FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

We all do it. We look at someone else’s restaurant in awe, wondering how they got a custom shoe deal or lines out the door. When does a restaurant transcend food and beverage and become an idea?  John Seymour of Sweet Chick seems to have cracked that code. Today we discuss how to build a brand, culture and community. We also discuss how those efforts translate into survival in tough times like these. To check out John’s latest initiatives go to www.sweetchick.com Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter: https://pineapplepost.news Book time on my personal calendar: https://bit.ly/3otQm8z Download our restaurant recovery guide: https://bit.ly/2ZAcmo0 Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

2020 has been the most educational year of my life. It’s amazing what you see when you take a moment to look around. I’ve spent the last 20 years in this industry, blind to the struggles of so many. Well, my eyes are open now and I’m ready to become part of the solution. I sat down with Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage to discuss the inequities in our industry and what we can do to change them. To offer support of get support go to www.onefairwage.org Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter: https://pineapplepost.news Book time on my personal calendar: https://bit.ly/3otQm8z Download our restaurant recovery guide: https://bit.ly/2ZAcmo0 Sign up for the free town hall featuring JET TILA: https://bit.ly/33Pa06P

Can good, nutritious food be reasonably priced? Can it be cheap? Is healthy food is a human right? Sam Polk thinks it is and he’s putting his money where is. Sam created Everytable, a company dedicated to offering nutritious food at a low price point…and he intends to make a profit while doing it. Today we discuss how Sam is bucking convention and using the big corporations playbook to make a big impact on local communities. For more on Everytable and their mission go to www.everytable.com Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter: https://pineapplepost.news Book time on my personal calendar: https://bit.ly/3otQm8z Download our restaurant recovery guide: https://bit.ly/2ZAcmo0 Sign up for the free town hall featuring JET TILA: https://bit.ly/33Pa06P

Vulnerability is the superpower that can change the world and, in the moment, is changing the face of the hospitality industry. When Chef Irene Li opened her books revealing that her busy, award-winning restaurant Mei Mei was breaking even, the news went viral. Diners were shocked and restaurateurs were forced to take a hard look in the mirror. The jig was up. Today Irene opens her books again, giving us insight into what Mei Mei is today and what it will become in the future. For more info on Mei Mei’s virtual classes and CPG offering go to http://www.meimeiboston.com Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter: https://pineapplepost.news Book time on my personal calendar: https://bit.ly/3otQm8z Download our restaurant recovery guide: https://bit.ly/2ZAcmo0 Sign up for the free town hall featuring JET TILA: https://bit.ly/33Pa06P

I bought into the same dream you did: build a restaurant, make it successful, rinse and repeat. How well did that work for you? It took me down the path of exhaustion, frustration and, ultimately, failure. Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, took a different path. He created a community of businesses, each supporting the next. He stayed small and strategic, investing heavily in his team. He’s built the stuff dreams are made of and today we tackle how he turned those dreams into reality. Click here to check out Ari’s tools and resources. Click here to check out Ari’s community of businesses. Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

You can’t talk to Robert Egger without asking yourself one simple question: What have I done with my life? Robert has dedicated his life to supporting the hungry, sustainability and those in desperate need of a second chance. He’s weaponized food in the fight to end hunger and build community. Today we discuss his revolutionary ideas around charity needs to change and how we, as restaurateurs and chefs, can play a vital role. For more on Robert and his upcoming projects go to fuckingshitup.net Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

Stalking is illegal but I don’t know how else I would describe the process I used to book Chef JJ Johnson for the show. Why? Because he has something important to say. JJ sees food as a common language and uses it to educate the masses about who we are and where we come from. Today we delve into his culinary education and the path that led him to where he is today. Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

If there’s only one lesson to be learned from helping someone open a restaurant it’s that it would be a bad idea to open up one yourself. Max Sheets spent his professional life helping restaurateurs scale their businesses to massive proportions. At some point along the way, he caught the entrepreneurial bug and decided to strike out on his own to create Chick N Max. Today we discuss the tools and tricks he learned from corporate giants and how he implemented those in his restaurant concept. To check out his employee handbook click here. Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

Here in America, we don’t know what the winter will bring. But we can look to Australia, who’s just coming out of the cold winter months, for indicators of what’s to come. Today I sit down with Shaun de Vries of Open Pantry Consulting. In this episode we discuss how the Australian Hospitality Industry fared during the winter and what we can do stateside to prepare for the colder months. For more on what Shaun and the Open Pantry team are working on go to openpantryconsulting.com Click to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

When you hear truth, it resonates. The first time a read a book by Seth Godin, I knew in my heart he was speaking the truth. I just read his newest book, The Practice, and I had to talk to him about it. I believe the right mindset is what will help us prevail in these difficult times and this book has helped get me back on track. We talk about The Practice and much more in today far reaching conversation. Be sure to pick up his new book, The Practice, available wherever you buy books. Click to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.