With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest Co-founder and Co-owner of Strategic Hospitality, Benjamin Goldberg.  Strategic Hospitality, co-founded with his brother, Max Goldberg, is a Nashville-based hospitality company shaping the city’s dining landscape by continuously introducing innovative, one-of-a-kind concepts. Properties include Paradise Park Trailer Resort, The Patterson House, Merchants Restaurant,  The Catbird Seat, Pinewood,  The Band Box, Bastion, Henrietta Red,  Downtown Sporting Club, and Locust. Strategic Hospitality also provides consulting and management services to other hospitality groups. Founded in 2006,  Strategic Hospitality has experienced steady growth annually and continues to revolutionize the dining scene.

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:

Today's sponsor:

Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives.

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.

MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Hard work
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Not delegating enough
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • A good person
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   1. Ramping up multiple restaurants at the same time
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Make people happy
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Go above and beyond
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons learned from 15 Years as CEO of The Walt Disney Company by Bob Iger
     GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Rest
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Bevinco | VF Financial
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
    • Toast POS
11. 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?
    • Be honest
    • Be kind
    • Surround yourself with amazing people

Contact info:

Strategic Hospitality online

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 Benjamin Goldberg 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!

Corey Rosen is the founder and an active staff member of the National Center for Employee Ownership, a private, nonprofit membership, information, and research organization in Oakland, CA. The NCEO is widely considered to be the authoritative source on broad-based employee ownership plans. He cofounded the NCEO in 1981 after working five years as a professional staff member in the U.S. Senate, where he helped draft legislation on employee ownership plans. Prior to that, he taught political science at Ripon College. He is the author or co-author of over 100 articles and numerous books on employee ownership, and co-author (with John Case and Martin Staubus) of Equity: Why Employee Ownership is Good for Business (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). He has appeared frequently on CNN, PBS, NPR, MSNBC, and other network programs; and is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and other leading publications. He has lectured on employee ownership on six continents.

Check out The Great Game Of Business by Jack Stack as recommended in this episode!

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and 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:

• "Employee ownership is a way to make capitalism work for everybody."

In today's episode with Corey Rosen we will discuss:

• We are talking about ESOPs and Corey's book Equity: Why Employee Ownership Is Good For Business
• Check out Corey's other books on his author page

Today's sponsor:

Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives.

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.

MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.

Contact info:

NCEO.org

Email: crosen@nceo.org

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 Corey Rosen 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!

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest, Chef Andy Little. Chef Little came to Nashville in 2013 by way of central Pennsylvania where he grew up on traditional Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. After realizing “orchestral musician” was not his career path, Little took up a server position to pay his way through school and discovered his love of the restaurant kitchen. Little graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and began his rising career in the industry first working under Patrick O’Connell at The Inn at Little Washington before a stint at Pennsylvania’s Evermay-on-the-Delaware, which eventually led him back to his hometown to spearhead the fine dining restaurant at The Sheppard Mansion. Now a 2017 and 2018 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast, Little helms the kitchen at popular restaurant Josephine, where Pennsylvania Dutch roots meet Southern hospitality for a distinct and thoughtful experience beloved by guests.

Check out Atomic Habits by James Clear as mentioned in today's episode.

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and 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:

• "A little bit better everyday."

In today's episode with Andy Little we will discuss:

• Staring as a server
• Team environments in the kitchen
• Attending the C.I.A.
• Should you go to culinary school?
• Networking in the restaurant world
• Discipline
• Be unique within a specific standard
• Recipe execution - what makes the end result taste different?
• The Nashville food scene explosion in the early 2010s
• Seeking momentum markets
• Sharing a curated YouTube list with your team
• If you can’t teach and inspire, you can’t lead
• The interview process
• The desire to help your employees grow and leave your restaurant when they are ready
• Give your staff the tools and knowledge to be better than you
• Identifying when you are in over your head
• Branding
• Chasing success on social media

Today's sponsor:

Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives.

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.

MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Dogged persistence
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Dogged persistence
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Attitude
4. AttitudeWhat's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Staffing
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Don't be an asshole
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Personal engagement on a human level; we don't just take orders
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Clear perspective of what they want for themselves
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Allen Benton Bacon
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
    • iPhone
11. 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?
    1. Try to get a little better every day
    2. be a good person
    3. Be yourself

Contact info:

Josephine On 12th website

Josephine on Instagram: @josephineon12

Andy Little on Instagram: @chefandylittle

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 Andy Little 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!

Working as a dish-washer all the way up to executive level management, Patrick has developed a service-centered style where knowledge, passion, and a drive to excel are paramount. After almost a decade of learning the trade by working in New York City, Patrick, bound to his North Carolina roots, moved his family back South and was hired as Butter NC’s General Manager. Under his leadership, Butter NC became established as the premier nightclub establishment in the Southeast and received numerous awards for excellence in service. Guided by his entrepreneurial spirit, Patrick was in search of a strategic, collaborative partnership to open a new type of restaurant that complements his passion for good food and his detailed business acumen. Friends and former colleagues Alejandro Torio and Mills Howell expressed similar thoughts and their combined strengths led to the creation of 5Church Restaurant.

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and 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:

• “Why not us?”
• “There’s only we.”

In today's episode with Patrick Whalen we will discuss:

• Running a casino
• Advice on restaurant openings
• Being empathetic
• Retaining staff
• Events
• Tip pool systems
• Personal life informing career decisions
• Public perception of your company
• False-modesty
• Balancing ego and modesty
• Recognizing initiative
• The “Tip The Kitchen” system

Today's sponsor:

Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives.

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.

MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Very good public speaker
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Impatient
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • What do you want to do?
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Unreasonable people
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Say what you mean and do what you say
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Highly unscripted at tables
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Art Of War by Sun Tzu
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Share information with their employees
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • The Bradley Projects - architecture
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
    • Avero - unlock your restaurant's potential
11. 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?
    1. Be empathetic
    2. Be reasonable
    3. Work hard

Contact info:

Twitter: @tip_kitchen

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 Patrick Whalen 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!

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today’s guest, Meredith Sandland. Prior to co-authoring Delivering the Digital Restaurant: Your Roadmap to the Future of Food, Meredith spent two decades in consulting, corporate strategy, and restaurant development. After Building 1,000+ restaurants the Chief Development Officer at Yum! Brands’ Taco Bell, Meredith observed that the on-demand economy was starting to affect restaurants. Meredith joined ghost kitchen start-up, Kitchen United as employee #4 to create their business model, raise initial capital, and serve as the public face of the Google Venture-backed disruptor.

Check out the book: Delivering The Digital Restaurant: Your Roadmap To The Future Of Food by Meredith Sandland and Carl Osbourn

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and 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:

• “If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”

In today's lecture with Meredith Sandland we will discuss:

• All of the major points discussed in full detail in the book Delivering the Digital Restaurant

Today's sponsor:

Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives.

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.

MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.

Contact info:

You can buy the book right here!

Get the book straight from the authors at www.deliveringthedigitalrestaurant.com

Check out learn.delivery

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 Meredith Sandland 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!

Brandon Styll started managing restaurants over 20 years ago. In 2005, Brandon stepped away from restaurant management to take on a more secure role as managing partner at Creation Gardens, a wholesale food distributor based in Louisville, Kentucky. Brandon quickly developed a reputation for being able to get chefs what they needed when they needed it, and was recruited by the produce distributor, Freshpoint. After six years with Freshpoint, Brandon was recruited once again by US Foods as a Territory Managers, before he was quickly promoted to District Sales Manager. In 2018, after 15 years of not working in a restaurant, Brandon felt the industry calling him back and joined both Green Hills Grille and Mere Bulles as the Director of Operations. In addition, Brandon is the host of Nashville Restaurant Radio, where he’s produced over 200 episodes featuring local chef interviews, leadership interviews, and more!

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and 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:

• "Failure is simply the opportunity to try again, this time more intelligently.”
• “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

In today's episode with Brandon Styll we will discuss:

• The significance of the word “they”
• Don’t see yourself as a victim
• What can you to do make EVERY guest happy
• Creating win-win situations
• The amazing feeling of approval
• What is the price of convenience?
• How we treat employees and why they’re finding other professions
• Substance abuse in the industry
• Switching from hospitality to food sales
• Selling produce
• Enthusiasm and energy
• Intentional pricing
• The importance of utilizing a culture index
• Advice on effective purchasing
• Hitting rock bottom
• Getting sober
• Meditation
• What makes the Nashville restaurant industry unique and what can we all learn from it?
• The importance of supporting other restaurants in your community
• Momentum markets

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.

BentoBox empowers restaurants to own their presence, profits and relationships. The hospitality platform disrupts third-party services that come between the restaurant and the guest. BentoBox puts the restaurant first and offers tools that drive high-margin revenue directly through the restaurant’s website. BentoBox is trusted and loved by over 5,000 restaurants worldwide including Union Square Hospitality Group, Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Lilia and more.

MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Enthusiasm
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Arrogance
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Enthusiasm
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Staffing
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Do the right thing, empower staff to make the right decision
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Relationships
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business by  Gina Wickman
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • 1 on 1 with staff, check in with your team more often
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Neat Mixology
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
    • Zenput for digital checklist
11. 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?
    1. Don't sweat the small stuff
    2. Focus on what you have control over
    3. Love hard

Contact info:

Nashville Restaurant Radio website

Instagram: @brandon_nrr

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 Brandon Styll 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!