619: Zaid Ayoub on Knowing Your Customer's Customer
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 05/30/2019
1218: Sean Finter, Founder of Barmetrix, CEO & Head Coach of Finter Group, Owner of The Franklin House
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Sean Finter is the Founder of Barmetrix, CEO + Head Coach at Finter Group, and Owner of the Franklin House. Sean got his start in the industry at 12 where he grew up in Canada. He worked for the Hard Rock Cafe in England and stayed in that city for 6 years. He then became a restaurant coach and worked in Australia for about 10 years. At 27 he opened his first restaurant. Today, he focuses on restaurant coaching. This is Sean's second time on the show, having previously joined us for episode 1027. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: ...
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1217: Aaron Franklin, Chef, Co-Owner, and Head of Maintenance at Franklin Barbecue
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Aaron Franklin is the Chef, Co-Owner, and Head of Maintenance at in Austin, Texas. Aaron Franklin opened his BBQ joint back in 2009 as a trailer. In 2011, he got his brick and mortar. Today, Aaron dabbles in writing books, leading masterclasses, manufacturing wholesale retail sauces, and he makes BBQ pits! 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...
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1216: Three Pillars to Scale Your Restaurant Group without Losing Control with Christin Marvin
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Christin Marvin is a podcast host, author, and creator of , a consultancy business she founded in 2022. Christin was a Managing Partner at Bonanno Concepts in Denver from 2007-2012. She served as a Regional Manager at Snooze A.M. Eatery in Denver from 2012-2019. She now serves as a Hospitality Catalyst for her restaurant consultancy business, Solutions by Christin. She is also the host of No Hesitation, a restaurant industry podcast, and she currently has two books published: , and Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our...
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1215: Alison Clem, Chef/Owner and Director of Operations at La Barbecue
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Alison Clem is the Chef/Owner of La Barbecue in Austin, TX. Alison got her start in the restaurant industry at age 18 and never left. She began in FOH and quickly moved to BOH where she thrived. Ali has worked almost every position in a restaurant, from bartender to manager and more. She met her wife LaAnn Mueller in the early 2010s and they together took over a food trailer and turned it into La Barbecue in 2012. They got their first brick and mortar in 2017, where they operate today. They also just received a Michelin Star! Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: ...
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1214: Using AI and AI-SEO Marketing with Kelsey Verdier and Claudia Tomina
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today we are doing a deep dive into using AI and AI-SEO marketing as an RUNetwork workshop! We are joined by Co-Host and past guest Anna (Tauzin) Naeve, an independent fractional CMO and the owner of . Our guests today are Kelsey Verdier, VP of Marketing at , as well as Claudia Tomina, CEO and Founder of . 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...
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1213: Avi Goren, Co-Founder and CEO of Marqii
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Avi Goren is the CEO and Co-Founder of . is a digital operations platform for the hospitality industry that simplifies online presence management for restaurants and other food service businesses. It automates updates for online listings, menus, and business information across dozens of major websites and apps like Google and Yelp. Additionally, Marqii provides tools for managing online reviews, tracking customer feedback, and optimizing local search rankings to attract more customers. Avi Goren worked at Yelp for many years before co-founding . Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up...
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1212: The Evolution of AI and Content Marketing with Kelly Mirabella
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Kelly Mirabella is an award-winning digital marketing educator and consultant, and the owner of . She has been in the digital marketing space for 17 years and started her business, , 15 years ago. This workshop covers The Evolution of AI and Content Marketing with expert Kelly Mirabella. Workshops can be found every Thursday in the Restaurant Unstoppable podcast feed or on YouTube. Most have a visual component, so consider watching the video version . Join the RUNetwork to take part in workshops and ask the experts YOUR questions! Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up...
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1211: Patrick Terry, CEO and Co-Founder of P. Terry’s
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Patrick Terry is the CEO and Co-Founder of , based in Austin, TX. Patrick was previously on the show in early 2020 for episode 691. At that time, P. Terry’s had 16 locations in and around Austin. Today there are 36 locations. P. Terry’s is an old school styled burger shack opened originally in 2005. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Marqii helps restaurants manage online listings, menus, and reviews from one platform. It saves time, improves SEO, ensures menu accuracy across...
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1210: Be the Change You Want To See with Jennifer Guptill and Evan Mallett
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jennifer Guptill is the Culinary Program Coordinator at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Evan Mallett is the chef/owner of The Black Trumpet in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Today we will be talking about creating a progressive culinary program within a secondary education institute in the modern world. The culinary program at Great Bay is less than 2 years old at the time of this episode’s publishing. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Marqii helps...
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1209: Jae Kim, Founder and CEO of Chi’Lantro
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jae Kim is the Founder and CEO of , based in Austin, TX. Jae Kim was previously on the show for episode 701 in 2020 when Chi'Lantro was up to 8 locations. Today, after gaining some investment from , the Korean BBQ concept has scaled to 13 locations and entered into the Houston market. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up your RUEvolve 1:1: Subscribe on YouTube: Subscribe to our email newsletter: Today's sponsors: - Thinking about franchising your restaurant? Success doesn’t have to mean 100 units overnight. With the right plan, you can build a profitable, local or...
info_outlineZaid Ayoub has a background in entrepreneurship, angel investing, and start-up growth. Today, he serves as SAJJ Mediterranean's founder & CEO. Currently SAJJ Mediterranean consists of nine brick-and-mortars and two food trucks, with the goal of having 20 corporate-owned locations in the works by end of 2020. SAJJ was recently named one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area by San Francisco Business Times, as well as one of QSR's 40/40, indicating that industry authorities expect the brand to continue along this trajectory.
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- Make people healthier and happier.
In this episode with Zaid Ayoub, we will discuss:
- The similarities between running a tech company and a restaurant
- Consistency and freshness
- People and culture are the most important aspect of your business no matter the industry
- Transparency
- The restaurant industry as a grind and the need for time off
- Marketing
- Keeping the numbers clean and organized
- Customer-focused
- Learning lessons the hard way
- Catering
- Food trucks
- Be proactive, not reactive
- Attracting investors
- Scaling
- Speed bumps in scaling
- Open-concept restaurants
- Brand ambassadors
- The benefits of constant gentle pressure
- How to scale your culture
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?
- Honesty and being a "doer"
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Move to fast, too trusting
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- Personality, humility, friendliness
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Maintaining culture while growing
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Transparency, be open
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Be open and generous
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- War and Peace
- The Discipline of Market Leaders
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't do well enough or often enough?
- Understanding the customer, both needs and behavior
- 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?
- Be transparent
- Focus
- Know its all about people.
Contact info:
SAJJ Mediterranean website
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Zaid Ayoub for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!