Talk to the Manager - The Best Way to Make Your Business More Profitable

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest, Chef Ferrel Alvarez. Ferrel break into the industry at the age 15 dishwashing, working as a prep cook, and eventually graduating from Cincinnati Culinary Arts Academy in 1998. Ferrell made his way to Tampa, Florida to further his professional career working at country clubs and the Tampa landmark, Mise en Place. Mise en Place founder, Chef Marty Blitz, transitioned Ferrell from lead cook to Chef De Cuisine. Ferrell's next project was Cafe Dufrain as Executive Chef. In December of 2013, Chef Alvarez opened his own restaurant, Rooster & the Till with his friend and business colleague, Ty Rodriguez. In the first ten months of being opened, Rooster & the Till had earned Best New Restaurant and Best Chef from Creative Loafing and Best New Restaurant from Florida Trend Magazine. Today Chef Ferrel Alvarez owns 3 total concepts, Rooster & The Till, Nebraska Mini Mart, and Gallito Taqueria.

Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!

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Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "Constant progression."

In today's episode with Laura McCutcheon we will discuss:

• Culinary school
• Kitchen behavior
• Organization
• What having a child does to your career
• Personal struggles affecting a career

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.

At Popmenu, we know that in today's world, a great hospitality experience usually begins online. Keeping the conversation with guests going beyond the meal also requires simple, powerful, fun technology capable of expression through all kinds of channels. Our team takes pride in helping restaurants put their best foot forward digitally so they can focus on what they do best. We think PDF menus are super boring, we believe 3rd party platforms have had too much say in how consumers find their next dining experience and we deeply feel that sharing your beautiful menu doesn't have to be so difficult, time-consuming and expensive. As a listener of the Restaurant Unstoppable, you'll receive $100 off your first month of Popmenu!

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Positivity
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Self critic
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Good people
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Keeping up with all that I want to achieve
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Positivity
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Be yourself
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Arte of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
8. Name one service you've hired.
   • FusionPrep: Training, Safety, and Compliance Platform
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
   • Tock: Reservations
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?
    • Family first
    • Be a good person
    • Positive mindset/live with humility

Contact info:

Rooster & The Till website

Instagram: @roosterandthetill @ferrelalverez

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!

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Huge thanks to Farrel Alvarez 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!