Legends and Lies of Launching a Restaurant

One of the main reasons I've stayed in the hospitality industry is the comradery and sense of family that are the backbone of every level of restaurant. I was fortunate to find something very similar in the podcasting world. When I first contacted Eric Cascciatore he was very open and giving to a new and less experienced podcaster. I remember him saying “after listening to a few episodes I may not have started my podcast because I didn't think I could do it as well” So, after being a guest on my podcast, he wanted to get me to do an episode on his. Of course I agreed and here is the result. I'll be posting the video version in a week or two after he gets it loaded to his You Tube channel. You can find this episode and about a thousand others with the leaders in the restaurant industry at www.restaurantunstoppable.com or on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/@RestaurantUnstoppable Enjoy

Wyatt Evans, a participant in the Heritage Fire event coming to Canterbury Park in Minnesota the afternoon of Sunday June 25th.  Wyatt's team from Jester Concept's P.S Steak will be cooking meat over live fire along with other chefs from around the Twin Cities. In other words, it's a Chef's idea of fun under the summer sun. Or, Imagine charcoal grilling burgers in your backyard times ten. The ever-growing food culture of the cities made the Heritage Fire Tour a natural stop to showcase the talent and innovation of the restaurants using local ethically raised heritage breed pork and beef along with local sustainably grown heirloom vegetables and fruit. You can find more information on the event and tickets on their website, www.heritagefiretour.com We started our conversation with Wyatt talking about his plans for the Heritage Fire Tour then moved on to learn more about Wyatt Evans and his life in the industry.

Nearly every major city has a particular sandwich that residents can claim as the original home of that sandwich. These are some the very well-known hand held's like Cheesesteak, French Dip, Cuban, Loose Meat , Smoked Brisket, Chopped Pork, Fish Taco, Po'Boy and on and on. For as long as I can remember as a Chicago native the hot dog, the one that's dragged through the garden and without ketchup BTW, as the Chicago Icon. But recently, the Italian Beef is beginning to take its place as the favorite Chicago sandwich. And it was the “The Bear”, which you heard a small snippet from earlier along with the attention of food writers from around the country that has put the Italian Beef sandwich front and center. We're talking with a man whose family has lived the adventure of Italian Beef for over 40 years. Joe Buonavalanto, leader of the Chicago restaurant chain of about 26 stores scattered around the Chicago metro has readied his company to grow even larger through franchising. We started the conversation with my personal experiences of Italian beef at a restaurant I visited quite often. That was Mr. Beef which was the shooting location for the series BTW and, as I found out, at onetime was a Buonavalanto family business.

Why chat with another podcast host about the same thing you focus on in your own posdcast? Well, the best way to describe it is to listen for yourself to hear why the wisdom of the overview revieved by an itelligent host is why. We started our conversation with the timeline of events that brought him to the world of podcasting. Even after growing up in restaurants, Eric's dreams were set on aviation to become a commercial pilot. But the call of the restaurants were still too strong for Eriuc to ignore. The fascinating conversation covered a lot ground about the past present and future on the industry.

Berkley California can be known as the seat of social and political protest, the birthplace of the hippie lifestyle and most recently as the nova of many culinary stars. Jeremiah Tower, Mollie Katzen and of course Alice Waters just to name a few. Gregoire Jacquet, a denizen of the Gourmet Ghetto as he calls it opened his small sandwich shop in Berkley about 20 years ago. Gregoire, the restaurant, gained a reputation for fresh locally sourced menus that changed with the season. He's grooming his business now for a foray into the world of franchising. And, he's also designed a custom box for his food that solves some of the problems of transporting food while keeping a quality of freshness. We started our conversation early one morning… Go to the website www.restaurantlegends.com for links to Gregoire and information on an of our podcast partners   1851Franchise.com https://1851franchise.com/gregoire/top-5-reasons-to-buy-a-gregoire-franchise-2718858#stories Gregoire Restaurant                                                      https://www.gregoirerestaurant.com/ Franconnect https://www.franconnect.com/

On the way to discovering the how's and whys of tipping I was able to discern some of the pros and cons with a little more clarity and I've boiled down to three major points that I'll discuss in this episode on how changing the tipping culture can help re-structure restaurants into a healthier business that is less vulnerable to failure. First up is the staff. The people who make the restaurant happen every day. Let's unpack some of the issues and see if it will ever be possible for the American restaurant industry to be a workplace with the wages, benefits and defined career paths to management or ownership that other industries are able to offer. Some larger restaurant companies are well on their way to offer these opportunities. But it's still a rare and nearly impossible practice for the small chain or independent. My hope is to see the restaurant business taking the opportunity at this moment to go through a period of re-building post pandemic. I'll try to point to a possible course that may give an answer, setting the industry in the direction of the “new normal” greatly discussed in March of 2020 when the pandemic brought this 355-billion-dollar business to a screeching halt. Music; I've Found My Way - Hallman Sosso - Magnus Ludvigsson Keep Showing Up - John T. Graham

Defining Mexican restaurants as only nachos and chimichangas is much like never looking beyond eggrolls and Chow Mein when trying to describe a Chinese restaurant menu. On this podcast I have Michael Harvey from Charleston South Carolina talking about Jalisco. A restaurant he and his partner have built examining the depth of Mexican cuisine and introducing his market to the varied ingredients and techniques of Mexico from the indigenous to the modern.   Among other things we discuss is the big chance the first restaurateur who tries to re-define a restaurant style takes when their market may not be ready for the lesson. But, with a strong belief in the power of good food, a little resilience and sometimes deep pockets owners can persevere and find success thus opening the doors for others to follow solidifying the new menu style as the next step in that cuisine. Whenever you try to be that sunflower in a field of dandelions, you either run the risk of being chopped down because of your uniqueness or become the example for others to follow. That result is still undecided for Michael and Jalisco. Jalisco Taqueria & Tequila Cassique Clubhouse Kiawah Popmenu Answering Music; MFC, TATA Music

Eric Sheffer did what may be unthinkable to some or life saving to others and that's leaving a successful career in advertising and entertainment. Move about 2300 miles to the other side of the country and jump in headfirst into a tough industry known for its difficulty and high failure rate…hospitality. When I was given the opportunity to talk with Eric, I jumped at the chance mainly to talk about his back story. Most who do what he did have tried and field. Eric describes his success as being able to find the secret sauce that allowed him to make Asheville North Carolina his new home first with fine dining restaurant Savoy which became Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian when the recession made the Savoy secret sauce untenable. Now under the banner of Sheffer Hospitality there's a second Vinnie's, fresh seafood place called Jettie Rae's, a catering company a wine label. Throughout, Eric has been an active leader in his community through his activism and philanthropy. He calls his drive as being a serial entrepreneur. Always looking for opportunities then jumping in with both feet to make them a success. The Scheffer Hospitality Group Popmenu.com/legends Music; Stompin' at the Savoy - Benmy Goodman Times We Had - Mid Knight Ciao Ciao - Trabant 33  

I've been messing around with hospitality technology as it started developing in the mid 80's. At that time, most programs were centered om enterprise systems, meaning bean counting programs.   The ever-present digital marketing we know today was in its infancy then. Restaurant owners and end users were left out of the development process that was obviously built by graphic artists and code writers rather than users. So it came down to a lesser of two evils decision for most operators when it came time to invest in this new digital world. Do I look for the cheapest solution or the easiest to use solution? The problem was that either answer was wrong. Operators were left with high startup costs and complex training for the management team. Fast forward to the post pandemic heavily bruised restaurant business of the 21st century and every day it becomes clearer to both operators and programmers that in order to strive in the industry, operators need to make marketing, catering and online ordering digitally driven. So, this is a perfect time for Popmenu to come along with operator driven programs and designs to give the operator a leg up over the competition. Brendan Sweeney is leading his company to be the go to digital marketing experts. CRM – customer relations management On Prem – on premise sales (dining room, counter etc) Off Prem – off premise sales (take-out, delivery, catering etc.) SMS – short text messages, primarily mobile to mobile Music; Times We Had – Mid Night

Unsustainable pricing prevents every single operator from being able to provide a living and equitable wage for their employees, top to bottom. Fear of competition and “the marketplace” keep prices unsustainably low. Conditions that support staff rather than abuse them need to improve. There needs to be a clear path of growth and achievement creating the serious career minded staff. Rather than staff that feel temporary or, “I'm only cooking or waiting tables until something better comes along. If you back up far enough there was a time when most front of house staff were paid nothing, no wages at all and worked only for tips. During this nascent period of hospitality, the back of the house was expected to work positions that were only one step above indentured servant. Yes, they all, FOH and BOH were working in these conditions to learn the trade they would practice the rest of their lives. Yes, they were working mostly under teachers and mentors that helped mold a staff that cared about the guest. Music: Central Park Summer - Nicolas Jones First Morning – Lalo Brickman  

The drama and life lessons depicted in fiction on film of working in restaurants can look very realistic at times as in the John Favreau film "Chef" or it can be romatisized like it is in the Disney film "Ratatouille". Capturing the raw drama of restaurants happens artfully in the award winning documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi". However there are three films that have some very authentic looking scenes ranging from the expansive  haute cuisine 3 star kitchens to the tight,every bit of space used in a casual bistro fighting for recognition.  There are two themes that seem to exist more in restaurants than any other industry. The burn out of the Chef working in a high stakes environment and the conflict of traditional cooking and modern cooking. Both are discussed in this episode. Films; Boiling Point Burnt Le Chef Music; Blues in Five - Vendia

What is the best sign to tell if the restaurant industry has recovered from the devastating shutdowns and restrictions precipitated by the pandemic? Is it when the sales of your restaurant sales return to normal values? Is it when the dining room is filled on a Friday night? Restaurant owners and managers are tearing their hair out trying to balance the skyrocketing cost of goods, labor and general operating costs. There are not simple answers, but there are answers none the less. Join Tobie in what may sound like a rant on restaurant conditions. But it's filled with nuggets of information and ideas to help navigate the industry into the future.   Music: Mantecadito – Lawd Ito This Is The End Of The World – Coma Svensson

We're now 27 months from the day the hospitality world stopped to help mitigate or at least help keep a worldwide pandemic in check.  Some talked about this as an extinction level event. Which for some operators came true. But as an industry it survived and is beginning to show signs of  opportunities for those willing to take the risk of opening new stores.   There were many new words and phrases we learned, ghost kitchens, virtual restaurant, native delivery, meal kits, pay equity, no-tipping and a new normal etc. What was the new normal we all talked about.. We all thought it was a chance to rebuild in a way that was vunerable to low margins and better at taking care of our employees. In this mix was the discussion keeping the antiquated component of tips and how they are currently being used to subsidize compenstion. Are there answers? There are and all it takes is the determination to acknowledge the change. Eater; Gratuity Still Not Included Cornell Study; Restaurant Tipping and Service Quality: A Tenuous Relationship Music; Road of Fury -John Abbot Ball and Chain Blues- Peter Crosby

Maria is just one of the hospitality people that are the lesser-known heroes of the Ukrainian war with Russia. These restaurant industry veterans are trying to hold their country together with the guts to stay in place and keep their lights on. They're using their hospitality instincts to find ways to keep their business running while organizing volunteer kitchens that feed their neighbors, the front-line workers in hospitals and clinics and the military whenever they needed it.

Maria is just one of the hospitality people that are the lesser-known heroes of the Ukrainian war with Russia. These restaurant industry veterans are trying to hold their country together with the guts to stay in place and keep their lights on. They're using their hospitality instincts to find ways to keep their business running while organizing volunteer kitchens that feed their neighbors, the front-line workers in hospitals and clinics and the military whenever they needed it. The voice you heard at the top is Maria Banko. She's an outspoken, determined woman working with a multi-concept company called The Gastro Family of Restaurants. Maria is their communications director handling public relations for the constantly pivoting restaurant company while sometimes volunteering in one of the Gastro Family kitchens to help box a few meals, to be delivered to various organizations in need of food. She passionately describes the reasons and results of the war as she sees it. We came out with so much material I've created a special episode with the rest of our conversation on the how essential the food culture will be in re-building the country after the war. It will be posted soon.  Podcast Music: Moonlight Night – Traditional Ukrainian Folk Song Bright Flow – William Benkert Break The Barrier – Edgar Hopp

I learned how the restauranteurs and hotelier I talked with represent some of the unknown faces of the war with Russia. I've talked with brave people who chose to stay where they were to give support to their neighbors, who lost everything and the military by keeping their restaurants and hotels open not only for a feeling of business as usual. But also to re-purpose their kitchens to feed their neighbors who have lost everything as well as front line workers and the military.    First up is Andrij Leda, general manager of the first class Hotel Nobilis in Lviv, Ukraine. Lviv is a large city near the Polish border that US listeners might recognize as the home base for many journalists covering the fighting. But it was also the major conduit to Poland and the rest of Europe for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine when the war started.

Many other restaurant business podcasts promise a marketing solution or tips for entrepreneurs on managing restaurants. If that's what you thought this was that podcast …keep scrolling. But if you stay you'll get what makes Restaurant Legends so singular. But in the meantime, I thought it was time talk about who I am and how I make this podcast different from the rest. I grew up in a family that at various times was either in the food business or the beverage business. I was about 19 when I met John Snowden in the office of his kitchen. I was there under the assumption that I would be talking to him about taking classes in the cooking school he ran. The school was focused on French cooking. It was a time when Julia Child was turning the culinary world on its ear with her books and tv show and Dumas Pere L'Ecole de la Cuisine Francais was as close as I was going to get at that moment to learn about cooking and food. But John had another idea how my culinary education was going to happen. He leaned back in his chair, took a long drink from a large, frosted glass of what I found out later to be cognac on the rocks and said, “Do you know what an apprentice does?” Even though I had been around food and kitchens most of my life at that point. This was the real start to a journey that's lasted 55 years and it's still going. Fernand Point "As far as cuisine is concerned, one must read everything, see everything, hear everything, try everything, observe everything, in order to retain in the end, just a little bit." – Fernand Point A Few Other students of Point; Paul Bocuse Alain Chapel Jean & Pierre Troigros Louis Outhier All were in the forefront of revolutionizing cooking with Nouvelle Cuisine The Chicken Bowl Menu Music: Delta Blues - Unknown Ferris Wheel – Quincas Moreira Ball and Chain Blues – Peter Cross

When the restaurant shutdowns happened in 2020, many operators looked at it as an impending apocalypse for the industry. It was even referred to by several influential people in this business to be an “extinction level event”. From which, the industry may never recover.

When the restaurant shutdowns happened in 2020, many operators looked at it as an impending apocalypse for the industry. It was even referred to by several influential people in this business to be an “extinction level event”. From which, the industry may never recover.  But being the glass half full kind of guy I am. I saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to rebuild an industry that needed a great big fixing in many areas. So I set up a special podcast episode with three smart operators in the Twin Cities. I wanted to see if my ideas were all wet or there were others out there were thinking the same way. I wanted to know if we could fix the gross pay inequity that had always existed between back and front of house. Even prior to the shutdowns there was a growing need for qualified cooks. The hospitality industry in the Twin Cities had grown so quickly that the competition for cooks was driving the hourly rate for those positions to levels no one had ever seen before. But whether the back of house rate increased or not, the front of house take home rate was still two or three times greater than the crew in back. And there was a government mandated minimum wage increase on the horizon that would send some restaurants into a tailspin because the front of house payroll in Minnesota does not have a tip credit so the result of the wage increase would drive that disparity in salary even greater than it was before.

In June of 2020, a conversation with Mecca Bos, Chef and food writer, focused on the issues of racism in the restaurant industry

In June of 2020, Mecca joined me in conversation about the conditions in the restaurant industry that she's experienced as a black woman. This is an excerpt of the longer conversation you can hear on the original podcast,” Racism in Restaurants; An Old Recipe That Needs Fixing with Mecca Bos” originally posted on July 2, 2020

You know it happens every day in the restaurant business. A friend meets you after he's just had a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and says, “you should open a grilled cheese restaurant!” And then you do A through-put that worked was a discovery after opening. It's a term used primarily by those in the quick service or fast casual arenas. It neatly describes the time it takes for a guest to go “through the experience” from the time they enter the door or join a que in the drive thru until the order is in his/her hands. The quicker the through-put the more orders can be completed and therefore more revenues can be achieved. So understanding your through-put is a crucial step when creating and designing certain restaurant concepts.

What is it that makes a restaurant, any restaurant, stand out above the competition? Quite simply, it is making sure you can deliver on your basics…meaning the promises of good food and drinks, a comfortable atmosphere and service that makes the guest feel like they belong. Scott Redler is a co-founder of the Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers chain and currently he's also their CXO (that's chief experience officer by the way, a rare label for a position responsible for how the guest perceives the experience.) In case you may be somewhere without a Freddy's, it's a 400-unit chain and one of the major combatants in the fast casual burger wars going on right now with competitors like Culver's, Shake Shack and several others. Since we recorded this, i made it into one of the four “Freddy's” units in the twin cities. And I gotta say the things you'll hear from Scott about teaching the attention to some very important details like; steam coming out of the burger when you bite first bite into it… or having crisp very hot fries that hit the basket just seconds before it's handed to you are exactly what I witnessed for myself. In fact, i watched the operation from a strategic table near the open kitchen for a while, looking for a moment or action that wasn't “Freddy's way” as you'll hear Scott put it.  Scott set Freddy's up for success by following the fundamentals of serving good food in a comfortable atmosphere with attentive service.

This is Richard Melman, founder of the Chicago based multi-concept restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises with over 120 restaurants in operation now and several more on the drawing board. The conversation, at times, sounded just like a couple of guys who have not talked in awhile. Each reminiscing about the old days. But there are also peeks into how the mind of this very creative and successful restaurateur views surviving and flourishing in a very tough industry.

Well…your back in action now aren't you. Your dining room can be loaded up the way it used to be over a year ago. Your relieved that you made it through with a little help from the government. Your landlord may have worked out a deal to let you pay off un-paid back rent. And it was the good will of the loyal customers who called every night for a pick-up or delivery order that kept the lights on and some of your staff employed. But there are some other problems nagging at you that came out of left field and caught you unaware and without a plan. The staff you were hoping would be itching to get back to work has vanished. The ground beef you were buying a year ago March is now 50% higher than it was then and your supplier can only bring it to you once a week because he doesn't have enough drivers to cover the regular routes. So you can't bring all the tables back. You need to re-price your menu to cover the increasing food costs. And the menu needs to be reduced because you don't have enough hands to produce all the wonderful food that made up your menu. There are answers, we just need to keep swinging for the fences and we'll find them. Tipping vs No-Tipping P&L Samples Kyatchi 6Smith Restaurant Baldamar Augustine Music; Timeout Spaceout – Erik Vanderwestern Outlaw's Farewell (part three) – Reed Mathis Sunday Stroll – Huma Huma

  A 30-minute Skype call is not meant to reveal the true colors or inner soul. If it does have a specific purpose, I would guess it to be a way to make contact and maybe…maybe expose a tiny crack to glimpse the real person sitting at the screen on the other side. If there is one thing to come away with from this brief encounter is that the “less is more” axiom does not exist in the Viviani universe. He's a handful of lightning yet fun and charming all along the way. Fabio Viviani has harbored a passion for food since his childhood growing up in Florence, Italy. Between training in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine at top hospitality schools. Viviani also owned, operated and successfully executed several concepts in Florence by the time he was 27, including two nightclubs and five restaurants. Fabio Viviani Hospitality Group has opened 34 restaurants to date, and in the next 18 months is scheduled to open 14 more venues, including 5 Hotels in partnerships with different operators. Best known for his participation in Bravo's Top Chef seasons 5 and 8 - earning the “Fan Favorite” title - his onscreen appearances and off-screen successes have propelled him to become one of the most influential culinary and hospitality names in the country. Chef Fabio Viviani Website Colbie's Southern Kissed Kitchen Fabio Viviani Chef Reel – Top Chef Music; Carry Your Own Weight – Forget the Whale Five Shades of Blue – Five Shades of Blue Blue Midnight – Blues Jam

The makers and sellers of your favorite adult beverages approach their relationship with the hospitality venues buying their product in a different way than any other vendor we deal with. We rarely see a representative of the cattle ranch come into the restaurant talking about new trending beef recipes and bringing a cut of beef to put on display. But every day an "On Premise Manager" representing just about every bottle behind the bar does exactly that. Their job is to get you to use more of their brand than any other. One company, Diageo the worlds largest producer of spirits and beers, has created an extremely successful way of doing just that. They have created ways of getting involved with owners, managers, servers and bartenders through programs like the Diageo Bar Academy (a robust web site with bar management education, recipes, product information) and a program educating bars to create unforgettable experiences through competition, studios and community involvement called World Class. And these are only a few of the many ways Diageo uses. Heather Chaney is one of those spirit (or spirited) managers representing Diageo wherever and however is needed. Our chat reveals just a few of the ways her work with Diageo has aided and is continuing to help restaurants and bars get back on their feet after the yearlong pandemic break. Diageo Diageo Bar Academy World Class Music; Modern Jazz Samba – Kevin Mcleod The Jazz Piano – Bensound Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger

One advantage to being a serial entrepreneur is that you're probably going to seize upon the next great idea way before anyone else really knows anything about it because you walk around with your antennae up all the time.  Well, that's how Twin Falls Idaho got 2nd South Market and how Dave Buddecke got his next entrepreneurial challenge. The food hall is not a new concept. But in its current incarnation they seem to be popping up all over the place. In some markets maybe a few too many. But the basic premise is to offer a variety of food, beverages and sometimes entertainment under one roof. There's no one model that everyone is trying to emulate. And that's a good thing because what works in one building in one city wont necessarily work in the next city or neighborhood. 2nd South Market – Twin Falls, Idaho Music; Totally Looped – Audionautix #diageobaracademy  

“Who's the leader of this madhouse?” I'm not totally convinced this sentiment is exclusive to the restaurant industry…but it's a phrase spoken often in bars, dining rooms and kitchens all over the country. Ken Mcgarrie was hearing it as well and it drove him to complete a 20 year back of the shelf project that's become The Surprise Restaurant Manager. A book of advice on the procedures and processes of successfully managing a restaurant filled with the life lessons and practical recommendations that can be an aide to both the novice and the seasoned pro. The Surprise Restaurant Manager on Amazon Korgen Hospitality – Ken's consulting group Music; I Have A Reservation – Track Tribe

Micha Magid knew what was missing in midtown Manhattan barbecue when he launched Mighty Quinn several years ago. The others that had come before ignored their sense of place. Barbecue shouldn't be a Disney ride built to convince the guest they're about to experience another time and place. To connect it has to be as real as you can make it. Mighty Quinn is about local connections for both meat and smoke. It's a restaurant company that champions sustainability and recycling by selling soap made from the byproduct of their butchered meats.   We first talked last April at the beginning of the shutdown. (see Mighty Quinn 's Micha Magid; Restaurant Life After the Lockdown) The chain was hunkering down to learn how to survive but had also already began their growth plans. They are now thriving and moving into 4th gear to complete the franchises that were already in the pipeline as well as preparing new franchisees to join the barbecue family. Mighty Quinn's BBQ Music; I Have A Reservation - Track Tribe Diageo Bar Academy

A restaurateur is an entrepreneur that has something special and different about them. And as my own informally collected data suggests, the men and women in this category possess a fire somewhere inside fueling their drive to create and build a business that transcends the ordinary wealth making machine. Ike Shehadeh of Ike's Love & Sandwiches is such a restaurateur building an empire with the teachings of frugal parents, a streak of civil disobedience and a “nothing but the best” attitude toward hospitality and great food. Ike's Love & Sandwiches is known for its world-famous Dutch Crunch bread lathered in Ike's Secret Dirty Sauce.  With unique flavor pairings fit for vegans, carnivores, gluten-free diets and everyone in between, there's something for everyone to love at Ike's.  At the Las Vegas location, you can score a “High Roller” sandwich made with premium meats for $100.  Ike's Love & Sandwiches USBG presents World Class sponsored by Diageo Bar Academy

Franklin Junction bills itself as a mixture of Airbnb and Match.com — but for restaurants. The platform finds kitchens with extra capacity and matches them with brands that want to expand into new locations. Franklin Junction launched in 2020, but it's been in development for two years. The industry was under capacity by 15 to 20 percent before COVID-19. If you know anything about the retail business, it's all at the margin. If you fill up that last 15 or 20 percent, you make a lot of money. All your fixed costs are covered already. So, can I sell food for other people? The difference between innovating your own food and other people's food is: You get the benefit of the other person's branding! Franklin Junction is a digital platform that allows restaurants to monetize excess kitchen and storage capacity by serving as "Host Kitchens™."  Host facilities are matched with a thoughtfully curated roster of crave-able menu items from great restaurant concepts, allowing the Host to increase revenue and hosted brands to expand geographic reach without capital expenditure.  Franklin Junction's proprietary matching process has allowed for an industry-best time to profit for their clients.  For more information, visit www.franklinjunction.com.   How to Save Restaurants? Meet "the Airbnb and Match.com of Food" – Jason Feifer, Entrepreneur.com, May 12, 2020

Restaurant Recipe Management; Josh Sharkey's Meez Burning ideas get snuffed out in the miasma of defeat. But it's also defeat that sometimes raise simple ideas to brilliance. Mis En Place is a kitchen phrase that means “everything in it's place”. The generation of a digital method to manage recipes for a restaurant is here and there are quite a few ways to manage your mis en place. When Josh Sharkey lost his bible of culinary notes gleaned from some of the top kitchens in New York it set in motion the need to develop Meez a recipe tool for the professional Chef. Josh began cooking in restaurants around age 16 then went on to culinary school and cooking full-time. As was, and still is, the custom in many professional kitchens, everything you learn is kept in your own little spiral notebook. Its where you kept your ideas, what you were learning, and what you were eating and tasting. For Josh, one little spiral notebook turned into 2, then 5, and soon, more than he could count. This was the genesis of a recipe and note keeping software called Meez. Meez Recipe Tool Aurify Music; Epic and Rock n Roll – Black Rhomb  https://www.premiumbeat.com   SPONSOR Diageo Bar Academy USBG World Class Competition

The story he tells in our conversation is not so much a unique tale as it is a clear roadmap that led Neyah from the eastern shore of Maryland to a place behind a bar in San Francisco that opened the world to him. A small step that led to the wide world of cocktails as an innovator in the craft style of mixing that now permeates the better bars around the world. Then becoming a brand ambassador for Suntory Whiskey. A job that not only helped spread the word of mixology (and his humorous attitude toward the word) but also immersed him the modern Japanese culture. Then now recently back to his hometown of Chestertown, Maryland to build a business in a bar that many years ago he told the owner he would own someday.

What does it take to let the world know who you are and why you're here? Existential questions that have plagued mankind forever. Along life's journey we take the turns that lead us along a path. Some turns are handed to us or even forced upon us while others are all of our own making. To understand this and live a life based on this understanding is a good description of Neyah White. The story he tells in our conversation is not so much a unique tale as it is a clear roadmap that led Neyah from the eastern shore of Maryland to a place behind a bar in San Francisco that opened the world to him. A small step that led to the wide world of cocktails as an innovator in the craft style of mixing that now permeates the better bars around the world. Then becoming a brand ambassador for Suntory Whiskey. A job that not only helped spread the word of mixology (and his humorous attitude toward the word) but also immersed him the modern Japanese culture. Then now recently back to his hometown of Chestertown, Maryland to build a business in a bar that many years ago he told the owner he would own someday. There were too many great parts of his story that couldn't be left on the editing room floor. So, enjoy a short bonus track of his early years only at www.restaurantlegends.com  Photo; Neyah White and Thomas Kaylor https://edibledelmarva.ediblecommunities.com Music; Shizima3 by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Attriibution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

There's a moment in the life of every restaurant owner when he knows that “I can do it better than any other restaurant out there”. If that thought doesn't exist at the core of your motivation, then you're in the wrong business. Yiannni Kosmides had that Eureka moment when he couldn't find the Gyros (YEE-rohs) he knew from his native Greece. Nothing he tried had the same level of quality he remembered nor the unique construction that made it a true Greek Gyro. Coming from a restaurant family helped Yianni create and devise Apola, the burgeoning franchise centered on, as he puts it…”The most Authentic Greek Gyro you can get without buying a plane ticket!” Apola Greek Grill Music; The Port of Piraeus - Konstantinos Bouzouki Orchestra

The dream of hosting a party every night playing the hippest music and pouring the perfect cocktail usually strikes someone after they’ve spent a few years toiling in the hospitality industry. Alexander was no different. His experiences prepared him well to deal with the pressures and restrictions put on a bar owner today in the age of COVID.

The dream of hosting a party every night playing the hippest music and pouring the perfect cocktail usually strikes someone after they've spent a few years toiling in the hospitality industry. Alexander was no different. His experiences prepared him well to deal with the pressures and restrictions put on a bar owner today in the age of COVID. As a 5-year-old, Alexander created a detailed floor plan of a bar complete with handicap bathrooms. So, after spending time working with some of the best in the industry including the legendary Sasha Petraske, father of the craft cocktail movement, Alexander found his way to come home to upstate New York and build the bar he dreamed as a child. Alexander Strauss' journey had so many wonderful stories, we had to put a bonus track only available on the RL&L website. It details the path of the early years that brought him to the Night Owl in Saratoga Springs. The Night Owl – Saratoga Springs Sasha Petraske- Wikipedia Tao Beach – Las Vegas   Music; Hedge Your Bets – Track Tribe

If I had known your name was Tremayne before the interview, I wouldn't have hired you because I don't think a black person can handle the job. What would you do if you were a young cook trying to make a place in the industry you love and then be confronted with yet another not so subtle example of the systemic racism you've known all your life. The characters may change but the story is the same. Far too often a young cook of color is inspired to learn and be great at what he loves because he would occasionally see people who looked like him cooking great food on TV with his idol Julia Child and think…”I can do that!!” But on the way there he must swallow the hurtful words hurled, sometimes with ignorance but mostly with intent, that are meant to keep him in “his place” Tre Donte Hardy's love of cuisine, passed down to him from his mother and grandmother who nurtured Tre with the church and their food.   Tre's story is much more than that though. His account includes working with some great mentors and  many of the talented Chefs and cooks in the Twin Cities. Ophelia Pop Up - Facebook Music; Busted – John Deley

Cash is king. A well over used axiom in the restaurant business. And even more so today when thousands of restaurants have limped along through the shutdowns, the re-openings, and even more shutdowns. So, when someone offers you access to cash…you at least listen. Enter Johann Moonesinghe and his company InKind. Johann's company has created a reasonable process of accessing the needed cash for opening, re-opening, capital improvements etc. outside the usual process of begging for it from banks or relatives. Go to inkind.com for more details or follow the link on our web page. www.restaurantlegends.com Music; Creek Whistle - Steve Adams

It's a realtors job to keep a finger on the pulse of the real estate market. When they specialize in restaurants, they need to have another finger on the pulse of the restaurant industry as well. Dick Grones is one of those real estate guys. He is the go-to commercial realtor for restauranteurs in the Twin Cities metro. He was frank about how the condition of the restaurant real estate market changes nearly every week during the pandemic and what the result of 9 months of restricted restaurant operations has produced so far. The term ‘brick and mortar” is a new way to describe a building, a storefront and sometimes even a space in a food court.  And there are so many ways a restauranteur can go to realize the concept in a “brick and mortar” space, too long to describe the long list of pathways. The most often used path though and the most successful way to achieve decent operating budget is to engage a commercial realtor. Their insights into the geographic locations a restauranteur is interested in placing the concept can often be the information needed to build both the capital and operating budgets that an owner needs to make critical decisions. Music: Movin Up - Dan Lebowitz Reaching Out - Kevin McLeod

Mike Bausch created Andolini Pizza in Tulsa, Oklahoma on a shoestring. A quite common story in this business. It's what he did with that shoestring that make his story something special. While he was building his mini empire of five stores and a food truck and winning awards at an international pizza competition, he wrote a book that's part memoir and part operating manual. In, Unsliced: How to Stay Whole in the Pizza Industry, Mike freely reveals the secrets he's discovered on his journey creating a tightly run organization. Our conversation not only the covers the pizza industry, but the restaurant business, et large, as we make our way through the restrictions and lost income related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Music; Denver Avenue – Reed Mathis Outlaw's Farewell – Reed Mathis

Necessity being the mother of invention. There were plenty of reasons for Li-Ran Navon to develop a way to get his dinner order ready for pick-up or delivered to his home from his favorite restaurant with as little hassle as possible. The magic that will sometimes happen while inventive software is being created and take shape, components are added that weren't part of the original plan. For Say2Eat, they became a seamless integration of customer, restaurant, and courier. The details of which Li-ran Navon will explain in this podcast. Music; Hedge Your Bets - Track Bridge Sunday Stroll - Huma Huma

This is a replay of a recording made in April of 2020. At the time we were less than 60 days into the restrictions and mandates for curbing the Covid pandemic. At the time, everyone thought this would be over by early summer at the latest. Here we are 8 months into it and we've returned to the tight restrictions we experienced early on due to a dramatic increase in cases and deaths. (Yesterday, two days before Thanksgiving, over 2,000 deaths were reported nationwide.)  Amy Brown, her partner Heidi Andermack and their team created Minnesota Central Kitchen in March of this year originally as a way to use up some product that had been meant for their successful catering operation that was abruptly shutdown like many other food operations. As all great ideas begin, this was a small gesture meant to get by for a few weeks. And like all great ideas, it has grown into a source of caring and hope as it employed many out of work foodservice people and just recently passed the mark of having prepared and served over 1 million meals.  CaIDE8UkAgro4bFJsTrZ

We're now mid-November 2020, smack dab in the middle of the second surge we were warned about over the summer. We have unfortunately suffered through the misgivings of government that saw the importance of politics to be greater than the importance of human life. Two drug companies have announced they have proved through trials they each have a vaccine ready for quick approval from the FDA. And restaurant dining rooms in Illinois, and other states, have closed again to try to contain and mitigate the virus. As the days stretched further and further into the year of the Pandemic, restauranteurs of all stripes started using words and phrases like, pivot, community, PPP and “The New Normal”. Carmen Rossi of Chicago's 8 - A Hospitality Company, was no different. However, he had the terrifying and not so unique experience of contracting the Corona Virus early on when little was known about transmission and treatment. Fortunately, he survived with a perspective of how real this disease is and how it can affect anyone. He is now trying to steer, with the help of a dedicated management team, the dozen bars and restaurants employing nearly 1,000 people under his banner survive and remain a viable business as society returns to the new normal. The current state of the restaurant industry is nearer to collapse than when the lockdowns started in March. What will it look like when we come out the other side? Carmen Rossi may not have the right answer, but he's willing to try anything. Music;   Busted – John Deley, Sunday Stroll – Huma-Huma Photo; BizCastHq.com

As an example of the fluidity of government directives during this period of the pandemic. When this was recorded in early October, Illinois was moving towards allowing restaurants to seat a higher percentage of the dining capacity. The fact that a cold Chicago winter was right around the corner was not lost on the Governor or Mayor. So they were anxious to give the restaurants of the state an opportunity to accommodate those still willing to dine inside. (That number had been steadily growing since the modest 25% capacity started in late summer.) This is now the end of October and starting at Midnight this coming Friday all restaurants in Chicago will be completely closed for indoor dining…again. Lindsey Andersen owns and operates a small neighborhood restaurant in Chicago called “Uvae Kitchen and Wine Bar”. I talked with her a few weeks ago what she's been able to do to keep her business afloat. Her solutions so far have been creative extensions of her brand as a neighborhood source for reasonable slightly upscale dining with a unique but approachable emphasis on wine. Hence the use of the Latin word for grape, “Uvae” as the name of the restaurant. Music; “Hedge Your Bets” – Track Tribe “Sunday Stroll” – Huma-Huma

The family affair based on the power of plants and giving back to the community. Un·cooked is a concept with an eye to the future and strong roots in the past. Founders Carole, Jeremy, and Kaitlyn Jones have combined their unique journeys, diverse skill sets, passion for our planet, and sense of adventure to create un·cooked where they live their mission to transform the world through plants. Episode Highlights; Vegan Food Movement Fulton Market Chicago Un-Cooked Music; Sunday Stroll, Huma Huma

The conversations we have with others every day form our view of the world. If all we do is ever talk with people like us, our world becomes or stays small. You start getting the idea that these narrow subjects and solutions are the only way to act and think…whatever that may look like. The MFHA or Multi-Racial Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance has been having eye-opening conversations with major chains, vendors, franchisees, and others for 20 years. Their mission stated on the front of their web site clearly lays it out. “Since 1996, MFHA has been making the business case for diversity and inclusion in the foodservice & hospitality industry. Over the years, MFHA has evolved its mission from advocating for career opportunities for people of color, to building Cultural Intelligence.” Andre Howell's job is not as simple. As he put it, he manages the back of house making things happen while Gerry Fernandez, President and Founder, creates the opportunities for change.  Episode Notes; MFHA – Multi Racial Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, Building Culturally Intelligent Brands & Leaders Andre's Bio White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo   Music; Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Somehow, as a little girl growing up on the Westside of Chicago, Dominique Leach knew that her future was in food. But when she looked at the best Chefs around, Dominique didn't see anyone who looked like her. Kitchens have been led and dominated by white men for centuries. Only recently has a small group of Women mostly white and a handful of African American or Hispanic men managed to break that ceiling. But the sight of a young black woman in charge is as rare as a morel mushroom in winter. Episode Highlights; Spiaggia Sarah Gruneberg Tony Montuano Four Seasons Chicago Lexington Betty's Smokehouse WGN Cooking Segment with Dominique https://wgntv.com/midday-news/lunchbreak/lunchbreak-quick-side-dishes-to-serve-with-your-bbq/   Music; Five Shades of Blue Johnny Mayer

The transformation of a well meant life of economics study can change in a heartbeat to a hedonistic debauched existence when exposed to the ways of the restaurant industry. As a teen, Pat Weber was lured into the business with the siren's song of shiny stainless steel, dangerous exposure to open flames and the chance to use extremely sharp tools. Once immersed, he wound his way through fine dining kitchens seeking the knowledge and experience to be the best. The restaurant business has not only greatly changed in the last few months, but is in the throws a re-birth of sorts. Pat intends to rely on his experience to help guide the industry to a new normal that works better than the old one. Episode Highlights; Mis En Place Consulting C.I.A. David Bouley- NYC Gunter Seeger - Atlanta Music; Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The pandemic brought with it the specter of closed restaurants. But Max and his team weren’t ready to accept the path to permanent closure that seemed to plague so many other small chains. They quickly learned that this was the time to be nimble and attentive to not only the business of chicken but also to the community they served.Episode Highlights:Chicken MaxPizza HutTed’s Montana GrillFreddy’s Frozen Custard and SteakburgersSmashburgerMusic;Who'll Play the Blues? by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license.http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/55309 Ft: unreal_dm