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816: Ellis Winstanley President of El Arroyo

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Release Date: 08/02/2021

1263: Eric Reed, Chief Development Officer at Layne’s Chicken Fingers show art 1263: Eric Reed, Chief Development Officer at Layne’s Chicken Fingers

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Eric Reed and Natalie Hurley (also of Layne's) join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 20th, 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! Eric Reed is the Chief Development Officer at Layne’s Chicken Fingers, where he leads the brand’s aggressive growth and real estate strategy as the company scales its footprint across existing and new markets. With more than two...

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1262: Natalie Hurley, VP of Marketing at Layne’s Chicken Fingers show art 1262: Natalie Hurley, VP of Marketing at Layne’s Chicken Fingers

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Natalie Hurley and Eric Reed (also of Layne's) join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 20th, 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! Natalie Hurley is the Vice President of Marketing at Layne’s Chicken Fingers, where she leads brand strategy and growth for the “Soon to be Famous” chicken finger franchise as it expands nationwide. With nearly 20 years of...

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1261: Alex Camp & Cuyler Esposito, VP of Operations Services, VP of Culture Operations at Layne's Chicken Fingers show art 1261: Alex Camp & Cuyler Esposito, VP of Operations Services, VP of Culture Operations at Layne's Chicken Fingers

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Alex Camp and Cuyler Esposito join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 13th, 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! Alex Camp is the vice president of operations services at Layne’s Chicken Fingers, where he serves as the “central nervous system” of the brand’s rapidly growing franchise system. After joining Layne’s in 2024 as senior director of...

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1260: Albert Sanchez, Co-Founder of Beto’s Mexican Restaurant show art 1260: Albert Sanchez, Co-Founder of Beto’s Mexican Restaurant

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Albert Sanchez and Chris Schultz join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 6th, 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! Albert Sanchez is the co‑founder and owner of Beto’s Mexican Restaurant, a family‑owned Mexican restaurant based in Grand Prairie, Texas, that has been serving the community since 1993. A lifelong Grand Prairie resident and graduate of South...

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1259: Chris Schultz, CEO of Velvet Taco show art 1259: Chris Schultz, CEO of Velvet Taco

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Chris Schultz joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 6th, 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! Chris Schultz is the CEO of , a fast-casual taco brand known for its globally inspired, chef-driven tacos and cult-favorite Weekly Taco Feature program. He brings more than 30 years of restaurant leadership experience to the role and is focused on leading Velvet...

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1258: Jo Irizarry, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor at Barbs-B-Q and Thorn & Bred show art 1258: Jo Irizarry, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor at Barbs-B-Q and Thorn & Bred

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Jo Irizarry and Skeeter Miller join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 23rd, 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! Jo Irizarry is an investor and mentor in the modern Texas barbecue scene, best known for backing nationally acclaimed concepts like Barbs-B-Q and butcher shop and restaurant Thorn & Bred. As an early believer in Barbs-B-Q, Jo helped support...

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1257: John Russ, Chef/Owner of Clementine show art 1257: John Russ, Chef/Owner of Clementine

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

John Russ and Kim Beechner join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 30th, 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! Chef John Russ is the chef-owner of , a celebrated neighborhood restaurant in San Antonio known for its seasonally driven menus and warm, family-centered hospitality. A New Orleans native and 2023 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Texas,...

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1256: Kim Beechner, CEO of Embark Marketing show art 1256: Kim Beechner, CEO of Embark Marketing

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Kim Beechner joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 30th, 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! Kim Beechner is the CEO and founder of Embark Marketing, a boutique digital agency specializing in the food and beverage and hospitality industries. Drawing on more than a decade in marketing and many years in the restaurant and bar world, she helps...

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1255: Skeeter Miller, Owner and President of The County Line Bar-B-Q Restaurant Group show art 1255: Skeeter Miller, Owner and President of The County Line Bar-B-Q Restaurant Group

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Skeeter Miller joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 23rd, 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! Don “Skeeter” Miller is the longtime owner and president of The County Line, the iconic Texas barbecue institution he helped launch in Austin in 1975. Starting as the restaurant’s first dishwasher, he worked every job in the house before being invited into...

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1254: Sarah Heard, Chef/Co-Owner of Foreign & Domestic show art 1254: Sarah Heard, Chef/Co-Owner of Foreign & Domestic

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Sarah Heard joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 23rd, 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! Chef Sarah Heard is the co-owner and co-chef of Austin’s acclaimed , where she’s known for boldly flavored, from-scratch cooking and a deep respect for every ingredient. Raised in Conroe, Texas, she learned early from her mother and grandmother to use every part...

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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!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

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!