Restaurant Owners Uncorked

Luisa manages one of the most unique, memorable, inspiring places you'll ever visit, Brewery Bhavana. Part brewery, part restaurant, part flower shop, part bookstore and fully amazing in design and experience, Brewery Bhavana was named in "One of the 10 Coolest Places to Eat in the World" by Forbes Magazine and was also nominated as one of Top 10 Best New Restaurants in the U.S by the James Beard...

Dameda has been in the restaurant business off and on for many years, and last year became the GM of Comida (www.eatcomida.com) in Denver, her first time as a GM. It was fun talking to Dameda about her goals, as well as what she's learned in the last nine months and how she's made adjustments along the way. Dameda is all about learning and growing, and has a wonderful, uplifting perspective about...

Doug and Peggy Warren took over Four Seas Ice Cream in Cape Cod, MA from Doug's father, Dick, in 2001. The business was started in 1934, making it the third oldest ice cream shop in New England. It's won dozens of awards, including many Top 10 Ice Creams in the U.S. designations. Doug absolutely loves this business and his a tremendous amount of pride for it, as his father did before him. I so tho...

Diana has been working for Big Red F since she started as a server in 2000. Eighteen years later, she manages the group's philanthropy and sustainability efforts, owns an yoga studio, and still serves at Zolo one night per week. She loves the restaurant business and the group of people she works with, and if you want to hear the story of somebody who found a really inspiring path in the restaurant...

Chester owns Fudpucker's (www.fudpucker.com) in Destin FL. He started it in 1982 as a snack bar in a nightclub, and today it's a destination in Destin, an institution that has over 300 employees and everything from a retail store to a live alligator park with over 100 gators. I've been to Fudpucker's. It's amazing, and there's no there place like it. Having said that, Chester has to deal with all...

Jeremiah Higgins is president of HJL Hospitality and has been in the business for thirty years, starting as a dishwashing teenager who worked his way up to GM in just over a year. Ever since, he's had a knack for finding opportunities for restaurants to grow revenue with creative ideas to turn around slow days, great training, and putting in systems and efficiencies that keep the restaurant runnin...

Nick is the head brewer at The Post Brewing Company ihttps://www.postbrewing.com/boulder/. His passion for his craft and for his team is palpable, and you'll enjoy hearing from a non-owner talk about what it's like to work for a phenomenal owner and a team that is one big ole extended family at Big Red F. I was so fired up after talking to Nick! Enjoy...

Joanne Dragonowski owns several restaurants in Wisconsin with her brother and sister. The story started in 1951 when their parents opened their first place, and it continues today with four of the seven children still in the restaurant business. Joanne is very sharp, understands the business in and out, and has a clear love for the restaurant industry. We had a very enjoyable conversation, and you...

A quick summary of the three episodes we have coming up this week.

Eric hosts Restaurant Unstoppable, a great podcast featuring interviews with nearly 500 restaurant owners. I loved talking to him about why he does his podcast, which he does as his full-time gig, what he's learned, and more. He's high energy and has tons of passion for independent restaurants. Enjoy...

I had a couple of quick items to share. Y'all have a great July 4th week!

I'm going to start offering my thoughts on something an owner said during an interview that struck and chord with me and stood out the next day as my biggest takeaway. These will be short, concise episodes. Enjoy...

Wow! Marcus has an absolutely amazing story, a bold philosophy, and a very authentic, intentional, passionate approach to his restaurant and the restaurant business in general. There is no room for doubt about what Marcus believes and why he believes it, an because of that there's no surprise that he and his wife Jamie have been very successful building an institution in their small town of Ellenv...

Cody is Director of Operations and co-owner of Grassburger (https://www.eatgrassburger.com), which has locations in Durango, CO and Albuquerque, NM. Cody has tremendous passion for learning and growing as manager and leads his team by example. You can't help but be inspire when listening to Cody share his philosophy for working in and running a restaurant. Great specific ideas as well as general l...

Update on new recording equipment and a new idea we have for our content. Quick and to the point...

Micheál started Jack's Prime (https://www.jacksprime.com) in 2008 and Maverick Jack's (http://www.maverickjacks.com) in 2016, and has a second Maverick Jack's opening soon. We talked about having investors and how to find the right people to be a part of your dream, finding and keeping good people in a very competitive environment in the Bay Area, business growth enabling opportunities for great t...

After eight years of interviewing restaurant owners, I have a few thoughts I wanted to share. Also, some news on where we are going with this podcast.

David and Ben Klopp got started in the restaurant business right out of college in 1996, opening aliveOne in Chicago. In 22 years they've grown to running a restaurant group with two other partners, operating 20 locations between Chicago and Cincinnati. aliveOne is still thriving today, and David shares his thoughts on what it takes to be successful in the restaurant business, what he loves about...

Ashley's grandparents started the restaurant in 1973, and 45 years later it's thriving as much as ever. Ashley shares what's made them successful, what she loves about independent restaurants, and how she's able to be very selective of who she hires. Enjoy...

Phil Stefani opened his first restaurant 35 years ago in Chicago. Today the Stafani family owns 17 restaurants, and Phil's grown children, Gina and Anthony, are part of the very successful business. Gin shares the lessons and philosophies she learned from her father over the years, and the challenges she faces as she attempts to continue providing the legendary customer service the Stefani restaur...

Doug opened Nellie's Sports Bar & Grill in Washington, D.C. in 2007. Eleven years later is is an iconic, very popular sports bar that annually wins a slew of "Best of..." awards in our nation's capital. Doug came from corporate America, where he worked in advertising. When he opened Nellie's, he had never worked in, run, or owned a restaurant. The perfect recipe for success? Enjoy...

Emmy had been working in restaurants in San Francisco for a few years and felt like the only options were stuffy, fine dining places that she and her friends and fellow restaurant workers couldn't afford to go to themselves and didn't want to hang out at even if they could. The city needed a fun, laid back, affordable place. So she opened it, and called it Emmy's Spaghetti Shack. That was in 2001....

I first interviewed Keith Paul in 2010 for our book Restaurant Owners Uncorked. Keith and his wife, Heather, own A Good Egg Dining Group in Oklahoma City. They have been at it for 18 years now, and have 8 concepts and twelve total locations. One of the lessons I learned from Keith eight years ago was to not worry about what's happening around you, and to stay focused on what's happening within the...

Erica has been involved with the hospitality business for twenty years, and she's so fun to listen to and so full of energy and passion for what she does that I could have talked to her all day. Grit, determination, passion, leadership, constantly learning - Erica embodies these characteristics. Enjoy...

Karen had her own graphic design and web design business for twelve years. One day in 2008 she was sitting on a beach in Belize with her husband, and realized she was tired of helping build other people's entrepreneurial dream. She wanted to use her skills and energy for something of her own. She wanted to start ... a rum distillery. Four months later, Montanya Distillers opened it's doors. Today...