643: Damian Mandola on Attention to Detail

Damian's 40+ years of experience started with "Damian's Fine Italian Food"- a restaurant he started as a college senior in 1975. Damian's experience took him from his first restaurant to becoming a fixture in the Houston restaurant scene, first with D'Amico's, then Damian's Cucina Italiana, then to the national scene with Carrabba's; a restaurant he founded with nephew Johnny Carrabba. Moving to the Austin area, the Mandola's have promoted Italian culture and cuisine in Texas by opening Mandola's Italian Kitchen and Trattoria Lisina, totaling 4 locations.

Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "It's all about the details, respect, and having fun."

In this episode with Damian Mandola we will discuss:

• The Texas restaurant scene in the 1970s
• The benefits of going outside your comfort zone
• The importance of "talking shop" with other restauranteurs
• Passion
• "setting the table"
• The importance of a soft opening
• Scaling and franchising
• Be your brand
• The importance of a good contract
• Licensing agreements
• Research your partners before getting involved and making deals

Today's sponsor:

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.

CAKE provides an easy-to-use integrated software and hardware solution to build better dining experiences for restaurant operators and their guests. With mobile marketing and waitlist management to point of sale payment processing, the CAKErestaurant management system helps you grow your business. Learn more at trycake.com/unstoppable

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.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Attention to detail
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Eating pasta!
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Are you friendly? You can tell as soon as they walk in
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • "Getting around to all of my restaurants."
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Be honest, don't be fake. Have respect for your customers.
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Prebus tables. Polish glasses.
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Gert to know your customers
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
   • Aloha POS
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?
    • Work hard
    • Be friendly
    • Respect your industry

Contact info:

dmandola@mandolas.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 Damian Mandola 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!