I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.

In this episode, I dig into what real storytelling looks like and why so many brands get it wrong. Authenticity is not a vibe, it is evidence. Your audience can feel the difference between polished propaganda and the truth. I explain why showing your process builds more trust than any perfect promo ever could and how behind the scenes content can change the way people see your business. If you are trying to reconnect with your audience or rebuild credibility, this is the place to start.

Takeaways

Shop floor storytelling can rebuild credibility.
Authenticity is evidence, not just a vibe.
Polished content without process appears as propaganda.
Identical restaurant marketing leads to audience distrust.
Behind-the-scenes content increases engagement.
People crave permission to trust brands.
Stripping back promotional content can boost engagement.
Engagement can triple with authentic content.
Social media feeds are often overly polished.
Transparency is key to audience connection.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Hospitality Insights

00:56 Building Credibility Through Process and Proof

If you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.

Office Hours: Influence Fatigue — Why Your Customers Don’t Trust Your Marketing (and What to Do Instead)