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

Google My Biz is a huge asset for your company ... WHEN IT'S ACCURATE. Claim your listing, it's free. Too often owners take the google listing less seriously than they should. Make sure your listing is up to date in every way, with photos of the exterior and interior. Keep current by putting a reminder on your phone, to check and respond to anyone who has reviewed your business.  TripAdvisor is a...

Irena Stein is a Baltimore restauranteur for the last 18 years. That would be impressive on it's own.  There is far more to Irena Stein, and it's a joy to share what many people do not know. She is a creative, and artistic human!  She has allowed that artistic self to find a home in Alma Cocina Latina, with a variety of plants in the restaurant. Many plants. Inside the restaurant you'll see more t...

Our guest is Steve Vilnit. He is known in the Chesapeake Food Shed for his deep knowledge in seafood, as well as farms. He knows the watermen and the farmers and has foster relationships between watermen and farms to chefs in the greater Baltimore region. After years working for the State of Maryland, and going above and beyond as a sales rep for JJ McDonnell (seafood) and Capital Seaboard (seafoo...

Meal delivery is the topic of this episode. Barry Fleischmann owns and runs The Scratch Mill Kitchen. He has a rich history in hospitality.  He's been serving catered dinners, wedding and corporate events for 30 years. He's owned his own restaurant in downtown Baltimore. During the pandemic he decided to add a new element -- Meal Delivery. As an owner he had to redo his website, and now sends week...

Owners struggle with whether they need to pay for good photos or not. The typical reaction is they don't need good food photography and default to a DIY solution before considering how good photography can make their restaurant shine. Mediocre  photos represent their business one way. Good photos of the restaurant, the vibe and the food creates a visitors perception, and choice to come in for a me...

Cielo Rojo - Carolina McCandless and David Perez own this Takoma based authentic Mexican restaurant.  In the heart of Takoma Park, MD is this lovely Mexican restaurant. Carolina McCandless and David Perez -- husband and wife duo, own and run this fine casual spot.  Carolina sits across the proverbial kitchen table to tell us how she and David met, were in restaurants in California long before marr...

Two podcasting worlds collide in the episode. You'll hear how Ann Shafer and Martha Lucius took up podcasting in 2020. Ann is an art historian, art curator and all around lovely human. In the last year Ann created The Curator's Choice which is her musing of purchasing art Baltimore Museum of Art. Ann is also responsible for leading Platemark which explores the state of museums and issues that are...

What happens when a cafe, a bar and a dogpark come together as one? Bark Social. Right now, in Bethesda, MD, and coming soon to Canton in Baltimore, MD. No doubt everyone will want one in their neghborhood. Get yourself a coffee and your dog a pupcicle!   Luke Silverman is one of the masterminds between this social delightful way to get out of the house and share the experience with one of the bes...

Krishna Aunty is the brainchild of Joseph Moroney. It's an online meal service. Enjoy homestyle Indian food, which is a much loved style of food in India, coveted more than restaurant food. Joseph;s quiet and appealing story, is wrapped with his love and attention to India's ginger, garlic and not-too-spicy flavors!  Joseph's immersion in to Indian food starts as a Irishman, lawyer, curious about...

As the world faces the delta variant the hospitality industry carries on as best they can.  Today's episode Martha shares an amalgam of comments from restaurant, cafe and other food businesses. Pragmatic words of encouragement.  Please share Holy Guacamole! with coworkers, with owners. Enthusiastic supporters of independent restaurants, thank you for listening. Post a review on your podcast server...

Chef Matthew Kenny's vegan restaurant has made a marked and joyful impression in Baltimore's Inner Harbor with Liora and Double Zero at 414 Water Street. Liora is the main focus of this episode, through the eyes of Bryson Keens, Liora's GM, longtime hospitalian and native here in Baltimore!  Our interview with Bryson Keens is a lively discussion about opening a vegan restaurant with an upscale LA...

There are many challenges these days. We've already mentioned staff. Today's episode is focusing on two challenges that are recurring for many independent cafe/restaurant owners at this time.  CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE: Google Reviews.  Perhaps the pandemic is making everyone more watchful of their reviews, or perhaps guests are putting their thoughts down in reviews. We have noticed more focus and int...

This episode is your chance to finally get to know Dave Seel, co-host here at Holy Guacamole! and principal of Blue Fork Marketing. He'll reveal his new collaborative work, and share his story of how he got to where he is today. Here is a bit more about Tim Chin who is mentioned.   His community, his openness to share and curiosity to grow is what Baltimore loves about Dave. It's a fun exploration...

Caroline Anderson started Grateful Pizza in 2020, a year or so after arriving in Baltimore. It's a craft pizza company, serving up frozen pizzas, delivered to peoples' door or through a few shops. We dig in and talk about what it means to start up during a pandemic, about how to balance delivery, the myriad of tasks an owner needs to do (and supposedly knows how to do)...and we talk about bringing...

TOPIC: Food Cost. We are all noticing costs go wonky. Some items are also difficult to find. This episode is on finding ways to shrink food costs. Remind your staff of these things, you cannot let down on your persaverance. SUBTOPIC: Kitchen has a responsibility to find and resolve food costs.  --minimize waste. Here are several ways to ensure the kitchen knows what that means. Do not over serve....

We return to Good Neighbor Shop, one year after opening we talk to Chef DJ Neal who created the menu and drew on his vast experience over the last several years. Dave Seel was eager to have DJ on our show, and you'll hear why; his work experience is wide and varied; he was mentored by Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's Hawaiian Fusion/Baltimore), opening team at Momofuku... the list goes on and on!  We love his...

Journey with this Indian family, and their desire to share their culture through food.  You'll hear from the mother, daughter and son--Radhika, Maithali and Shantanu. Their perspectives are wonderfully presented. Radhika came to the US as an architecture student. Met her husband, and after getting married and having her two lovely children, she started cooking for friends.  That evolved into cooki...

Holy Guacamole is a free podcast. We would love for you to subscribe, download and/or review the show.  Biz Tips are super brief episodes. The goal iss to improve your finances, or your systems for independent restaurants.  If you are a fan of local restaurants, cafes and foodtrucks This episode in about finding one streams of income for your business: subscriptions. Martha Lucius encourages owner...

Limoncello, in Baltimore, is by all rights a wine bar. That's the simple definition. The complete story is its a family from Monte di Pocida, just outside Naples.  As the world re-opens Holy Guacamole is focusing on businesses that are resilient and focused on teams, hospitality and their culture. Dave chose Limoncello because of their single-mindedness to remain strong in spite of the pandemic, a...

Meet Kirsten Lapointe, who thought she'd open a vegan cafe...Well, that's what she thought she was doing. But life, the pandemic and her creativity took over.  In this interview you'll hear her perspective, her experience and her philosophy that led her to turn this spot into a community space (think yoga, workshops and tarot readings) with the comfort of an artists studio, and the warmth of Kirst...

Occasionally we run a mini episode as a short discussion of a particular topic. This weeks episode is more editorial from Martha Lucius exploring "where are we now"? Independent restaurants are facing minimal local restrictions, the pandemic is slowing, vaccination rates are rising, and everyone going back to "normal".  If you like what you hear, please consider writing a review. It helps our audi...

Jump into the conversation with Tim Riley and Dave Seel as they talk about Rainbow Unicorn, energy drink. We take off from there, with Tim, who talks about this new show, BigSommEnergy. Those of us in the hospitality industry know that energy drinks have been ubiquitous! So Tim, who is a talented, knowledgeable sommelier has taken his skills in a new direction, and is just having fun!  How does an...

Absolute Bakery & Cafe is tucked in Mancos, Colorado. Martha chats with owner David Blaine, and learns the history and roots this bakery has built over its many years at the center of the community.  Like many cafes David discovered just how important his business is to the community. We talk about how theyve managed to keep sales steady, and like other cafes, how limited seating and limited hours...

We all have interesting and funny stories about how we got into this industry. Craig tells his origin stories, and it might cause you to nod in agreement!  You'll learn about The Lunchbox Lady and then (because he's just chillaxing with that) he added on a season popup called Bmore Big Softy, which is soft-shell crab sandwiches. If you are at all interested in getting into the popup game, this is...

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland, our local chapter, is selling tickets to Night of a Million Meals. Local or not, you can purchase and support their mission . This years' zoom event is on May 17th, and can come with a meal kit for $75. Today's show includes two interviews.   --Stephanie Archer Smith, Executive Director at Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland starts the show and shares their mis...