Restaurant Owners Uncorked - By Schedulefly

Corbett and his wife Julie opened Bella Monica in Raleigh, NC in 2000. Nineteen years later, it's still widely regarded as a badass institution in the fast-growing Raleigh restaurant scene. Two years ago, they opened Stellino's down the road in Cary, and we talked for over an hour about why Corbett got into hospitality, what he loves about it, his and Julie's mission and philosophies, and much more. Corbett is as genuine and humble and kind as they come, it was an honor to get to hang with him. Enjoy...

Wil shared some thoughts about how we and the customers we serve run our businesses in very similar ways.

Teddy was born into a military family and traveled across the country for much of his childhood, exploring foods and cultures native to the locations wherever his dad was stationed. He loved learning and experiencing regional traditions and cuisine and fell in love with food because of it’s ability to connect people. Teddy worked in the restaurant industry while in high school and he later attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After culinary school, Teddy worked in the top kitchens in Washington D.C., focusing on high-end Italian cooking. In 2009, he was lured to Martha’s Vineyard to run a restaurant group that focused on the Island’s sustainable fishing and farming efforts and also ran the dining programs for two of the island’s top hotels where he was fortunate enough to have many varied restaurant operation experiences, including cooking for many celebrities and President Obama. Teddy moved to Chapel Hill with his wife and two daughters in 2014 to operate the Siena Hotel and Il

Sean was a history major in college in Virginia who didn't want to follow his buddies to Wall Street. Instead he hit the road to Jackson Hole, WY where he worked in restaurants and did a lot of snow skiing. He wound up at the Culinary Institute of America in Denver, CO and went on to work with several chefs in AAA Five Diamond restaurants to hone his skills before he opened Mandolin eight years ago. Today he and his wife run a thriving business, get much of their produce and eggs from their own farm, and are building an a new local institution in a building that once housed a long-time, popular pharmacy where Sean grew up going to after school, to hang at their lunch counter. This is a cool story and Sean is a great guy who we are very proud to serve. Enjoy...

"Turn your investor list upside down."

Eric is the kind of person who glows with natural, authentic, true hospitality from the moment you lay eyes on him. Wil had the opportunity to learn his story, the amazing chefs he has worked with, what's happening with commercial fishing and sustainability, his new focus on seafood charcuterie, and a lot more over nearly and hour and a half together. Great interview with a great guy. Enjoy...

This is the first in a new series of quotes from our two books and our podcast interviews. Short, educational or inspiring quotes interspersed between our long-form interviews. Enjoy!

Jon was on this podcast in March of 2017. The day after we posted the episode, a massive fire burned down a large apartment building near Little City Brewing, a tragic even that led to the main feeder streets to Little City being shut down for the last two years. This unexpected even had a huge impact not only on Little City, but on Jon's entire group, Local Icon Hospitality. Here's his honest, vulnerable telling of what he and his team went through, and how they've come out the other side stronger and better than ever. This is an awesome, awesome interview. Enjoy...

Jeff has been in the business for nearly 20 years, and opened Whiskey Kitchen three years ago. He and Wil discussed the story of Whiskey Kitchen, which is filled with both tragedy and success. Jeff shares the story openly, and offers a lot of great advice and wisdom from his time in the hospitality business. Whiskey Kitchen's name says it all, this place has a tremendous whiskey collection and a fantastic menu. Jeff is a cool character, and you'll enjoy learning and listening to him share...

Some thoughts from Wil about how much meaning and value independent restaurants add to their communities.

Wil had a fun conversation with Lisa Carvey, owner of The Braeburn in Langley, WA on Whidby Island on the Puget Sound. They spoke for an hour and covered lots of actionable and philosophical ground. A fun conversation. Tons of respect for Lisa and her crew! Enjoy....

Every now and then Wil shares some observations he's made from interviewing successful restaurant people. Here's one of them...

This is a deep, powerful conversation between Wil and Van, owner or Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana in Raleigh, N.C. They have become friends over the last few years so they got into a meaningful conversation about not just the story of Brewery Bhavana, but also about about life and philosophy and how we treat and build relationships with the people we work with and the people we serve. Enjoy!

Angela and Marshall are opening Ex-Voto at the Durham Food Hall this Fall. We have tremendous respect for Angela and Marshall, and Wil had a great time chatting with them about their new project. They are so incredibly welcoming, honest, authentic, humble, passionate, and dedicated to lifting up the people around them and providing warm, memorable experiences to their customers. *Wil got the conversation sidetracked for about 30 minutes talking about Mezcal, so be forewarned. Enjoy...

Some thoughts Wil wanted to share about restaurants and Instagram.

This may be our best podcast ever. We have no words to describe it, just listen and enjoy...

Bret Oliverio owns Sup Dogs, and he's one of the best human beings we've come across in our years of serving restaurants. The story of Sup Dogs is so powerful that we made a film about it a few years go. It's here: https://vimeo.com/223895178. Bret was also featured in Restaurant Owners Uncorked part II. Wil asked Bret to hang out and catch up over a podcast, and the result was nearly two hours of conversation about everything from Sup Dogs being named the best college bar in America by Barstool Sports, to the pros and cons of growing to more location (there are two locations now), to family, business philosophy, a You Tube celebrity who has left both $10,000 in cash and a piece of pure gold as a tip, to anything else that came across our minds. This was fun, real, and could have gone on for a few more hours if we had let it. Bret and his team are all amazing people, and we are very fortunate at Schedulefly to have the chance to serve them. Enjoy!

Drew Moore runs three successful establishments in Carrboro, NC. He also closed his fourth establishment two months ago, so we had a lot of meaningful things to discuss. Drew has poured his heart and energy and money and passion and sweat into the restaurant business for many years, and he is very open and transparent with his story. Really, really great guy. We had fun hanging out. Enjoy!