874: Jay McSharry Founder/CEO of JGroup Hospitality

Jay McSharry, a local restaurateur, graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1990. Nearly a decade after graduating, he returned to NH’s Seacoast to fulfill his vision and opened Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café. Building on the restaurant’s success, Jay went on to open numerous establishments in the region, including Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café, Moxy, Vida Cantina, The Franklin, Street, Luigi’s West End Pizzeria, Ore Nell’s Barbecue, The Railpenny Tavern, Dos Amigos, as well as other projects on the Seacoast. In 2020, Jay was named James Beard Award semi-finalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category.  Today, Jay's JGroup Hospitality is the umbrella under which the majority of his restaurants exist.

Check out episode 820 with Stephani Robson on Business Planning as mentioned in today's episode!

Today’s feature affiliate: Bentobox. In need of a restaurant website? Click this link to find out why so many of my guests use Bentobox!

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:

• “You’ve already succeeded if you just try.”

In this episode with Jay McSharry we will discuss:

• Difficulties with owning/operating a restaurant in the 1980s
• Similarities between theater and restaurants
• Seeking mentors
• What NOT to do
• The importance of including your staff in important decisions
• Creating a business plan
• Gathering investors/raising capital
• Starting small
• The benefits of a working owner
• Knowing when to scale
• How to name your restaurant wrong
• How to remove yourself from the business as the owner
• The importance of partnerships
• Knowing when to close a restaurant
• How to be both a restaurant and real estate owner
• What to look for in a chef-partner?
• Constant communication is key with partners
• You’re only as good as last night’s service
• Advice for landlords and tenants
• Unique difficulties with a pizza concept

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?
   • ADD
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Not knowing people's names
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Do you want to be here?
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.
   • Treat everybody fairly
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Work as a team
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • Zingerman's Leadership books
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What is something restaurateurs don't do well enough or often enough?
   • Compliment the staff
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
   • Resy
10. Name one service you've hired.
    • Gaskets - Summit Supply
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?
    • Treat everybody fairly
    • Appreciate every day
    • If you see it, you own it

Contact info:

JGroup Hospitality website: jgrouphospitality.com

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 Jay McSharry 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!