616: Dan Simpson on Connectivity Through Food
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 05/20/2019
1234: Addie and Dustin Teague, Owners of Relish Restaurant and Bar
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Addie and Dustin Teague are the owners of located in Houston, TX. The pair are married and are both from Houston originally. Dustin worked in restaurants in Las Vegas and New York before returning to Houston. Addie attended culinary school and worked in places as revered as Eleven Madison Park in NYC, and also returned to Houston. In 2011, Addie opened Relish as a market and hired Dustin as her chef. The market version of Relish closed in 2015 and was reopened in 2016 as Relish Restaurant and Bar. In 2024, the second location opened. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up...
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1233: David Denis, Chef/Owner of Bistro Mistral
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef David Denis was born and raised in France with a grandmother and mother who both owned restaurants and cafes. David became a chef and ended up in Houston for a private chef gig and stayed. He opened his first restaurant in Houston in 2001, then opened his second restaurant 7 years later. He later became a consultant and finally in 2020 he bought with his partners. This year he became the sole owner of the restaurant and will rename it Bistro Mistral. He plans to open at least 4 more restaurants in Houston. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on...
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1232: Brian Reece and Steve Crowley, Co-Founders of Service Physics
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Brian Reece and Steve Crowley are the co-founders of . Service Physics is a multi-unit restaurant service consultant company based in NYC. The company was organically recommended by Haven Hot Chicken for franchising. Brian and Steve are hosting a live on December 9th, 2025. Go to to get a link to join that conversation! 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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1231: Dan Carr, CEO and Co-Owner of Visconti’s Hospitality Group
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Dan Carr is the Co-Owner of . The original Visconti’s was opened in 1985 in Wenatchee, WA. Dan moved to Wenatchee from the midwest in 1991 and started working in Visconti’s in 1993 after meeting the President and Owner, Candy Mecham. Dan and candy then opened a second Visconti’s in Leavenworth, WA and since then they have opened 6 concepts across 9 locations in Washington. 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...
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1230: What you need to know about L.T.O.’s with Anna Neave
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
This is a LIVE event all about Limited Time Offers (L.T.O.'s) and how to best utilize them in your business, as presented by Anna Neave. Anna is the owner of and in Austin, Texas! 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, prep, and scale recipes like never before. Plus, engineer your menu in real-time and get accurate food costs. Sign up for free today and get 2 FREE...
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1229: Hannah Selinger, Author of Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
is a James Beard-nominated lifestyle writer and journalist based in Massachusetts. Hannah attended the French Culinary Institute and started working in the restaurants around 2002 in NYC. She worked for some very big names, such as David Chang. In addition to promoting her new book, a memoir titled , she is also promoting restaurant workers' rights in the modern age. Hannah asked that you use to purchase her book. Come hang with Hannah and me on 10/20/25 at 11 AM EST: https://zoom.us/j/6508205412 Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: ...
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1228: 7 Phases of Menu Engineering with Sean Willard
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Sean Willard has two decades of hospitality experience. He started in the business in his teens in a steakhouse and quickly moved through nearly all positions (FOH and BOH) until he landed at menu engineering. He then attended Cornell University's School of hotel Administration where he was taught by Stephani Robson (past guest many times over!). You can find Sean these days at https://www.menuengineers.com/ 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...
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1227: Jason E. Brooks, Keynote Speaker, Author, and Profitability Coach
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
is many things, including: keynote speaker, author, profitability coach, and podcast host. In the past, Jason has worked for so many impressive companies in the hospitality industry. Some of his roles include: Managing Partner at Ruby Tuesday, Director of Operations at LIME Fresh Mexican Grill, Franchise Business Consultant at Moe’s Southwest Grill, Franchise Operations Coach at The Wendy’s Company, and Strategic Leadership Facilitator at Runza Restaurants, among many others. Currently he is the Founder of Coach Up and Founder & Creator of CoachNext.AI. He is based in Charlotte,...
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1226: Three Elements that Define Excellence with Rudy Miick, Part 3
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Rudy’s an executive coach, psychologist, restaurateur, writer, speaker, athlete and dad. His clients typically run at 3 – 5 times above median profit within our industry, and they get there within contract periods. He is a co-founder and curriculum creator for UCLA Extension’s Hospitality Management Program and was an adjunct professor there for 13 years. Rudy is a Certified Management Consultant, CMC®. This certification is only given after meeting the highest global standards and ethical canons of the profession. Less than 1% of all consultants have achieved this level of excellence....
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1225: Erik Niel, Chef/Owner of Easy Bistro & Bar, Main Street Meats, and Little Coyote
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Erik Niel is the Chef/Owner of , , and , all located in Chattanooga, TN. This in Erik's second time on the show, previously joining us all the way back in 2015. Erik grew up in Louisiana, Virginia, and Texas, before finally settling in Chattanooga after attending Johnson & Wales. In 2005, he opened before, 15 years later, moving it to a smaller location a few blocks away. In just the past few years, Erik and his partners have opened 2 additional concepts, and Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: ...
info_outlineDan Simpson has been spearheading innovation and business development for startups, for-profit, and non-profit organizations for the past 20 years. Prior to joining Taziki's Family, Simpson was the founder and CEO of ToGoTechnologies. Simpson would go on to serve as a Taziki's franchisee and managing partner at Fresh Hospitality. Simpson became the CEO of Taziki's Mediterranean Café in 2018 and previously Simpson served as the restaurant's chief innovation officer.
We had Kieth Richards, founder of Taziki's, on the show (episode 511) so please reference that discussion for the come-up story and the core values of that organization.
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
"Whatever business you're in, you're in the people business."
In this episode with Dan Simpson, we discuss:
- Becoming a person of value
- Restaurant technology
- The value of curiosity
- The importance of listening to people
- Learning from working for a non-profit
- The Art Of The Pivot
- Be able to shift at any moment/embrace change
- There is no ONE WAY to achieve goals/try different approaches/adapt
- Working for brand that you care about
- Understanding the "why" before changing direction
- Cash calls and when you need them
- The benefits of transformative relationships with your staff
- Refreshing your brand
- The importance of clarity
- Don't take short cuts
- Dealing with conflict properly
- Courage through selflessness
Today's sponsor:
BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more.
Revel Systems integrates front of house and back of house operations into a single dashboard. Designed to increase security, stability, ease of use, and speed of service, Revel’s streamlined ecosystem provides businesses with the right tools to grow. Learn more at revelsystems.com/unstoppable.
Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Positive energy
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Setting pace
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- What is your personal driving purpose? What percentage of that can be applied to your work?
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Finding enough great people for our team
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Clarity is bigger and more important than hyperbole
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Celebrating the ingredients, celebrating the farmers
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Conscious Capitalism
- The Advantage
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Prioritizing off-presence guests over on-presence guests
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant 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?
- We are all in the people business
- Celebrate farmers
- Celebrate success stories
Contact info:
For franchising: growwithtazikis.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 Dan Simpson for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!