In this episode we discuss: why you need to have a fire in your belly to not only serve your guest, but to also serve your community and those who work for you; the importance of selecting the right business partner, and what to do if you haven't selected the right business partner; the value of providing upward mobility and freedom of expression to your staff; a solution to the unbalanced income between front and back of house; the importance of understanding income; and why you need to have work-life-balance. 

Chef Erik Niel grew up in Louisiana fishing on the bayou – an upbringing that strongly influenced his cooking of Southern-inspired French classics. His restaurant Easy Bistro & Bar, is one of the most well-regarded restaurants in Chattanooga’s rapidly growing food scene. Erik and his wife Amanda are deeply committed to furthering Chattanooga’s food culture – they have spearheaded a restaurateur collective to promote independent, locally-owned restaurants. Erik has appeared on PBS’s Simply Ming and his food has been featured in The Local PALATE, food and wine, The Wall Street Journal, Thrillist, Men’s Journel and much more. 

In this episode we discuss: the importance of making life decisions that are right for you; why chasing money won't make you happy; why practical experience can be more powerful than formal education; the significance of being a veracious learner and having never ending curiosity; what to consider when selecting a business partner; the importance and impacts of sourcing locally; how to handle the challenges of drugs and alcohol in your restaurant; and why you need to trust your gut. 

Hailing from New Mexico, Hosea Rosenberg began his path to culinary fame while earning a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Colorado.

Hosea’s passion to cook professionally drove him to work his way up the restaurant ranks, where he worked under the guidance of established chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Kevin Taylor, and Dave Query, ultimately landing his first head chef position at Boulder’s Dandelion Restaurant.  After his tenure at Dandelion, it was the Big Red F Restaurant Group that became home, where he served as Executive Chef at Jax Fish House for six years.

Hosea has won numerous awards but most notably - winner of season five of Bravo TV’s Top Chef. Today Hosea is the Chef/Owner of BlackBelly Market in Boulder, CO.

What if you could just "click" and send a shock wave of communication and orders to all your purveyors and suppliers at once. What if the whole process took less than 5 minutes? What if it was FREE? Would you want to learn more? DUH! Of course you would. 

We're speaking to the Co-Founder of BlueCart, Konstantin Zvereff. BlueCart is an ordering platform that will make your life 10x more efficient and less stressful, improve you relations with your channels of supply, and just make you a way happier person in general. 

in this episode we discuss:

• the importance of self discipline, setting goals, and living intentially;
• the impact of cutting drugs and alcohol out of your life.
• how rewarding it can be to provide opportunity for your people.
• why its so important to get a proven track recording before opening a restaurant. 
• developing and providing opportunity to those in your restaurant in order to retain those in your restaurant. 

Executive Chef Eric Donnelly is a Seattle native and local chef favorite. He’s been working in and running kitchen for over 22 years. His first, personally owned restaurant, RockCreek Seafood & Spirits opened in Fremont to rave reviews in July 2013. This year Eric was a James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef Northwest, and was referenced as one of “Seattle’s Best Chefs” by The Seattle Times. RockCreek was named one of 2013’s Best New Restaurants by Seattle Magazine and one of the Top 20 US Restaurants by UrbanSpoon. Seattle Metropolitan Magazine included his Wild Mexican Prawns with Anson Mills Heirloom Grits as one of the top 50 dishes of the year.

In this Episode we discuss: how to shave hours of work out of your week with Blue Cart; how you shouldn't be ashamed if you leave, then return to the restaurant industry; why providing a place for others to connect is so important; the significance of finding investors who invest more than just money; how to leverage the passions of your employees to benefit your restaurant.

Elizabeth Parker got her start in the restaurant industry during high school and college, but she fell in love with the industry during her time at Ripple. She went on to master her front of house skills at Roses Luxury. Today Parker is serving as Front of House Manger at Crane and Turtle in Washington DC, where she oversees the restaurants wine and beverage program as well as its social media.

In this episode we discuss: why helping others and your community should be a part of your purpose; the power of being curious, and getting outside you comfort zone; why its important to know where you want to go with your business early on and why you need a clear vision on how to get there; Hiring A+ workers; Creating culture; why its important to have solid legal advice when starting.

Louis Basile is one of the most passionate leaders in the restaurant industry. He grew up in a family owned restaurant in New Jersey. Previously, Mr. Basile worked for the Chart House and Au Bon Pain. He founded The Wildflower Bread Company in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. Wildflower operates multiple restaurants and fresh dough Central Production Facility. Wildflower is an award winning fast casual brand that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. On top of all of this Mr. Basile is extremely active in multiple trade associations.

Basile started and was Chairman of the Fast Casual Industry Council an affiliate of the National Restaurant Association. Mr. Basile is a National Restaurant Association Board Member and the Vice Chairman of the Nominating Committee. He is the Chairman of the Arizona Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and the immediate past Chairman of the Arizona Restaurant Association. Louis is a Board Director for Crisis Nursery. Mr. Basile serves on the Advisory Board for People Report/Black Box Intelligence and PeopleMatter. Louis is a founding member of Changers of Commerce a movement of leaders who believe there is a better way of practicing Capitalism.

In this episode we discuss: the significance of being in the business of helping others; why you need to push yourself to be constantly learning; the power of growing an email list; what the future of restaurant marketing looks like; what Facebook power editing and geo targeting is and the impact it can have on your restaurants marketing efforts; whats possible if you automate your restaurant; and what can happen to your restaurant  if you get a mentor and/or business coaches. 

Nick has been in the bar business since the day he was born, at the age of 26 he bought his first bar from his father. After 6 months of owning the bar he had 3 new bars open in his area, the economy was forcing his loyal regulars to hold on even tighter with their money, and the truth was, he was clueless about how to attract new paying customers. He looked into every industry website, magazine, book and attended all sorts of seminars on how to increase His sales and profits and how to get new customers in his doors, but he still had no luck. Then one day he hired a marketing coach. Within 8 months of working with his marketing coach, he doubled his sales, and had a consistent flow of new customers coming in his doors. 

He has now become the industries leading marketing and promotional authority & helped hundreds of bar owners all over the US and Canada take their business to the next level by applying his LRVO Marketing & Promotional Formula into their business. To learn more check out www.barrestaurantsuccess.com

In this episode we discuss: How to be intentional with your energy; why your job as a leader is to serve; why you can't let your success go to your head; the importance of a clear vision and practical business plan; how to approach and recruit employees who currently working at other restaurants; the power of pulling back layers in an interview; why we need to drop the old school way of thinking; and the #1 most important number we need to track in our restaurant. 

From washing dishes at a pizza joint to leading a $30million restaurant brand, Mike Ganino has always been obsessed with culture, leadership, and helping his team find greatness. Mike has: opened over 100 restaurants; worked in fine dining as server, trainer, and bartender; was a Potbelly's manager at the age of 21, become national trainer for Potbelly and designed Potbelly U; worked with Lettuce Entertain You to launch Wow Bao; was Director of Ops, Training and HR at HomeMade Pizza company, where he help lead them to private equity partnership; was Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Protein Bar, taking it from 1 location to 15 (help lead them to a private equity partnership. Today he spends his time as a coach, speaker, and trainer. Mike teaches how to go for greatness by creating a work culture you love.