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816: Ellis Winstanley President of El Arroyo

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Release Date: 08/02/2021

1248: Alec Bauer, Founder of Kitchen, Restaurant & Bar Specialists show art 1248: Alec Bauer, Founder of Kitchen, Restaurant & Bar Specialists

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Alec Bauer joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 2nd, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Alec Bauer is the Principal and Creative Director of (KRBS), a Burlington, Vermont-based foodservice design consultancy. A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, he honed his skills as a chef in renowned kitchens like The Ryland Inn, Auberge du Soleil,...

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1247: Chris Goss, Director of Human Resources at Heirloom Hospitality and Founder of Awakened Hospitality show art 1247: Chris Goss, Director of Human Resources at Heirloom Hospitality and Founder of Awakened Hospitality

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Chris Goss is the Director of Hospitality, Operations, and Human Resources at Heirloom Hospitality in Vermont, where he oversees people, culture, and guest experience across the organization. With more than four years in this role, and over 30 years of restaurant hospitality experience before that, Chris blends strategic HR leadership with hands-on operational expertise to help build engaged teams and memorable hospitality experiences. Passionate about “awakened” hospitality, he focuses on values-driven leadership, staff development, and creating workplaces where people feel seen,...

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1246: Jordan Ware and Cindi Kozak, Co-Owners of Frankie’s show art 1246: Jordan Ware and Cindi Kozak, Co-Owners of Frankie’s

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Jordan Ware and Cindi Kozak are the chef-and-general manager team behind in Burlington, Vermont, a 70-seat, seafood-forward, farm-to-table restaurant in the former Penny Cluse Café space that has quickly become one of the most talked-about new spots in the country. After years working together at Hen of the Wood—Jordan as executive chef and Cindi as general manager and wine buyer—they struck out on their first solo venture, building a warm, “fine but friendly” dining room that bridges casual and special-occasion hospitality while spotlighting New England farms, fisheries, and...

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1245: Eric Scheffer, Founder and CEO of The Scheffer Group show art 1245: Eric Scheffer, Founder and CEO of The Scheffer Group

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Eric Scheffer is the Founder and CEO of , based in Asheville, North Carolina. Eric comes from a family that worked in the entertainment business in NYC and LA and he too joined them in that business at a young age. Eventually, he decided to pivot to restaurateur. Eric opened his first restaurant in Asheville in 2000 and has owned 7 concepts in the city since then. Today, The Scheffer Group consists of 2 Vinnie's neighborhood Italian locations, 1 Jettie Rea's Oyster House location, and 1 Gan Shan Neighborhood Asian location.  Join RULibrary:  Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve...

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1244: Philip Bollhoefer, Vice President of Food and Beverage at Parks Hospitality Group show art 1244: Philip Bollhoefer, Vice President of Food and Beverage at Parks Hospitality Group

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Philip Bollhoefer is the Vice President of Food & Beverage at based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Starting in 2008, Parks Hospitality Group opens, owns, and operates hotels in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. When Philip joined in 2016 they owned 6 hotels and today they own 12.  Join RULibrary:  Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: -  — the leader in automated cooking oil management. Their Total Oil Management solution is an end-to-end closed loop automated...

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1243: Elizabeth Tilton, Founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday and OS BENEFiTS show art 1243: Elizabeth Tilton, Founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday and OS BENEFiTS

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Elizabeth Tilton is the Founder and CEO of and . Based in both New Orleans and NYC and founded in 2019, Oyster Sunday is a hospitality consulting agency for independent F&B businesses. Consider them your thought partner or an extension of your in-house team, whether you're launching a business or currently operating one. The company is currently rolling out their Oyster Sunday HR department. OS BENEFiTS seeks to  help your team get affordable health insurance and wellness benefits built for hospitality companies and organizations. Join RULibrary:  Join RULive: Set Up...

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1242: Leonard Botello, Pit Master and Owner at Truth BBQ show art 1242: Leonard Botello, Pit Master and Owner at Truth BBQ

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Leonard Botello is the owner and Pit Master of , which currently has two locations in Houston and Brenham, TX. Leonard grew up in restaurants with his family and went on to study Biology at A&M. He pivoted to BBQ when he had his first real eye-opening experience with craft BBQ. In 2015 he opened the first Truth BBQ in Brenham, Texas and in 2019 he opened the second location in Houston.  Join RULibrary:  Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: -  — the leader in automated cooking oil...

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1241: Ope Amosu, Chef/Owner/Blok Captain of ChòpnBlọk show art 1241: Ope Amosu, Chef/Owner/Blok Captain of ChòpnBlọk

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Ope Amosu is the chef/owner of located in Houston, Texas. Ope began his career working in oil and gas all over the globe. The son of Nigerian parents, Ope found that no matter where he travelled, it was difficult to get Nigerian food and find the local Nigerian culture. So, in 2017 he decided he should open a West African/Nigerian food restaurant in Houston. He began with private dinners and then held "restaurant takeovers" and in 2018 opened up in a food hall to great success. In 2022, the first standalone ChòpnBlọk opened.  Join RULibrary:  Join RULive: Set Up...

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1240: Neil Chand, Co-Founder of FoodServiceIQ show art 1240: Neil Chand, Co-Founder of FoodServiceIQ

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

FoodServiceIQ is based in Austin, Texas and helps specifically independant restaurants reduce food costs by an average of 5-7% on a 100% performance basis. To use their services, please email Eric at  to get the best deal! Also, we get a commission this way, which greatly helps the mission and the podcast thrive into the future! 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,...

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1239: Willet Feng and Diane Wu Feng, Co-Owners of burger-chan show art 1239: Willet Feng and Diane Wu Feng, Co-Owners of burger-chan

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Willet Feng and Diane Wu Feng are the Co-Owners of , a "mom and pop burger shop" founded in 2016 and located in Houston, Texas. Chef Ryan Stewart of Silver Linings Hospitality recently partnered with them and has taken over the major operations of burger-chan so that Willet can focus on is next concept, the still young .   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,...

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More Episodes

Ellis Winstanley Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest, President of El Arroyo, Ellis Winstanley.

 

Check out episode 641 with Greg Scheinman about restaurant insurance as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach To Building A Great Business by Ari Weinzweig as mentioned in today's episode.

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

Favorite success quote or mantra:

  • "Let's give it hell."

In today's episode with Ellis Winstanley we will discuss:

  • Employee-guided culture
  • Being someone's exit strategy
  • Labor management
  • Costing
  • Reverse engineering a labor plan
  • Menu engineering
  • Business interruption insurance! GET IT!
  • Dealing with employees who steal
  • Flipping restaurants
  • Operating a sign in front of you restaurant
  • Brand awareness
  • Merch best practices
  • Delivering margaritas
  • Building in-house software for your restaurant

Today's sponsor:

7shifts is a modern labor management platform, designed by restaurateurs, for restaurateurs. Effectively labor management is more important than ever to ensure profitability and restaurant success. Trusted by over 400,000 restaurant professionals, 7shifts gives you the tools you need to streamline labor operations, communicate with your team, and retain your talent. Best of all 7shifts integrates with the POS and Payroll systems you already use and trust (like Toast!) turning labor into a competitive advantage for your business. Restaurant Unstoppable members get 3 months, absolutely free.

PlateIQ- the leading AP automation platform in the hospitality industry. Since 2014, Plate IQ has been saving time and money for companies like Cava, Tender Greens, and more. Just upload your invoices into Plate IQ and our proprietary technology will code each line item to your chart of accounts — automatically. For Bill Pay, virtual cards, and end-to-end invoice automation, head to plateiq.com.

At Popmenu, we know that in today’s world, a great hospitality experience usually begins onlineKeeping the conversation with guests going beyond the meal also requires simple, powerful, fun technology capable of expression through all kinds of channels. Our team takes pride in helping restaurants put their best foot forward digitally so they can focus on what they do best. We think PDF menus are super boring, we believe 3rd party platforms have had too much say in how consumers find their next dining experience and we deeply feel that sharing your beautiful menu doesn’t have to be so difficult, time-consuming and expensive. As a listener of the Restaurant Unstoppable, you'll receive $100 off your first month of Popmenu!

Knowledge bombs

  1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
    • Intensity of interest
  2. What is your biggest weakness?
    • Over-commiting, helping people who maybe should be trying to help themselves
  3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
    • Are you a contributor?
  4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
    • Scaling the team
  5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
    • Empathetic, emotional intelligence
  6. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
  7. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
    • Financial literacy, better planing
  8. Name one service you've hired.
  9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
  10. 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?
    • Invest in your team
    • Invest in your family
    • Find a way to set up your life so that you're smiling

Contact info:

EMAIL:

ellis@axialcommerce.com

ellis@elarroyo.com

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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Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.

Huge thanks to Ellis Winstanley for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!