718:Kristina Zhao on The Pivot to 3rd-party-less pickup/delivery
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 05/28/2020
1218: Sean Finter, Founder of Barmetrix, CEO & Head Coach of Finter Group, Owner of The Franklin House
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Sean Finter is the Founder of Barmetrix, CEO + Head Coach at Finter Group, and Owner of the Franklin House. Sean got his start in the industry at 12 where he grew up in Canada. He worked for the Hard Rock Cafe in England and stayed in that city for 6 years. He then became a restaurant coach and worked in Australia for about 10 years. At 27 he opened his first restaurant. Today, he focuses on restaurant coaching. This is Sean's second time on the show, having previously joined us for episode 1027. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: ...
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1217: Aaron Franklin, Chef, Co-Owner, and Head of Maintenance at Franklin Barbecue
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Aaron Franklin is the Chef, Co-Owner, and Head of Maintenance at in Austin, Texas. Aaron Franklin opened his BBQ joint back in 2009 as a trailer. In 2011, he got his brick and mortar. Today, Aaron dabbles in writing books, leading masterclasses, manufacturing wholesale retail sauces, and he makes BBQ pits! Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: : Are you a chef, owner, operator, or manage recipes in professional kitchens? meez is built just for you. Organize, share, prep, and scale...
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1216: Three Pillars to Scale Your Restaurant Group without Losing Control with Christin Marvin
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Christin Marvin is a podcast host, author, and creator of , a consultancy business she founded in 2022. Christin was a Managing Partner at Bonanno Concepts in Denver from 2007-2012. She served as a Regional Manager at Snooze A.M. Eatery in Denver from 2012-2019. She now serves as a Hospitality Catalyst for her restaurant consultancy business, Solutions by Christin. She is also the host of No Hesitation, a restaurant industry podcast, and she currently has two books published: , and Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our...
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1215: Alison Clem, Chef/Owner and Director of Operations at La Barbecue
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Alison Clem is the Chef/Owner of La Barbecue in Austin, TX. Alison got her start in the restaurant industry at age 18 and never left. She began in FOH and quickly moved to BOH where she thrived. Ali has worked almost every position in a restaurant, from bartender to manager and more. She met her wife LaAnn Mueller in the early 2010s and they together took over a food trailer and turned it into La Barbecue in 2012. They got their first brick and mortar in 2017, where they operate today. They also just received a Michelin Star! Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: ...
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1214: Using AI and AI-SEO Marketing with Kelsey Verdier and Claudia Tomina
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today we are doing a deep dive into using AI and AI-SEO marketing as an RUNetwork workshop! We are joined by Co-Host and past guest Anna (Tauzin) Naeve, an independent fractional CMO and the owner of . Our guests today are Kelsey Verdier, VP of Marketing at , as well as Claudia Tomina, CEO and Founder of . Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: : Are you a chef, owner, operator, or manage recipes in professional kitchens? meez is built just for you. Organize, share, prep, and scale recipes...
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1213: Avi Goren, Co-Founder and CEO of Marqii
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Avi Goren is the CEO and Co-Founder of . is a digital operations platform for the hospitality industry that simplifies online presence management for restaurants and other food service businesses. It automates updates for online listings, menus, and business information across dozens of major websites and apps like Google and Yelp. Additionally, Marqii provides tools for managing online reviews, tracking customer feedback, and optimizing local search rankings to attract more customers. Avi Goren worked at Yelp for many years before co-founding . Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up...
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1212: The Evolution of AI and Content Marketing with Kelly Mirabella
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Kelly Mirabella is an award-winning digital marketing educator and consultant, and the owner of . She has been in the digital marketing space for 17 years and started her business, , 15 years ago. This workshop covers The Evolution of AI and Content Marketing with expert Kelly Mirabella. Workshops can be found every Thursday in the Restaurant Unstoppable podcast feed or on YouTube. Most have a visual component, so consider watching the video version . Join the RUNetwork to take part in workshops and ask the experts YOUR questions! Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up...
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1211: Patrick Terry, CEO and Co-Founder of P. Terry’s
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Patrick Terry is the CEO and Co-Founder of , based in Austin, TX. Patrick was previously on the show in early 2020 for episode 691. At that time, P. Terry’s had 16 locations in and around Austin. Today there are 36 locations. P. Terry’s is an old school styled burger shack opened originally in 2005. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Marqii helps restaurants manage online listings, menus, and reviews from one platform. It saves time, improves SEO, ensures menu accuracy across...
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1210: Be the Change You Want To See with Jennifer Guptill and Evan Mallett
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jennifer Guptill is the Culinary Program Coordinator at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Evan Mallett is the chef/owner of The Black Trumpet in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Today we will be talking about creating a progressive culinary program within a secondary education institute in the modern world. The culinary program at Great Bay is less than 2 years old at the time of this episode’s publishing. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Marqii helps...
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1209: Jae Kim, Founder and CEO of Chi’Lantro
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jae Kim is the Founder and CEO of , based in Austin, TX. Jae Kim was previously on the show for episode 701 in 2020 when Chi'Lantro was up to 8 locations. Today, after gaining some investment from , the Korean BBQ concept has scaled to 13 locations and entered into the Houston market. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Thinking about franchising your restaurant? Success doesn’t have to mean 100 units overnight. With the right plan, you can build a profitable, local or...
info_outlineKirstina Zhao calls San Antonio, TX home. Prior to taking over the family restaurant, Sichuan House, Kristina was being groomed for the medical field... that didn't happen. Zhao ended up at the University of Texas where she studied Communications and Public Relations. Next, she went into the wireless industry on the B2B side. In 2015, Kristina came back home to San Antonio to help her father with the family restaurant. It didn't take long for her to get her millennial hands knuckle deep into the day-to-day operations. 5 years later she runs the show.
Kristina came on my radar by way of Anna Tauzin. Anna is my go-to authority for all things delivery and take-out. So, when she tells me I need to get someone on the show-- I listen. Today we're here to make an example of Zhao's solution for delivery and take out. We share how she came up with her idea and what tools she's using.
Show notes…
Check out Blinkist: Big Ideas in Small Packages as mentioned in today's episode!
Check out Toast POS as mentioned in today's episode!
Check out Summer Glen Creative as mentioned in today's episode!
Check out Re-turnz app as mentioned in today's episode!
Calls to ACTION!!!
- Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
- Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
- Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "Rule your mind or it will rule you."
- "Happiness is a state of mind, a way of living; it is not a destination."
- " Don't take 'no' for an answer."
- Online ordering during COVID-19
- The pivot to online ordering - best practices
- The only person you can control is yourself
- Proving yourself to your parents/mentors
- Immigrating to the US (immigrant parents)
- Communication is key
- Empathy
- Food as medicine
- Mentors
- The benefit of having a little experience when entering the industry
- Why Kristina chose Toast POS
- Using built-in iOS technology to forward your telephone to your cell phone. This allows you to text your guest.
- How Kristina is using Summer Glen Creative for website hosting and web design. This is just for their landing page. Currently offering complimentary landing pages if you use their hosting***
- Using Re-turnz app as their delivery component
- Social media
- COVID-19 best practices
Today's sponsor:
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.
Toast - A POS built for restaurants by restaurant people Adapt fast with Toast's cloud-based restaurant POS system that updates to evolve your POS along with changing industry trends and guest expectations. Toast is built exclusively for restaurants of all shapes and sizes, with over 2/3 of our employees having restaurant experience to serve you better. Online Ordering - Let guests easily order directly from your restaurant for pickup or contactless delivery to keep revenue flowing during these uncertain times. Toast Delivery Services Dispatch local drivers through an on-demand network to keep your community fed and revenue coming in.
Contact info:
The Sichuan House Instagram: @sichuaneats
Kristina's Instagram: @xtinazeeeee
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Kristina Zhao for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!