← Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Loading summary
Transcript616 lines
- [00:00]
A
What up unstoppables? 30 seconds, real quick. Just to share two things.
- [00:03]
B
First and foremost, huge thank you.
- [00:05]
A
I am living my dream right now and I have purpose. And that is the greatest thing that anybody can achieve, is to have purpose. Serving you. Knowing that my work is changing lives.
- [00:15]
B
That gives me a tremendous amount of purpose.
- [00:17]
A
And I just cannot say thank you enough. Secondly, we're just getting started. If you have been finding value in this podcast, we need your help. And the best way you can support this podcast again is by subscribing on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube. The more people who subscribe, the more.
- [00:31]
B
Downloads we get share this thing. The more people listening, the more leverage we have to get even better guests on the show. And I want to serve you.
- [00:38]
A
So let us know who you want to hear from, who's doing amazing things.
- [00:42]
B
Put them on our radar, we'll get.
- [00:43]
A
Them on the show. Thank you so much.
- [00:45]
C
It is so important. If you open a restaurant, let's listen. And I'm going to say it very clearly. If anyone will open a restaurant and want the best help, my eyes closed. I go to Sherbonne because they know restaurant, they know the industry, they it's not just the number. Yes, it's strategy, yes it's number. But this is not what it's just about. Is about understanding what you need, putting you into the right direction, but also sourcing the right people for you. Always so important. And that's what they're extremely good at. And that's why I love them so much. I will be not here today.
- [01:28]
B
Welcome to restaurant unstoppable. For 10 years and over 1000 episodes I've been traveling the country chasing word of mouth leads and having in person only long form discussions with the industry's finest owners and operators. Our mission is to inspire, empower and transform the restaurant industry by bridging the gap between this generation's leaders and the next. Listen to today's guest and so many others and get one step closer to becoming unstoppable. This episode is made possible by Sir Bony your all in one bookkeeping and financial solution. We're talking about reliable tax preparation, business incorporation, seamless payroll and compliance reports, strategic CFO services that drive business growth, detailed custom reporting for complete financial clarity, dedicated support for restaurants and multi location businesses. Did I mention bookkeeping late? Serboni handled the number so you can focus on the vision. Call Sir Bony today at 281-888-2413 to schedule your free 30 minute consultation and discover how siboney can streamline your operations and boost your bottom line Limited time Offer an exclusive to restaurant stoppable listeners. Mention this Message and get 20% off your first month of services. This episode is made possible by US Foods and one of the pillars of the US Foods We Help you make it promise is more than tools which provides resources designed to make running your food service operation easier and more efficient. From the all in one food service app Moxie which goes beyond order placement to help manage every part of your operation 247 to the digital solutions like check business tools and vitals, US Foods delivers smart time saving tools built to simplify operations and support your success. To learn more visit www.usfoods.com.
- [03:32]
A
Expect more restaurant Owners what if I told you there is a way to.
- [03:35]
B
Lower your prime cost by a thousand dollars and get paid a thousand dollars on top of that? If it sounds too good to be true, it's not. Restaurant Systems Pro is offering that deal right now to 10 of my lucky listeners. Listen closely. Join the Restaurant Systems Pro 30 Day Prime Cost Challenge and if you successfully improve your prime cost by $1,000 or more compared to the same 30 days the year prior, they will pay you $1,000. Find the link in titled Restaurant Systems Pro 30 Day Prime Cost Challenge. Click that link and get signed up. Today only 10 people are going to get approved into this program.
- [04:14]
A
Get on it with excitement. Allow me to introduce to you today's guest chef, owner of 555Bistro, chef David Dennis. My man. David, are you feeling unstoppable today?
- [04:25]
C
I am unstoppable, yes.
- [04:28]
A
I'm stoked to be here and I know you were just telling me you have more projects in the work too. So I want to pay homage to that. Tell us real quick what else you got going on.
- [04:35]
C
So as you said earlier we our own Bistro 555 is on Memorial and we are super excited. We opening a new location on Bel Air Boulevard and Bisonet and it's going to be Bistro Mistral. Mistral is a name of south of France wind.
- [04:52]
A
Okay.
- [04:53]
C
And very laid back restaurant. And we also own a catering company as well. Okay.
- [04:58]
A
And the name of the catering company.
- [05:00]
C
Is the Denny's brother.
- [05:02]
A
Got it. Say the name of the new restaurant one more time. I want to make sure I say it right when we're talking about it.
- [05:07]
C
So it's going to be Bistro.
- [05:09]
A
Yeah.
- [05:09]
C
Mistral M I S T R A.
- [05:12]
A
L. I almost got it right. I missed the R. So real quick big picture. So our listeners kind of understand who we're talking to Bistro 555. How would you classify that restaurant?
- [05:26]
C
So this is like a super laid back restaurant. Is casual.
- [05:31]
A
Casual, full service, Full services.
- [05:33]
C
We have wine, we're selling wine.
- [05:35]
A
Like full bar too?
- [05:36]
C
No, no, only, Only wine and beer. Very casual. Our focus is trying to be on nice neighborhood, be very friendly and focus. Flavor. Flavor and flavor and authenticity of dishes. How many seats the bistro? 555. I would say about including the Pavio, 45 to 50.
- [06:01]
A
Okay, and where are you hitting with your prime cost right now?
- [06:05]
C
Prime cost? I would say 15.
- [06:09]
A
15? Yeah, no, 5, 0 or your, your primary, like your cost of goods and labor?
- [06:15]
C
Oh, okay. So I mean food cost wise, I mean, probably like around 32 to 33%.
- [06:23]
A
Got it.
- [06:23]
C
Labor. It depends how busy the restaurant is. And it's a hard challenge. You constantly have to adjust it. But I will say, like I'm seeing around, like, you know, on a good week, you will be at 29. On every week you will be at 36.
- [06:37]
A
So you're floating around between 50 and 60 in your prime cost, basically. And you're doing a 15 profit margin.
- [06:43]
C
Basically on a good year.
- [06:45]
A
Yeah. In casual dining, full service, which is a hard number to hit right now in that sector. It's. It's not easy with 50 seats, right?
- [06:54]
C
Yes. So that's the concept also, you know, I strongly believe that small restaurant do better is a great feel. You know, on a Friday night, we're turning the restaurant three times. Oh, wow. You know, so we. So that's what is good about and give you this like, nice warm atmosphere. That's part of our concept as well. Yeah.
- [07:15]
A
There was a period, I believe, in the world of restaurants where they believe bigger was better. You know, if you can get 200, 300 seats, I mean, at the end of the day, you're going through these motions. You might as well just do it at scale and make more money. But in this economy, what happens when you have 300 seat restaurant and only a quarter of those seats are full?
- [07:32]
C
You will have no idea. I mean, seriously, the point. What is the point? To have a restaurant, it's like, yes, you're gonna have like 300 seats. You're gonna do like maybe 10 million. But what is left is what is important. And so I realized over all this year that when you have a smaller operation, you can control it better and your costs are way low.
- [07:56]
A
I think you're happier too, definitely, if you were people to manage. We, we are, we have a fixed number of relationships. We can manage. And it's not a big number, you know, and. And it's the people that are closest to us with maybe 15 really solid relationships. 50 relationships, if you're really good at relationship management. So the bigger your restaurant is, the more relationships you have to manage. It's not easy.
- [08:20]
C
Yeah, exactly.
- [08:21]
A
Okay, so we have an idea of the restaurants. Is your new restaurant Bistro Mistral, is that going to be similar, so.
- [08:28]
C
Exactly similar. The menu will be the same, the chef is the same, of course. And so I strongly believe on that. So what we create, we start Bistro 555, five years ago. And so we pick the most popular French dish that American people love. And. And so that's what we're doing. So it's comfortable, it's flavorful, it is reasonably priced. Got it. And we're doing the same thing in Bistro Mistral in Bel Air.
- [08:58]
A
Love it. All right. We've learned a lot about you. I haven't even had you share your success quarter mantra. So before we dive into who you are and how you got to where you are today, let's get that motivational, inspirational ball rolling with a success quarter mantra. What do you got for us? A success quote or mantra like six.
- [09:15]
C
I will say on the restaurant industry. I will say it first. Consistency.
- [09:20]
A
Consistency. Why is that so important?
- [09:22]
C
Oh, because, you know, to me is important. I mean, consistent. I'm sure you hear many times someone go to a restaurant and it was great on Tuesday. They go in the next week, and he's like, oh, my gosh, it tastes different. What's going on. So consistency on the food. Consistency on the relation that you have with your customer. Consistency of respecting your staff because you are nothing without them, you know, and so. And that's what we strong are. So when I say consistency. Food, staff, customer. And what are your two best friends in a restaurant? Food cost and labor cost. Yeah, I mean, you can, you know.
- [10:02]
B
So how do you stay consistent?
- [10:04]
C
Consistent? Well, again, it is to one first, to be consistent, you have to love what you do. And I strongly believe restaurant industry is not a job. It is. Is more like a vocation. I mean, you really have to love it. If you don't love food. If you do not love, you will never make it. I think that's very important. And also, so to be consistent, you have to love it, but also you have to surround yourself with good stuff. And we're going to talk about that. You have to respect them, you have to make them feel special. And if your staff is happy, it's going to reflect to your customers. So being consistent with your staff is so important because that will be the reflection of how you want your restaurant to be running. And also, of course, I mean, consistent on the other thing numbers. That's why we here today s, you know, being around and managed by this great company, you know, help you to be consistent. Yeah.
- [11:06]
A
And so stoked to be just to be lucky enough to discover Sir Bony. They are introducing me to some amazing folks here in Houston and Texas this week. So we're going to dive deeper into how they've helped you as well. You said love is important to. In order to stay consistent. Why or what is it that you love the restaurant?
- [11:29]
C
So I'm a Restaurateur for over 28 years in, in Houston. I mean I grew up on, on restaurant. My mom had a restaurant before. But love, I mean, same love of the food, love of the people, love of the industry. It's like being a good chef on this industry is not good enough. And so first it is the love of the food, but then also the love of your patron.
- [11:54]
A
Yeah, yeah, of course. I love that. I think when I hear that it's, you know, we, we need to be seen as human beings is very important. When you have something that you love and you're good at it and you're seen for it and valued for it, that is so important to us. But additionally, just this idea of it's not enough to be seen. I think you really have to like self actualize, like that combination of being seen in the relationship that forms out of that, that, that value that people have for you. Like that is like what that, that, that's the glue. That's, that's what keeps us happy. It's that, that entanglement.
- [12:33]
C
I agree with you. And it's so much easier. I mean, that's what I told my children, you know, the first year in college, the other one is about to go on college next year as a senior. And I said, look, they don't know what they're going to do in life yet. I mean, my oldest one, but my young one doesn't. And I'm like, look, my son, what is the most important is for you to find something that you love. Yeah. And that's what I'm going back to, that if you love something, you will be better at it. You will not be feeling like, oh my gosh, I have to go to work. Like in restaurant industry is difficult as you know, but if you love it, you approach it differently. You cannot Be perfect. You will make mistake every day. But the most important is to keep your mojo going.
- [13:13]
A
Yes. You got to keep that, that fire burning, man.
- [13:15]
C
Sure, man.
- [13:16]
A
So where does it make sense to start sharing your story? Because I look at your background, man. We have a lot to unpack it. Because your story goes all the way back to 1993 is the thing that the, the in terms of like what LinkedIn has to say, but I'm sure it goes back even further than that. So you started as a chef in France.
- [13:34]
C
Yeah. So I'm sure you pick up my French accent.
- [13:36]
A
I didn't notice it.
- [13:37]
C
I am no at it, man. What you see is what you get.
- [13:41]
A
So did you like, was your family in restaurants? Parents owned restaurants.
- [13:47]
C
Going back to the mom of my mom, my grandmother, they had like a. We call that like a little routier. So at the time it was this little bistro close from like National Road. And so people will drive and stop and have like a three course meal, lunch and diner. So my grandmother stopped that. And also she was into a bar business in south of France. So my mom grew up with the industry, small restaurant and bar. And then my mom also had a little bistro later on. And. And so that's pretty much it. I grew up into the restaurant industry. They all told me to stay out of it.
- [14:25]
A
I can relate.
- [14:26]
C
Right? Yeah, I know you can. Yeah. And you're like, yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna do that. I'm not. But. But then we go back to that. Love. Love of the food. I love food. So, yes, I went to Canary Institute. Yes. On that. But the first love of food was to be on Saturday and Sunday with my grandma on the kitchen table cooking and making great dishes. And most important, seeing the face of people when they enjoy the food.
- [14:54]
A
Instant gratitude.
- [14:54]
C
And that's what I mean by love. And that's the key of love of food. You know, it's like pleasing people.
- [15:00]
A
So when you were young, working, or I'm assuming you were working in the family businesses, like usually we put our kids to work in the restaurants. Did you know you wanted to open and do. Did you want to be a chef or did you want to be a restaurateur?
- [15:13]
C
So first I wanted to be a chef.
- [15:15]
A
Okay.
- [15:15]
C
And. And so, you know, working on the short cycle in France, where you like two weeks in France. Two weeks, I'm sorry, two weeks in school and two weeks into a restaurant and I get lucky enough to work with great chef in south of France. So I wanted to be a chef. And so I was a chef. I mean, it took, you know, five years to become what I wanted to be. Having all my diploma and. And then start working around Europe a little bit.
- [15:46]
A
So was that 93 when you became a chef? So you started five years prior to that in 88.
- [15:51]
C
Yeah.
- [15:52]
A
So that was when you started your training. Was it an apprenticeship?
- [15:54]
C
Yes. With Internet. Like two weeks at work, two weeks in school.
- [15:58]
A
Okay.
- [15:59]
C
And, you know, his funny. You said you became a chef to me. It's not because you graduated that you are a chef.
- [16:07]
A
Thank you for pointing that out.
- [16:08]
C
Let me tell you. I mean, like, I see it every day. You know, how many people want to be on a kitchen and they just graduated right here. Sometimes some school in one year.
- [16:18]
A
Yes. Chefhood isn't a degree. It's a life of experience.
- [16:22]
C
It is. Yeah. It really is. So I still learn every day. I make mistake every day cooking, but like all the y'. All. And I think traveling be around people. I mean, that will give you.
- [16:35]
A
Right. And chef. Being a chef isn't just about the food. It's about the. The. The being the leader of a kitchen, a big world.
- [16:43]
C
Being a leader. Yeah. Like, you want your people to feel good, you have to lead them. Right. You have to. Let me tell you, I'm an executive chef owner. But what I am first, I'm a chef, and I don't place myself in a restaurant. I just like, I'm a. I'm your boss. No, I'm your chef. Does that mean. I know that is a hard job. I know his long hour and to go back on consistency. To me right now, what is very important is to build kitchen that they are very friendly, easy to use, good for my staff. I want them to feel comfortable. You know, I'm sure you heard many times you go into the kitchen and it's like so hot.
- [17:23]
A
Yeah.
- [17:23]
C
And it's like, it's uncomfortable, affordable. So I am really into, like designing kitchen. Make the kitchen the best as we can for people to be happy. Yeah. I don't believe on overtime. I don't believe on. On many things. Like, you know, it's a style of life, but you can manage and be better at.
- [17:40]
A
So when you say you don't believe in overtime, you don't want your. Your team working overtime.
- [17:43]
C
No, I don't. I mean, and it's not just for not paying overtime, as we know is 1.5 more by hour or that will kill you. And we're gonna.
- [17:50]
A
Exactly.
- [17:51]
C
When we go back into that. But it's more about like day life. It's about like, I mean, if you're happy, you're going to come back every day to work and you're going to be happy if you have a good leader, a good chef. And so that's what is very important. And I think for me, what helped me to be consistent with my team is they know that first who I am, I'm a chef to them and then I own the restaurant. But I know when they have a hard night, I know that it's difficult. So not other times. I really strongly believe on two day off a week, five day to work and to antimage this day, around seven to eight hours. Yeah.
- [18:28]
A
I had a conversation with the chef in Pittsburgh, a chef owner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he said, we do not let people work overtime. It is not allowed. And I think what happens when you draw that fine line in the sand, People become much more productive because they're given a finite amount of time to get the job done. And you think about, you know, how efficient we are in the restaurant industry. I mean, we work hard, but like, if you give somebody a limited amount of resources to get a job done, they, they have to get it done. So they end up becoming far more productive. And I think if you, but if you, if you keep it open ended and you don't draw those hard lines, there's no sense of urgency to get it done, then it will take longer to get done. It's human nature.
- [19:15]
C
Completely agree with you. Yeah.
- [19:17]
A
So I could sit here and talk about your, your chefhood and coming up and your passion and love for food, but this is a restaurant business podcast and I really want to get to the point where you start thinking to yourself, I want to own a restaurant. And when did you start living intentionally to make that happen? When was that for you? Because I see it was. You spent up until 2001. That's when you came to the States. You hadn't owned restaurants prior to that?
- [19:44]
C
No, I did. You want to hear a little bit about that before the restaurant? So I came to Houston, Texas as a private chef. I met this like really nice family overseas in central pay south of France. And, and so they love what I, what I cook for them. And that's when they offer me a job to be a private chef in Houston, Texas. And that's what I arrived. I did that for five years.
- [20:08]
A
Okay.
- [20:09]
C
And, and then I'm like, you know what, it's time, it's time for me to, I wanted to work for me, to be honest with you.
- [20:16]
A
Want to work for yourself.
- [20:17]
C
Yes. That's. That was I always wanted. I'm an entrepreneur and. And so that's how the way start getting into my mind like okay, I want to open a restaurant. I wanted to have something that I run.
- [20:29]
A
How old were you when you figured this out?
- [20:31]
C
I will say like 20, 26.
- [20:37]
A
That's around the time for men. The frontal lobe starts rounding off. The self awareness starts to come in and like you really start to get a feel of who you are and what you want.
- [20:46]
C
Yeah. No, definitely. 26 was a big turn for me. Yeah. We decided to open our first west one. Yeah.
- [20:53]
B
This episode is made possible by Sir Bony. Sir Bony is your all in one bookkeeping and financial solution. Referred to me organically in episode 1200 by Mama Betty's founder Jason Carrier. You gotta hear hear what Jason had to say about Sir Boni.
- [21:09]
A
Anything that comes remotely close to your financials.
- [21:11]
B
Sir Boni has your back.
- [21:13]
A
Reliable tax preparation and business incorporation.
- [21:16]
B
Seamless payroll and compliance reports. Strategic CFO services that drive business growth. Detailed customer reporting for complete financial clarity. And dedicated support for restaurants and multi location businesses. Did I mention they do bookkeeping? They do it all. This is an end to end financial management solution. All under one roof. Let Sir Boney handle the numbers so you can focus on the vision. Call Sir Bony today at 281-888-2413 to schedule your free 30 minute consultation and discover how Sir Boni can streamline your operations and boost your bottom line. Limited time offer. And this is exclusive to restaurant unstoppable listeners. Mention this Message and get 20% off.
- [22:03]
A
Your first month of services. That was in. Was that in Houston?
- [22:07]
C
So that was in Houston on the Energy Corridor on the west side of town. And we are. The restaurant was placed in a great location like the Energy Corridor. Does that mean that we had all these oil company around us and we did really well and the restaurant was named Le Mistral. L E M I S T R L Got it.
- [22:28]
A
I was just going to ask if that was Le Misrele. I'm not going to say these correctly for the record. I'm going to destroy the names of your restaurants. I apologize.
- [22:34]
C
Please. You know people call me here David Dennis. I'm okay with that. Yeah. Completely okay with it. So yeah, that's how the way we. We build our reputation. We build our own name to Le Mistral with the help of my brother Sylvan Denny. And so he was a front of the house and I was the back of the house. And that's what we did for. We run the Mistral up to Covid. It was a very successful operation.
- [22:58]
A
I saw that. 20 years, 19 years. That's a, that's a long haul. If you can make it five years.
- [23:03]
C
You'Re doing something special, let me tell you. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And we, we love that. It was great. It was great working with my brother. We built our name, we built our reputation. Everything was around Le Misrad and that's how the way we are well known and respected in food industry in Houston, Texas.
- [23:20]
A
So this is where it gets awkward and I like to give my guests a heads up that I like to talk about the things you're not supposed to ask people questions on a public platform, like, where did you get the money? How much money did you need? And like, like, what was it like working with family? Like, that's not easy either.
- [23:33]
C
So. No. Well, in this order. So I'm going to start with my favorite thing. Okay. Working with family, you know, my brother and me is a love story. We lost our dad very young, so we get close, we miss each other. He decided to come and join me to this venture. So the family part, working with family, piece of cake, really. Like, we love that. Then money, money. I mean, who want to invest in a restaurant?
- [23:57]
A
No one, surprisingly. A lot of people do.
- [24:01]
C
They do because they love the idea.
- [24:02]
A
Of friends, family and fools.
- [24:04]
C
Yeah, but how many times, like you talk to people? I mean, of all you stop anyone on the street and you like what you would love to do? 3 over the 10 people told you, I would love to open a restaurant. Everybody love to open a restaurant. They think you can make a lot of money, you can be successful. You can.
- [24:20]
A
And you can if you can.
- [24:22]
C
But it's super challenging, as you know. But yeah. To go back in in your question. Yeah. So that's what, what was your question again?
- [24:33]
A
I was asking like, you know, like, I like to get into the things that you're not supposed to talk about, like managing relationships. And like, I think I was curious about, like, you came here, did you have a lot of money behind you?
- [24:42]
C
So, no.
- [24:43]
A
You're a private chef. You weren't. You're probably making good money, but you weren't making money to put away to open a restaurant.
- [24:50]
C
So what we did first, so. But basically we. We had a little bit of saving. Not too much. We asked our parents to give us some. But then, so what we did, we. On the first restaurant, we looked for investor.
- [25:09]
A
How many seats was this first restaurant?
- [25:11]
C
About 80 seats.
- [25:13]
A
Okay, gotcha.
- [25:14]
C
So that was. And so we looked for investor. And so he was a participating on our hand or his labor and equity. So we put some money and so then we build a business plan or you have, you know, you own half of your restaurant and you making some meal with some investor with a projection of five years for them to get the money back, basically. And so that's how the way we start our first one. We raised so little. We were 60k.
- [25:43]
A
I remember back in 2001, I'm sure you probably needed more than 60k. Is that what you needed?
- [25:50]
C
We start under capitalized. And I will never make this mistake.
- [25:54]
A
Number one reason why restaurants fail.
- [25:55]
C
Exactly.
- [25:56]
A
Yeah.
- [25:57]
B
So what was the number in your.
- [25:58]
A
Head that you needed to get to be able to open?
- [26:01]
C
So are you shooting for at a time? Salmina was looking for about 150k.
- [26:06]
A
150K. And you were able to raise 60,000 and you got some money from your family?
- [26:11]
C
So I got 30 for family and 60 from investor.
- [26:14]
A
Okay. And you were still able to open.
- [26:17]
C
So we did open. And we opened on a terrible time. We open when.
- [26:24]
A
The.
- [26:25]
C
The tower, you know, the.
- [26:26]
A
Oh, 9 11.
- [26:27]
C
9 11. Thank you. And so we about three days to open. And I will never forget this picture. My brother is on top of a fridge painting the ceiling. Because we did everything. Okay. We had no money, so we did it all. So my brother is sitting on Titus on top of his fridge painting the. The ceiling. The TV is on. And we like, what is going on? Oh my goodness. And we like, oh my gosh. We opening the rest one in five day. You remember at the time, it was a big impact.
- [26:52]
A
Yeah.
- [26:53]
C
And so we basically burn our cash flow.
- [26:56]
A
Oh my gosh.
- [26:56]
C
In three months.
- [26:58]
B
So how did you survive?
- [27:00]
C
We asked for more money. Did you get it for the family, for the investor point was like, no way, Jose. We. That's what. And we had. And so we asked for family money. They help us a little bit. We dig into our saving a little bit and we make it through. It was tough. It was a tough first year because of the 9 11. It was really hard.
- [27:22]
B
Right.
- [27:22]
C
But. But we made it. Yeah. To consistency and love of the food, the relation with the customer. And at a time, I mean, you know, being into the energy corridor was. Was really helpful with all this oil company.
- [27:37]
A
The energy corridor was really helpful. Is that what I heard?
- [27:39]
C
Yes, it was. I mean. Yes, we had a very strong lunch with all this business.
- [27:45]
A
Aside from 9 11. Not shortly after that. The economy was Good until about 2007.
- [27:51]
C
8Y. Yeah.
- [27:53]
B
So how long did it take you.
- [27:54]
A
Guys to get profitable with this first restaurant?
- [27:58]
C
So we opened the Mistral in two. So first we had a small Mistral, and then we build our own. And at the second Mistral, but the first one that we opened, ABC. Yes. Now, the first one was 55 seats.
- [28:10]
A
Okay.
- [28:11]
C
We keep it for like six, seven years. And then we bought one acre just.
- [28:16]
A
Before the crash of the market.
- [28:21]
B
Ouch.
- [28:21]
C
Ouch. And we bought one acre land with my brother, and then we built, with 11,000 square feet restaurant on top. And that was the second missed one.
- [28:29]
A
That was 80 seats.
- [28:31]
C
And the restaurant by himself was 86. Attached to that, we had a banquet room of 80 people. On the second floor, we attach a rouge wine bar and a French bakery.
- [28:41]
A
Okay. So I like to think I always use this analogy of shifting gears. So when you open your first restaurant, you're in gear one, right? Like, you're moving slow, you're figuring things out. You might still be trying to figure out even how to turn the windshield wipers on.
- [28:57]
C
Right. Basically.
- [28:59]
A
How, like, what were your, your, your points of evolution? I think the points of evolution are the things you figured out in order to get into a second, third, fourth gear.
- [29:11]
C
I mean, you know, learning your mistake, I think is very important. And when you say gear one, I mean first is how you're going to bring people in. It's like, because, I mean, basically your restaurant will be successful if people coming in. So, you know, the first focus is like, oh, my gosh, are we going to be good enough? Are we. So are we going to bring enough people in? And then when you have your people in, then you like, okay, I get that. And then the second year will be like, how can we maintain that? How can we be profitable? Because how many restaurants make 2 million and they spend 2.5, you know? Yeah, it's not about what you make, is about what is left.
- [29:52]
A
Right.
- [29:53]
C
So the gear two to go back into that was like, okay, we. We are building a strong customer base, but now it's going to be okay. Gear two is going to be. Are we going to run that good? Are we going to have a good food cost? Are we going to have a good labor cost? And I think that's your main focus. Or the restaurant labor cost. Food cost is the key. And so the gear two was to try to be as small as possible, accurate with this number. You know, and fine dining is a different. We talk, we talk about that. I mean, you have a different level of restaurant. You have casual, you got fine dining. You got super fine dining, if I may say. And so being on a fine dining restaurant, let me tell you, 35% is your food cost. Labors 35%. So you're at 70 right up. And so, yeah, that's. That's what the second year was that. Okay, consistency. We had a customer, but let's go trying to manage this number the best.
- [30:56]
A
As we can to shoot for 70.
- [30:58]
C
Yes.
- [30:59]
A
Yeah. Did you ever go do better than 70 or lower prime cost?
- [31:03]
C
Oh, my gosh. The first two years, I remember my brother kidding me. You had 41% in food. How you want us to do that? And I'm like, I know, I know. He's so hard. Because the market are always changing, Price are always changing, and you have to adjust. And so you have to adjust the price. You cannot reprint your menu if you two of these. So you have to cover yourself. And so, yeah, on a fine dining, a good number is 32%. A bad number is 38. A really bad number is 42. You know, is a huge amount of money that you can.
- [31:40]
A
So you're aiming for 35 on food costs.
- [31:42]
C
Yes, definitely. That's the 35 for fund dining. If you can maintain that, I will say that's pretty damn good. Yeah.
- [31:50]
A
So. So back to this first gear. You're talking about how to build customer base, how to drive people. What did you learn about how to do that?
- [31:57]
C
So I don't believe that you can learn that. To be honest with you. You have it or you don't. On the industry, it's like, to me, a good restaurant, you have to love people. You cannot learn how to love people and how to grab your people, how to. To act. You have to be natural. I grew up into the restaurant industry. Believe it or not. I'm very friendly. My brother is extremely friendly. And I mean, that's not something I don't believe. That's something that you learn.
- [32:26]
A
That's what Danny Meyer would call being a 51 percenter. Right. It's like you have to hire. You can't. You can train it, but it's not easy. Yeah, it's much better to find somebody who instinctually gravitates, who is an extrovert.
- [32:38]
C
Right.
- [32:38]
A
Or socially emotionally intelligent.
- [32:40]
C
I agree with you. You know, I hire people every day. You know, we have two restaurants. We run a catering company. You know, I do not hire people to resume. I'm more into like, come in, let me meet you, let me meet you. The personality, the talk. We will. We will train you the best we can. But the most important is exactly the person, what they can do for us. Yeah, that's the focus.
- [33:05]
A
What's interesting today, I could argue that you can drive business into your restaurant if you are not socially and emotionally. You could hate people but still be really good at driving business to your restaurant because you never have to see your guest if you're this kind of person. In the world of social media and marketing and ads, buying ads and positioning, messaging, we live in a world where.
- [33:32]
B
If you have that person on your.
- [33:33]
A
Team where you can outsource it and you have the budget, you're bankrolled and you can go pay influencers, you can go pay marketers, you can go create a brand and create an image and put that image out there. You can drive business. You better have somebody on your team that wants those people show up. They are a 51 percenter and they're going to be likable because if you don't, they won't come back. But you can drive business if you don't like people, which is kind of. I don't know how I feel about that because not everybody has the money.
- [33:59]
B
To be able to do it, you.
- [34:01]
A
Know, to be able to. To pay the influencers and to buy the ad space.
- [34:05]
C
Yeah. As you mentioned earlier, I mean, I think when you started, you do it all. Okay. But I think as you mentioned, how to lead the restaurant and I think is no one better or can run your own restaurant? I don't care of social media, I don't care of anything else. Yes, that help and is very important especially right now on this industry in 2025. But it will be no one or will represent your restaurant better than yourself.
- [34:36]
A
Nobody's going to care about your restaurant.
- [34:37]
C
As much as you know.
- [34:38]
A
The love won't be there for like, you are the stoke in the flame of that love.
- [34:42]
C
And you have to build that. You have to, you have to, to be, you know, because you can also not do it all. Yeah. But you are like the front page of your restaurant. And I think that's what is important, to have to be friendly with your staff, to have your staff feeling respected because they will, they will, they will work better and they will reproduce what you teach them as a leader.
- [35:07]
A
Yeah. So is it safe to say that that first gear, that lesson was just putting the pressure on staying consistent, being present with your guests, developing relationships slowly, intentionally, over time, the people start to come back because those relationships build and build and build.
- [35:26]
C
Completely agree. That's the first gear, you know, and just before that is also opening on the right spot and having the right concept. Yeah. And as you know, that's so important. Then first gear, bring your people in, but you have to build this relation between.
- [35:41]
A
Yeah.
- [35:41]
C
Customer.
- [35:42]
A
That's why they say, what do you think it's going to take you to open a restaurant? Double it. Because you need to not just be able to cover your liabilities to get open. You need that one year of Runway of operating in the.
- [35:54]
C
The.
- [35:55]
A
The red because you. You don't have the clientele that. That is supporting your business. It takes about a. At least a year. And that's what it kind of sounded like with you. About a year of establishing and building relationships.
- [36:08]
C
Definitely.
- [36:09]
A
Yeah. So you thought you needed 120. You probably could have used 240, but you pulled it off with 60.
- [36:16]
C
60 and 90. Exactly. And 30 from family. Yeah.
- [36:20]
A
But still really impressive. So you're doing something right. What about. So back to second gear. Numbers, labor. What were the biggest mistakes you made?
- [36:30]
C
Incorrected for I did so many. So. But I mean, let me tell you the most important one as we talk about it earlier. Food cost and labor cost are your best. Best friend in the. In the restaurant. That's what I always said. So basically, very important second gear. You got your customer, you're running your restaurant. So you have to learn, okay? You have to balance your menu properly. Doesn't mean you can only sell caviar, lobster, and foie gras because your costs are so high. You know, sometime you will make more money selling a chicken that you will sell a lobster.
- [37:05]
A
Right.
- [37:06]
C
And so basically, I mean, on the second gear is to really designing your menu properly, balance your menu well. So do not do something too big. So you have a tendency, you know, we artists, we dreamer. I'm a chef. I'm a restaurateur, but I'm a chef. So you dream, you're like, oh, my gosh, I want to do this, I want to do that. And, oh, yeah. And. And you keep going. And then you're like, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute here. I got 15 entree, 10 appetizer, I got 10 dessert. And that's when you're starting to lose control. And I mean, that's what I strongly believe. Balance your manual, make sure that you having expensive things, less expensive. And also, what is the return on everything? So designing your manual, I'm repeating myself.
- [37:53]
A
But also, so I'm hearing design isn't. It's costing it appropriately. It's not just menu engineering.
- [38:01]
C
Yeah, menu engineering. I think it's not just costing. It is also how you will balance it. Like have some chicken, have some shrimp, have some salmon. Don't go with chili and sea bass. Don't go with all these expensive fish. You have to balance.
- [38:15]
A
Maybe a special.
- [38:17]
C
Special help. Yeah. Also a special or easy to manage. You buy it for that price, you sell it the next day for this price. Yeah. The long run is harder because the.
- [38:27]
A
The cost of goods might change.
- [38:28]
C
Exactly. Your menu is print. Yeah. So, yeah. So designing your money properly. Balance properly. But also the second challenge and what we all make mistake is the labor cost. It's so hard because the number can change how busy you are all the time. And so. And it's a big issue that we all have here. Of course, when you are a people, they want to work full time. So you're promising them 40 hours a week, two day off a week, and they like, okay, that's what I love. Well, but then you have to get. You have to maintain busy to be able to keep. And so if suddenly you cutting some people, then they're like, oh, my gosh, I don't make enough hour.
- [39:10]
A
Right. I'm gonna go somewhere else where they'll give me the hours.
- [39:12]
C
Exactly. Yeah. So, so, so. And then. So you have to adjust, you know, and. And that's what is super difficult into the restaurant. As you know, he is to manage the labor cost following up. You know how busy your restaurant can be and is. The biggest challenge is to staff your restaurant. Right. Give them enough hour for them to be happy, but also not overstaff. And having people been on the clock, you know, paying them for doing nothing. So is a big challenge. And that's why being a chef owner does a plus. I can cover every section does. I mean, you know, and that's what I'll say is. Is so important. I think when you open a restaurant, I think, yeah, if you're a chef owner and if you have your brother with a gm, you're like, okay, we can run every position, and that helps.
- [40:06]
A
That's one thing I like one of my partners, a company that I promote and really believe in restaurant assistance Pro what they do. And I think maybe other platforms like Restaurant $365 do this, but they give labor like projected.
- [40:20]
C
You can.
- [40:20]
A
Once you get data into the system and you've been using the system for about a year, you start to. You have the. The hindsight. You can look back and be like, what did we do this time last year? And it gives you a better projection of how many people to put on staff. But what they also do, instead of saying I have a budget of, I don't know, whatever it is, a few thousand dollars to. This is my budget for labor for this day or this week or whatever. Instead of looking at it as a dollar sign, you look at it as hours. It transfers you, you, you don't look at how much money do I have? You look like how many hours do I have? What kind of budget in terms of hours do I have? And then I think for managers that's easier. I'm, I have a 100 hour budget to work with today. You're, you know, depending how big your restaurant is or whatever. But being like having that hard line, I can only budget this many hours on the floor. Helps you with that discipline to maintain your, your labor costs.
- [41:14]
C
Completely agree with you.
- [41:15]
A
Yeah, yeah. So I think we'll get more into that stuff today. What that looks like today. But I mean today would you say you're in fifth gear? Are you, are you operating? Are you, is there one more gear?
- [41:25]
B
Are you trying to.
- [41:25]
A
Is, Is this a 6 speed car or 5 speed car? Where are you now?
- [41:29]
C
Right now I, I'm right into six. I mean I'm, I'm so excited with this new bistro. Yeah. I'm planning to open four other in Houston.
- [41:38]
A
And so you're in five go, getting ready to get into six. You're shifting into six. So I guess, I mean 20 year run, 19 year run, 2001 to 2020. Why did you guys end up closing the Mistral Restaurant?
- [41:54]
C
Energy Corridor Oil business. Big tank on the oil industry. So that did not help us. And then also early Covid it was right there.
- [42:04]
A
Yeah.
- [42:05]
C
And so the Energy Corridor died on us. Basically.
- [42:09]
A
What happened in Houston during this time? I mean obviously Houston built on oil crash.
- [42:15]
C
Yeah, big crash. And so everybody left the Energy Corridor. We got this huge company, ExxonMobil, Chevron, you know, Technip.
- [42:24]
A
All just because people weren't moving. Like the industry stopped. Like trucks weren't driving, cars weren't driving, airplanes weren't flying.
- [42:31]
C
Yeah, yeah. So it was this huge impact. And so basically Eldridge Parkway or was a great street, became like a ghost neighborhood. And so we literally had, we had less and less customer. I think we also like the restaurant was in the west side of town on the Energy Corridor. And at the time when we opened, if you wanted to have good French food, people will drive from inside Loop to the west side. But then after all this year, more and more restaurant in open inside the Loop French restaurant. As well. So also, that was also another challenge. Why are you gonna drive 12 miles outside the loop to go get French food if you can get it here?
- [43:14]
A
Right.
- [43:15]
C
So. Well, but yeah, I mean, we strongly believe that we good and all that, but that was not good enough. And then we get finished by the car. It. I mean, that was. Yeah.
- [43:24]
A
Where were you emotionally after having a 19 year run? Probably plans for the future. How did you handle this?
- [43:32]
C
Ah, man, it was tough, my brother and me, because don't forget, I mean, that was L12 West 1 2. 11,000 square feet on Elwich Parkway. We lost our building. We own our building.
- [43:44]
A
You owned the building?
- [43:45]
C
Yeah. Wow. So because the rest one was not doing enough, does that mean we could not pay the rent? And the rent, the loan was attached to our own building. So basically, right under Covid who want to refinance a restaurant. Any bank wanted to play with us. Private investor who want to invest on the.
- [44:05]
A
It's high risk.
- [44:05]
C
It was high risk, but it also like early Covid when everything is about. Yeah, everybody was about to shut and we had no idea that it will take so long. So basically we come to the point that. But we decided to close the restaurant because it was no business. The street was dead. But then we lost our building. So that was hard. I mean, because we paid this building for over 15 years and we had to lose it. But it's okay. We learn from it. We strong. You know, I stopped for a little bit and closed the Mistral or it was really. I think it was harder to close the Mistral to.
- [44:47]
A
It's a part of your identity, you know, it's your love, it's your baby.
- [44:50]
C
And. And stuff wise, we had stuff for over 15 years.
- [44:54]
A
Oh my gosh, that's hard.
- [44:55]
C
Same dishwasher, same waiters, same manager.
- [44:58]
A
Which is a testament to you and your leadership in your care.
- [45:01]
C
No, we do care. Do you? We do care of the. We are nothing without them.
- [45:06]
A
It was a hard time.
- [45:07]
C
It was super hard. So anyway, we lost our restaurant first. Then of course, closing the restaurant, we lost our building. And so then we break a little bit. And I became a chef consultant. I consult and help people.
- [45:22]
A
Yeah, I saw that. But one thing I think is really cool, looking at your timeline, while from 2001 to 2019, you are a chef owner with your brother and you, you're also doing a bunch of other things. You're, you know, 2008, 2009, you're executive chef and consultant at Restaurante Kovar. Thank you. And then you're also doing a foodie, gourmet French bakery. And you have hola restaurant, restaurant design, food development, artisan cuisine, business development consultant. What else? And now wait. Okay, and then in 2020 is when.
- [46:01]
C
You.
- [46:04]
A
Partnered, did you partner with the guys? So Bistro 555 wasn't always Bistro 555.
- [46:13]
C
Bistro 555. Okay, so we got. So we're closing the Mistral on early Covid and here we go. We like, okay, wow. What we gonna do? Everything was so slow in Houston. I mean over the whole country, not just Houston. And we like, okay. So we decide to bought this little bistro on Covid name at a time. Bistro 555 and this location in Memorial and wheelchairst. It was always been a restaurant destination. Before us it was Bistro Provence. And so we wanted to start this little restaurant. And it was not about making money, to be honest with you. It was about friendships. My brother Christophe from Cafe Rabelais, a good friend of us. And so we all restaurant tour and because we get so bored in this Covid and we like, let's go, we have to do something. This is a cute restaurant in a great neighborhood. Let's go. Take that over.
- [47:16]
A
So is you, your brother and three other.
- [47:19]
C
Correct. And so we jump in. You know what was our main focus? It was 12 people working on this restaurant. We came and we said, look, you're not going to believe it, but you're going to. We're not going to fire you. We want you to stay with us. We got a great manager. We get great people in kitchen, great weather. We like, we're going to pay you for one week and we're going to reopen this restaurant in one week. Oh, wow. And they like no way. And like yes, yes way. So we all jump in. My brother, you have no choice.
- [47:57]
A
Myself, you gotta get to get the money flowing again.
- [48:00]
C
Yeah. So basically we. We pay them for a week to come and help us cleaning the restaurant. So we repented. I designed the menu, I trained people. I was there every day. And. And so we opened nine day after we signed, nine day after that. So we basically opened this Bistro 555 in nine days. That was crazy. And we could do that because of the. We. We did that because of being with white people around my brother as a GM and grew up in restaurant industry and spending same thing with Christophe, same thing with myself. So we really devised. I was on the food, you on the wine, you are on the number. And we didn't step on top of each other. And we opened this in, like I said, 10 days.
- [48:51]
A
I love that. One thing I want to make sure comes out of today's conversation before we, you know, we'll bookmark this. But like I said, you had a lot of different, you know, things going on and a lot of titles. Co owner, partner. In some circumstances you were, you know, a consultant. How do you create other opportunity for yourself? I think that's one thing. Getting outside the four walls of your restaurant and looking for other opportunity to diversify. Like what advice do you have in getting into those partnerships?
- [49:23]
C
So to be honest with you, I'm talking about my case. Right. I didn't look for it. People came to me and I think is because you people see what you do. I think I'm well respected in Houston in the food industry. And so I think I didn't look for it, to be honest with you. I was on my Mistral doing my food restaurant. We opened a bakery that was asked because Your building was 11,000 square feet, U shaped. So we create this like nice little place where we had a bakery and a wine bar. So that was our business as well.
- [50:00]
A
Vertically integrated.
- [50:01]
C
Yes. All into the U shaped building is beauty. It was beautiful. And so. But then right after that I get approached from, as you mentioned, CAVU Restaurant. Here we go. I'm a French chef, grew up in south of France and the owner of the Grand Ducat Hotel, Mr. Bolanghi was a very good customer of Le Mistral. And one day they come and they like, can you be our executive chef into Cavour? We want to reopen Cavour. It was like a 22 seating, fine, beautiful boutique hotel in Houston. And I was getting a point that I had my sous chef for 15 years. I had my brother, we strong and solid. And I'm like, okay, I can shift a little bit, I can do this because we have a strong base. So before going to do something else, you want to make sure that you are set up properly. And it took me a while. I didn't go into consulting right away. As you see it on my resume. I had tenure in the Mistral before I could do other things. And so that's why they came to me and I decided to open a little Italian restaurant in the Grand Duca Hotel. And I trained people, I designed menu and that's why that was my first consulting job, opening an Italian restaurant as a French chef.
- [51:33]
A
Okay, I love what you shared there because I think it's really important, I think to your Point. I didn't go out looking for it. It came to me. Yeah, I think that's the, the best way to have opportunity is to attract opportunity. And the best way to attract opportunity is to do what you're already doing better than anybody else. If you want to scale your restaurant, don't put your energy out, put your energy in to what you're already doing better. And if you have a restaurant that looks amazing on paper because you're, you're looking at the numbers and you're trying to say, well, how can I shave a point here? How can I increase revenue by doing this thing? How can I make my staff better? By putting. Giving them more skills, giving them more knowledge. When you put that energy into your business and into your people, the opportunities knock down your door.
- [52:23]
C
I think that's what happened. We get lucky enough. Yeah, that's what happened. And, and, and nothing. That also because I was surrounded by good people. Because you cannot go somewhere else. Don't forget the Mistral was your tank, my base, my name, our reputation. So before going to do other things, you have to make sure that you nice consolidated, be consistent. So also by hiring right people around you allowed you to keep going and then mole you shift into your name. So Chef David Denis. So then that's what I. That's how the way people come and approach me. Because I built my name in Houston. Yeah, Yeah.
- [53:05]
A
I love that. We're only as good as a reputation.
- [53:08]
C
I think so. Yes.
- [53:10]
A
Okay. Back to taking over Bisto province, calling it 555 or Bistro 555. This, this group was owned by or this restaurant was owned by George and Monique Guy. They sold. They. They heard their daughter took over.
- [53:28]
C
So. Yes. So Bistro Provence was on from Monique. Yeah. And Chef George. Chef George, yeah. Well respected chef. I love the guy. He's a great chef. So they own this restaurant. They run it for a while. They are well known in Houston. At the time on the 80s, they had two or three locations. And so then they get tired about it. They wanted to travel. So they sold this restaurant to our sister in law, Genevieve.
- [54:05]
A
I saw the, the similar name, so I thought maybe it was daughter.
- [54:07]
C
So that came after. So they first sold it to our sister in law to the wife of their son.
- [54:16]
A
Was this before COVID or after Covid?
- [54:17]
C
That was before COVID Okay. Yeah. And so.
- [54:20]
A
And then I should see where this is going.
- [54:22]
C
Yeah. Then Genevieve bought the restaurant. They ran it for three, four, five years. She named it Bistro 555 because our ID was five appetizer, five entree, five dessert. That was the ID. They keep it for a while. Then the COVID hit. I think they wanted to move to Austin, and so that's why we can approach.
- [54:43]
A
So this was an exit strategy.
- [54:45]
C
Yeah.
- [54:46]
A
So I think there's a lesson here being someone's exit strategy. And the timing was great because you guys had this horrible thing happen. You're in this area that the. The business has dried up. You have a giant building with liabilities and no way to pay it because you're paying the. The mortgage with your. Your business, basically. And this other opportunity right there waiting for you.
- [55:08]
C
Yeah, basically, yeah, was right there. And so then we. So they. Then they sold it to Lawrence Paul, who was also the second daughter of Monique. And we went. Five of us went in. My brother, Christophe, Lawrence, myself, and one investor.
- [55:31]
A
So five.
- [55:31]
C
Five of us.
- [55:32]
A
There you go.
- [55:32]
C
But I'll say. And so. And we run this for about five years. We're extremely happy. It's a beautiful restaurant. So we all have our own role because on the same time I was doing other things, but so me was food. Food cost labor on the kitchen. Christophe was more like numbers. My brother was more into the wine. And so when we did it, and we keep that for five years up to last month, I basically became a. Bought everyone else. Christoph, one of my partner, decided to go into another direction. He wanted to leave Houston, Texas. My brother wanted to do something else. My investor was paid off. Our front investor was paid off. And here we go. So two weeks ago, I decided to bought all my partner. So now is me only on Bistro555 and moving to a second location in Bel Air or will be Bistro Mistral. And in January. So we're going to open Bel Air right now in two or three weeks to the name of Bistro Misal. And in January, we're gonna go Back to Bistro555 on Memorial and we're going to change the name to Bistro Mistral as well.
- [57:06]
A
Okay.
- [57:07]
C
And so that's what I'm doing.
- [57:09]
A
Beautiful. Oh, that's exciting times for you, man. Congratulations.
- [57:12]
C
Thanks.
- [57:14]
A
So I. I think when we left off and using the. The analogy of gears, we talked about first gear, bringing people in, developing relationships, second gear, you know, menu engineering, getting cost down, locking in your costing. Now you're, you know, you're at this point, I think, opening your third or, sorry, your new restaurant over the past five years. I think being able to have be a restaurant tour and getting all this experience underneath you being to able to start from scratch in a many way. In many ways, right. You learn that it's better to be smaller. You know, with all this, this year, all these years of lessons learned, how are you doing things different? How are you doing things to be even better going forward? Like what are the third, fourth in you know, you're in fifth gear.
- [58:07]
C
I mean that became a little bit personnel decision. I strongly believe right now that he's much easier to manage a smaller restaurant because you can adjust the market pretty fast.
- [58:22]
A
More nimble.
- [58:23]
C
Yes, yes. And it's easier.
- [58:26]
A
Fewer relationships to manage.
- [58:28]
C
Easy. Also if you told me to know, I was trained and I'm a firm, I work on Michelin star restaurant. I'm a fine dining chef.
- [58:38]
A
You said he trained and performed. Did I hear you correctly?
- [58:41]
C
Yes. That's how the way I get trained in Europe and working from Michelin star restaurant to you know, super fine dining. But to be honest with you, this is no way to make money. It look good, it's great. You know, hey, I'm turning 54 tomorrow. We all have ego, right? Chef have ego. But hey, I'm over that. He's not about, you know. Yes, I'm a fine dining chef and that's what I have to do. Only I think you have to understand the market, the demand and where you position yourself. If you told me to mow the v do you want to open a fine dining restaurant? I would say no, I don't. They're fun. But you don't make money. It's super difficult. Yeah. And so I think you can make.
- [59:37]
A
Money, but only a small percentage of people do in that space because there's only so many people that have the income to sustain that business model. It's a very small percentage of the the people.
- [59:48]
B
This episode is made possible by US Foods and one of the pillars of the US Foods we help you make it promise is more tools which provides resources designed to make running your food service operation easier and more efficient. Efficient from the all in one food service at Moxie which goes beyond order placement to help you manage every part of your operation 247 to the digital solutions like check business tools and vitals. US Foods delivers smart time saving tools built to simplify your operation and support your success. With Moxie alone, you can browse products with AI powered search, manage lists, track deliveries with the AI powered Where's my truck? By US Foods reorder with just a few clicks and you can do the that from your phone, tablet or desktop. Here's a Bonus, you can even browse Moxie without signing in. And we can't forget Check Business Tools, which is essentially a suite of vetted third party solutions that help operators solve critical business challenges such as drive traffic to their location, simplify staffing processes, and modernize operations for greater efficiency. To learn more, visit www.usfoods.com. expect more restaurant Owners what if I told you there is a way to lower your prime cost by a thousand dollars month over month and get paid $1,000? That sounds like a deal too good to be true. But that's exactly the deal that Restaurant Systems Pro is offering 10 of my lucky listeners. So why are they doing this? Because they consistently help their clients get between 15 and 25% profit in their business. And when they approach new clients and say I can do the same thing for you, they get met with a lot of resistance. And because it sounds too good to be true, most restaurants think if you do between 5 and 10%, you're so to hit 15 or 25%. Like what do we have to sacrifice? What, what scam are you throwing at me, sir? No, thank you. But the truth is they really do help people hit these numbers. And the way they do it is by having all the most important systems that are tied to profitability fully integrated into an enterprise solution. I'm talking like counting, inventory, scheduling, checklists, training systems, general ledger, balance sheets, costing cards. So when you have all those systems dialed in, ironclad, tied, connected, fully integrated in an enterprise solution, you get data. And when you have data, you can make little tweaks here and there. And those little tweaks you can see the fruits of your labor, the the effects of your efforts. And that's how you hit 15 and 25% profit. And on top of all this, they also have support, which is unheard of in today's age. So you get all these things compounded that help you hit that 15 to 25%. And if I have your attention, keep listening. Join the restaurant systems pro 30 day prime cost challenge. And if you successfully improve your prime cost by $1,000 or more compared to the same 30 day period last year, they will pay you a thousand dollars. If you're listening on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, find the show notes and we will have a link titled restaurant systems pro 30 day prime cost challenge. Click that link and get signed up today. Only 10 spots, guys.
- [62:56]
A
Do not wait.
- [62:57]
B
Get your spot, lower your prime cost, buy a thousand dollars and get paid that $1,000. They're actually calling this a reverse guarantee.
- [63:04]
A
Get on it.
- [63:05]
C
If you want pure fine dining and do like extremely high in food, the only way to make it is to be super small. You cannot be big and do fine dining. Right.
- [63:16]
A
And the, the. I mean, I'm trying to think about.
- [63:18]
C
Like, high level, Right? Yeah. Michelin star level restaurant.
- [63:21]
A
You're seeing, what is it called? The type of sushi. And I'm forgetting the, the, the, the specific genre of sushi where like you come in and the chef literally creates, they create something specifically for you based off of what you want. They look at you and they figure you out, Right? Yeah. There's usually five people max per turn, right?
- [63:41]
C
Yeah.
- [63:41]
A
And you're gonna spend a thousand dollars per head message.
- [63:44]
C
Yeah, yeah.
- [63:44]
A
And you have. It's you, the chef and two other people.
- [63:47]
C
Yeah.
- [63:47]
A
And it's just like this very high touch. Everyone's making six figures and you're splitting it three ways, but you're charging through the nose. And the, the overhead, the labor, like, you know, you, small footprint, you know, I think, like left in almost every city. What is it? Omasaki.
- [64:02]
C
Amasaki. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amasaki. What is the cost of your fish? I mean, the food is so expensive.
- [64:12]
A
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's more than that, let's be honest. But like, but those are your, your biggest prime cost is the protein, right?
- [64:18]
C
My gosh.
- [64:20]
A
And, and, and you have maybe some fancy sake.
- [64:24]
C
Fancy sake, yeah. Fancy rice. But yes, it's, it's so expensive. You know, it's trendy right now.
- [64:33]
A
I think one of the reasons why that's popping off is because all those restaurants across the country, all these amasaki sushi bars are winning Michelin stars.
- [64:40]
C
Yeah. But also, don't forget, he's very trendy. He's really good fine dining. We talk about it. But who will come to your place? He's an elite who can come and spend a thousand bucks every night in your restaurant. So, yes, of course, we're on a city of like, I don't know, 8 million people in Houston. I think I have that right. Yeah.
- [65:00]
A
And 1% of those 8 million people can afford your restaurant.
- [65:02]
C
Exactly. So that's why you have to be super small. Yeah. Because if you're too big, I mean, don't forget who will come spend a thousand bucks. Yeah. So on 30 seat, on 25 seats, I will say great. That's why we diversify. That's why we have the Bistro Mistral Bistro. 555. Always a casual, full focus on flavor, authenticity. We do fine dining I do super fine dining with my catering company because.
- [65:32]
A
That'S where the money is.
- [65:32]
C
That's where the money. You know, my brother and me, we own this company for 20 years. We are. Have a really strong.
- [65:37]
A
That's where you can get creative and you can say, this is what it's going to cost.
- [65:39]
C
There we go. Yeah, we're doing one next week. 11 course meal, 350 per person. You know, and so you go, you custom, you design, you staff. But it's easy to go that way, you know. Yeah.
- [65:53]
A
You can really flex that creative muscle and have that creative outlet. Do you use your restaurants as the, like the hub for this catering company or do you have separate space for.
- [66:01]
C
For that? No, no, we use our. You. We saw a restaurant kitchen.
- [66:05]
A
What percentage of your total revenue comes from catering versus your restaurants?
- [66:09]
C
Oh, they are two separate business of.
- [66:12]
A
Your portfolio on my online code. Where are you making money? Catering or restaurant?
- [66:17]
C
Both. Okay, Both. I mean, you know, restaurant is consistent, catering is. You're gonna have a great month. You're gonna seasonal too. Seasonal. Yeah. But we are coming into your busy season.
- [66:28]
A
Season, huh?
- [66:28]
C
We are super busy, but we also really picky, my brother and me on this. And I think that's what we. On pure fine dining. On catering, we're not gonna go do a chicken wrap and a sizzle salad.
- [66:41]
A
That's selective with what you're doing.
- [66:42]
C
Yeah.
- [66:43]
A
You turn clients away. Not for us.
- [66:44]
C
Exactly. Yeah.
- [66:45]
A
So I think if I'm hearing you correctly, you know, we talked about first gear, second gear, third gear, fourth gear is clarity on who you are and what you want to do.
- [66:52]
C
Yes.
- [66:53]
A
Intentionality.
- [66:53]
C
Yes.
- [66:54]
A
That's huge.
- [66:56]
C
Well, yeah, I think it's. It's very important. You know, it's. It's like, it's so important to like who you are, how you place yourself, what you're doing to the city that you are on and this point are very, very important, I think.
- [67:16]
A
And so you, when you took over 555 with your five partners, you now bought them out. Is it, is there a lesson in that of why you wanted to keep going and they didn't want to keep going? Is there, is there advice you can give in terms of negotiating that buyout?
- [67:33]
C
No, it was no negotiation. Best friend here, you know. So the, the main reason why is one of my main partner, Christoph, want to, like I said, wanted to leave the country. So that's how the way start like, okay, I'm going to be out of sea. And then my brother said, I want to do something else. I Am. And so he come up to be like, okay, guys, we have. Can we sell the business? And I'm like, I don't want to sell it or I want to buy it. So that's how the way he come out. And I'm like, okay, guys, instead of us going to sell this restaurant to anyone else, I strongly believe on it. Like, we all did. Yes. The economy is a little bit right now. Difficult.
- [68:23]
A
When did this conversation start happening?
- [68:26]
C
Last month.
- [68:27]
A
Last month. Oh, wow. This is all new.
- [68:28]
C
Yeah, it's all new. I just bought this bistro. I'm 100% owner of this bistro. Two weeks ago.
- [68:33]
A
Yeah. How do you feel about that?
- [68:35]
C
Super good. It's like, do you know? Yeah, sure. Super good. I love it. I love. Because it's. I think it's the first time on. On my life that it's me only. Yeah.
- [68:48]
A
So you. Your partners basically say, like, you know, we see where the industry is going. We're not in love, as you know, we don't share the same love to keep going as you do. What about your brother? Your brother, I mean, this is a guy you've been in business with for over 20 years.
- [69:03]
C
Yeah. So I give him the choice. He didn't. I say, okay, brother, what you want to do? Do you want to stay in or do you want to cash out?
- [69:11]
A
He's your front of house guy, right?
- [69:13]
C
Yes. And more than that. But yes, he is.
- [69:15]
A
Well, I mean, the other half.
- [69:17]
C
Yeah, exactly. And don't forget, we build Le Mistwell together. Our big name is between my. Is a love story between my brother and me. And what do we give to the community of Houston? But yeah, so it come to the point that I had my two partner want to leave. One is traveling, one is living out the country. And so the partner, number three was the wife of Christophe. So she's also leaving following her husband. Or is the husband following her? I'm sorry. And so here we go. I have my brother, and I say, brother, what do you want to do? Do you want to keep your money in and still earn an ownership? You don't have to work just. It will be an ownership. I'm gonna work and pay myself. You will be not paid, but you will earn on the hand of the hour. We're gonna get the profit, and you're gonna get a check. Tell me what you want to do. I really. I want you to decide.
- [70:11]
A
Yeah.
- [70:12]
C
And it's like, you know, I want out. Cut me a check.
- [70:17]
A
Is he older or younger brother?
- [70:18]
C
Younger. Okay. Yeah. Seven year Old seven year pop. And he said, yeah, I'm ready to. I'm gonna be so busy for what I'm doing, for what I'm gonna do, I'm not gonna be able to. To work in the bistro, so. And keeping an ownership. Yes. Is also scary now. The industry is scary.
- [70:36]
A
Yeah.
- [70:37]
C
Do you mind to cut me a check? And I'm like, no, I don't, brother. So I cut him a check. I cut everybody's check. We checked and we. Good friend. Right. We hug each other and that's it. We all split up.
- [70:49]
A
Got it. Any advice in negotiating? That's hard. Five parts, partners. Right?
- [70:53]
C
I.
- [70:54]
A
It's weird, you know. Sorry, were you gonna say something?
- [70:58]
C
Well, when you say five partner. Yes, he was five. But knowing that Christoph and Laurence, there's two partner, but his wife and husband.
- [71:04]
A
Got it.
- [71:04]
C
So one entity, 102 people. My brother, three. And then our first investor we had. Luke was his name.
- [71:11]
A
Silent partner.
- [71:13]
C
Silent partner, yeah. I had nothing to do.
- [71:15]
A
So really three, like entities that are pulling strings, basically. Got it. What was the training? So it's interesting because I. I've seen this pattern that the best in the business, to be the best, you can't do it alone usually. I believe in partnerships. I believe in this idea. If you want to be the best, you need to attract the best. And the best deserves stake in the business. They deserve equity. What are your thoughts? Because now you're going the opposite direction. You're. You're dividing. But could you have.
- [71:48]
C
Could you.
- [71:49]
A
Let me ask you this question. Would you have been able to do what you did in the past five years if you did not have those partners?
- [71:59]
C
Tough question. I would say no, but I would say yes too. You know, again, because I was busy doing something else. And we all busy. Forget. Don't forget that. Christoph on Cafe Rabelais on his own. I own my catering company. I was working into a fine dining restaurant that I just left two weeks ago, by the way. Very famous restaurant in Houston. Was. I was.
- [72:31]
A
I saw that on your resume. You got to update your LinkedIn because it says. It says you're still there.
- [72:34]
C
Yeah, I am not there. And I mean, I'm. No. Damn.
- [72:40]
A
I won't push, but if there's lessons here, I mean, the door is open. It's your choice to walk through it.
- [72:46]
C
Ah, my gosh. You want to get into that? I.
- [72:49]
A
Hey, man, it makes for good content, but I don't want to get you in trouble.
- [72:54]
C
Basically, my brother and me, we don't have to say the Name did not want to leave this place. We basically get. Get pushed out.
- [73:04]
A
Okay.
- [73:05]
C
All right. And don't ask me why. I can't. I can't tell you on the. Give me a couple.
- [73:11]
A
I don't want to give you trouble.
- [73:13]
C
No. And. And I completely respect this restaurant. It's a beautiful restaurant. I put my name over there.
- [73:20]
A
Anyway, so I was at Cafe. I don't know if I want to say this because then I'll give away where it is. I was across the street and I. I recognized the brand and I was like, oh, yes, sorry, connecting the dots. But I won't say anymore.
- [73:32]
C
Yeah, listen, I just did a huge Instagram post. We got 15,000 eat in two days. Yeah. The restaurant was Cocodie. I have no sales to say. And we simply said Cocode Restaurant and Bar. And what we said only was that we have nothing to do more. The Dennis brothers have nothing to do more with this restaurant. And we wish them good luck. That's what I'm gonna say. And we really want them to be successful. Good luck to them. But my brother and me are out of this restaurant. And I think to be. To go back to your first question after this prior of partnership. Owner, executive chef, putting my name on this restaurant. My brother putting his name using your like likeness, basically, that's what was the whole thing. After this adventure, I will never have a partner again on my life. And I will never work for anyone else on my life.
- [74:39]
A
I want to see if I can get a morsel of advice. Knowing what you know now about getting into partnerships. Would there have been a different. A partnership agreement, a different term? Yes, different. What are the different terms? Knowing what you know now that you would have baked into that apartment partnership agreement.
- [74:55]
C
So that's a very good question. You have a different way to set up partnership agreement is all depend how the way you place yourself into your restaurant. So let's go say that you a chef. Yes. That's your real job. And you want to open a restaurant. So basically here you're going to own some equity on this business by your labor. We call that a labor equity.
- [75:16]
A
So I want to make sure I'm hearing lever L E V E R lever, labor, equity. Thank you.
- [75:21]
C
Pardon my accent. You're fine.
- [75:22]
A
Pardon my inability to understand.
- [75:25]
C
You're doing great, man. So, yeah. So basically, so you design your partnership. You know, so first of all, I highly recommend that you have to have an attorney or really understand restaurant. Okay? The restaurant is a different industry. So get yourself a very good attorney. And now if You a chef?
- [75:48]
A
Do you have an attorney?
- [75:50]
C
Oh, yeah.
- [75:51]
A
I'm always looking for referrals. If there's somebody out there you want to give a shout out. A good labor attorney or a good restaurant attorney.
- [75:57]
C
Yeah, Jay Hallberg. He's gonna love me. Been with him for 20 years. We do not do anything with him. Let me tell you.
- [76:07]
A
Let me just hear that name one more time because I want to make sure I. I heard it right.
- [76:10]
C
Jay J J A Y Harberg. H A R B E R J.
- [76:18]
A
Harbor.
- [76:19]
C
Yes.
- [76:19]
A
Got it.
- [76:20]
C
Great guy. My attorney forever became a very good friend. But do not go into any partnership agreement with having an attorney designing, protecting yourself.
- [76:31]
A
And you've been working with Jay for 20 years?
- [76:33]
C
Yes, sir.
- [76:34]
A
He didn't catch this, this line on the partnership agreement.
- [76:37]
C
Which one?
- [76:37]
A
You said that you in the agreement, you want to work in a labor. I can't remember what you said, but it was labor equity. Equity.
- [76:46]
C
Yeah. For this new deal, you said you.
- [76:49]
A
Would have, knowing what you know now, you would on a partnership agreement, have labor equity worked into the deal. What does that mean?
- [76:55]
C
So does that mean that partnership agreement are all designed differently? I strongly believe that if you're a chef and if you're going to work on this, west one is a labor equity. So I believe that you got. You have to own 51.
- [77:10]
A
Okay. Because you are the operating partner.
- [77:13]
C
Yes. So that's 51. Because of who you are, what you.
- [77:19]
A
Do and your likeness, your intellectual property. Like it doesn't it. I mean, there's so many things that go into a successful restaurant, but you, you need that presence there.
- [77:29]
C
Yes. And so I strongly recommend. And that's personal, but I will say, like if you go into any partnership agreement and if you plan to work on your restaurant and run your restaurant, you already get your 51%. What you're going to sell is the 49%. Okay. And that by investor. And then you have different way to set up that. You know, most of the times, I mean, you go a projection for over five years, a good business plan for investor or five years money back. Okay. That's how the way. If you do not pay your investor in five years, you will be never be able to pay them back.
- [78:06]
A
Right.
- [78:07]
C
Yeah.
- [78:08]
A
This is all really great advice and I'm loving the conversation too. For the record, there's so much more I want to get out. You were the money guy. You said you were in charge of labor, you were in charge of cost goods. Like that was your lane when you were in this partnership with Your five.
- [78:28]
C
Partners, no money was molchristoph.
- [78:31]
A
Okay.
- [78:32]
C
Christoph, Paul.
- [78:32]
A
But you were. You were. You were in charge of operations in terms of labor and cost of goods.
- [78:38]
C
So my match. My responsibility into this restaurant was cost of good for the food and the labor for the kitchen. Only because it's a different part. You get labor on the front. You got labor. So my role was designing food using my name, my knowledge, staff, the restaurant. Right. Merstant, Poland. And we said on the beginning, consistency, consistency of the food is the key. So that was my part. Number was mole, Christophe. Wine and people person. My brother.
- [79:15]
A
Got it.
- [79:15]
B
Got it.
- [79:16]
A
So in terms of, like, organizational chart today, you know, there was the org chart. You kind of got into your other partners who are now you've bought them out. So today it's you. How big is your team today?
- [79:27]
C
So I'm gonna say in Bistro555 or will become Bistro Mistral in January. I'm gonna say, like 18.
- [79:43]
A
18 people.
- [79:44]
C
Yeah.
- [79:45]
A
How many of that is back of house? How many of that. What's that split?
- [79:49]
C
So, you know, we. I split on two shift. I have a morning shift and an evening shift kitchen. So we run. I run about four to five people on the kitchen on double shift. So four in the morning, four or five at night.
- [80:02]
A
That's eight.
- [80:03]
C
That's eight and nine.
- [80:05]
A
Ish.
- [80:05]
C
And the rest is front of the house. Including. Now you're forgetting the must stuff on your kitchen. And you're gonna laugh about me. Host kitchen. I'm saying.
- [80:17]
A
I'm sorry. Kitchen. Sorry, sorry.
- [80:18]
C
My bad.
- [80:19]
A
Dishwasher.
- [80:20]
C
Bingo.
- [80:22]
A
It's huge.
- [80:23]
C
You have it. Yeah.
- [80:24]
B
Because that's a high turnover roll.
- [80:26]
A
So if you can get an anchor there and they, they. If you need pots and pans and dishes and they're not coming out, it's a bad experience.
- [80:32]
C
We don't want them to be mad at you because then they're starting breaking plate and, you know, a plate when I was 15 to 20 to 30 to.
- [80:38]
A
Do people do that? They do all the time.
- [80:40]
C
They, like do. You know, many times I find some, like, they get mad and they're like, yeah. God, yeah. You'd be surprised, man. Oh, my goodness. It's a crazy industry.
- [80:49]
B
I know.
- [80:50]
A
That's why I love it so much.
- [80:51]
C
I think I'm a team too.
- [80:52]
A
You gotta have a little taste of crazy in you to. To be gravitated to this industry.
- [80:57]
C
You have to be. No. A little. You are complexly crazy, but the love is the key. Yeah, Like. Like, I'm in vocation. My wife. Okay. We're gonna go somewhere for two weeks, and I. We love hotel and all that, but sometimes we love to rent houses. And I'm so excited because I can cook. And she's like, but you're in vacation. And I'm like, yeah, but I have to do it. I have to do it. So that's the love. I mean, I cannot stay out. So.
- [81:24]
B
So you're.
- [81:25]
A
You're the chef owner and you have, you know, I'm assuming sous chef. I don't know what. I wouldn't have to go through the brigade. You have a general manager.
- [81:34]
C
Yes.
- [81:35]
A
Assistant managers.
- [81:37]
C
Non bistro.
- [81:38]
A
Okay. One thing. So you. One thing I. I've. I've heard a lot of over the years of doing this is there's two things you want to outsource. Lawyer.
- [81:46]
C
We've identified that big time.
- [81:47]
A
And accountants.
- [81:49]
C
Big, big time. Yeah.
- [81:51]
A
So now that you're the finance guy is gone. When I know, like, what does that look like today? Like, what else. What else are you outsourcing today?
- [81:59]
C
Well, let's go into that. Okay, so don't forget, as I told you, I'm a chef. That's my real. I have an Amy Houston. I'm a chef. I'm a leader. I know how to find people. But I will be not able, especially now, to have no partner to go opening a second location. And I'm planning to open formal in Houston with the help of Sarboni, and we're getting into that.
- [82:29]
A
How long have you been with Sir Boni?
- [82:36]
C
Five years.
- [82:36]
A
In your words, what is Sir Boni? In your words, what is Sir Boni?
- [82:42]
C
Freedom. Be able to focus on my guests, on my restaurant, on my food, on my staff. With having this huge help.
- [82:51]
A
Oh.
- [82:52]
C
With me that you just. You know, what I love about this company is you don't. You're not just a number, you know, just another restaurant. They give you so much. They coach me so well. They help me to make decision on how to set up the company better. You know, of course, you know, they like, like help me on my bookkeeping. You know, financial. Yeah. Idea. All these things. Yeah.
- [83:20]
A
So I. I just want to point something out real quick. Oh, you said in 2020, third gear was intentionality. It was knowing exactly what you wanted to do. And you were speaking in reference to the concept, the. The business model. But I think the other thing is you knew exactly what lane you belong in, and that is in the creativity, the food, the rest, reputation, the relationships, running the restaurant the dayto day. You don't want to be stuck in technology all day looking, entering data, reading data. Like the world is so tech heavy today. And that, that, that side. The amount of the, the, the attention to detail, the, the, the data. You need the numbers. You need that, that, that scorecard is so important. To be able to hit that 35%, you know, cost of goods or whatever your target is labor costs, you need the data. But the, the lifting, the, the attention, the, the, the, the. The draw that that takes on you to be able to stay up with the numbers. That's not why we got into this industry. We got into this industry because we love food and people.
- [84:27]
C
You're right. But that's not good enough. As we know right now in 2025, making good food will not make you rich. Right? It's not enough. And you mentioned it earlier. And if I go into the order and it's not like the order, but a good attorney. Very important to design your partnership agreement. Really important. Like deciding like what kind of market you're gonna attack. Place yourself in the right spot for it. But also staffing the restaurant. Right. To have the restaurant want the staff to represent you. The must as you want them. But also, you know, getting good company to help you. A good pr. Also attorney, good pr. Finding the right spot. Marketing. Yeah, marketing right now as of today is so important. So that's what I have. I have a great marketing company. I have a great attorney, I got my knowledge, I love food and who's your marketing company?
- [85:28]
A
Sorry to cut you short.
- [85:31]
C
Our name is Sarah Orlando. Great friend, she's talented. All the posting on Instagram is her ally company. Maybe misspell it.
- [85:46]
A
Okay, you're fine. Well, we'll figure it out.
- [85:49]
C
We'll figure it out. But she's really talented, really good. And she also love what she does. Is also you need the love. So that's the key.
- [85:57]
A
Yeah.
- [85:58]
C
Is so important. Like I'm going back to Cereboni now that I because I don't have any more partner, I shift 100 with them, you know. And they're going to help me to manage everything from the back of the restaurant that I need. Yeah. Payroll, you know, strategy, controlling my food cost better helping me with some decision on labor. And so I could not do it with these people. Right.
- [86:24]
A
I do think that. So in your words, sir. Boni is freedom.
- [86:30]
C
Oh my gosh.
- [86:31]
A
It is an all in one financial solution. Bookkeeping, accounting, strategy, cfo, chief, chief financial officer. And the list goes on and on. Inventory management, all these things. Basically I I would argue too that the world of finance and operations are colliding because here at Sir Boni they also have a COO because technology, everything's bleeding together. In order to be financially savvy and financially good, you need like it's connected to systems, operations, procedures. Right. You need those things because that, those are all the touch points that give you access. Doing the, the boring stuff, inventory, you know, accounts payable, accounts receivable. These are all processes. They're financial processes.
- [87:20]
C
Yes, I agree also. Yes, completely agree with you. It's something so important also to say about S is you have ton of different content you have in this but they are really have a huge knowledge on restaurant.
- [87:37]
A
Right.
- [87:37]
C
Because he's a different baby.
- [87:38]
A
Totally different.
- [87:39]
C
And so on top of being good, on top of coaching you the right way is they also know their stuff. Do you know you cannot get into a regular CPA or be like okay, I did bookkeeping all my life. No, no, no, no, no. You want to be with someone who understand restaurant. And that's why I'm like they do understand. Yeah.
- [88:01]
A
And I also want to say it's not just operations, it's tax. Taxes they have, that's a whole nother thing. They cover, they take care of your taxes, your payroll and hr. I think HR is on that list too. I'm pretty sure. I don't want to speak out of line.
- [88:12]
C
Name it.
- [88:13]
A
And yeah, I mean I think I, I do think that the future of the restaurant industry is in fractional chiefs. Whether it's be a fractional CMO marketing officer, a fractional COO and a fractional cfo. I think if you're going to be an independent restaurant operator in the future, you need to outsource that stuff because you can't pay us.
- [88:38]
B
You don't.
- [88:39]
A
You as a two or three unit operator do not have the salary to pay a six figure person to do all that stuff. You need to outsource it and, and find the people who love it who aren't going to turn over. Because here, I mean it's, it's, it's really important. I don't want to put words into your mouth. I, I'm sold on the, the world of fractional chiefs as the future of restaurant industry. I think that with a full nose to tail financial solution, it, it checks the box of CFO and coo. Because a lot of what keeps the train on the tracks today is technology. In a lot of COO roles is finding the right technology in the systems and optimizing right what's going through your mind as I'm saying this?
- [89:28]
C
No, I completely agree with you. Yeah, yeah. He's so important.
- [89:34]
A
So when you started working with Sir Boni five years ago, what was your tech stack? What technology were using? Pos General ledger.
- [89:45]
C
So did they help you? Like I said, you saw, we. We change the POS system. We decide. And with the knowledge that I'm using, they always like the focus on this company, I think is like they really wanted to help you the most they can. So first they're going to try and they're going to try to feel where you need help and then you can literally build with them where you need them to focus more, where you want them to really impact. Yeah.
- [90:16]
A
How do they help steer you in the right direction? Where are you now? What are the things you're doing today because of their influence?
- [90:22]
C
Big times. I mean, they. They helped me of growing my business. They helped me on managing my labor cost better, food costs better. They also have ton of network. I mean, it's like, you know, look at two weeks ago and I'm like, oh my gosh, I think I'm paying too much for a vegetable. Do you know anyone? Yes, of course we do.
- [90:41]
A
Yeah.
- [90:42]
C
So it's not just. It's about who they know.
- [90:46]
A
I think they have 80 clients.
- [90:47]
C
Did. I cannot.
- [90:50]
A
We've had conversations. But the point is they are looking at the, the inventory, the cost of goods for a bunch of different restaurants, similar business models. They know what other people are paying. Yeah. And they know what you can get.
- [91:07]
C
Definitely. And that's what I said earlier. It is so important if you open a restaurant. Listen, and I'm saying. I'm going to say it very clearly. If you, if anyone will open a restaurant and want the best help, how to, you know, like focus on what you're good at. Cooking. But the other half, my eyes closed. I go to Sherbony because they know restaurant, they know the industry. It's not just the number. Yes, it's strategy. Yes, it's number. But this is not what it's just about. It's about understanding what you need, putting you into the right direction, but also sourcing the right people for you. Always so important. And that's what they're extremely good at. And that's why I love them so much. I will be not here today. Yeah. Yeah.
- [91:58]
A
Anything else we haven't discussed about? I mean, one thing I'm curious about, I like to. I'm trying to be better about understanding. I think a lot of what drives Me is I'm looking for organic referrals, organic recommendations. That's how I found Cereboni. And we're going to be getting Sir Bony on the show while I'm out here too to dive deeper into what they do and how they help people. I really want it to be as journalistic as possible. I'm assuming five years ago when you joined with Siboney, they said, hey, we recommend like this pos. This inventory management, this general ledger, this. Do they cover a lot of that stuff? Do you even know like, like what's going on? Like I'm sure you know what tools you're using. Are you using Restaurant 365 or Margin Edge or what's that look like?
- [92:39]
C
Yeah. Restaurant 365. I'm at square using my POS system. Yeah.
- [92:45]
A
So but how do you like Square for restaurants? How's that been?
- [92:48]
C
I personally love it.
- [92:49]
A
Okay.
- [92:49]
C
I mean and it's not just, I mean it's not just you who's going to use Square. Your staff right there is a super friendly platform. I personally love it and highly recommend it.
- [93:02]
A
Yeah.
- [93:03]
C
And, and Square can talk to so many. Your POS system is attached to Pop Menu. Pop Menu is attached to.
- [93:11]
A
So they all using Pop Menu for your website.
- [93:13]
C
I do too. Yeah.
- [93:14]
A
How do you like Pop Menu? How did you land on Pop Menu?
- [93:17]
C
That was my PR lady. Okay. High creative, really like it's easy, it's friendly. You can just get in, do a quick change. And Pop Menu is related to your POS system Square and they talk to each other so that's a huge help. When you change a price on your pub menu, you automatically go and change the price in your square with your pos.
- [93:46]
A
That's huge.
- [93:47]
C
It is huge. You know how much time we used to spend to make sure that we had to change before our menu?
- [93:53]
B
Right.
- [93:53]
C
You have to change your POS system that you. So now by picking the right tools.
- [93:58]
A
Right. I think this is a big reason why fractional chiefs is the future.
- [94:02]
C
Yeah.
- [94:03]
A
Because it's way too much for a. A single unit multi two to three unit operator to keep their finger on the pulse of. You know how to manage all of that.
- [94:13]
C
Yeah.
- [94:14]
A
How are you supposed to manage all. Like running restaurants was hard enough when the. The world, before the world became digitized and before this breakneck speed of evolution of. Of optimizing of the consumer behavior changing of like there's just so much change and it's happening faster than single unit, two, three unit, four unit operators can keep up with and they don't have the budget to hire somebody to keep their finger on the poles constantly.
- [94:41]
B
And guess what, guys?
- [94:42]
A
It's only going to get fast, faster because AI is going to start breaking real soon.
- [94:46]
C
Oh my gosh.
- [94:47]
A
Arguably, some people say make it better. I wonder about that sometimes. I don't. I think there's this narrative of, oh, you know, with AI, we're going to get so much more time back. I think that's a load of croc. What do you think?
- [95:01]
C
I completely agree.
- [95:02]
A
Why do you think that?
- [95:03]
C
Well, AI on my industry, okay. Every industry, like, do you think they're going to be able to come up with this robot or fake arm cooking for you? I mean, just understand my industry. Okay. When you come to food, I think.
- [95:19]
A
Parts of that maybe like bowls, like, like, like rice bowls, salad bowl. I think certain sectors will be easier restaurants. QSR restaurants that never change their recipes that are consistent. Like they have. You know what I'm saying?
- [95:35]
B
Where.
- [95:36]
A
But what you do, that's going to be hard.
- [95:40]
B
Creativity.
- [95:43]
A
Customizing.
- [95:44]
B
Because here's the thing.
- [95:45]
A
The people that eat at your restaurant, I want it done just this way. Like, we know our guests, we have relationships with our guests. And to be able to cook it.
- [95:54]
B
Just the way they like it, that's.
- [95:57]
A
Not going to be easy. But if you're going to, you know six pro Chipotle and you know exactly how it's going to come out, you know, even if you try to make special requests are probably not going to get it right. Like there's different, there's different points at where I think AI is going to robotics and AI as they come together, it will work, but not for what you do.
- [96:15]
C
Yes. A quick story on AI you asked me, okay. I think it was like it was this big airport. They do have a big square with a automatic harm. Flippy can make cocktail for you.
- [96:29]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [96:30]
C
Do you have that? Yeah. What is the feel of that? So you can, you know, I love the feel that. Yeah. You talk to your bartender. WhatsApp. You can customize your cocktail. Your cocktail. I'm sorry, so now you're sitting in front of a mechanical arm. You have no conversation.
- [96:44]
A
Right.
- [96:44]
C
You cannot customize your cocktail. You can push our number one. I want extra strong. Where are we going? Yeah.
- [96:52]
A
I mean it's one like being. Knowing how to cook or knowing how to make a drink is part of the, the job of a, of a, a bartender. But an amazing bartender. They know how to work a room. They know a good bar.
- [97:06]
B
If you're busy.
- [97:07]
A
You don't have time to talk to every bartender. The best bartenders get the people talking to each other.
- [97:12]
C
Yes.
- [97:12]
A
You know, they are the. They are the icebreaker. They are the. They're. They're controlling. They're orchestrating the energy in the room. Same with hosts, same with servers. So that's one thing. One of the reasons why I'm super hopeful for the future of the restaurant industry, because it's the most human thing. Back to. I think we were saying this before the recording, but they're the only two things that matter in life. People and food. And some people might.
- [97:38]
B
If you look at the history of.
- [97:40]
A
Humanity, our existence today, everything we are.
- [97:44]
B
Today is because of who we did.
- [97:46]
A
It with and what we were doing. Getting food.
- [97:50]
C
Yep.
- [97:50]
A
Cooking food.
- [97:52]
B
Our ability to cook food, to be able to save energy.
- [97:55]
A
Because we're not chewing it, we're. We're able to digest it easier. We have a smaller gut.
- [97:59]
B
Our existence, our. Our evolution. Everything we are today is because of our relationship with food. And if you don't think that the.
- [98:08]
A
Future is going to be different if our.
- [98:10]
B
Our future does not hinge on food. Food is literally. I is labeled. It is defined as a commodity.
- [98:18]
A
These are.
- [98:18]
B
This is living one once living thing. Life is defined as a commodity.
- [98:24]
A
Part of my language. It's up, man.
- [98:27]
C
It is up. I love. Other way you put that. I love your style, man. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for reponing this because people have a tendency to forget that. Yeah.
- [98:37]
A
And. And I think one thing I wanted to. I'm happy we're here now because I wanted to bring this to the surface and I think it's really important. We're losing, I think, the industry and this. My job is to. To learn and to stay open, to listen. But I. What I love about you and what you're doing and what matters to you is that it's. We. I think the restaurant industry has lost its way and it's no longer about relationships. Increasingly, not. Not entirely. There are still people like yourself who do prioritize these things, but it's getting harder and harder to prioritize relationships in quality out of a necessity for survival. And I think that we have to remember what the. The restaurant industry has always been and what it was born out of. And you coming from France, you knowing what restaurants like the word or restaurant restore it all was born out of France plants. What is your perspective? What is your take on Western, you know, I. E. Far West America and how we approach the food industry versus what you were Born into.
- [99:51]
C
That's a great question. We can talk about that. You know, it's funny. It's like here in America, compared America. Okay. Or compared to Europe is. I think here people dine more out. Do you know in Europe, you go to restaurant on once a month, twice a month. Here, people dine out all the times on all category.
- [100:18]
A
You know, if they're not dining out, they're dining in, but they're not cooking it. They're ordering out. They're. They're dropping it off.
- [100:25]
C
So also. Yeah, so I think it's a different. I think is a different vision. I think people here, they, they. I mean, they get. They are busier. Everybody get busy. You don't have times. Sometime you realize. I'm gonna say one thing. You. You drive on West Hammer, right? And you see this billboard and you say, you can get two tacos for 99, 99 cents. What the hell is going on here? What are you eating, man? Food. 99 cents. Two tacos.
- [100:56]
A
You gotta be worried about that.
- [100:57]
C
You sure? And that's what I'm telling everyone. And it's like, get a tomato, get a sea salt and olive oil. Slice it. Get a piece of bread.
- [101:07]
B
Real bread, too, not that stuff they.
- [101:09]
A
Sell at the grocery store.
- [101:10]
C
Don't make me start. You know, bread is four ingredients. Okay. Yeah.
- [101:14]
A
The bread that you buy, salt, water, flour, yeast. Yeah. Thyme. Don't forget that one.
- [101:20]
C
Also. Yeah, but don't make me say name. But all fast food industry. And I studied that because I was a consultant for a company or. 14 to 22 ingredients on this fake bread.
- [101:38]
B
Yeah.
- [101:38]
A
Preservatives.
- [101:39]
C
Where are we going? Yeah.
- [101:41]
A
You know, the mission statement is to inspire, empower, and transform the industry. And the reason. And, you know, I do think that if we transform the industry, if we offer perspective and knowledge and. And help reconnect with what this is all about, we can change the world. And that's the purpose of this podcast, is to change the world through transforming the industry. And I think we have a big mountain to climb, man. But it's an honor to make an example of people like you. And one more thing I'm curious about that I wrote down. I wanted to come back to it. You said that you cannot make money in fine dining. I think, you know, do you have opinions on this, this culture, American culture, and our emphasis on awards like this, like the list culture, like getting on these lists, best of lists.
- [102:32]
C
Right.
- [102:32]
A
Do you have opinions on that?
- [102:34]
C
Yeah. Yeah. I think he's important to be part of it. And I think he definitely. Now let me. When I said is no way to make money on fine dining. You can, but you really have to think of the size, the way you position the target, the price point, knowing that you're going to eat a very small elite. So yes, you can. But you can. The only way to make money on the fine dining is one to have the right chef. To have a chef who is well known, well respected, be consistent. But the size is the size of fine dining. And I can list you restaurant here in Houston or just like get a Michelin star. And it's just starting in Texas last year. The restaurant are doing this is because they smoke and they're smart. You cannot achieve a super fine dining on 200 color.
- [103:40]
A
The the days of Le Bernardin, you know.
- [103:43]
C
Yeah. Or La Galatoise. Yeah. Or just name it all.
- [103:47]
A
Was it 300 seats? The Bernie, you know, like, that's crazy. This has been so much fun. I would love to come back and talk to you when you've scaled to five, six locations across Houston. We have to wrap it up. We have some another interview coming in. Sir Bony is is introducing me to some really great people. If the rest of my conversations are like the one we just had, man, I'm looking forward to this. If, if, if we want to follow up with you or maybe come check out one of your restaurants. What's the best way to connect?
- [104:17]
C
Go to Chef David. Chef David. Denise. I have an Instagram Bistro555 or is going to become Bistro Mistral. So check on Bistro Mistral. But I think you have that website.
- [104:30]
A
Up at the Beastroom.
- [104:31]
C
Israel is going to be attached to 555. We're doing a smooth. A smooth transition between the two. But the best way will be check me on Instagram. Check me on Facebook.
- [104:41]
A
Do you know the handle the Instagram handle at.
- [104:44]
C
Yeah. So it is Chef David Dennis.
- [104:46]
A
Got it.
- [104:47]
C
That's it. You will find me and from there you will be a lot of information share. You will see some dish that we do and you will. You will see all the what new what's coming up. Yeah.
- [104:58]
A
So this last question is my North Star. This is how I find people like you to make an example of. I don't want to be the one who decides who should be made an example of. I think the industry should ex decide. So who's doing it right? Who's really impressive? Who's sticking to their values and making money while they do it it. If I could get one person on the Show. Or maybe you have more than one person that comes to mind that needs to share their story and their knowledge. Who is that person?
- [105:32]
C
The group Papas in Houston. They are so good.
- [105:34]
A
I've not gotten them on the show.
- [105:36]
C
They are strong legends. They are legends. They know somebody. Yeah. Can refer you some few names.
- [105:43]
A
Okay. We'll just keep it at Papas and we'll see what you can do.
- [105:45]
C
Let me tell you, you. That's the. They are. They know what they're doing, and they're super smart and is well done.
- [105:52]
A
I would love to make that happen.
- [105:53]
C
Okay. I can't help you.
- [105:54]
A
They're based here in Houston, right?
- [105:55]
C
Yeah. All right, cool.
- [105:57]
A
Chef, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story, your knowledge, and your perspective. There is no questioning you are unstoppable.
- [106:05]
C
Yaka.
- [106:06]
A
Cheers.
- [106:07]
C
Cheers.
- [106:08]
A
There is another episode wrapped up here.
- [106:10]
B
At Restaurant Unstoppable, and if you enjoyed today's episode, I could use your support. You can support this show by sharing this podcast with your peers, subscribing to.
- [106:18]
A
Itunes, Spotify, and YouTube, and joining our community@restaurantunstoppable.com live.
- [106:24]
B
So the famous entrepreneurial coach Dan Sullivan once said, in order to be successful, you want to focus on who, not how.
- [106:30]
A
And that's what we're doing here at Restaurant Unstoppable.
- [106:32]
B
We're trying to find the who's that can take you to the next level. And I really do think that Sir Boni Services, you know, I'm here in Austin, Texas.
- [106:38]
A
Texas. I'm here in partnership with Siboney Services.
- [106:40]
B
And all in one financial service that was referred to me organically in episode 1200 by Jason Carrier. And I was honestly blown away at what Sir Boni did for Jason, that I wanted to learn more. So I reached out to Sir Boni, and they're helping me connect with some really badass restaurant tours here in Texas. And if you're enjoying the content this week, in the coming weeks, I highly.
- [107:01]
A
Recommend you join us in Restaurant stoppable community@restaurantstoppable.com live to connect live with these.
- [107:08]
B
Guests and ask the questions I miss. And this is the future of Restaurant Stoppable, where when I find a vein of gold, I want to dive deeper into that vein. I want to learn more. And I really do believe that services like what Sir Boni offers is the.
- [107:21]
A
Future of the restaurant industry.
- [107:22]
B
I think you need to outsource in with all types of fractional executives, whether that be a cmo, a C O O or C F O fractional executives.
- [107:34]
A
Are, I think, the way of the future.
- [107:36]
B
And I'm learning some really great things here from Cerboni Services and they're going to be live in the network as well. So again, come hang out, support this.
- [107:43]
A
Mission and we'll help you connect with the right who's too. We'll see you next time.