659: Matt Selby on Kindness is Everything
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 10/17/2019
665: Kai Umezawa on Zenreach and Building the Future with Wifi Marketing
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
University of Waterloo dropout, Kai Umezawa leveraged his software engineering skills for both Facebook and Google before he co-founded Zenreach, a wifi marking platform, in 2012. Today, in addition to being a co-founder, Umezawa serves as Head of Product for Zenreach. Our focus: the current state and future of wifi marking. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "The future is not something that happens by accident; the future is built." In today's episode with Kai Umezawa we will discuss: Taking advice Bypassing the standard school system What Kai learned from working at...
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666: Umberto Gibin on Consistency is Key
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Umberto Gibin was born in Venice, Italy and began to learn the hospitality trade at several prestigious European restaurants and hotels. In 1979 he took his hospitality career to California where he got to work for a handful of leading restaurants in the Bay Area and LA. With this experience, he went on to serve as one of the founding team members of Il Fornaio, which he helped scale to six locations before departing to join the Kimpton Hotel group. Then in 2004 he re-joined mentor Larry Mindel to open Poggio. Today, Gibin deploys decades of top tier experience as owner-operator of Perbacco...
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664: Patricio Wise on Paramount Systems, Processes, and Procedures
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef Patricio Wise was born and raised in a large family in Monterrey, Mexico, where cooking for big parties was an everyday social affair. After a successful career in finance, Wise, who is self-trained in the culinary world began hosting pop-ups at local Farmers' Markets and Breweries. It was so successful that he secured and established a brick and mortar location, Nixtaco Mexican Kitchen, within the year and has been only gathering momentum ever since. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "There is no substitute for hard work." In today's episode with Patricio Wise we will...
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663: Jessica Marshall on 3 Common Restaurant Design Mistakes
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jessica Marshall is a talented restaurant designer with 15 years of experience. Her company, Brass Rose Studios, is based out of the Sacramento, California area. Today will be a deep dive conversation regarding the 3 most common restaurant design mistakes. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "Live it!" The 3 Most Common Restaurant Design Mistakes are: Getting into a lease and not understanding the cost and lead-time that come with it Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing costs Planning ahead HVAC prep Knowing what you need and if your lease covers it Avoiding inhibiting...
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662: Oliver Ridgeway on Do it Nice or Do it Twice
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef Oliver Ridgeway, was born and raised in Sussex, England. For Ridgeway, life in the kitchen began in his father’s restaurant, where his own passion began to emerge. After studying cooking at Crawley College, Ridgeway worked in multiple hotels and even a cruise ship before landing in U.S. where he held multiple chef positions and even cooked for VIP's during the Olympics. In 2011 Ridgeway made the move Sacramento where he took the Executive Chef Role at Grange Restaurant & Bar, and Camden Spit & Larder in 2018. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "Do it...
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661: Michael Theimann on Learn Fast, Hustle, and Thrive
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Boulder City, NV, native, Chef Michael Thiemann, got his industry start in the city that raised him, Sacramento, CA. He went on to work all over the world, including New Zealand, Hawaii, and San Francisco. After Serving as the right-hand-man to Chef Tyler Florence, Thiemann returned to his home city of Sacramento, where one year later he opened his first Restaurant Mother, which was followed by Empress Tavern. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "It's all about working hard and not being a dick." In today's episode with Michael Theimann we will discuss: Starting out in the...
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660: Justin Brunson on Respecting Food
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
After attending the Scottsdale Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Chef Justin Brunson Scored an internship with Chef Michael DiMaria at Michael’s at the Citadel. In 2004 Brunson made the move to Denver, CO where over the next 4 years he worked with key mentors Richard Sandoval, Frank Bonanno, and Alex Seidel. In 2008 Brunson opened Masterpiece Delicatessen to rave reviews. The Delicatessen was followed by Old Major in 2013, which won numerous "best of" awards. These hits were followed with Culture Meat and Cheese in 2016, River Bear in 2011 and Royal Rooster in 2018 and the newest...
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659: Matt Selby on Kindness is Everything
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Originating from Denver's Five Points Community, Matt Selby got his start in the restaurant industry at the once-popular, Rattlesnake Grill. His skill in the kitchen and ability to lead others was quickly recognized by those in the industry. It was clear opportunities were inevitable. Those Opportunities came in 1997 when Selby was approached by Josh Wolkon to Join Vesta, a Secret Sauce restaurant concept. Selby parted ways with Secret Sauce in 2013, and has been earning a living as a consultant, opening restaurants, overseeing multiple locations as culinary director, and occasionally serving...
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658: Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson on Listening More and Talk Less
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
As a teenager, Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson starting working in restaurants St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating from Colorado State University, Mackinnon-Patterson set out to fulfill a dream and moved to Paris in 1999. He obtained his Certificate d’Aptitude Professionnelle at the renowned Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi. Upon returning to the states in 2001, he worked at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, where he met future business partner, Bobby Stuckey. Mackinnon-Patterson and Stuckey opened their first restaurant, Frasca Food and Wine, in 2004 in Boulder, CO. In 2007, the partners launched...
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657: Eric Skokan on Embracing Failure
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Born in San Diego, Eric Skokan was raised in Virginia and is a graduate of The University Virginia. Upon graduation Skokan traveled, working in some of the nation's greatest kitchens. In 2006, Skokan, and his wife, Jill, opened Black Cat Farm Table Bistro, which was following by the 130-acre, Certified Organic, Black Cat Farm, one year later. In 2012 the couple opened their second restaurant, Bramble & Hare. On top of all of this Skokan is the author of Farm, Fork, Food: A Year of Spectacular Recipes Inspired by Black Cat Farm. Show notes… Favorite success quote or...
info_outlineOriginating from Denver's Five Points Community, Matt Selby got his start in the restaurant industry at the once-popular, Rattlesnake Grill. His skill in the kitchen and ability to lead others was quickly recognized by those in the industry. It was clear opportunities were inevitable. Those Opportunities came in 1997 when Selby was approached by Josh Wolkon to Join Vesta, a Secret Sauce restaurant concept.
Selby parted ways with Secret Sauce in 2013, and has been earning a living as a consultant, opening restaurants, overseeing multiple locations as culinary director, and occasionally serving as a line cook. He's recognized for being key in contributing Denver's Culinary foundation, not only for his skills in the kitchen but more importantly for his patience and passion to serve as a mentor to the next generation of professionals.
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "Kindness is everything."
In this episode with Matt Selby well will discuss:
- Leadership skills
- Passion
- Bring up your team
- Give value
- Thew difference between customers and guests
- the difference between commanding and demanding respect
- What will get you through the hardships of the industry
- Inherent leadership
- Engage with people always
- The pros and cons of consulting
- Speak up for yourself while giving leeway to others
- Best inventory practices
- Reducing waste in the kitchen
- Marijuana in the industry
Today's sponsor:
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Wisetail’s user-friendly platform focuses on engaging, growing, and empowering your workforce while enabling your culture to thrive in multi-site businesses. It is easily configurable to an organization's brand and technical specifications. In addition, Wisetail provides a social community for their customers to share best practices and continuously improve the learning experience.
Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Kindness
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Kindness to a fault
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- Motivation
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Getting out of bed
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Professionalism/directness
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Pay attention, be proactive
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- 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?
- Pay attention
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
- 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?
- Giving back
- Being kind
- Working hard
Contact info:
West of Surrender website (current client)
Email: selbymatt5@gmail.com
Get in touch: 720-387-5311
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!
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Huge thanks to Matt Selby for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!