816: Ellis Winstanley President of El Arroyo
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 08/02/2021
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guest will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on August 24th, 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! Kathy Terry co-founded with her husband, Patrick Terry, in 2005, opening the first location in Austin, Texas. Known as the company’s guiding conscience, she helped shape the brand’s mission around quality food, exceptional service, and community-minded...
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Robert Sloop is the CEO of , a consulting firm that helps restaurant operators improve financial performance, operations, and tech stack implementation. With over 30 years in foodservice, he has served as CFO for leading multi‑concept restaurant groups and now advises owners on data‑driven systems and continuous improvement. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - - Private event leads die in inboxes every day. Mia fixes that. She's an AI agent that responds within seconds,...
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Mike Bausch is an industry leader whose restaurant, Andolini's Pizzeria, is a top ten pizzeria in the US, as named by Trip Advisor, BuzzFeed, CNN and USA Today. Andolini's began in 2005 and has grown to five pizzerias, two gelaterias, two food-hall concepts, a food truck, and a fine dining restaurant by 2020. He's a World Pizza Champion, a Guinness Book world record holder, and a writer for Pizza Today, and the author of Unsliced: How to Stay Whole in the Pizzeria Business. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guest will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on July 27th, 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! 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 Grand Prairie High School,...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guests will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on August 10th, 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! Peter and Martha Pollay are the cofounders of Mandara Hospitality Group, the Asheville restaurant group behind Posana and other hospitality-driven concepts. Built around a philosophy of local ingredients, sustainability, and intentional service, their work...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guest will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on August 3rd, 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! Molly Irani is the cofounder and chief culture officer of the James Beard Award-winning Chai Pani Restaurant Group in Asheville, North Carolina. She has helped shape the company’s celebrated hospitality, community-minded culture, and people-first management...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guests will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on July 27th, 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! Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown are the husband-and-wife team behind Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group, one of Charlotte’s most distinctive hospitality groups. After leaving corporate life to travel through Europe, they returned home inspired to open a...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
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! Dan Simons is the co-founder and co-owner of Founding Farmers Restaurant Group, a mission-driven hospitality company built around sustainable food, responsible business practices, and support for American family farmers. Along with his partner Michael Vucurevich, he helped grow Founding Farmers into one of the most recognized restaurant groups in the Washington,...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guests will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on July 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! Chef Mike Cordero is the chef and owner of Cordero Hospitality, bringing more than four decades of experience in the hospitality industry to some of Northern Virginia’s most recognizable restaurants. Known for his creativity, entrepreneurial drive, and...
info_outlineRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guests will join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on July 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! Greg Casten is a veteran restaurateur and co-owner of Fish & Fire Food Group, with more than four decades of experience in the fish and seafood industry. He has helped create, develop, and build standout concepts including Ivy City Smokehouse and Tavern,...
info_outlineWith 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!!!
- Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and get your first 30 days on me! Connect with my past guest and a community of superfans.
- 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:
- "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 online. Keeping 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
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Intensity of interest
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Over-commiting, helping people who maybe should be trying to help themselves
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- Are you a contributor?
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Scaling the team
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Empathetic, emotional intelligence
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Financial literacy, better planing
- Name one service you've hired.
- Bevinco liquor inventory app from Sculpture Hospitality
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
- 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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Huge thanks to Ellis Winstanley for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!


