Restaurant Unstoppable Ep. 1245: Eric Scheffer, Founder and CEO of The Scheffer Group

Release Date: January 15, 2026
Host: Eric Cacciatore

Brief Overview

In this deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation, host Eric Cacciatore sits down with Eric Scheffer, the seasoned founder and CEO of The Scheffer Group. Over 25 years in Asheville’s evolving restaurant scene, Scheffer has built—and sometimes rebuilt—multiple concepts, weathered industry storms, and leaned into restaurant ownership as a calling of relentless generosity. The two Erics cover Scheffer’s formative journey from media production to hospitality, practical advice on financing and scaling, the centrality of community and staff, the psychology underpinning great hospitality, and the critical importance of sharing industry knowledge to propel everyone forward.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Core Philosophy: “Relentless Generosity” and Service to Others

• Relentless generosity brings us closer together. Scheffer introduces his mantra right away, emphasizing the importance of giving without expectation and fostering community as the heartbeat of hospitality.
  • Quote: “You give to give, not give to get.” (04:46 - 05:26)
• This philosophy extends beyond guests to his own staff and the wider Asheville community, informing both his business decisions and personal fulfillment.

2. The Scheffer Group: Concepts, Expansion, and Financials

Current Portfolio:

• 2x Vinny’s Neighborhood Italian
• Jetty Ray’s Oyster House
• Gan Shan (Asian counter-service concept)
• Formerly: Savoy (fine dining), Cielo Catering, and more

Scaling with Intent

• From high-end Savoy to casual but robustly profitable counter-service (Gan Shan), Scheffer has evolved his business model over the years.
• Major lesson: counter-service/QSR concepts show the best margins and lowest labor stress. (“If you look at all my restaurants, [Gan Shan] is probably the most profitable per and the best margins out of all my restaurants…” 17:35)

Transparency on Restaurant Economics

• Benchmarks for Vinny’s:

  • Labor: ~32%
  • Food Cost: 24-26%
  • Prime Cost: ~56%
  • Profit: 13-16%
  • Rent: Owns the building, lending more margin (~7% to bottom line).

• Jetty Ray’s:

  • Higher labor and food costs (seafood, oysters), rents, profit ~10%.

• Scheffer bought/buildings when possible, supporting generational wealth and offering security for his special needs daughter.

  • Quote: "I wanted to own the dirt underneath the restaurants... as me, as an individual, build my little empire and such, it’s about how that empire generationally can also benefit her." (13:46 - 14:27)

3. Personal Story: From Hollywood to Hospitality via Hardship

Early Ambitions

• Grew up in advertising/film, successfully, but always had a yearning for restaurants rooted in family travel and a love of bringing people together.
• Motivated by insecurity/need for self-actualization outside the shadow of his accomplished family.

Pivot Point

• After LA carjackings, earthquakes, and the birth of his daughter (premature, special needs), Scheffer chose Asheville over Hollywood to build a life and business better aligned to family and purpose.

Overcoming Adversity

• Risked his last $40K, bought his first restaurant via owner financing, and clawed his way through financial/life adversity—including a difficult partnership buy-out and IRS debt, which he resolved by leveraging deep relationships and sheer determination.
  • Quote: "If you're going to open up a restaurant, be prepared to crawl through glass for the next three years of your life, at least." (41:07)

4. Building (and Surviving) in Restaurants: Financing, Partnerships, and Community

Owner-Financing, Asking for Help, and Don’t Go It Alone

• Advocates for buying turnkey locations from retiring/restless owners and using creative financing. Many are ready to exit; all you have to do is ask.
  • Quote: “It is amazing to me how many young people come to me for advice, and they’re just afraid to ask the question.” (53:06)
• Recommends partnership buy-sell agreements, but admits partnerships are fraught: “Never have a partner” (67:26), but if you do, clear legal agreements are essential.

Power of Community Over Competition

• Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, co-founded by Scheffer, flourished as restaurateurs shared knowledge and resources, while secretive competitors faded away.
  • Quote: "If you want to isolate yourself and you want to...keep the information to yourself, well, one day it's going to come bite you in the ass.” (54:17)

5. Leadership & Managing Staff: Creating Reciprocal Growth

• Openly shares financials, develops people (10% of 170 staff have 5+ year tenure), and builds career pathways (“10 Minutes with Eric” check-ins).
• Success is measured in both staff and guest experiences: “You can come work for me for five minutes or five years—what matters is that you become a better person first.” (80:07)
• Be present: “If you don’t want to be in your restaurants every day, then don’t open a restaurant.” (81:34)

6. Evolving Models: Systems, Technology, and Surviving COVID

Leveraging Tech & Systems

• Move from full-service to counter-service and robust to-go business during COVID (even converting Vinny’s to counter for a time).
• POS evolution: Moving from Aloha to Toast for cloud-based controls, with caution not to lose “intuition with experience for what’s really going on in your business.” (116:47)
• Use of ScheduleFly for scheduling—“so freaking simple, but it helps.” (116:21)
• Weekly P&Ls, “empirical data,” and labor/food cost tracking at the core.

COVID—Catalyst for Refinement

• Removing third-party delivery (Uber Eats, GrubHub) post-COVID, reclaiming relationship and margin.
• Menu simplification, improved focus, and tighter systems (QSR-style counter service where possible).

7. The Psychology of Hospitality: “Seeing and Being Seen”

• In-depth dialogue about hospitality as a human, even evolutionary need: the “third place” (home, work, restaurant/community space).

• Empathy for solo diners, cultivating community, and showing leadership through humility and inclusion.

  • Quote: “I always espouse to my staff...the one thing we’ve all been given equally is choice...Every single day, people choose to spend money so [others] can afford their rent...That interaction of humanity to me is brilliant actually—capitalism. Right. It's to see with money.” (31:10)

8. Growth Mindset—Gears, Vision, and Legacy

• Gears of Growth: From first location, to multi-unit, to weathering COVID, to giving others co-creative power, to planning for a future where he steps back and his team carries the torch.
• Vision: Not just expansion, but leaving a structure where staff can thrive—and opportunity abounds for others ("the next generation of leaders").
• Money “must be a byproduct”—true purpose comes from improving others’ lives and enabling their growth.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Relentless Generosity:
  • “Relentless generosity brings us closer together.” (04:34, Eric Scheffer)
• On Community Over Competition:
  • "Once we started getting the other restaurateurs that joined us in this...to sit together and, and share this information, we all rose to the top." (54:12, Eric Scheffer)
• On Adversity:
  • "If you’re going to open up a restaurant, be prepared to crawl through glass for the next three years..." (41:07, Eric Scheffer)
• On Overcoming Fear:
  • “I wake up every single day knowing it’s going to be okay. I really do. I have found a space inside myself. I don’t have fear.” (83:52, Eric Scheffer)
• Culture Tip:
  • "What you allow to become your standards...defines everything." (98:08)
• Legacy Advice:
  • “What other people think of you is none of your business. Relentless generosity brings us closer together. It’s not about the things or money... It’s all about the joy you feel every single day.” (119:00)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 04:34 — Scheffer describes “relentless generosity”
• 13:46 — Purpose behind owning property/long-term generational planning
• 17:35 — On shifting focus to counter service and margin lessons
• 31:10 — Capitalism as “seeing and being seen”—the psychology of hospitality
• 41:07 — “Crawl through glass” advice on opening a restaurant
• 54:12 — The power of community and knowledge-sharing in restaurant success
• 67:26 — Partnership warning and importance of buy-sell agreements
• 80:07 — Creating career paths and reciprocal growth for staff
• 99:19 — Chef Eric Ripert’s journey from ego to humility as inspiration
• 116:21 — Importance of simple, effective tools like ScheduleFly
• 119:00 — Scheffer’s three rules for living/leading

Conclusion

Eric Scheffer’s episode is a masterclass in both the psychological and operational heart of the restaurant business. Whether discussing the hard numbers behind margins, the necessity of sharing information and banding together as operators, or the deeper virtues required for leadership—generosity, humility, and presence—Scheffer keeps bringing the focus back to community and the value of relationship. His journey underscores that success in this industry is not about secret recipes or cutthroat competition, but about lifting others up and building structures that create opportunity for all.

Resources & Names Mentioned

• Key tools: Toast (POS), ScheduleFly (scheduling), QuickBooks
• Local peers to watch: Felix and Katie from Cúrate; Chef Silver of Neng Jr’s
• Inspirations: Pierre Thiam (teranga philosophy), Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin), Ismail Torres (in Chicago), Chef Atsuka Cooki (Kono, NYC)
• Book recommended: Main Street Millionaire by Corey Sanchez

Contact

• Eric Scheffer: eric@scheffergroup.com

If you want a roadmap for scaling your own restaurant business, in clear-eyed language and grounded in decades of wins, losses, and lessons, this episode has got all the ingredients.