So I just spent a spectacular weekend in Chicago at the National Restaurant Associate Trade Show. IT. WAS. AWESOME! I met some pretty incredible people and sat through some awesome talks from industry leaders. One of the talks I sat through was on the topic of how to combat negative online reviews. In this episode I share what I learned with on this topic and offer some additional tools that you can use in your arsenal during those online battles. Just hit play!

Today's Guest is the President of Cabaret Design Group and has been developing bar and night clubs for over 10 years and also blogs at cabaretdesigners.com. In Today's episode, Rick is going to discuss the five factors that will make your bar more profitable and efficient: WOW Factor, Ergonomic Design, Productive design, Procedures/Operations and Inventory Control. Its no secret the its your bar the gives you the largest margins. Just hit play and find out how to get the most out of these margins.

Not too long ago I had Eric Hebert of DineAbility on the show and he had suggested we all pick up The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael Gerber. Thats exactly what I did; I haven't a single regret. This book completely opened my eyes to what is required to be successful business owner. In the episode I cover the 3 core concept of this book, which if followed, will make your restaurant dreams unstoppable.

Schedulefly was founded in 2007 to serve independent restaurants by helping them better communicate, schedule staff and get organized. Additionally,  Schedulefly is responsible for the book Restaurant Owners Uncorked: Twenty Owners Share Their Recipes for Success, and a Video Series , both dedicated to capturing the stories of successful restaurant owners and getting to the core of what it takes to be successful.

Being raised in an Italian/Greek family, it was easy for Chef Michele Raussis to fall in love with food. It was this culture and her passion for serving friends that brought her to study at Johnson and Wales in RI.  Turns out this badass doesn’t like regimented education and decided to spend the next 15 years getting hands on experience as an Executive Chef. Her passion for food and bringing people together landed her on Season 8 of Food Network Star, where she competed to the final rounds. Today, Chef Michele is the executive chef at The Pearl  on The Pier, in Rockland, ME. 

Paul is the Chef/Proprietor/restaurateur behind Pitfire Pizza, Superba brands and East Borough, which all fall under the umbrella of the American Gonzo Food Corporation.  Paul Started Pitfire Pizza over 17 years ago and has since grown the operation into 8 Locations across Southern California. In the past 2 years there seems to have been an explosion activity in Paul’s professional career which include the opening of Superba Snack Bar, East Borough, Superba Food and Bread and honestly I’m afraid I’m going to miss something so I think its just best to pass it over to you.

Chef Sorrell is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. As a culinary intern he eventually found himself in Hawaii. After arriving in HI, he found it difficult to leave and he spent the next 10 years working in numerous 5 star resorts. His hard work landed him a job as chef at the Humuhumunukunukupua aka Humu Humu restaurant located at the Grand Wailea Resort Maui. Today he is Chef/proprietor of The Chefs Corner, which consist of two VT locations. Williston and Burlington.

Today's guest is already a veteran of the industry at the ripe age of 25. While he may be young, his entire life has been spent in the industry, which makes him wise beyond his years. He is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu San Francisco and has been making some big noise in the culinary scene since. You may know him as a cast member of Season 8 Food Network Star. More recently he has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as being Forbes 30 under 30. Today he can find him working as Chef Proprietor of his two restaurants The Three Fat Pigs and his more recently Ippy's Hawaiian BBQ.

Today guest, Matthew Oley is the Vice President of Sales at Swipely. Swipely helps restaurants and bars better understand customers and grow sales. 

The data Swipely collects will provide you with information such as how much, when and on what your customers are spending. It will also provide you with information on how well your staff is performing.

Chef Chris Coombs is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York.. In 2006 Chris joined forces with Brian Piccini, and they started Boston Urban Hospitality Inc., which focuses on fresh, local and seasonally inspired menus

Today, Boston Urban hospitality Inc. consist of Dbar, do wah and Boston Chops. Chris has been featured on Food Networks Chopped and Forbes 30 under 30.

Today's guest is the founder of Fudpucker’s Beachside Bar & Grill. Fudpuckers has two locations in Northwest Florida. Locally owned and operated since its inception in 1982, Fudpucker’s is dedicated to its Chester's favorite things: food, fun and friends.

Business Man of The Year, Business of The Year and #1 Family Restaurant of The Year are  just some of the titles he's earned, but his favorite award is being in business for over 30 years. 

So its no secret that Danny Meyers "Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business" has been a hot topic  here at Restaurant Unstoppable. I just recently finished this must read book and it seriously resonated with me. What most resonated with me was Meyers concept of enlightened hospitality. Enlightened hospitality can most simply be defined as prioritizing the order in which you deliver hospitality starting first with your employees, then followed in order by guest, community, suppliers and investors. To throw a personal twist on the topic I like to include the idea of being hospitable to your industry as well.

Today's guest is a graduate of Johnson and Wales and was recently listed as one of Zagat’s 30 under 30. She is literally fresh out of the educational gates and is absolutely killing it in her role as General Manager at Brine a restaurant  located in Newburyport, MA.

For Today’s guest, the first signs of his passion for the restaurant industry started to bud while standing by his Grandfathers side in the home kitchen. It was this passion for cooking which lead him to study at the New England Culinary Institute.  After completing his studies he found himself working beside Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier at the well respected Arrows. While at Arrows he climbed the latter from cook to chef de cuisine. During his 15 years at Arrows he was also honored with the privilege of cooking for the James Beard House. Today, he is the Executive Chef of Earth, a restaurant with a focus on sustainable cuisine located in Kenebunkport, ME. Most recently Today’s guest was recognized by Starchefs.com as one of New England’s Rising star chefs.

Today's guest got his start in the industry at age 14 when started an after school bakery job. Story has it he hasn't looked back since. Shortly after baking bread he attend Johnson and Wales University. Today's guest has filled the role of sous chef and executive chef at Boston's well known East Coast Grill. Sometime after East Coast Grill and his current role, he took the time to tour the West Coast on his motorcycle where he apprenticed a numerous San Francisco bay Area restaurants. Today he is an award winning chef/owner of two of Boston's hottest restaurants, Tremont 647 and Sister Sorel. He has been featured on "Hells Kitchen", "phantom Gourmet", and "WB in the Morning" and was a James Beard Semi-finalist in 2008 and 2009.

Today's guest has been a part of the restaurant scene since he was a child working in his parents café located in Johannesburg, South African. After graduating high school he did a 2-year apprenticeship with his father before attending culinary school back in his native Belgium.  Upon completing his culinary education he went to work as a pastry chef at the Montreal Hyatt Regency, then transitioned to the Four Seasons and took on the role of Executive Pastry Chef. He continued to work in North America until economic sanctions imposed on South Africa proved detrimental to the family business, so he returned home to help.  5 years later he found himself back in North American working again at the four seasons first in Houston, then in Chicago.  He then received an invitation to teach at the New England Culinary Institute Burlington, VT. After 4 years of teaching he opened The Chefs Corner Williston, VT. He has had over 18 years of success with The Chefs Corner and has opened an addition Chefs Corner back where he taught in Burlington VT. The Chefs Corner is an international style café serving breakfast, lunch and brunch seven days a week.

Todays guest is the founder of NextRestaurants.com. NextRestaurants.com’s aim is to become the primary destination for tools, tactics, and trends in restaurant marketing. They focus on highlighting new ideas and resources, as well as success stories of restaurant chains using digital tools to engage consumers and cause greater loyalty.

For the past few years, Today's guest has been kicking butt and taking names. She is the Proprietor of Caswell’s Restaurant Group which consists of Ceia Kitchen and Bar and Brine. Ceia has received numerous ‘best’ awards for its culinary, wine and overall experience. Some of Ceia's more recent recognitions include an invitation to cook at the beard house and most recently StarChefs.com has named Today's guest Rising Star Restaurateur, the only honoree in the category.

Today’s guest has worked in some of the finest restaurants in the world, during which time he formed an outstanding reputation. This reputation earned him a position at the New England Culinary Institute as the Executive Chef and Instructor. In 2004 he left the Culinary Institute and opened Café Provence in Brandon, VT. He has since created, what has been described “a food mecca” in this small town. What started as a café is now two cafes, a cooking school, bakery, pastry shop, catering company, retail store and culinary theater.  

Todays guest attended the Atlantic Culinary Academy, he earned a High Achievement in Culinary Arts. His professional career started at the French Laundry and includes stints at Arrows Restaurant ,Dunaway Restaurant, Hugo's, Epoch and Brasserie Jo. He is most recently know for his role as Head Chef at When Pigs Fly in Kittery, ME. He also has a new restaurant opening in the near future. He has earned numerous recognitions, but is most proud of being nominated for the seacoast's peoples choice two years in a row.

For the last 10 years, Eric has studied and worked in almost every facet of the constantly evolving online marketing landscape. From his humble beginnings in Search Engine Marketing to being at the forefront of social media and viral marketing, Eric made a name for himself in both the b2b sector as well as a stint taking his knowledge of online business models to the fledgling music business.

While building his digital media empire, Eric did what a lot of entrepreneurs do – worked at restaurants to pay the bills and network. For over 15 years Eric has stacked his resume working in every FOH position, with a strength in operations and team building. In late 2012 Eric decided to marry his two passions and get back into the restaurant business with a friend. Today he continues to help launch new restaurants as well as act as DineAbility’s head of digital media

Todays guest got his start in the world of hospitality as a child when he would accompany his father, a hotel GM, to work. During these trips he would spend most of his time in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before he found himself at The Culinary Institute of America. He has had stints at French Laundry, Per Se, and Clio. Just to name a few. He has taught culinary arts at Southern New Hampshire University. In more recent years he has worked at Wentworth by The Sea in New Castle, NH where he was in charge of all Culinary Operations. Today he is Chef/Co-Proprietor of Moxy, an American Tapas with a focus on sourcing from local farms and purveyors. During his time at Moxy he has been nominated Food & Wine Magazine’s People’s Choice for Best New Chef 2013 and has most recently been invited to prepare a meal at the James Beard House in NY.

Today's guest is a graduate of Le Cordone Bleu at the Atlantic Culinary Acadaemy. He has worked with some of the industries best chefs which include Charlie Palmer at New York City’s Aureole , Chef Grant Achatz at Trio in Chicago, Andrew Carmellini at Cafe Boulud, Thomas Rice and Ken Oringer at Clio, and Eli Kaimeh and Thomas Keller at Per Se.He has been the Executive chef of 43 Degrees North and the Dunaway Restaurant and today is Chef/Proprietor of Stages in Dover, NH. he is a proud member of Chef's Collaborative an dhas most recently been named James Beard award Semifinalist Best Chef: Northeast. 

Today’s guest studied at Johnson and Wales and has held two chef de cuisine titles prior to embodying his now role as Executive Chef at The Black Birch in Kittery, ME. The Black Birch is a Gastropub style eatery, which specializes in providing classic comfort foods that are also farm-to-fork friendly. The Black Birch has been describes as  "perfection on all levels.”

Today's guest has come a long way since his first job in hospitality, where he wasn't allowed in the kitchen. His passion for food drove him to enroll at Paul Smiths Culinary School in Brighton, NY. His professional career started taking off with his 5 year stint in the San Francisco's Bay and in Northern California's Wine Country. 3 of those 5 years were spent as Executive Chef and wine buyer at The Caprice, where he reinvented the restaurant into one of the Bay Areas premier dining destinations. While working as Executive Chef at Caprice, he also pursued his certification as a sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. His newest role is as Chef/Co-Proprietor of Cava, a Mediterranean restaurant with tapas and wine bar, located in Portsmouth, NH. Cava is most well known for its diverse international wine selection, out door vertical garden and for its Chef's Tables, which allows for a uniquely personal and exciting dinning experience.