647: Ben Poremba on Transforming Communities One Block at a Time
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 09/05/2019
1081: Tony Christofellis Co-Founder of Salad and Go and Angie’s Food Concepts
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Tony Christofellis is the co-founder of and the co-founder of , all based in Phoenix, AZ. Tony grew up in the restaurant industry with many of his family members owning restaurants. In 2011, he got the idea for Salad and Go, and in 2013 it opened. The purpose of Salad and Go was to make organic food more affordable and drive-through friendly. Eventually Salad and Go received private equity and the other partners wanted to take the concept in another direction, so they parted ways. Tony then opened Angie's Food Concepts, which seeks to make luxury foods affordable to everyone. There are...
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1080: David Conn Partner 4Top Hospitality
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
David Conn is a Partner at . David Conn began working FOH in restaurants during college to earn good, quick money. David truly grew as a restaurant professional, though, while working with , an Italian concept under the 4Top Hospitality umbrella. Tpday, David is a partner with 4Top Hospitality and there are currently 6 concepts in and around Jackson, MS in the 4Top family of restaurants. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Excellence is simplicity." In this episode we will discuss: FOH Partners Opening a restaurant Buffets Credit card processors ESOPs Today's sponsor: : Are you a chef,...
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1079: John Currence Chef/Owner City Grocery Restaurant Group
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
John Currence is the Executive Chef and Owner of , HQ'd in Oxford, MS. John opened his first restaurant, City Grocery, at 26 in 1992. John later opened which has scaled to 22 locations today. The company has its sights currently set on 50 locations nationwide. Favorite success quote/mantra: “Everything is everybody’s job all the time.” “Don’t your own press.” “Never forget that it’s your people that give you the ability to make the living that you do. In this episode we will discuss: Partners Labor markets Cooking Leadership Scaling Tech stack...
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1078: Vishwesh Bhatt Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Snackbar
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Vishwesh Bhatt is the Co-Owner and Executive Chef at Snackbar, located in Oxford, MS. Vishwesh immigrated to the US from India and in college, he studied biology. It wasn't until he worked at a restaurant that he decided to become a chef, then went to culinary school in Miami. He worked in the City Grocery family of restaurants, which includes Snackbar (opened in 2009), until he took over as head chef and become part owner around 2017. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Respect." In this episode we will discuss: Culinary school Partners Respect Equity Opening and closing restaurants Today's...
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1077: Jeff Good Owner & President Mangia Bene
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jeff Good is the owner and President of Mangia Bene (and 2 other restaurants) in the Jackson, MS area. Jeff started in the industry as a teen, and also at that time he met his business partner in high school. After college, Jeff went into sales. He left that industry and decided to open a restaurant with his childhood friend, who is a chef. In order to convince investors to invest, he held dinners out of his home. Today, he owns 3 restaurants in the Jackson, MS area. Favorite success quote/mantra: "I ask God to help me do the right thing." In this episode we will discuss: Raising...
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1076: Charles Morgan, a “Restaurant Guy”
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Charles Morgan considers himself simply a "restaurant guy" from Atlanta. Charles started in the restaurant business in Gulf coast Florida in 1979. Today he owns approximately 12 restaurants all over the Florida panhandle and the surrounding areas. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom." In this episode we will discuss: Expanding Restaurants in the 70s/80s/90s Commercial fishing and restaurants Profit sharing Labor markets Today's sponsor: : Are you a chef, owner, operator, or manage recipes in professional kitchens? meez is...
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1075: Faras Kargar Owner Delbar Restaurant and Bar
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Fares Kargar is the Owner of and in Atlanta, Georgia. Fares was born in Iran and grew up there until he was 18 when he moved to the US. Once in Atlanta, he went to school for hospitality management and while in school, he began working in restaurants. Once he graduated, he moved on to work in many restaurants, including Waffle House, until he landed at Rumi's Kitchen where he quickly became a GM. Finally, in 2020, he opened his first restaurant, Delbar. Today, there are 4 Delbar locations. Favorite success quote/mantra: "This too shall pass." In this episode we will discuss: ...
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1074: Doug Turbush Chef & Owner Seed Kitchen and Bar
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Doug Turbush is the Chef & Owner of in Atlanta, GA. Doug started in the business as a 15 year old washing dishes. He went to school for hotel managment and went to the C.I.A. after that. His goal was to open his own restaurant by his early 30s. He lived and cooked in Thailand and lived and cooked in Atlanta until at 39 he opened Seed Kitchen and Bar in Atlanta in 2011. In 2013 he opened Stem Wine Bar next to Seed, and in 2016 he opened another restaurant which then closed in 2024. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Make it nice or make it twice." In this episode we will discuss: ...
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1073: Jen Hidinger-Kendrick Founder of Giving Kitchen
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jen Hidinger-Kendrick is the Founder of . Jen and her late husband, Ryan, started a supper club in Atlanta around 2012. The supper club was incredibly successful and finally, four years later, they opened Staplehouse together. Staplehouse was also a great success. However, before the restaurant opened, Ryan was disgnosed with cancer and passed away in 2014. Jen sold her share of the restaurant to her partners and started Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit with this mission: "to provide emergency assitance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources."...
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1072: Damian Otero and Miguel Hernandez, CEO and COO at Rreal Tacos
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Damian Otero is the CEO of Rreal Tacos and Miguel Hernandez is the company's COO. Damian and Rreal Tacos were previously on the show for episode 945 back in 2022. At that time, Rreal Tacos was opening their third location. Today there are 8 locations with more on the way. They are based in Atlanta, GA. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Create an opportunity biug enough for everybody to get a piece of the action." In this episode we will discuss: Negotiating leases Real estate and restaurants Growth/expansion Sharing equity with employees Marketing Today's sponsor: : Are you a chef, owner,...
info_outlineIsraeli native, Ben Poremba moved to St. Louis to earn a BA in philosophy from the University of Missouri. He also attended University of Gastronomic Studies in Parma, Italy. Today Poremba is Chef/Owner of Bengelina Hospitality Group, the St. Louis-based, award-winning operator of Nixta and Bar Limón, Elaia, Olio, La Patisserie Chouquette, and The Benevolent King. Poremba is a three-time James Beard Award semifinalist in the category of Best Chef-Midwest, and he continues taking the St. Louis dining scene by storm.
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- “Food of love for the love of food.”
In this episode with Ben Poremba we will discuss:
- Show Notes
- Think of every customer as family
- Restaurant as a social hub
- Learning from your parents
- Not following conventional restaurant rules
- The history of food
- The philosophy of food
- Failures
- Catering
- Networking
- Living and being intentional
- Finesse in the industry
- Long-term gain vs. short-term gain
- Political motives in building a restaurant
- Strong community roots and growth
- Finding the balance between caring enough without losing sight of “it’s just food”
- The importance of an identity
- Remove yourself from the restaurant
Today's sponsor:
BentoBox empowers restaurants to own their presence, profits and relationships. The hospitality platform disrupts third-party services that come between the restaurant and the guest. BentoBox puts the restaurant first and offers tools that drive high-margin revenue directly through the restaurant’s website. BentoBox is trusted and loved by over 5,000 restaurants worldwide including Union Square Hospitality Group, Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Lilia and more.
CAKE provides an easy-to-use integrated software and hardware solution to build better dining experiences for restaurant operators and their guests. With mobile marketing and waitlist management to point of sale payment processing, the CAKErestaurant management system helps you grow your business. Learn more at trycake.com/unstoppable
Restaurant365 is a cloud-based, all-in-one, restaurant-specific accounting and back-office platform that seamlessly integrates with POS systems, payroll providers, food and beverage vendors. It generates accurate real-time reporting and analysis in user-friendly dashboards, facilitating immediate, data-driven decision making. Restaurant365 eliminates manual, error-prone processes and is designed to help restaurant businesses grow with functionality that helps optimize labor costs, reduce food costs and increase revenue.
Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Words
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Words
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- What do you want to do or be?
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Having to physically be back in the kitchen.
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Do things with intention.
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Maxims by La Rochfoucauld
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Authentic community outreach.
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
- Human Resources!
- If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
- Commitment to people and NOT processes
- Stay committed to a place
- Creativity
Contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Ben Poremba for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!