Restaurant Whisperer, Owners with a niche who love support and inspiration.

Third in a three part series on Social Media Marketing with Malia at Millenial Marketing. Malia, the owner of Millenial Marketing, and Martha, host of Holy Guacamole, talk through the most Frequently Asked Questions Malia receives regarding social media. Chances are you have asked some of these questions yourself, and know that social media is forever shifting and changing, and you might need an u...

Continuing our series on experts in our field, today we have on Tom Suchuch to discuss the NM high school culinary program, ProStart. This is a national program with state level programs.  ProStart is part of a necessary conversaton about our current hiring challenges in the restaurant industry. The difficulty in finding and retaining either experienced and/or trainable staff is our latest challen...

Second in a three part series on Social Media Marketing with Malia at Millenial Marketing. Malia, the owner of Millenial Marketing, and Martha, host of Holy Guacamole, talk through the most Frequently Asked Questions Malia receives regarding social media. Chances are you have asked some of these questions yourself, and know that social media is forever shifting and changing, and you might need an...

Claire and Brandon, owners of Sura Korean BBQ and Tofu House on Long Beach are our guest today. They have a long and lusterous history with this place. Claire and Brandon took on the project of giving Korean BBQ a refreshed and contemporary feel. It included improving from within, adding a patio, and improving the kitchen. They faced challenges, and do not stop!  This episode is for you if you nee...

First in a three part series on Social Media Marketing with Malia at Millenial Marketing. Malia, the owner of Millenial Marketing, and Martha, host of Holy Guacamole, talk through the most Frequently Asked Questions Malia receives regarding social media. Chances are you have asked some of these questions yourself, and know that social media is forever shifting and changing, and you might need an u...

This episode is a story about one of the best things in life -- ice cream, and it's plant based for all the good reasons!  Listen and learn how this co-founders couple Nicole and Dwight conjured their sons' milk allergy into the joy ice cream brings into any family.  Co-founder, father and chef, Dwight Campbell has exhaustive culinary skills -- serving steak dinners for 500 on a given evening. He...

Brahm is the farmer at the regenerative farm at The Inn at Shaker Mill Farm. Listen to this episode as an expert on how regenerative farming, is much like speaking another language in it's ability to give you new perspective, and positive perspective on life. This episode is as much about the life force that you carry in your daily life as it is about how regernative farming is the life force for...

What makes a bar work? How do you make the math work?  And how do you keep it working for  years to come? We interview UK based Tyler Zielinski to get his opinion. He writes for PUNCH, Food & Wine, London Evening Standard, Eater, Class Bar Mag, Condé Nast Traveler and more. And he is a Brand and Hospitality Consultant for bars, spirit companies and industry events. Our loyal listeners, intellectua...

Line abandonment falls into an operational topic, which is Pillar 3, in the Six Pillars of a Successful Business . How does it happen? In the restaurant industry customers leave a line before completing their intended transaction, which in this case would be ordering their food and dining at the restaurant. This phenomenon can occur in various contexts, such as waiting in line to place an order, w...

Following the request from many listeners we felt a discussion on The Bear was worth a slight detour from our regular format. That's why we asked Jenny to come back and discuss The Bear, Season One with Martha.  Starting off with a quote from the article by Carina Chocano from NY Times, called How 'The Bear' Captures the Panic of Modern Work . Jenny and Martha discuss various elements Chocano reve...

Climate change is striking us hard this year. Finding a place deserving of an episode took time. This episode shares the story of one amazing place on Earth where they are working with nature in numerous way. Step into The Inn at Shaker Mill Falls. It is an 18 room inn and retreat center operated out of a historic, repurposed gristmill built by the local Shaker Mt. Lebanon community in 1824. Hospi...

This episode  starts a series whose time has come--Inner Circle Conversations. These are topics that I see trending or you, the audience is asking for me, the host, Martha Lucius, to share. Sharing how to run events and why. What's the purpose of having them, what's the power behind events, and why do them in the first place. If you are an owner, learn why you should consider doing them, and what'...

Don't know how our industry is doing? Could be because the statistics are a little confusing. National Restaurant Association came out with a statistic that says restaurants are back to normal. Here we explore that statistic and the few other stats that are telling the story of what's going on in our industry. Statistics are useful when you have a series of stats that can tell a range of informati...

This is a short story on how you can build a successful hiring habit even now, in 2023! Whenever restaurants are hiring, they follow, or don't follow a protocol. In this episode you'll hear the steps you can take and why they may work for your business. From the job advertisement that describes the job desciption in the best light, to screening calls, to interview no. 1 and no. 2 to the decision t...

Joe Shaffer from Hidden Water Farms shares where our food comes from, and knows how farmers steward the land and animals. He grew up raising cattle, and now has cattle, pigs, chickens and a vegetable plot at Hidden Waters with his partner Tom. Joe shares what the term "Regenerative Agriculture" means, and why it's an important method in caring for the environment. There is a growing trend in the U...

This season has been filled with information about the Six Pillars of a successful business. This episode is about the interplay of Quality and Financial Stability.  This Sandwich Episode uses a simple story to tell the financial lesson of changes in the restaurant industry. The recipe of building a sandwich the same way every time, ensures customer delight. That recipe reflects a quality product,...

Jenny Gaitner is back. A light and lively conversation about the excuses staff provide when they don't want to come in to work. Jenny has been on the show previously, discussing staff pay and salaries. Jenny and me, Martha always have frank and lively conversation. This one includes a monkey plate of humor!   Thanks for listening. Like what you hear? We'd appreciate your review of @holyguacamole o...

The last few months have been all about understanding the Six Pillars of a Successful Business.  Hospitality is the 6th of Six Pillars. It's where we take all the planning of a restaurants daily plan and turn it into reality.  We all need a little levity. This levity is an amuse-bouche for a series of service stories. 

The Sixth Pillar of Success is about culture and hospitality. We know our listeners appreciate hearing from an authority on hospitality and culture. Erin Moran is that voice. She is Director of Dr Grasmick's Leadership Institute at Towson University weighs in with her definition of hospitality and good culture. She has been part of Union Square Hospitality Group, and Great Places to Work. She hold...

Here we are, the last pillar in the Six Pillars of a Successful Business: HOSPITALITY. It's subtitle is "what are the ways to attract guests to your place, in the first place… then, what are they ways to invite them back, over and over and over again!!! BUT WAIT…. but before we get there, I'm going to tuck in this teensy refresher. This little refresher will help you get centered before we dive in...

We take a break from the Six Pillars to share how food, community and kindness come together. And they come together at restaurants, bars, cafes, and food businesses, partly because each of those businesses is an epicenter in the community.  Here are a couple of stories about how food, community and kindness coelesce. Please send and share your stories too. This is an incredibly important part of...

Defining the Fifth Pillar of a Successful Business: the avenues and distribution to bring product to market. Avenues and distribution is where restaurant or CPG product find methods to sell their product. Many facets of the same jewel.  The definition of the Fifth Pillar is more than the phrased "avenues" and your "distribution". Martha Lucius describes several examples of the many avenues possibl...

We dig into the fifth pillar of a successful business: avenues and distribution to bring product to market. Going deep with the Six Pillars of Success as a method for business owners to roadmap change and stability into their business. The Six Pillars are Brand Strategy, Financial Stability, Operations, Product Quality, Avenues & Distribution, and Hospitality. Kathleen Overman started her new busi...

The fourth pillar of a successful business is product & quality. Those words translate into a consistent and elusive practice of quality control within a business.  Studying the Six Pillars of Success as a method for business owners to roadmap change and stability into their business. The Six Pillars are Brand Strategy, Financial Stability, Operations, Product Quality, Avenues & Distribution, and...

We dig into the fourth pillar of a successful business: product & quality. Going deep with the Six Pillars of Success as a method for business owners to roadmap change and stability into their business. The Six Pillars are Brand Strategy, Financial Stability, Operations, Product Quality, Avenues & Distribution, and Hospitality. Quality is where product, service and time blend togther. It is an elu...