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745: WORKSHOP Knowing with It's Time to Scale with Chris Schultz

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Release Date: 09/03/2020

1075: Faras Kargar Owner Delbar Restaurant and Bar show art 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 show art 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 show art 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 show art 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,...

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1071: Shuai & Corrie Wang Co-Owners of Super Happy Fun Time Group show art 1071: Shuai & Corrie Wang Co-Owners of Super Happy Fun Time Group

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Corrie and Shuai Wang are the co-owners of Super Happy Fun Time Group which operates and in Charleston, SC. Shuai is a Chinese immigrant who grew up in NYC. There he met Corrie while working in restaurants. Corrie is from upstate NY and is also an author. They moved to Charleston together in 2014 and soon after started a foodtruck and popups to test their culinary concepts. Jackrabbirt Filly opened in 2019 with King BBQ opening in November of 2023.  Favorite success quote/mantra: Shuai: "You have yet to experience your best days." Corrie: "Like attracts like."  In this episode we...

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1070: Bret Oliverio Owner of Sup Dogs show art 1070: Bret Oliverio Owner of Sup Dogs

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Bret Oliverio is the Owner of Sup Dogs, based in Greenville, NC. Bret began his post-school career as a radio broadcaster. His brother started Sup Dogs back in 2008 but tragically passed away a few years later. That's when, in 2012, Bret took over the restaurant and continues to own it today. Now, there are two Sup Dogs locations, plus a distillery and a cocktail bar.  Favorite success quote/mantra: "If you let up, you lose." In this episode we will discuss: Marketing Leaving another industry for restaurants  Get an accountant Profit-first Menu engineering Verticle integration...

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1069: Sother Teague Creative Drunk and Founder of Sother Hospitality show art 1069: Sother Teague Creative Drunk and Founder of Sother Hospitality

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Sother Teague is the "Creative Drunk." He is the Founder of Sother Hospitality, Beverage Director at Amor y Amargo, Cohost of the Speakeasy Podcast, author of "I'm Just Here For The Drinks", and most importantly, a bar tender.  Favorite success quote/mantra: "If you're the smartest guy in the room, you're in the wrong room." In this episode we will discuss: Partnerships Theater of hospitality Lawyers Popups Bars/bartending Today's sponsor: : 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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1068: Kate Holowchik Chef/Owner of Lionheart Confections show art 1068: Kate Holowchik Chef/Owner of Lionheart Confections

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Kate Holowchik is the chef/owner of Lionheart Confections. Kate grew up baking with her family and began baking in corporate kitchens, such as Panera Bread, during college. After going from kitchen to kitchen, from FOH to baking in BOH, she eventually started Lionheart Confections, a baking popup based in New Hampshire, in 2020. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Lead with a kind heart and live unapologetically." In this episode we will discuss: Mentors Popups Toxic kitchens Today's sponsor: : Are you a chef, owner, operator, or manage recipes in professional kitchens? meez is built just for...

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1067: Matt Berry & Vinny and Dante Marino Co-Owners of DeadProof Pizza Co show art 1067: Matt Berry & Vinny and Dante Marino Co-Owners of DeadProof Pizza Co

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Matt Berry, Vinny Marino, and Dante Marino are the Co-Owners of in New Hampshire. DeadProof Pizza Co is a mobile pizza vendor based in Manchester, NH. Chef Matt Berry created the concept and sought Dante and Vinny for help with marketing. They are all now co-owners of the wildely popular concept.  Favorite success quote/mantra: "If you're scared, do it scared." In this episode we will discuss: Pop-ups Marketing Pizza Finding the balance Today's sponsor: : Boost your efficiency and profitability without adding labor costs. MarginEdge is a complete restaurant management software that...

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1066: Irene Li Co-Owner of Mei Mei Dumplings show art 1066: Irene Li Co-Owner of Mei Mei Dumplings

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Irene Li is the co-owner of in Boston, MA. Irene grew up in Boston in a Chinese-American family where food was always paramount. She realized her love for cooking while attending Cornell. She and her brother and sister opened Mei Mei Street Kitchen, a food truck, in 2012. In 2018, Irene bought out her co-owner siblings in order to take full control of the business and take it in a new direction, a direction dedicated to identifying and addressing food injustice. She soon realized that dumplings were the most popular item on the menu, and doubled down on that item. Today she sells dumplings...

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More Episodes

Chris Schultz spent 15 years with the Starbucks management and leadership team before joining MOD Pizza, 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 Voodoo Doughnut 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!!!

Favorite success quote or mantra:

Be authentic.

When You Know You're Ready To Scale: 

  • Business
    • Can you show a conservative growth period over the period: Month over Month: quarter over quarter
    • Don't be fooled by being on Main and Main
      • Location is a factor.
      • Your brand must be great to help manage cannibalization
  • People
    • Do they understand the Mission? 
    • Who are your culture carriers that can help lead and build the stores
    • Pick front line people with whom you'd share a foxhole.
      • have Confidence in leadership
      • Embrace growth and opportunity without fear
  • Culture
    • Must have a solid culture to grow and employees want to grow-- "Growth mentality"
    • Failure is not an option -- not just words on a wall, but a feeling you have
    • "Growing big while staying small" 
  • Infrastructure
    • A realistic view of the brand - Is it actually scalable AND scalable *where* you want to scale?
    • When to hire in for growth VS "stretch" for growth to make it work
      • Failure can occur because of too much overhead or by burning out good employees. 
    • Get utility players; they are vital to infrastructure-- find people who can wear different hats. Then empower them. 
    • CEO's must be able to sacrifice their own opinions and play the role of the visionary.
      • Having leadership you trust to make decisions based on your vision. 
  • Why Growth? 
    • Making money - nothing wrong with wanting to make more money; but, important to recognize the complexities that come with it. 
    • Bringing the brand and experience to a larger consumer base. 
    • Growth is not necessarily an indicator of success
    • Incremental growth
      • One to two is hard
      • Two to five is harder and the hardest
      • Five to 10 is impossible
      • After 10 it gets easier 
  • "Selling" Your Brand
    • It's okay to strategically utilize for growth
    • Why franchising works
    • Brand based companies are different 
      • licensing and Licensees
      • Company Operated. 
  • Are you Ready as a Leader? 

Contact info:

[email protected] 

425-372-6556

Thanks for listening!

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Huge thanks to Chris Schultz for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

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