Restaurant Owners Uncorked

This is a great interview to listen to for anybody interested in the bar business. Matt talks about the formula for success in the business, the importance of starting at the bottom (he started as a busser), hard work, solving problems every day, managing through the changes in labor laws, and the importance of building relationships with customers. Matt is awesome. Enjoy...

Ursa Minor Brewing is a 5-barrel brewery that opened in Duluth, MN 2.5 weeks ago, so Ben has a really interesting perspective! He and his brother have been working hard on for 4-5 years to take the brewery from idea to business plan to groundbreaking to opening their doors. Ben talked about what he learned along the way, why craft brewery people are all so supportive of each other, the challenge of raising money, and why their opening week was such a massive success. Enjoy...

Elissa has a degree in business and a minor in math, but found her way to the fun world of hospitality and has never looked back. She talks about the Bellisio's culture of being a small team but a big family, the annual retreat her restaurant group takes everybody on, the connections with the community that are made over a meal, the concept of throwing a party in your "house" every day at the restaurant, and more. She is a very impressive person with a great perspective on hospitality. Enjoy...

Amy has worked her way up from server to bartender to manager to GM. She talks about having a strong work ethic, learning something new every day, building a grey team, following her owner's lead, and why she loves what she does every day. Enjoy...

Another passionate, enthusiastic, fun member of the team at Sweet Cow Ice Cream joined me for a great conversation on what to look for in a hospitality job, questions to ask when interviewing, the many (many, many) roles of a GM, the hiring and firing process, work ethic, sharing in customers' important life moments, and more. Elissa is awesome! Enjoy...

Callie is a 17-year-old shift leader at Sweet Cow Ice Cream in Louisville, CO. Sweet Cow owners Drew and Ross were on the podcast recently, and spoke very highly of their incredible staff. When you listen to Callie talk about what she does and why she has so much fun doing it, you'll know why those guys are so fired up about the team of people that work with them. Enjoy...

If you don't know the story of Sup Dogs, head to http://www.schedulefly.com/films_books.htm and watch the film we made about it. It's one of the coolest stories you'll ever come across, in hospitality or elsewhere. Tarra Leatherwood has been working there for three years, and she's a great ambassador for the tremendous brand Bret and his team are building. She talks about the amazing culture, the fast pace, the teamwork, and the genuine, authentic care Bret and his family show for their staff. And you can't listen to her share her passion for what she does and not wish you had her on your team. Enjoy...

Justin McCrary has been in the restaurant business since 1999, and with the team at Provision Concepts since it was formed in 2014. He told a great story about the importance of not burning bridges, and we got into his love of teaching/coaching, the value of building relationships with guests, his strengths/weaknesses, and what he loves about the business. Enjoy...

Shane is the GM of Trophy Brewing in Raleigh, NC. We had a wide ranging conversation, discussing everything from the multiple responsibilities in his role as GM, to his leadership style, to the challenge of staffing in a growing market that has a great restaurant scene, to his love of craft beer and the Trophy team's philosophy on it. Enjoy...

John has been in the restaurant business most of his life. He and I talked about what fuels his passion for the business, being an introvert in the restaurant business, managing controlled chaos, the family environment at his restaurant group, Provision Concepts, and the daily life of a corporate chef. John is a positive dude who clearly enjoys his profession immensely...