736: Josh Kopal on Always Grateful, Never Satisfied
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 08/03/2020
749: Zaid Ayoub on Converting Commissary into Direct-To-Consumer Kitchen
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Zaid Ayoub is the founder and CEO of the Bay Area-headquartered, rapidly expanding fast-casual concept . A Jordan native, Ayoub frequented a local falafel shop while in college in the U.S. studying engineering and noticed that it often had a line out the door. He wondered if Mediterranean food could blend great flavors with streamlined operations, there was a market (full of hungry people) eager to eat it. After a few years in tech startups, a friend of his mentioned his Mediterranean fast-casual concept idea, and Ayoub took the plunge, opening the first SAJJ...
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748: Evan Hennessey on Finding Comfort in Vulnerability
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef Hennessey is an award-winning chef and Dover, NH native. He graduated from at the Atlantic Culinary Academy in 2001. He has had experiences cooking alongside some of the best chef’s in the country including: Chef Charlie Palmer at New York City’sn , Chef Grant Achatz at Trio in Chicago, Andrew Carmellini at , Thomas Rice and Ken Oringer at Clio, Eli Kaimeh and Thomas Keller at . Chef Hennessey has worked as the Executive Chef of 43 Degrees North, and , as well as Chef de Partie of , all in Portsmouth, NH. Chef Hennessey is trained in classical French techniques and methods and...
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747: Workshop-Anarchism is Business with Ari Weinzweig
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Like most success stories, Ari Weinzweig's started over a casual conversation and a beer, with his now partner Paul Saginaw, about their dream business. In 1982, those casual conversations began to manifest into what was then Zingerman's Delicatessen. Today, Zingerman's is much more than a deli; it is a community of businesses, which consist of the following services: catering, event planning, bakery, baking classes, creamery, mail ordering, ZingTrain, restaurant, coffee-house, and candy manufacturer. These business combined, do over 35,000,000 in annual sales. Check out...
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746: Matt Jennings on Homegrown Vision
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Matthew Jennings grew up in Boston, MA. During his summer teen years, Jennings got his start as a prep cook in Nantucket, MA. He went on to study at the New England Culinary Institute, and to work as a cheesemonger before opening his first business, Farmstead, in Providence, RI. After 10 years of successfully running and scaling Farmstead restaurant, Jennings followed his gut and made the move to his hometown of Boston to open Townsman. Jennings received countless awards and accolades for both restaurants. Yet, in 2018 he walked away from it all. Today, Jennings shares his knowledge with...
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745: Workshop- Knowing with It's Time to Scale with Chris Schultz
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chris Schultz spent 15 years with the Starbucks management and leadership team before joining , aka the MOD Squad in 2009. Schultz helped MOD Pizza go from 1 location to 100 locations in 2016 as Senior Vice President of Operations. Today, Chris serves as their CEO. You can see, Chris Schultz has developed a track recording of helping great brands scale. That's what we're here to talk about today: When You Know You're Ready To Scale. Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Subscribe to the Join the private Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!) Favorite...
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#BONUS EPISODE-- Talking Shop with Jamie Bissonnette
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
BONUS Episode!!! we're connecting with our most recent guest, Jamie Bissonnette, to reflect on his episode, pull back a few extra layers, and ask the questions you wish I did. These recordings are happening weekly at . Join the network and be a part of the she transformation.
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744: Jamie Bissonnette on How to Network Like a Boss
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Collinsville, CT native, Jamie Bissonnette is a graduate of the . After cooking and eating around the nation and overseas, Bissonnette landed in Boston in 1999. After working around Boston, Bissonnette was recruited to help Garrett Hawker open . Two years later Jamie was recruited by Ken Oringer to open KO Prime. Oringer and Bissonnette partnered to develop Boston favorites , Coppa, and . Check out the first time Jamie joined RU back on ! Visit to help save local restaurants. Tell congress to NOW! Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Subscribe to the Join the private Join the...
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743: Rudy Miick on Core Values as Decision-Making Tools
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Repeat guest and friend, Rudy Miick, is joining us to discuss Core Values. Rudy is the founder of , where his clients run 3-5x the industry average. While others have been writing books about the ability to shift business culture, he's been doing this work successfully in real-time… defining, refining, and implementing what has, in recent years, been called Conscious Capitalism, Conscious Leadership, and Trust and Track management techniques. Thirty years and more than 1,600 successful projects later, Rudy's work still builds on purpose and is guided by clearly defined values that...
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742: Keith Sarasin on The Power of Vulnerability
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
At the age of 15, Keith Sarasin started working at a local sub shop washing dishes and making subs. By 2012 he held titles from Sous Chef to Executive Chef, and eventually private chef before founding . concept came about from Keith’s time working with local farms in the New England area. He wanted a way to support local farms while sharing the stories he learned from his time with various farmers. Since 2012, has hosted over 81 farms to table events across New England and fed more than 20,000 customers raising over $140,000 for local farms. In addition to his time in the kitchen,...
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740: Anthony Cruz & Gene Colley on The Pursuit of Perfection
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Gene Colley, a former operator of heavy river equipment, and Anthony Cruz, former fine-dining trained line-cook turned healthcare professional, joined forces in 2016 to tackle food market/event/festival gigs with their pop-up fish taco concept, Gulf Tacos. After making a name for themselves by winning a few local food competitions, the duo saw an opportunity to ride the Nashville Hot Chicken wave in 2018. With this seen opportunity, Southerns Food was created and they've been selling out of sandwiches, daily, ever since. Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Subscribe to...
info_outlineEntrepreneur, 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 here.
To learn more about carbon-neutral operations visit Chef Sammy Monsour's website.
Check out Josh's podcast - Full Comp Podcast
Check out Principles by Ray Dalia as recommended by Josh in this episode.
Check out Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman as recommended by Josh in this episode.
Check out Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins as recommended by Josh in this episode.
Show notes…
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:
- "Success is a mindset, not a feeling."
In today's episode with Josh Kopek we will discuss:
- Gratitude
- Don't be satisfied; be grateful
- Nightclub hospitality
- Understanding your failures AND your success
- Fear in the industry, fear to fail
- Gender inequities in the restaurant industry
- Creating a side-hustle to leverage the cost to open your business
- Passive income - can you leverage it?
- Invest in people, not businesses
- Outward vs. inward growth
- Authentic desperation in trying to make people happy
- Every restaurant you buy is giving you a new job
- Southern food on the west coast
- Damage control in your restaurant when it's needed
- What is equity worth vs. cash flow?
- Strategic quitting: if something isn't working, STOP!
- Ego and vulnerability
Today's sponsor:
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Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- My vulnerability
- What is your biggest weakness?
- My ego
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- "How do you feel about people?"
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- COVID-19, "how can I be more of-service?"
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Attention to detail
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Everybody leaves happy
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't do well enough or do often enough?
- Quit
- Name one service you've hired.
- Social media manager
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
- justcallFLO.com - virtual reservation systems
- 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?
- Focus on your family, they should be your only priority
- Treat others how you want to be treated
- Honesty is the best policy
Contact info:
Instagram: @joshkopel
Josh's podcast - Full Comp Podcast
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Josh Kopel for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!