678: Stacey Poon-Kinney on Volume Hides Everything
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 12/23/2019
737: Jennifer Weishaupt on Engineering Ideal Operations
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Trained engineers, Erich and Jennifer Weishaupt had no plans to own a restaurant. That all changed when a friend purchased a property in their community and asked them to run a breakfast restaurant there. They took the challenge head-on and leveraged their years of experience with critical thinking and project management to revitalize the Mid-City New Orleans neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 12 years later, they've scaled to 18 locations throughout the Gulf Coast under the brand of Ruby Slipper and Ruby Sunshine. In addition, Jennifer has served on the Board of Directors of...
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736: Josh Kopal on Always Grateful, Never Satisfied
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Entrepreneur, restaurateur, and environmental advocate, Josh Kopel, was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Throughout his 20+ year career in food and beverage, he has managed venues ranging from the Alligator Bayou Bar, as well as the hottest Hollywood nightclubs, bars, and ultra-lounges. He went independent in 2010, opening his first concept Five0Four, in Hollywood, CA. Ten years later, he's created a family of brands ranging from Michelin-rated fine-dining to fast-casual, all with a central focus on Southern hospitality and Southern cuisine. Check out his website . To learn...
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735: Nina Compton on Positive Vibes All Around
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Hailing from the island of Saint Lucia, Nina Compton is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park. She started her professional career working under the mentorship of Daniel Boulud at his namesake restaurant . Nina then moved on to Miami where she continued to work in leading restaurants and hotels including Scott Conant's where she served as chef de cuisine. After being runner up on Top Chef season 11, and voted fan favorite, Nina moved to New Orleans to open her own restaurant, Compère Lapin in 2015. In 2018, was followed by . Go to as mentioned in today's episode to...
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734: Drew Delaughter on Operating Without Fear or Greed
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
was created by Drew Delaughter, Chef Blake Aguillard, and Trey Smith. Drew and Trey met in 2008 at culinary school in Hyde Park, NY. They both moved to New Orleans after school. Drew worked at Susan Spicer’s working his way up to Captain, gaining valuable service experience, as well as, wine and spirit knowledge. Smith went to work for Chef Michael Gulotta at where he met and worked alongside Blake. After some European traveling, and working in other cities, the trio reunited and Saint-Germain was born. Check out as mentioned in today's episode! Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! ...
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733: Ariane Daguin on Humane and Sustainable Farming
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Ariane Daguin is the founder, owner and CEO of , the renowned gourmet food purveyor. Famous for providing humanely-raised meats, from game and foie gras to organic chicken and prepared charcuterie, the name D’Artagnan is synonymous with top-quality food produced with care. Today we're here to discuss how the meat industry has been impacted by COVID-19, how Ariane has pivoted her company to keep quality meat on American tables, the issues of factory farming that have been brought to light by the pandemic, and why returning to sustainable methods is crucial to the environment and consumer...
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732: Michael Gulotta on Employees-First Culture
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Born and raised in New Orleans, Michael Gulotta began cooking in local restaurants at a young age. After graduating from the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, he joined the newly opened , where he was named Chef de Cuisine in 2007 and led the award-winning kitchen for 6 years. In 2014 Michael opened to rave reviews and accolades. Today, Michael has scaled the operation to include and a second Mopho located in the new Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Check out as mentioned in today's episode. Check out as mentioned in today's episode. Check out as mentioned in today's...
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731: Dr. Kara Farley on COVID-19 and Blue Ocean Health Services
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Dr. Kara Farley is a veteran, wife, mother of two, and physician. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during Dr. Farley's last tour as a Naval Flight Surgeon. During that time, Dr. Farley was a lead member of the public health emergency services team where she created and implemented protocol aimed at decreasing transmission between sailors and soldiers. During her transition out of the military, she realized that the civilian sector was in need of these same services she created. In June she started , which aims to give your business the tools for success during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond....
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731: Dr. Kara Farley on COVID-19 and Blue Ocean Health Services
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Dr. Kara Farley is a veteran, wife, mother of two, and physician. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during Dr. Farley's last tour as a Naval Flight Surgeon. During that time, Dr. Farley was a lead member of the public health emergency services team where she created and implemented protocol aimed at decreasing transmission between sailors and soldiers. During her transition out of the military, she realized that the civilian sector was in need of these same services she created. In June she started , which aims to give your business the tools for success during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond....
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730: Dennis Bagneris Giving People the Space to Grow
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
In 2008, Janet Davas founded . Her vision was to create a place where young adults who had been neglected or criminalized could come for a hot meal, a job opportunity, and a support system. Fast forward 12 years since its inception, we're sitting with Liberty's Kitchen CEO, and longest standing employee, Dennis Bagneris. In that time Liberty's Kitchen has evolved into a workforce development training program, which functions as a social enterprise, dedicated to transforming the lives of the "Opportunity and Vulnerable Youth" population of New Orleans, LA., by providing them with the support to...
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729: Page Pressley on Clarity of Vision
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Page Pressley got his start in culinary where he grew up; Santa Fe, New Mexico. He continued on to The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Upon graduation, Pressley returned to the Southwest to manage kitchens at several highly acclaimed establishments. In 2011, he moved to Austin, Texas to join the Uchi team as sous chef, and later becoming a corporate executive chef for . He returned to the line at in Mexico City until 2015, when he moved back to Austin to head up the opening team at as chef de cuisine and partner. Today Pressley serves as Founder & Chef ...
info_outlineAs a descendant of restaurant operators Stacey Poon-Kinney caught the restaurant bug early. After 8 years of managing a restaurant chain, Stacey and her father took over Megan's Cafe in 2007. After a successful 2 year run, Stacey decided to rebrand to The Trails Eatery and expanded the restaurant footprint to twice the size, but her success was followed by near-total failure in 2011. On the edge of losing total hope, Stacey reached out to the Food Network and Robert Irvine's Restaurant Impossible for help and the rest is history.
Check out Episode 641 with Greg Scheinman as mentioned in today's episode!
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "The magic is in the details."
In today's episode with Stacey Poon-Kinney we will discuss:
- Growing up in kitchens
- Connection through food
- The value of money and hard work
- Valuable lessons learned at big franchises
- Volume hides everything
- Mentors
- When it is and is not appropriate to flip out on your team
- Structure in the kitchen
- Being pregnant in a managerial role in the kitchen
- Taking over an existing restaurant
- Get tax records if you're taking over restaurants
- Butts in seats earns money
- Regulars are key to success
- Always look for a lesson in bad situations
- Community is no longer spacial
- Applying to Restaurant Impossible for help and what that's like
- The importance of insurance
- Water damage and how to deal with it
- Dealing with a break-in
- Fear is a great motivator
- POS customer service
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.
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.
Foodager and Bevager have reinvented hospitality management. With these tools, you'll lower your food cost by up to 5% on your kitchen inventory and lower your pour cost by up to 10% on your bar purchasing. Don't forget the 30 hours of labor you'll save each month. Additionally, Bevager and Foodager integrate with countless POS and accounting software. To learn more head to bevager.com/unstoppable or foodager.com/unstoppable.
Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Communications
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Communication
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- Kindness, consideration, a sense of humor
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Time Management
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Vintage hospitality
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Challenge staff to remember three new names of customers
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
- Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo
GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- Name one service you've hired.
- Way Front marketing in San Diego
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
- ToDoist list making service
- Yelp Nowait
- Toast POS
- Insight Timer meditation app
- 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?
- Live from your heart
- Ask questions
- Say thank you
Contact info:
Website: www.thetrailseatery.com
Instagram personal: @spkcooks
Instagram business: @thetrailseatery
Facebook: @TheTrailsEatery
Twitter: @TheTrailsEatery
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 Stacey Poon-Kinney for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!