After early influences at his Uncle’s deli, a stint as a professional drummer and a decade of experience at restaurants like New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, Roberta’s in Brooklyn, Franklin BBQ and Bufalina in Austin, TX, Chef Tedesco opened  L’Oca D’Oro in 2016 with business partner Adam Orman. The duo is going into their 3th year of delivering gracious hospitality. Tedesco and Orman are also making waves with their forward thinking no tipping policy. 

Show notes…

Favorite success quote or mantra:

Be gracious. Be kind. Listen. 

In today's episode with Fiore Tedesco, we discuss:

• How Tedesco got into the industry. 
• How, with no prior experience, Tedesco landed a stage at Gabrielle Hamilton's Prune. He did it with pure persistence.  
• Why it is so important to have confidence in yourself, especially when taking a chance. 
• How powerful a vision and purpose can be. 
• The mindset you need to be a good employee.
• Why Tedesco and Orman chose to implement a no tipping policy. 
• The challenges of transitioning to a no tipping policy. 

Resources mentioned:

• New York Times Article on Tipping 

Today's sponsor:

Gusto offers modern, easy payroll, benefits, and HR to small businesses across the country — they were even named best online payroll by PCMag. And as a listener, you’ll get three months free when you run your first payroll. Sign up and give it a try at Gusto.com/unstoppable. 

BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more.

Revel Systems integrates front of house and back of house operations into a single dashboard. Designed to increase security, stability, ease of use, and speed of service, Revel’s streamlined ecosystem provides businesses with the right tools to grow. Learn more at revelsystems.com/unstoppable.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Trusting his intuition. 
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Being wildly erratic. 
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Can I trust you to be a good compassionate people around you. 
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Trusting that the sun will come up tomorrow. 
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Regardless of your race, gender, or orientation we are all the same. 
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Take care of your team first and you'll be better prepared to take care of the guest.  
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
   • Setting the Table: the Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business 
8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Regonizing where you sole lives and being able to connect people to it. 
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
   • Gather
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? 
    1. Faith in man kind is only progressed by continuing faith in mankind. 
    2. You can only achieve what you dream. 
    3. Love the people around you. 

Contact info:

www.locadoroaustin.com

Fiore@locadoraustin.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 Fiore Tedesco 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!

Hailing from a small German town, Horst Schulze knew from the age of 5 that he wanted to work in the hotel industry. So he got his start, like most of do, as a dish washer. From the bottom rung he climbed his way to the top, traveling the world and working in 5 star hotels along the way. In 1983 he cofounded the Ritz Carlton and set the standards for the service industry going forward.

Schulze joins me to dive into how he got his start and the mentors who influenced him along the way. Then we dive into his newly published book, Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide To Becoming The Best In a World of Compromise.

This is one you surely won't want to miss! 

Show Notes

Success quote or mantra

"Whatever it is you want to do in life... Do it with excellence." 

In this episode with Horst Schulze, we discuss: 

• How Schulze got into the hotel industry, like many of use, on the bottom rung. 
• How he learned from his mentor, Karl Zeitler, if you approach everything you do with excellence, no matter what is, you can be important. 
• The impact one person can have on another on their career path. Be mindful of your influence on others. You could change someones life.   
• How excellence starts with a decision. 
• Using constant reminders, like messages on a mirror, to remind you to be excellent. 
• How you need to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others. 
• Where Horst Schulze got his inspiration to write, Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide To Becoming The Best In a World of Compromise 
• How creating an environment where people WANT to do the work, comes from great leadership; not great management. 
• How great customer service starts with identifying guest needs then creating processes to meet those needs. 
• How to handle guest complaints; with the objective to never lose a guest.
• The 3 fundamental expectations a customer has.  
• How to get your people to care for your guest. 
• While process is important, it can't shadow a clearly defined vision and mission.
• How too many systems can stunt the human element of creativity and soul. 
• Whats most important to your employees.  

Today's sponsor:

Gusto offers modern, easy payroll, benefits, and HR to small businesses across the country — they were even named best online payroll by PCMag. And as a listener, you’ll get three months free when you run your first payroll. Sign up and give it a try at Gusto.com/unstoppable. 

BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more.

Revel Systems integrates front of house and back of house operations into a single dashboard. Designed to increase security, stability, ease of use, and speed of service, Revel’s streamlined ecosystem provides businesses with the right tools to grow. Learn more at revelsystems.com/unstoppable.

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 Horst Schulze 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!

David Scott Peters is the founder of TheRestaurantExpert.com, a company specializing in coaching and training independent restaurant owners.

He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software designed specifically for independent restaurant operators.

David is a regular speaker at food industry events all over the country, is a regular guest contributor to restaurant industry publications, and enjoys teaching restaurant owners how to live their passions while also operating a profitable business. 

This is David's 3rd time on the show! I HIGHLY suggest you check out his first 2 interviews:

• 141: David Scott Peters- Helping Put the Power Back in the Hands of Independents.
• 437: David Scott Peters on MENU ENGINEERING- Where to Start.

Today we're here to discuss budgeting. Specifically, we'll cover:

• Why a budget is so important,
• Why Most Restaurant Owners Don't have a budget,
• The benefits of having a budget, and
• How to build a budget the right way
• Also we'll discuss the first steps you can take to getting a budget

Show notes…

Favorite success quote or mantra:

"Trust the process."

In this episode with David Scott Peters, we discuss:

1. Why a budget is so important to controlling costs. 
   • Responsibility to be profitable.
   • Roadmap to profits.
   • Goal setting and tracking.
2. Why Most Restaurant Owners Don't have a budget. 
   • Follow their gut.
   • Think they know their number in the head.
   • Don't want to give up control. 
   • Don't want to share their numbers.
3. Benefits to having a budget.
   • Reactive VS Proactive.
   • Recover From Unexpected road blocks.
   • Management bonuses.
   • Labor Controls.
4. How to build a budget the right way.
   • Right tool- Budget Creator Pro.
   • Prime cost, the prime cost formula.
     •  Materials and labor involved in it is production, excluding fixed costs. Rent? 
   • Where to get the numbers.
   • What to do if you don't have the numbers.
   • Budget Webinar

Resources Mentioned

• • Smart Systems Pro 
    • CALL 1-877-457-6278 EX 106 MENTION "RESTAURANT UNSTOPPABLE" AND GET Smart Budget Pro FREE!

• Free Webinar- How Erase Your Fear Of Budget Forever 

Today's sponsor:

Gusto offers modern, easy payroll, benefits, and HR to small businesses across the country — they were even named best online payroll by PCMag. And as a listener, you’ll get three months free when you run your first payroll. Sign up and give it a try at Gusto.com/unstoppable. 

BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more.

Revel integrates front of house and back of house operations into a single dashboard. Designed to increase security, stability, ease of use, and speed of service, Revel’s streamlined ecosystem provides businesses with the right tools to grow. Learn more at revelsystems.com/unstoppable.

 

Contact info:

1-877-457-6278 EX 106 Mention "RESTAURANT UNSTOPPABLE" get Smart Budget Pro software free, and be sure to learn more about Smart Systems Pro. 

The Restaurant Expert Youtube Channel

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 David Scott Peters 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!

Today is a big day! It marks Restaurant Unstoppable's 5th year of producing content! To celebrate, I've ask my good friend and new partner, Brandon Hull, to flip the table on me. 

Side note: Brandon will be joining Restaurant Unstoppable as my new DOO and CMO. I couldn't think of a better person to join the team. 

The purpose of todays conversation is to reflect on the past 5 years and the biggest lessons I've learn. Not only to we reflect on major take-aways, but we also dive into some of the struggle I've experienced and how I overcame those challenges. 

Lastly, pier into the future and discuss what we want Restaurant Unstoppable to become. 

Show notes…

Favorite success quote or mantra:

"Behind every great restaurant is a great person. If you want to own a great restaurant don't focus on making the restaurant great, focus on making yourself great."

Sponsors

Gusto offers modern, easy payroll, benefits, and HR to small businesses across the country — they were even named best online payroll by PCMag. And as a listener, you’ll get three months free when you run your first payroll. Sign up and give it a try at Gusto.com/unstoppable. 

BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more.

Revel integrates front of house and back of house operations into a single dashboard. Designed to increase security, stability, ease of use, and speed of service, Revel’s streamlined ecosystem provides businesses with the right tools to grow. Learn more at revelsystems.com/unstoppable.

 

Contact info:

Eric@restaurantunstoppable.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 Brandon Hull 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!

Graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, entrepreneur, health enthusiast, and engineer who likes to build businesses that make the world a more interesting and sustainable place, Anthony Pigliacampo is the founder and co-CEO of Modern Market.

Modern Market opened its doors in 2009 with the mission is to serve delicious, healthy food that moves us forward.

Since it's first location almost 10 years ago, Modern Market  has scaled to 28 restaurants in 5 states with many more in development.

Show notes…

Success quote or mantra

"Onward and upward." 

"Treat every day like day one."

In today s episode with Anthony Pigliacampo, we discuss: 

• How Anthony broke into the industry. 
• What he learned about the food system and food economics while working as an engineer for MacDonalds. 
• How Anthony wanted to create a restaurant that wasn't only economically healthy, but that also served healthy food. 
• The benefits of treating your small business like a big business from day one.
• How to raise money for a restaurant with no prior experience in the restaurant industry. 
• "Blocking and tackling" projects and challenges. 
• Having cash reserves in the bank to live off during the early lean days. 
• When tackling challenges, starting with the end in mind and reverse engineering a solution.  
• The benefits of having a partner to divide and conquer the work load. Especially, in the early days when you're developing, and fine tuning your systems while managing and growing relationships with guests and team members. It is a lot to do by yourself. 
• Staying dialed into your numbers, so you can track the impact of your efforts and keep your thumb on progress.  
• The significance of trust in a partnership.  
• How partnerships hinge on agreeing to the same long-term goals. While you must agree on the long-term goals, it is actually healthy to disagree on the day-to-day decisions. 
• Why you need to be fully committed to removing yourself from the day-to-day, if you desire to scale. 
• How prioritizing, blocking, and tackling plays its role on removing yourself from the day-to-day.
• Creating a culture where your line staff is encouraged to speak up and share when they see something being done wrong or something that could be done better. 
• If you want people to buy in, then do what you say you're going to do.  
• Scaling  culture:
  • Using technology to expand your reach and presence; Anthony holds live chats that anyone who works for him can attend. 
  • Taking the extra time and effort to hire people with the same values as you.   
• Why capitalism is the solution to effective change. 

Today's sponsor:

EthicsSuite.com -provide a safe, secure, simple and anonymous communication channel between you and your employees to help you protect your hard-earned reputation and assets. Demonstrate to your team that you are committed to providing a workplace that operates with the highest ethical standards. Staying informed about important issues will help you resolve them internally before they spiral into larger, costly, or public problems.

Cashflowtool.com  A simple powerful and predictive cash flow companion for Qickbooks. Simple, because it requires no data entry, is always up to do and works on any device, anywhere. Powerful, because with it's built-in cash flow calendar, activitiy feed and anomaly detector, you instantly know all aspects of your cash flow with no surprises. Predictive, because you'll know your cash flow today and anticipate it tomorrow.

 

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Grit.
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   •  Disorganization.
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Energy.
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Scaling his culture at the same rate he's scaling his business. 
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • The power of "yes". 
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   •  Instill the level of service that a full service restaurant would deliver in a casual quick service environment. 
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
   • Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change
8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • They don't think about the impact their food has on the health of their guests. 
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
   • Sticky Chit printers. Sticky paws 
   • Par POS 
   • Long-Range Systems 
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?
    1. People need food that makes them feel good.
    2. The people make the restaurant. Success is just as much about serving your team as it is about serving your guests. 
    3. The industry will never change if you're going to leave it to the accumbent.  

Contact info:

ModernMarket.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 Anthony Pigliacampo 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!