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RESTAURANT STRATEGY
Introducing P3 Plus Member, Chris Bradshaw
00:29:44
#554 - Introducing P3 Plus Member, Chris Bradshaw ***** This week's episode is brought to you by: RESTAURANT SCALE SECRETSVISIT: https://restaurantscalesecrets.com/Chip This week's episode is brought to you by: OVATIONVISIT: https://ovationup.com/chip/ ***** The Blue Plate might look normal from the outside... but they are doing extraordinary things below the surface. For the past several decades Chris Bradshaw and his partner, Alan, have been quietly growing this Alabama empire. LEARN MORE: https://www.blueplaterestaurant.com/ ***** If you want to snag a copy of Chip's book, The Restaurant Marketing Mindset... CLICK HERE: https://www.therestaurantmarketingmindset.com/ If you're ready to learn more about the P3 Mastermind... CLICK HERE: https://www.restaurantstrategypodcast.com/p3-mastermind-program If you want a free 30-day trial of our Restaurant Foundations Membership Site... CLICK HERE: https://www.restaurantstrategypodcast.com/Foundations-b If you want to leave a 5-star ...
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- [00:01]
A
So from time to time, I like to bring you interviews with some of our P3 members. On today's episode, you're going to meet Chris Bradshaw, who's one of our P3 plus members. He's got three locations of his brand. It's called the Blue Plate down in Alabama, does a massive amount of revenue out of a very, what looks like a very small operation. Watching his growth over the last year has been incredible. I can't wait for you to hear it in his own words. Don't go anywhere. There's an old saying that goes something like this. You'll only find three kinds of people in the world. Those who see, those who will never see, and those who can see when shown. This is Restaurant Strategy, a podcast with answers for anyone who's looking. Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in.
- [01:00]
B
My name is Chip Close.
- [01:01]
A
I am your host. Right? It's the Restaurant Strategy podcast. We put out two episodes every week. We do operations on Monday, marketing on Thursdays. I run a coaching program. I talk about it all the time. I just want to say it short and sweet.
- [01:13]
B
If you struggle with profitability, meaning you got a busy restaurant but you're still stuck at 5, 6, 7, 8% profits,
- [01:19]
A
I'm here to tell you you deserve 15, 20, 25%. If that sounds crazy, then let's have a conversation about it. I can point to dozens and dozens of testimonials. We've worked with hundreds and hundreds of people over the last five years. If you're ready to make more, get the freedom that you deserve, then I think it's worth a conversation. RestaurantStrategyPodcast.com Schedule grab time on the calendar and let's have a conversation.
- [01:45]
B
Okay, restaurant owners. You want a steady, predictable flow of new customers, right? If that is the case, then you need to check out Restaurant Scale Secrets. They have a fully done for you marketing system that has already already helped tons of restaurants, including more than 50 members of this restaurant strategy community. They work with a ton of my P3 members. I recommend Restaurant Scale Secrets because I know it works. They run meta ads, they run Google Ads, and they have an entire automated system to get people into your orbit and to get them coming in and coming back. The program works. It's why I recommend it not only here, but to all of my P3 members. You get to fill tables and add tens of thousands to top line revenue. So if you're ready to take that whole piece of marketing off your plate and start filling your seats, head to restaurantscale secrets.com chip book a free discovery call. There's no pressure. Get to meet Monica and her team and you'll see what they do and what they have already done for so many people in this community. Again, restaurantscalesecrets.com Chip, as always, you'll find that link in the show notes.
- [02:56]
A
So my guest on today's show is a P3 member. He's become a good friend. I absolutely adore this guy. It's been great getting to watch his business. His name is Chris Bradshaw. He is the co owner of a company called Blue Plate Restaurant. It's a regional group. Three restaurants to date down in southeast Alabama. I had the privilege of visiting what is a massive, massive operation that operates out of these, you know, very ordinary looking buildings. But it's an extraordinary business he's built. I can't wait for you to hear his story and to hear his perspective. Chris, welcome to the show.
- [03:35]
C
Thank you. Glad to be here.
- [03:37]
A
I appreciate you making the time for this because I know you spent a lot of time cutting across the state to three different, to three different locations. I wanted to start right at the beginning and fill everybody and tell people, what is Blue Plate? When did you start Blue Plate? You know, and why Blue Plate? Like, why is that the concept that you launched?
- [04:03]
C
Okay. I started Blue Plate in 2004 here in Dothan, Alabama. I previously owned three other restaurants up in, in central Alabama and sold those. And it's just good southern food. It's what I grew up eating as a child. That's what I was comfortable with and part, part of it. I was just selfish. I didn't want to be in a, in a place to serve alcohol and was open till midnight every night. Wanted some quality of life. So this is the route I chose.
- [04:40]
A
Absolutely. And if anybody's listening, you can go check it out. Blue Plate Alabama, it's two locations in Dothan. There's another one in North Port, so just outside of Tuscaloosa. And you'll see these are small little footprints and massive operations. They really pound the register. And it's, you know, like a, like a southern diner. It's, you know, comfort food. It's seriously good. I can, I can attest to that. And I love what you said because I think you've been really thoughtful. You certainly been in this long enough. And hanging out with you for the week, not too long ago, we were trading war stories. So I love that you didn't want a bar. You didn't want something to be open really late. Quality life, you know, hang out with Your family head home, you know, relax with the wife at night. I think all of that is great. What makes. You're certainly not the only place doing that, Certainly not in Alabama. So what is it that sets you guys apart? What's the differentiator? What, you know, people say, oh, we could go here, we could go there. Why do they pick you guys?
- [05:43]
C
Well, I like to think that. That we personalize everything we do. I think our food quality is really good, and for us, it's just personal. It's not just the chain down the street.
- [05:58]
A
Yep, absolutely. And I love it because it's at a low price point, a relatively low price point. And you're right. The quality is really high. Having, you know, eaten multiple times there at the restaurant. It's really, really good. Not fake good, not putting you on good, but it's really. There are lines out the door almost every single day. Talk to me about the biggest challenges as you've grown this over the last 20 years. What is it? The challenges that you guys have faced and you continue to face?
- [06:31]
C
Just being in the restaurant business in general is a challenge. People. Probably the. The biggest challenge here in the last few years, it's. It's been labor as well as every cost we know has risen, you know, from insurance to go packaging. Every day is a challenge.
- [06:54]
A
I want to dig a little bit deeper in there because obviously you're a member of the P3 mastermind. So we've worked together for a while at this point, and one of the things that I want to come out of this conversation is the work we did because the restaurant industry is hard, and I think if we just accept the status quo or we just accept things for what they are, I think it becomes really easy to do this. Whenever I explain to people about you and your operation, I always love to say I said it many times when I was down there with you. I said you didn't need us. You didn't need to come to the P3 mastermind. I think you were doing just fine on your own. And I don't think there's anything that I taught you. I don't think there's anything that we said, me or any of the other coaches that you didn't already know. You have been doing this a long time. You're a very capable operator. But what it was is I think, the outside eye and the perspective. It's something that I always say, like, what you get from us is, yes, experience and knowledge from me and the other coaches in the program, but you get perspective and objectivity of an outsider coming in because sometimes it's difficult to see the forest for the trees because you're there all the time, every day. So talk to me a little bit about that film, the audience, a little bit about, like, where you guys were and, and some of the work that we did and maybe some of the work that you were resisting doing that. That I made you do.
- [08:19]
C
So. Yeah, so you're. You're exactly right. I mean, we were doing okay, My partner and I. We. We were watching our profits go down just a little bit every year. And probably you were correct in saying that we were resistant to do the work, had not changed the menu in 18 months. But, you know, the flip side of that coin was we've been doing it for over 30 years, and, and we're trying to figure out how to work less and, and deal with the change in society and change in business. So we were just looking for some input.
- [09:02]
A
Yeah, And I think, you know, we talk about profits. I spend a lot of time talking about profit to your point. You know, little by little, insurance goes up and, you know, labor goes up and our packaging and our food goes up and all of that. And so it's easy to sort of what I see a lot and tell me if this happened, but becomes really easy to say, well, okay, you just sort of, like, swallow it. Like, you eat the extra costs. And, And I know with you guys to your point, you're afraid to change the menu. You're afraid to cut down the menu. You're afraid there was some concern about raising the price of the menu because you guys are a value restaurant, right? You provide really great value, you know, really great food at a. At a relatively low price point. And I know there was fear about scaring some people off. And, you know, you're not alone, which is why I want to highlight this, because it's conversations I have all the time, and I hear it a lot, and I think it's a real fear. Like, you're upset, you know, you're. You're. You're afraid to upset the apple cart. You know, if I raise this, you know, if I raise this at all, then, you know, all these people are going to go away. So talk to, you know, explain to the audience a little bit about, you know, sort of what we did to the menu, because I think it's a really good snapshot of sort of what was going on and sort of what you learned from that. I think it might help a lot of listeners. That's the whole point. Of this show is that I think if this story, if your trajectory can help any of the listeners make the changes in their place, then we will have done a good job today. But talk a little bit about that, about the menu, the pricing, the size of the menu, cutting it down, sort of bring people up to speed.
- [10:41]
C
So we had a fairly large menu offering too many items, and we were very resistant to go up on price. Chip asked me to cost out every single thing, which was nothing new, but it had been a while since I'd done it. And what we found was that our costs were really high, and we did everything we do. And it took a couple of weeks of hard work for me to do it. And then we started looking at the size of the menu, what sells, what didn't sell. And I'll be the first to say I was very resistant. My partner, Alan, he was resistant. And what we found was that we were 2.2.50 per menu item cheaper than we needed to be. So it took a leap of faith. And yes, I was very worried about people just not coming back. And we did hear some of that, but ultimately they did come back, and the result was that it was worth all those hard nights of getting that stuff done.
- [12:05]
A
One of the things preview, the end of the story. The end of the story is you're seemingly busier than ever before. You're more successful, more profitable than ever before. Again, still taking care of people, still giving people really great food. The trimming down the menu, just. I always give the example. I give this speech once a week. At this point, there's this famous book. It's called the Agony and the Ecstasy. It's written about Michelangelo and famously Michelangelo, all through the second half of his life after he made the David, everybody would say, it's amazing.
- [12:37]
B
How did you make the David?
- [12:39]
A
And he responded the same way. And he said, it's actually quite simple. And they said, really? What do you mean? This does not look simple? He says, well, I just took away all the stuff that wasn't the David.
- [12:50]
C
There you go.
- [12:51]
A
He just took away all the marble to reveal the David inside. And with you guys especially, because I was really clear that I felt like I understood what blue plate was. I felt like I understood the market. I felt like I understood, like, where you guys fit within that market and what I was trying to do, that, yes, we had to raise prices because eventually, if you're not making money off your food, it's, you know, it's. It's a really hard living to not make a living that we took away things so that the blue plate could be the most blue plate it's ever been. And, and I, and I, I feel like it's there and that we're still making tweaks and changes because, you know, we continue to work together.
- [13:37]
B
Is that fair?
- [13:38]
A
Do we feel like, do you feel like anything was lost or do you feel like it's all just honing in closer and closer to that vision?
- [13:46]
B
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- [14:16]
A
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- [14:18]
B
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- [15:00]
C
No, I feel like we just refined the menu so we didn't change it fundamentally. We just took some things off that really weren't selling and just kind of redesigned. I think I was going to say
- [15:13]
A
because it's hard because you got like couple people every week who get this thing and it's their favorite thing in all of town and they come to you for that thing, and yet they're the only person, they're the only people who get that thing. And so it's hard because you say, because you can know, especially as you get to know your customers, you know exactly who these people are that love this item that's about to land on the cutting room floor, but it still
- [15:41]
B
has to be done.
- [15:42]
C
Well, what we found is that the old adage that the squeaky wheel gets the most attention and those people that buy the two or three items a day or a week, whatever, they make a lot of noise, but they're not in the majority.
- [16:01]
A
Yeah. All right, so tell everybody the advice I gave you for how to increase prices. And then please tell everybody about how you ignored my advice.
- [16:09]
C
All right, so. So Chip. Chip advised us to. To popcorn a few every month, and I considered that. And then ultimately we chose to just do rip the band aid off and do it all at one time. And it was a struggle for. For. For a short period of time, but. But we overcame it.
- [16:35]
A
Yeah. It's just everybody complains all at once instead of, you know, a couple of people each.
- [16:41]
C
That's exactly right. Yeah.
- [16:43]
A
So Chris is exactly right. I call it popcorning prices. And if anyone's listening to this, has never heard me say this. When we have to do a wholesale increase, when we say, wow, like, we're just. It's been forever since we changed the menu, forever since we increased prices, which happens. And maybe you're listening to this and this is inspiring you to make the changes. What I strongly urge you to do is do these changes little by little over, let's say, four or six weeks. So change a couple this week, a couple next week, couple the week after, a couple week after. And I understand that sometimes it's a pain in the butt because you have to reprint and reprint and reprint. And Chris has these beautiful, like, laminated menus. And I think that was part of the calculus. He said, nah, like, we just. We've got to do it all. See, they did it all at once. And so what happens is that when you do it little by little, people who are used to getting the same thing notice that their item got increased, but then they're over it the next week or two, and then somebody else discovers two weeks later that their prices increase. That the trouble is that when you put out the new menu one week, everybody notices all at once, everybody's favorite dish all increased. And so you tend to get a bunch of squeaky wheels all at once. And it can make this mob mentality, but you guys did it because you felt it was important enough to sort of make the change quickly.
- [18:04]
C
Yeah. And we made such a big change, it would. I mean, the whole menu looked different, so people were already going to know that there was change, so we just decided to go ahead and do it.
- [18:16]
A
Yeah. Yeah.
- [18:17]
C
Plus, it's expensive to do that.
- [18:19]
A
Yeah, 100%. It is the other thing that I will say, and this is just sort of advice that's worth putting in there as people are listening. If you're going to do sort of a formatting change, sometimes it's helpful to change the layout and design of the menu. And don't touch any of the items or any of the pricing. So, like, just get wrap people's head around the new formatting and then start taking it off. It's like you don't realize that, like, you make that mistake once. So everybody's free to do whatever they want, but I have found that that's sometimes an easier way of doing it. Talk to. So as you, you know, you've been in the program and now it's, you know, about passing all this down to your team. Talk to me a little bit about your team because I know you've got a great partner in Allen and you've got a team of managers that runs all these different locations. It's such a huge operation. You certainly couldn't do it alone. Talk to me about how you got them on board with, you know, any of the changes that came. Because, you know, you come to a weekly call, you learn some stuff, you go back to them and you say, hey, I got this new idea. We're going to do this. Talk to me about how you got them on board.
- [19:27]
C
Well, it was part of it was hard and part of it was not so hard. Some of the, some of the people, some of my managers already listened to your podcast, so they were familiar. So they're eager to learn. Some, maybe not so much. But I think when we reached a real turning point with their involvement, when we started asking them to be involved in the declining budgets and also into forecasting our sales. And so that really got everyone kind of focused on what we're actually spending and even myself. It's very telling when you're looking at, you could spend, you know, x amount over 30 days. You gotta be pretty thoughtful when you're making those purchases.
- [20:24]
A
It's really easy because there's so many moving parts, right? There's front of house, there's back of house, there's to go. There's food that's brought in, there's beverage that's brought. There's so many areas where we can go over and I think that's the key. That's the hardest part about what we do, is making sure that everybody does their part and does their part in watching the bottom line. I will say so, Chris, this is interesting because I had my first management gig when I was 24. I was way too young for it. You told me you were owner and partner in your first restaurant, you know, the first restaurant you owned when you were 25. Maybe too young for it back then, but you learn, you know, trial by fire. But I didn't have that Sort of mentorship. Early on, I felt like it took a while for me to be empowered by the people above me. It was something that was. That I noticed with all your team is that they were like, they were like, really excited to be, you know, to be in on it, to be part of the team. They're not just, you know, babysitting. They're not just doing what you're telling them to do, but they're a key piece in the execution of, like, a successful business. Is that, is that fair?
- [21:36]
C
Sure it is. I think it's really important to give people the autonomy to make decisions and, and be there to tap them on the back when they do. Right. And, and, and also, you know, bring it to their attention when, when it's not right or maybe it's not the way that you might have done it, but I always look at myself and I'm the guy that kind of keeps everybody between the ditch. As long as I don't really. As long as they stay on the road, I try to let them do it their own way. Because, you know, if you take three managers, we're all going to have a different idea and we just got to get to the. To the end goal.
- [22:17]
A
I love it, Chris. I mean, I love this. We've said this, you know, numerous times, but, you know, you were the kind of owner that I love to work with because deep down you didn't, you didn't need, you know, you didn't need us. I think the restaurant was going great. You've obviously built an incredible operation. People love you. You have loyalty like I have not seen in many, many places. And I know, you know, that that's something really special. And I don't think it's by accident. I think that's a testament to you and Alan and everything you guys have, have built. But you didn't need us. But still you decided to come and join the program. So can you talk a little bit about where you were, what was going on and like, and like, what made you join in the first place?
- [22:58]
C
Yeah, I really did need you. I needed a kick in the butt. I was burned out. I was considering selling. I was just waking up and doing it every day and wasn't very excited about it. And so I think that's what the group has really done to me, just to be able to talk to other people about issues you're going through and just walk that road with other people as opposed to just by yourself, you know, every day.
- [23:33]
A
Yeah. Yeah, it is.
- [23:37]
C
It's tough, you know, it's at the end of the day, Alan and I have been working together for 30 something years on different restaurants, but we really only have each other to the kind of vent to or talk to it, Talk through issues. So it's really good to get other perspectives from other walks of life.
- [24:01]
A
Yeah. 100. And you realize how similar. Different concepts, different markets. I mean, how similar the problems are. You obviously have, you know, you know, problems that are unique to you guys because of your market, because of your concept. But I find that the biggest things translate. Like it's this. It's the same. We're all dealing with the same, you know, with so many of the same issues.
- [24:23]
C
Absolutely. I mean, it. Whether where someone's in the pizza business or fine diner or are doing something similar to what I do, it's all the same.
- [24:32]
A
Yeah, it's definitely. What. What would you say? It's a question I always love to ask of the. The members that I have come on here and talk about their experience a little bit about it. Like, somebody's on the fence thinking, like, do I need help? Is coaching the right way? Is. Is this program P3 the best way? Like, what's the. What's the bit of advice that you give to someone who's like, on the fence?
- [24:58]
C
If you're on the fence, reach out to someone that's a member or this somebody that's done a testimonial. And bottom line, that's. That's what I did. Because you see all kinds of crap on the Internet and you don't know who to trust. But I can tell you this. Once I got into the program, I'd say day 45 to me. I'd already paid for the whole, you know, first. First term that I. That I verbally agreed with ship there. There was no. No question. And now it's definitely paid for tenfold.
- [25:43]
A
I love it. Look at, listen, looking over the numbers and the fruits of all the of your labors, all the hard work that you guys have put in. So whatever recommendations we made, whatever, you know, whatever areas of opportunity we help point out and whatever suggestions you guys actually had to be the ones to go and do it. And so, I mean, I love looking over those numbers and just seeing the place become more and more successful. So it's been a point of pride for sure for me and the other coaches who work directly with you and Alan and your team. Any last words of wisdom? I feel like you're doing so many things right, not that there aren't things you're not Learning and trying to fix and all of that, but I feel like there's so many things you're doing right. Any words of wisdom for anybody listening who feels like they're not doing enough right? What would you say to them?
- [26:32]
C
Well, no matter what your experience level, I would highly recommend that you look into to doing something, whether it's Chip or somebody else. I would highly recommend you joining a group of peers and that alone is worth the time and effort. But their, their program in particular, I've got a lot of confidence in and I feel very comfortable in the community.
- [26:58]
A
I love it. I mean, I obviously feel really passionate about the program that I've been putting together. I've run this company for the last 10 years. But, but I appreciate you saying that. It is not about my program. It is about a program. It is about a community. Even if it's an informal community that you put together, I think it's really, really important. And we say all the time, we get on the phone with people and I said, listen, if you're not sold on the program, we're talking about the program I run, that's fine. Let me give you the names of other people. And there are plenty of people that go with someone else and that's fine. Because what's most important is that people get the guidance that they need. And I have really great colleagues who do similar, you know, who do something similar to me. And so if they jive better with them, it's just, that's really what matters. It all comes out in the wash. And I feel like that just makes the community better and in particular our industry better when everybody's just doing better.
- [27:53]
C
Absolutely love it.
- [27:56]
A
Chris, I appreciate you taking time. I will put the links in there, but where can people go to learn more about you? Blue Plate, all of that. I mean, I'll put the links into the website in there, but any other way they can connect with you through
- [28:07]
C
all of our social platforms. Blue Plate restaurant dot com. Call me on my cell phone.
- [28:14]
A
I love that he, he really, he really does mean that too. We'll put all of those links in the show notes. If anybody, anybody finds himself at an Alabama game, Roll Tide. Right, Chris? If anybody finds himself down there, it's 10, it's, it's 10 minutes over the bridge. As long as it's not a game day, it's definitely worth checking out. And if you find yourself further down south, Dothan is there. Chris, I appreciate you taking the time, buddy. Thank you so much.
- [28:40]
C
Absolutely enjoyed it. Thank you.
- [28:58]
A
Sam. Sa.