819: Clay Dover President, CEO, taco maker at Velvet Taco
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 08/16/2021
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...
info_outline 1068: Kate Holowchik Chef/Owner of Lionheart ConfectionsRestaurant 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...
info_outline 1067: Matt Berry & Vinny and Dante Marino Co-Owners of DeadProof Pizza CoRestaurant 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...
info_outline 1066: Irene Li Co-Owner of Mei Mei DumplingsRestaurant 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...
info_outline 1065: Peter Minich CEO of Fresh City KitchenRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Peter Minich is the Owner/CEO of based in Boston, MA. Peter got his start in the industry at the age of 16 and eventually made his way to Vail, CO to ski and work in kitchens after school. He worked in restaurants there and soon found himself at the Culinary Institute of America. He worked in many fine establishments all over the country until he became the VP at Fresh City in 2010. He bought the company in 2014 and has been the CEO ever since. Today, Fresh City Kitchen is primarily an office catering company. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Mise en place." In this episode we will...
info_outline 1064: Edison Yee Principle Partner at Bean Restaurant GroupRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Edison Yee is the President/Partner of headquartered in Springfield, MA. Edison Yee's father opened a restaurant in Massachusetts 5 decades ago which operated until 2018. Edison started working in his dad's restaurant at the age of 10, back in the 1970s. In 1990, Edison took over the family business and today serves as President. In 2002, the family opened their second concept, and another followed in 2006. Today, Bean restaurant Group operates 16 restaurants. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Mise en place." In this episode we will discuss: Family business Putting on a show, an...
info_outline 1063: Dan Haggerty Co-Owner of Industry East and StashboxRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Dan Haggerty is the co-owner of and in Manchester, New Hampshire. Dan got his start in the industry as a dishwasher in an upscale Italian restaurant in Massachusetts. He moved up to prep cook and hated it. He asked if he could be put on FOH and that's when he fell in love with the restaurant industry. After taking many jobs both in the industry and outside of it, he eventually started a "traveling mixology" business which turned into a brick and mortar restaurant (Industry East) in 2020. Stashbox opened soon after that. The future is bright for this NH restaurateur! Favorite success...
info_outline 1062: Justin Alpert Restaurant Architect at 42 ArchitectureRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Justin Alpert is the owner of based in Boston, MA. Justin grew up just outside Boston and enjoyed going to restaurants as a kid with his family. He became an architect after school and designed spaces in the realms of medical and residential. He soon realized he did not enjoy the cut-throat, profit-driven mindset of the firms he worked for and decided to start his own firm focusing only on restaurants. 42 Architecture opened in 2020 and is growing today. Favorite success quote/mantra: "Support those that support others." In this episode we will discuss: The essential SEVEN things to...
info_outline 1061: Eric Cacciatore on What's Next for Restaurant Unstoppable!Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Eric Cacciatore, Founder and Host of Restaurant Unstoppable is joined by Jared Parisi, RU's editor, and Callen Meola, RU's Community Manager, to discuss the future of Restaurant Unstoppable and share some very exciting announcements! Join the NEW ! Show notes… Favorite success quote/mantra: Eric: "Ain't nothing to it but to do it." Callen: "Do the next right thing." Jared: "Darkness is difficult and pathfinders are few." In this episode we will discuss: The very exciting future of RU! Today's sponsor: : Are you a chef, owner, operator, or manage recipes in professional kitchens? meez is...
info_outline 1060: David Lombardo President & CEO at Lombardo's Hospitality GroupRestaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
David Lombardo is co-owner, CEO, and president of . David is a fourth generation owner of the Lombardo's brand of restaurants and event spaces. His grandfather, Sal, turned the old Lombardo's into a supermarket and event space. Today, Lombardo's consists of several concepts, including catering, nightclubs, event spaces, restaurants, and wholesale. Before joining the family business officially, David attended UVM and worked at and became the Assistant General Manager at Legal Seafoods. Check out as mentioned in today's episode! Check out from Predictive Index as mentioned in today's episode!...
info_outlineWith excitement, allow me to introduce to you today's guest: CEO, President, and taco maker at Velvet Taco, Clay Dover.
Joining Velvet Taco as president in early 2017 Clay Dover has helped scale the brand from four restaurants to 29 locations by the time of this episode aired. Graduate of Brigham Young University where he studied Sales and Marketing, Dover got straight to work leveraging his degree in Chili's Corporate Offices. He'd continue to focus on marketing working with Houlihans, and Apex Restaurant Group before cutting his teeth as CEO while with Metromedia Restaurant Group. After 10 months of CEO, he put his marketing hat back on and went to work with Raising Canes then Pei Wei as Chief Marketing/President.
Check out episode 690 with Chris Schultz as mentioned in today's episode.
Check out this RUNetwork workshop with Chris Schultz about knowing when it's time to scale!
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:
- "The harder I work, the luckier I get."
In today's episode with Clay Dover we will discuss:
- Working for Chili's when it was at its height
- Heading up a marketing campaign with Chili's
- The importance of ops feedback
- P and L's
- "Volunteer for everything."
- Franchising models
- Sharing the numbers with your team
- Growing and scaling during 2020-2021
Today's sponsor:
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!
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.
Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Hard work
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Hard work
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- Desire
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- People AND purchasing
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Be relentless
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Kick ass and take names. We pride ourselves on winning.
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Oh, The Places You'll Go!
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Visit the restaurants, work a shift, talk to customers
- Name one service you've hired
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
- KDS with Toast
- 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?
- Being a father and a husband is the most important
- Creating a phenomenal company that empowers others
- Creating companies that improve the community
Contact info:
Instagram: @velvettaco
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Clay Dover for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!