push-over
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Longevity, loyalty
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Labor and food cost
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Make people feel welcome
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Always smile
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
   • BentoBox
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • KDS with Toast POS
10. If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
    • Don't open a restaurant
    • Charge what you need to charge
    • Expect restaurant ownership to be hard

Contact info:

Website: ribshack.net

Email: [e-mail]

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.

Huge thanks to Kevin Cornish for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!