In The Weeds

In The Weeds #41: Marketing Before You Get Open

It's never too early to start the marketing process for your restaurant. I literally mean to start the process the day you sign the lease. The day you have the keys to the building. The day you can hang up a banner in the window or on the fence or building. Start building a database and the following.

In The Weeds Episode #40: What Spirit is Taking Over the Bar

Is it vodka, is it Bourbon? How about rum or cognac? What's the next big trend in the bar industry? Staying ahead and industry trends is the key to a successful restaurant. I don't mean changing the theme of your restaurant. Just being a bit flexible and understanding the direction of the industry can make or break you. In this episode I will talk about what the next big thing is at the bar.

In The Weeds Episode #39: The Real Problem Facing Restaurants

What is the real problem facing restaurants? Is it food, labor, or something else? Is it multiple items? Well, I have my answer and I'll share it in this episode. It might not be what you think it is!

In The Weeds Episode #38: Why Offers Don’t Work

Restaurant offers can be highly beneficial to drive business into a restaurant. And restaurant offers can also be a detriment to the restaurant business. And a lot of restaurant operators don't want to give anything out for free. Believe me, I don't want to give out free stuff either. In this episode, I'll talk about how to do an offer or promotion the right way in the wrong way. I'll break it down to the acquisition cost and ROI on a promotion.

In the Weeds Episode #37: Beers Away

Meet Tory Nelson. Tory is tearing up the craft beer scene in Colorado. Learn the ins and outs of owning the most draft lines in Colorado!

In the Weeds Episode #36: Building Your Dream Team

Today I have a guest Michel Falcone. We're gonna talk about building your dream team. Well, most companies are complaining that they are short-staffed let's talk about what you can do about it. Michel Falcone owns restaurants in Canada and is expanding very quickly. He is expanding and building amazing teams at each location. He is going to drop some amazing knowledge on team building. Enjoy

In the Weeds Episode #35: Are Freebies Killing Your Business?

Are freebies killing your business? Is it training your guests to only shop with when you have coupon? There are many operators that are dead set against offers. Most operators don't want to discount a single thing. I'll jump into when you shouldn't and when you should in this episode.

In the Weeds Episode #34: Guest Kristjan Kristjansson Talks About Re-Branding

You can't rebrand your restaurant unless you know how to run a restaurant to begin with. Well my guest in this episode, Kristjan Kristjansson, knows how to do both very well! Kristjan is up north in Canada and took his family's decades-old restaurant and totally re-built it. For those of you afraid of change you really need to listen to Kristjan's story. We went a bit longer than normal, but it was so worth it.

In The Weeds Episode #33: Guest Bart Hubbuch from Memphis Seoul

Today's guest is Bart Hubbuch. Bart has a great success story. This is Bart's first go-around in the restaurant industry. Let's find out how he's doing four years in. Bart is the owner of Memphis Seoul in Brooklyn. His fusion concept merges Korean and southern cooking. Bart has some great advice for even seasoned Restaurant owners.

In the Weeds Episode #32: Expense vs Investment

This is a very common mistake that's lots of business owners make, especially restaurant owners. I don't blame them, we are taught to watch expenses. The restaurant industry is a tough industry to make money in. There's always a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to where money is going. However many restaurant operators have it wrong. They are treating an investment as an expense. And when you cut this expense you hurt the guest and future sales. What's the saying, “Pennywise dollar foolish”. Check out my latest episode of In The Weeds it might change your mindset.