Restaurant Owners Uncorked - By Schedulefly

The first night I met Kenneth 5-6 years ago I watched him demonstrate the servant leadership he and his partners have built into the culture, and I was very impressed. We are lucky to serve many restaurant owners who I not only learn from and admire, but who I would be very happy to have my kids work for one day. Kenneth is absolutely one of them. Willy Taco has two incredibly successful locations (Greenville and Spartanburg, SC and FR8yard (Spartanburg) is killing it with it's unique location and incredibly fun vibe. Kenneth and I drank some beer and sat on the upstaris deck at FR8yard after a southern summer storm and enjoyed a great conversation about hospitality and the things he and his team do to make memorable experiences for their guests. Enjoy...

I can't say enough good things about Emily Blount. Humble, authentic, successful, generous, and full of passion and energy for the restaurant business. In three years since opening, her restaurant has twice been a semi-finalist for a James Beard award. Check out her inspiring story here. Enjoy!

Kevin owns Dram & Draught in Raleigh and Greensboro, NC with business partner Drew Schenck. This place is like heaven if you like whiskey! Kevin and I spent half of this episode talking about the amazing nectar of the gods, and the other half talking about hospitality. We did this while sipping on Nikka Taketsura, Booker's 30th Anniversary Special Edition, and a bottle of Old Grand-Dad bottled in the early 80's. We had a great time, obviously. Enjoy!

When Johno Morisano bought the former Greyhound bus terminal building that had been built in 1938, he intended to hold it as a real estate investment. But upon closing on the property, he immediately decided he wanted to open a restaurant in it. Nearly five years into the business, The Grey has won Eater's Restaurant of the Year, been named as one of Time Magazine's 100 Greatest Places on Earth, and partner and Chef Mashama Bailey was recently named Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation after being nominated each of the last two years. We had a very fun, wide-ranging conversation and I came away so thoroughly impressed with Johno's work ethic, passion for his business, respect and care for his team, amazing relationship with business partner Mashama, and devotion to making The Grey a institution for the people in Savannah to enjoy for many years to come. Tons to learn from a guy who came into the hospitality business with no former experience, and quickly helped make his restaurant a nation

Bond Brothers was named the best new brewery in the nation by USA Today in 2016. Here's the story of how brothers Jay & Jeremy Bond and their two business partners had so much success so quickly they threw out their 5-year plan after just 6 months, since they were growing exponentially faster than they had anticipated. With no significant hospitality experience between the four of them, the guys were able to approach the business organically and with a fresh perspective, and have had no turnover after three years in business. We talked about why they don't micromanage, collaboration within the beer community, the three pillars of their business, why quality is becoming more important these days since customers are more educated on craft beers, the trend of craft breweries being acquired by large multinational companies and the impact that is having on the industry, and more. Jay and Jeremy are extremely nice, genuine, soft-spoken, humble guys who have built an absolutely phenomenal business. Enjoy...

Brandon has been in the business over twenty years, and earned seven consecutive Michelin stars as Executive Chef of Solbar in Napa Valley from the years 2010-2016. He returned to Chapel Hill, NC in 2016 and opened Hawthorne & Wood on April 6 of this year. Brandon and I covered a wide range of topics, from his education over the years about flavor combinations from around the world, the decision tree process of opening his first restaurant, learning through experience that chefs that yelled at staff didn't get their best work, giving his staff immediate feedback, both positive and constructive, striving for perfection but accepting excellence, investors, the four guideposts of his restaurant, and more. Brandon has been very successful but is very humble and curious, constantly trying to learn from others. He's a cool dude, and was very fun to chat with. Enjoy...

Trey owns Treylor Park (Savannah, GA and Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) and Hitch (Savannah). We discussed a wide range of topics, from attention to detail, to, what he learned not to do, keeping things simple, quality over quantity, branding, being a leader vs. a boss, and much more. Tons and tons of respect for Trey, a genuinely great dude who works his tail and off and loves what he does. Enjoy...

Chris owns the very popular, award-winning Corner Taco in Jacksonville, FL and Burrito Royale in Savannah, GA. He's opening Squirrel's Pizza in Savannah soon. And he's a BADASS! In this episode we cover his back story, why having investors would have forced him to make/do things he wasn't proud of, the importance of great systems, the "dance" you have to do with customers, nudging vs. shoving, the difference in a brand vs. a label, never apologizing for who you are, respect over money, how he defines success, and much more. This dude is on his game! Enjoy...

Fran has owned iconic Fran's Filling Station in Charlotte, NC for ten years, but she's been an owner off and on since 1994. Fran and her team's mission is to fill up her guests bodies and spirits, hence the restaurant name. We talked about a wide range of topics, from why she only wants one location, to managing people being an ongoing work-in-progress, to learning from her brother about coaching, to why a guest comment helped her realize she needed to remodel, to nailing the basics every day, to trying to touch every table, to paying close attention to OpenTable feedback, to her constant search for "delicious", to her very personal focus on finding a kidney due to her kidney disease, which she chose to make public recently. Fran is an absolutely amazing lady, personally and professionally. I have so much respect for her. This is a must-listen episode. Enjoy...

Vince is the executive chef of Zeppelin in Charlotte, NC. This place has quickly developed a great reputation and when you listen to Vince you'll understand why. Driven, creative, thoughtful, sharp, and focused, Vince shares the ethos of Zeppelin, the hurdles of the first year of a restaurant, chefs thriving under pressure of having other great chefs around, why he focuses on collaboration vs. competition and why chefs should rally around each other, and more. This is a quick, awesome 15-minute conversation. Enjoy...

Sean owns three Chronic Tacos locations in N.C. and is planning more. He had a short run in hospitality before diving into this opportunity, but he went after it full speed ahead and is having lots of success. There's a 100% chance you'll learn something meaningful from Sean and be inspired. And you'll laugh a few times as well! He is high energy, sharp, confident, fun to hang out with, and a master of Instagram with over 14,000 followers (he shares his secret sauce during the interview). I really enjoyed learning from a guy who invested into somebody else's idea but has taking ownership of making sure it's very successful in his territory. Sean's awesome, enjoy...

Zena is awesome. She has been in hospitality for 16 years, and grew up with a family background at Disney. She's been at the very popular Wooden Robot Brewery in Charlotte, NC since day one, four years ago. Owners Dan and Josh needed somebody with hospitality experience when they started, an Zena stepped up and has clearly done a tremendous job. We talked about the team's core values, how they stay on their game with such high volume (they've already brewed over 600 batches), the importance of effective and constant communication, their philosophy of working with a shared fate, working out of humility and teachability, making things look easy when they aren't, why Wooden Robot doesn't have high turnover, the collaborative nature of the beer community, and getting ready for their second location that's opening this May. Zena is sharp, focused, authentic, humble, and definitely one her game. Enjoy...

3-time James Beard award nominee (2017, 2018, 2019) Cheetie Kumar, chef/owner of Garland, Neptune's Parlour, and Kings in Raleigh, NC was recently profiled in the New York Times and was named as one of the 25 Southerners of the Year by Southern Living Magazine in 2018. She's as humble as she is brilliant at her craft, and was so kind to sit down with us. We talked about everything from "imposter syndrome" to therapy to southern food culture. A fun, thoughtful, highly educational conversation with an inspiring lady who we admire greatly. Enjoy...

We were lucky to have a chance to sit down with both Ray Burns (co-owner) and Alexa Pavloski (Events Director) to learn the story of Prohibition, which has very successful, popular locations in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. We talked about everything from the New York bar scene (where Ray got his start), the many costs of running a bar, the importance of empowering your staff, why Alexa applied for a job at Prohibition the day after she first visited as a customer, how Alexa was able to manage all of the events at Prohibition remotely from Australia for three months recently, the many, many hats an owner wears, Ray and Alexa playing "good cop/bad cop" during employment interviews, and much more. Ray and Alexa and the team at Prohibition have found a great balance of hard work and a fun culture, and it was an honor to have the chance to interview them. Enjoy...

Like so many successful restaurant owners, Chad Biel grew up cooking and started working in restaurants at age 16 as a dishwasher. Since then he's had years of corporate experience with Carrabba's and Chick-fil-A where he learned about having great systems and organization, but also learned he wanted to be a part of something with less bureaucracy. He had been the GM at Bohemian Bull Tavern & Beer Garden in Charleston, SC for a few years when he purchased the business last year. We talked about his focus on bar food done well (food made from scratch, fresh, local ingredients, etc.), his focus on his community and monthly fund raising events, his efforts to reduce his and his managers' hours slightly to enable more focused time while at work, trying to determine the right amount of growth to avoid large company bureaucracy, and the four things you need to get right to make a restaurant work.

Josh Lambert co-owns Vicious Biscuit, which has been extremely successful right out of the gate in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. and has very aggressive growth plans. We had a great interview with Josh, and discussed everything from the initial idea, research, planning, timing, biscuits being the new burgers in the U.S., farm-to-table fresh products, employees coming first, leading by example, social media/PR, and making sure every customer leaves with a smile. Tons to learn from Josh, we could have talked for another couple of hours! Enjoy...

Nick Barr, chef and kitchen manager at Buxton Hall Barbecue in Asheville, NC, is a thoughtful, passionate person who cares deeply about hospitality. He's been in the industry since he started working at age 15, and has a great story to tell of learning about himself and what matters to him while working at a large chain for a decade, and how he came to appreciate the importance of local ingredients and the intention and care that goes into serving food that has a greater purpose than profit. He cares deeply about what he puts on his customers' plates, where it came from, how it was prepared, and every aspect of the experience Buxton Hall guests have each time they walk into the door. Nick is a deep thinker who truly cares about his craft. It's inspiring to hear him share his story and his vision for what could one day happen with the local food movement. Enjoy...

It's hard to put into words how much respect I have for Meherwan Irani. The 3x James Beard Award nominee has been so generous with his time with us over the years, including being featured in our second Restaurant Owners Uncorked book. We caught up with him this week after interviewing a few of the team members Chai Pani recently sent to India for twelve days, to learn at a deep, intimate level about the inspiration for Chai Pani. We talked about why it was important for that trip to happen, and much more about the restaurant business, Meherwan's goals, and the legacy he hopes to leave. This is a can't-miss episode. Enjoy!

Chai Pani Restaurant Group recently sent five team members to India for twelve days, to get a true, deep understanding of the inspiration for Chai Pani, Indian street food. Three of the team members, Isaac, Andy and Gavin sat down with me to share why they went, what they learned, and how the trip impacted each of them both professionally and personally. In over a decade of serving restaurants, this is one of the coolest investments I've ever seen a restaurant make. This is such an incredible story, and we're so proud at Schedulefly to have the opportunity to share it. Enjoy...

Wow, this was fun! I sat down with Ben at Lewis Barbecue and we talked about everything from what he learned about hiring staff when he as a delivery boy at a Chinese restaurant as a teenager, to what he loves most about hospitality, to Detroit-style pizza. Ben is engaging, thoughtful, sincere, humble, hard-working, and has built an incredible culture at Lewis. Ben is the kind of guy I'd want my kids to work for one day if they work in a restaurant. Tons of respect for him! Enjoy...