829: Andy Pforzheimer Co-Founder of Bartaco and Barcelona Wine Bar
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 09/20/2021
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, co-founder of Bartaco and Barcelona Wine Bar and CEO of Taste Maker Acquisition Corps, and I should mention you hold titles with Wisely, US Foods and Upwards Projects Restaurant Group, Andy Pforzheimer.
Andy is a graduate of Harvard University. After graduating he traveled to France to explore his passion for cooking. He continued is his culinary adventures in the United States throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time he worked for notable chefs including Jeremiah Tower at Stars, Anne Rosenzweig at both Arcadia and the "21" Club and Patrick Healy at Colette.
He thought he had his fill of cooking and went to work as the original food editor for Matha Stweart Living magazine. Turns out, he prefers to work on his feet and before long he was back in kitchens with the catering and consulting businesses he started. It was during this time he met his business partner, Sasa Mahr-Batuz. The two opened the first Barcelona Wine Bar location in 1996 which they scaled to 6 locations. In 2010, Pforzheimer and Mahr-Batuz started Bartaco. In 2012 they took on a partner in Hal Rosser and Rosser Capital, opening even more restaurants. In June 2018, with 32 restaurants in 14 states, they sold Barteca to Del Frisco's Restaurant Group for $325 million.
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.
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- Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
- Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "What you tolerate becomes your standard."
In today's episode with Andy Pforzheimer we will discuss:
- Doing literally whatever it takes to work in the best restaurants when you're starting out
- Prime cost
- Maximizing seating
- Working for Martha Stewart
- Partners
- Failing
- Salvaging waning restaurants
- Usefulness of lawyers
- Negotiating leases
- Reverse engineering from you "Why"
Today's sponsor:
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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?
- Focus
- What is your biggest weakness?
- I can be didactic
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- They have to care deeply about the job
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Staffing
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Look in the mirror and say "is this who I am?"
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- We want the guest to know something personal about their server
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carengie
GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carengie
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- They don't know how to seat a room
- Name one service you've hired.
- TideSmart Insights (formerly Confidential Consumer) for secret shopping
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence 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?
- Kindness is more important than brilliance
- What you tolerate becomes your standard
- Always smell you own armpits
Contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Andy Pforzheimer for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!