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618: Chris Simms on Emotional Capital

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Release Date: 05/27/2019

1235: Dan Weinberger, Founder of Weinberger’s Deli show art 1235: Dan Weinberger, Founder of Weinberger’s Deli

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

Dan Weinberger is the Founder of located in Grapevine, Texas. Dan's parents opened and operated 5 deli's in Chicago from 1952 until 2000. Dan worked in his parent's stores growing up and eventually went to culinary school and opened his own deli, Weinberger's Deli, in 2002 in Grapevine, TX. Weinberger's Deli is still going strong today with plans to expand the current location's footprint.  Join RULibrary:  Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Cerboni is an all-in-one financial solution for...

info_outline 1234: Addie and Dustin Teague, Owners of Relish Restaurant and Bar show art 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...

info_outline 1233: David Denis, Chef/Owner of Bistro Mistral show art 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...

info_outline 1232: Brian Reece and Steve Crowley, Co-Founders of Service Physics show art 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,...

info_outline 1231: Dan Carr, CEO and Co-Owner of Visconti’s Hospitality Group show art 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...

info_outline 1230: What you need to know about L.T.O.’s with Anna Neave show art 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...

info_outline 1229: Hannah Selinger, Author of Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly show art 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: ...

info_outline 1228: 7 Phases of Menu Engineering with Sean Willard show art 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...

info_outline 1227: Jason E. Brooks, Keynote Speaker, Author, and Profitability Coach show art 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,...

info_outline 1226: Three Elements that Define Excellence with Rudy Miick, Part 3 show art 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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Los Angeles native and Cornell University Graduate, Chris Simms, is a third generation restauranteur who has built his company Lazy Dog Restaurants on the philosophy of taking care of people first. Today, there are 30 Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar locations across California, Nevada, Colorado, Illinois, and Texas with future growth planned for Georgia, Florida, Virginia and more. The company expects to double within 3-4 years. Each Lazy Dog restaurant employs about 200 people, and the restaurants lead the industry with high volumes and the lowest employee turnover.

Show notes…

Favorite success quote or mantra:

  • "Never settle"

In this episode with Chris Simms, we will discuss:

  • Making people happy with food and what it means to Chris
  • The hospitality gene
  • Going above and beyond
  • Exceeding expectations
  • The definition of hospitality
  • The importance of knowing more than just food and hospitality in your restaurant endeavors
  • Chris's time with PF Chang's
  • The importance of keeping your cool in heated situations
  • Emotional capital
  • Being humble
  • People over numbers
  • The opposite of hospitality
  • Understanding when to scale
  • Profitability
  • Compiling a business plan prior to opening
  • Maintaining culture as you scale and why it's important

Today's sponsor:

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.

 

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.


Knowledge bombs

  1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
    • Emotional intelligence
  2. What is your biggest weakness?
    • Emotional intelligence
  3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
    • Look for givers, natural-born, hospitality-driven people
  4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
    • Building 14 restaurants across the country in the next 15 months
  5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
    • Never settle
  6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
    • Empowerment, empowering our teammates to take care of our guests
  7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
  8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
    • Listen to the guests and listen to your teammates
  9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
    • Wisely - Smarter Front-of-House
  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?
    • Never settle
    • Be humble
    • Empathize

Contact info:

chris@lazydogrestaurants.com

Lazy Dog Restaurants website

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 Chris Simms for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!