Restaurant Rockstars Podcast

Episode #56 You’ve got to listen to my next series of Podcasts… I’m working with my friend and industry PRO Jaime Oikle of www.runningrestaurants.com and together, we’re going to Rock Your Restaurant! We’re going to take you on a profit maximizing ride covering some simple systems you can use immediately to lower your costs, dial in your restaurant’s critical numbers and make your operation super-...

Episode #55 - It's all about Service today. Your customers expect it and your restaurant has to deliver it. If not, your competition certainly will. I’ve always believed that providing superior guest service is your restaurant’s Top Competitive Advantage. Treating every guest like a regular is simple in theory, but much harder in execution - Until now. Listen as I interview Joel Montaniel, the hea...

Episode #54 - It's the Holidays and there’s no better time to sell more Gift Cards. This time of year is a literal cash injection in your business that can bring in hundreds even thousands of extra dollars in the next 3 weeks! Listen to this episode as I give you some simple and very effective marketing ideas to make your cash register ring this holiday season… you might even learn a few secrets y...

Episode #53 - I hope you listened to my earlier episode about the Uncorkd APP.  It gets even better!  Listen to part 2 as we talk about Beverage Menu Analytics and how you can use Uncorkd to boost your sales and marketing firepower. Uncorkd is a tablet based wine & beverage program that takes the intimidation out of wine & spirits for your customer. Its loaded with 100,000 different beverages, so...

I’ve always believed there are 3 very important elements to any successful restaurant - Food, Service & Ambiance and to really get the buzz going for your place, you’ve got to nail all three. I happened to visit a well-known major chain restaurant recently and the experience really knocked my socks off and my kids were pretty impressed too. They wanted to take our server home with them, but I’ll g...

You know that Labor cost is one of your restaurant’s biggest expenses alone without all the common employee abuses that happen every week in this business. When I started my first place, I had employees who’d clock in early and stand around. I had employees clock in co-workers even when they weren’t on the schedule and the list of potential losses go on an on. Until I put a stop to it! I often tal...

Whenever I come across a new system that makes a restaurant more money while enhancing the guest experience, I’ve got to tell you about it. So here goes: Uncorkd is a tablet based wine & beverage program that takes the intimidation out of wine & spirits for your customer. Its loaded with 100,000 different beverages, so I’m pretty sure you’re going to find your wine & beverage list included. Better...

Episode #49 Top Tip - Is Hospitality A Lost Art? A good friend of mine is a chef and he’s owned several fine dining places. I owned family casual restaurants.. Makes no difference we both agree that true service is a lost art. Decades ago, gas stations would wash your windshield and check your oil and restaurants would treat you like you were family. I dine out all the time and usually the food is...

A great success story from The Restaurant Rockstars Academy!

Episode #48 - I’ve noticed that many restaurants train their staff on service, but not Sales - Why? Think about sales as the lifeblood of your restaurant and Service and Sales naturally go together…you can’t have one without the other. And isn’t your goal to make as much money in your restaurant as possible? I hope so! Every day your restaurant gets new first time customers in the door that know n...

Drop whatever you’re doing and get this Free App now… Running a restaurant is the most challenging business I know.. so many details, so many hours… Its hard to stay organized until Now! You know I’m all about systems and efficiency to run a super profitable restaurant - so listen up. In today’s podcast I speak with Konstantin Zvereff from a company called BlueCart. The BlueCart platform is a one-...

Lots of restaurants hire in a pinch for the wrong reasons with the wrong approach. I see want ads all the time for desperate restaurants seeking experienced people... "Wanted Experienced Cook.. Experienced Server" - Why? Most of the time, these people usually don't work out - No wonder turnover is so high in the restaurant business. Instead, I always hired for personality, approach and a true desi...

In my last episode, my friend and fellow industry Pro Jaime Oikle of www.runningrestaurants.com suggested we ask our listeners for their most challenging questions. You responded and the Q & A session was super powerful. These questions apply to any restaurant and our answers will help you solve critical problems and significantly improve your operation. I think you'll really relate to the challen...

Listen as Jaime Oikle of Running Restaurants and I answer burning business questions submitted by restaurant owners.

When you eat out in other restaurants, if you’re anything like me you critique the operation - from food to service and ambiance… Funny how we can have a critical eye and think “I can do it better”! But in your own restaurant, do you regularly look at the thousands of details - essentially seeing what the guest sees? If not, you might have a fast-food approach… get them in , get them out and prese...

Today’s podcast episode features my very first Restaurant Rock Stars “ACADEMY” customer. Much like me 22 years ago, he quit a secure job to follow a distant dream to start his very first restaurant - WITHOUT any restaurant Experience! My guest in this cast, Mr. Colton Shoults is killing it in his first few weeks of business with lines out the door, a dedicated hard-working staff, happy customers s...

Multiple customers explain how Sales Stars has been an invaluable training tool for their waitstaff + servers.

I get it. As restauranteurs we think we’ve got it all covered, but a fresh perspective can really improve your operation. Don’t get so close to your restaurant to think that everything’s great - even if you’re busy. Take a few key members of your team, step outside and look at your restaurant from the guest’s perspective. Then, walk in the door, put your “customer hat” on and look at everything an...

This is a high-turnover business, but I’ve got the solution. Don’t hire another person in your restaurant til you listen to my latest episode. You can’t simply fill openings and forget about help-wanted ads… that’s the way to find average people, who will deliver average guest experiences, average food & drink and lead to nothing but problems in your restaurant. Instead focus on a new approach. Hi...

A “hook” is anything unique, different, eye-catching or appealing about the way you do business.. If you have really cool hooks and promote them well, there’s no stopping the power of your restaurant brand. Best of all, very few restaurants (your competitors) are doing this, so its a Competitive Advantage for you. Hooks are the “Key” to dazzling your customer and gaining their loyalty. When your c...

This is my most powerful Podcast yet… If you’re not willing to invest 1 hour in your business to dominate your competition, you might as well turn in your keys because there are easier ways to make money than the restaurant business. Do I have your attention? Good. Listen as I give away my secrets to Killing IT! Secrets I used to ring well over $1 Million in just 4-months a year in my seasonal res...

Here’s an easy & inexpensive way to create an amazing video that brings your restaurant to life for the customer even when they’re not in your restaurant. How powerful is that? You can demonstrate your food, service & ambiance… everything that makes your place special and get those customers in your door and coming back again and again. Its completely turn-key and I’ll show you how for $300 bucks....

Many restaurateurs HATE the numbers… some even avoid their finances completely, but I’m going to show you why this is a dangerous game. If your restaurant has a slow night or two a week, you have 3 choices: 1 Do nothing, Stay Open and drain your profits 2 Try a new promotion to boost business on these slow nights OR 3 CLOSE and go spend time with your family How do you decide? Listen as I walk you...

Many restaurants waste thousands of $$ on the shotgun approach of traditional marketing. Listen as Bar/Restaurant expert Nick Fosberg explains how persuasive lead-generating marketing can zero in on your most qualified new customers and keep them with a sniper approach. KEY-TAKEAWAYS: - “Systems” are the key to your success. You have a system if you can leave your business for a month or more and...

I get it - your restaurant has so many moving pieces, do you need another? YES! I’m talking about simplifying your business and your life so you run it and not the other way around. You’re probably already paying for multiple functions that you don’t have time for or can’t do yourself… but what if you had one system that ran your restaurant… inventory, cost controls, labor & scheduling, invoices.....