So You Want to Run a Restaurant?

Food
Entrepreneurship

So You Want to Run a Restaurant is a podcast from Back of House that goes behind the scenes with restaurant owners and operators across the country to talk candidly about the realities of the restaurant and foodservice business.

Whether you're dreaming of opening your first restaurant or already in the thick of it, this podcast has unfiltered stories, restaurant management and operations tips, and the lessons that only come from actually living in the foodservice industry.

Each episode dives into the wins, the challenges, the late nights, and everything in between - straight from the people who run the show every day.

Whether you work in hospitality or you're simply restaurant-curious, pull up a seat. There's a story here for you.

Welcome to the So You Want to Run a Restaurant Podcast!

So You Want to Run a Restaurant (SYWTRAR) is a brand-new podcast exploring the trials, triumphs, and technical difficulties of running a successful restaurant in the always changing, ever-more-competitive North American food and beverage landscape.

Powered by Back Of House, the leading independent platform for independent restaurant operators to find, filter, and save on the technology they need to succeed, this podcast, is dedicated to celebrating the work, wisdom, and innovation changing the way we’re eating and drinking—today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Host by Claudia Saric and Zach Mack, this first season will shine a light on restaurant owners, operators and industry thought leaders across the hospitality industry. The series first-ever episode will officially launch May 11th.

For more information on the podcast, co-hosts and more, click here!

How Innovation Hubs Shape Restaurant Trends (with Mandy Tahvonen)

We’re kicking off Season 1 with a conversation on where the restaurant industry’s at today, and where we’re headed in the months and years ahead.

In this episode, Zach and Claudia talk plant-based meats and then explore the future of restaurants with Mandy Tahvonen, VP & Managing Director of Relish Works. This Chicago-based foodservice innovation hub is exploring the future of the food and restaurant industry. Check out Relish Works’ recently released to the public report, “The Road Ahead: 2021 Food Industry Trend Report” that’s referenced throughout this episode.

Additional References:

Rutgers

Britannica

Biscuits, Pop-Up Restaurants & Atlanta's Chef Suzanne of Buttermilk Kitchen

Zach and Claudia talk about the rise of restaurant pop-ups and then interview award-winning chef and owner of Atlanta’s critically acclaimed Buttermilk Kitchen, Suzanne Vizethann. Chef Suzanne talks about her experience building Buttermilk Kitchen, the advice she got from Guy Fieri, her cookbook, and her popular gourmet-style biscuit pop-up, Milkdrop.

References:

Celebrating Black Culture, Community & Success with Darel Ross of Forty Acres Soul Kitchen

In this episode, Zach and Claudia discuss the power of food service industry loyalty programs and how they’re helping businesses keep a steady flow of returning customers.

Darel Ross, Co-Owner of Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, talks to us about how his restaurant is celebrating soul food’s authentically American heritage and history and what it represents by inviting everyone to come together to celebrate black culture. Darel also discusses how the team at Forty Acres is supporting a more inclusive and opportunistic environment to bring about real change through their local workforce efforts, hiring practices, and investing their time and energy into multiple socially responsible activities.

Follow Forty Acres Soul Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

References:

QSR Magazine , Back of House , Restaurant Technology News , KXXV, Start Garden, Forty Acres, M Live

How a Restaurant Raised $250K in Crowdfunding to Expand Business During the Pandemic

From online ordering to QR codes, Zach and Claudia talk about how omnichannel solutions are impacting the restaurant experience and what you can do to beef up your presence in this ever more important digital world.

Sherree Goldstein, owner and operator of Pittsburgh’s Square Cafe, then joins us for an interview to talk about how her restaurant is supporting their local community - and how that community is giving back. While many restaurants were closing their doors during 2020, she and her team managed to crowdfund $250,000 during the pandemic in order to help fund her restaurant's move and expansion to a space 4x’s larger then her previous one.

Social

Insta: @squarecafepgh

FB: Square Cafe

Twitter: @TheSquareCafe

References

Square Cafe

FSR Magazine

Deliverect

Restaurant Business Online

Cuvva

Michelin Star and Award Winning Pastry chef for Maple & Ash and others, Aya Fukai, dishes on growing Aya Pastry into one of the Top 100 Bakeries in America

In this episode, TikTok, the power of social media and its ongoing influence over the foodie scene is discussed, including Chicago’s Beacon’s Donuts rise to instant success that all started from one viral video.

Zach and Claudia then interview Michelin Star and Award Winning Pastry chef, Aya Fukai. Aya owns and operates Aya Pastry in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood which was listed as the Top 100 Best Bakeries in America by Food & Wine Magazine. Her other awards include Eater’s National Pastry Chef of the Year, a 2017 for James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef nomination, and her award for Chicago Tribune’s Pastry Chef of the Year in 2018.

Aya tells us how meeting Danny Grant, the current Chef/Owner of Maple & Ash and Etta, and David Pisor, eventually led to the creation of Aya Pastry. Although the bakery started out as a primarily wholesale business and a commissary kitchen for Maple & Ash, it has grown to be a huge success in both the B2B and B2C space. Learn how Aya scaled her business, grew her following, and how she’s creatively including Aya Pastry in each Maple & Ash location as the restaurant expands nationally.

References

Social Links

Aya Pastry

https://www.facebook.com/ayapastry

https://www.instagram.com/ayapastry/

https://twitter.com/aya_pastry?lang=en

Aya Fukai

https://twitter.com/chefayafukai

Maple & Ash

https://www.instagram.com/mapleandash/

https://www.facebook.com/mapleandash/

David Pisor

Twitter: @dpisor

Danny Grant

Twitter: @chefdannygrant

Virtual Brands and Restaurant Operations Bootcamp with Dave Miller of Chicago’s Baker Miller

Restaurant managers, owners and operators - you won’t want to miss this episode! Virtual brands vs. ghost kitchens are discussed in depth throughout this podcast episode. Zach and Claudia then interview Dave Miller, Owner of Chicago’s Baker Miller, on his experience running and scaling successful restaurants and a virtual brand. Dave is one of the original founders of Chicago’s wildly popular Bang Bang Pie and has launched his own virtual brand, Millers Bagels. This episode is loaded with operational, team building, and restaurant management tips for maximizing your business in 2021 and beyond.

References

Restaurant Business Online - How A Virtual Brand Turned A Chicago Brunch Spot Intro a Bagel Concept

Restaurant Hospitality - Meet the Newest Virtual Restaurant Brands From Indies and Celebrities Across the Country

Restaurant Business Online - Just How Many Virtual Brands Are There?

FSR Magazine - 14 Restaurants Giving Virtual Brands A Shot

Restaurant Business Online - Virtual Brands Emerge From the Shadows

Block Club Chicago - Baker Miller is Letting Struggling Outside Chefs Use its Cafe to Make Packaged Dinners for Sale

Social

Baker Miller Facebook

Baker Miller Instagram

Baker Miller Twitter

Tipping Culture, Restaurant Operations & Staffing with Nashville Restaurant Radio Host, Brandon Styll

Zach and Claudia discuss the landscape of restaurant online ordering including the pros and cons of third-party services, whitelabeled management programs, in-house delivery platforms, and the items that travel well (and those that don’t).

We’re then joined by Brandon Styll, Owner of Newlight Hospitality Group and the host of Nashville Restaurant Radio. Brandon has been in Nashville and the restaurant industry for over 30 years. He talks to us about how his restaurants are handling labor issues, innovation, customer expectations and tipping culture in a post-pandemic world.

Social

Nashville Restaurant Radio Website

Mère Bulles Restaurant Instagram

Brandon Styll Instagram

Nashville Restaurant Radio Instagram

Nashville Restaurant Radio Facebook

Nashville Restaurant Radio Youtube

References

Gordon Food Services

Wall Street Journal

Bid on Equipment

Canada’s Craft Beer Scene with Founder & CEO of Tap & Barrel Group, Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel, Founder & CEO of Tap & Barrel Group joins us for a conversation exploring Canada’s craft beer scene. In just under ten years, Tap & Barrel Group has become the largest purchaser of craft beer in the B.C. province of Canada. The restaurants are well known for their marquee locations, environmental stewardship (they’ve eliminated a whopping 1 million bottles and their locations are built using 80% reclaimed materials), and commitment to supporting local purveyors of food, beverages, and art. If you love the craft beer world, you won’t want to miss this one!

In this episode, Zach and Claudia also talk about the rise of booze-to-go, e-commerce and the ups and downs of alcohol delivery.

Follow Tap & Barrel and Daniel Frankel on their socials!:

Tap & Barrel:

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Daniel Frankel:

Twitter | Instagram

How to Run Your Restaurant like a Tech Startup with Joelle Parenteau, Owner & Founder of Wolf Down

In this episode, we interview entrepreneur Joelle Parenteau, Founder and Owner of Wolf Down. With locations in both the USA and Canada, Wolf Down is known for its hyper-focused, Berlin inspired street food menu—especially their mouthwatering German Döner that can be made for meat-lovers or vegans.

Joelle shares how she’s managed to nimbly run her business like a tech startup, the technology she can’t live without and her love for third party delivery. She also dives into Wolf Down’s hiring practices (no resumes allowed) and the team-building culture she’s created at her restaurants.

You’ll also get to hear hosts Zach and Claudia chat about the enormous impact of street food on eating culture and how it’s breaking down social and economic barriers for the food industry.

Social

Wolf Down Website: https://www.wolfdown.com/

Wolf Down: Twitter

Wolf Down: Instagram

Wolf Down: Facebook

Joelle Parenteau: Twitter

To read Joelle's Medium articles, click here