1252: Jody Fiess, COO at Cerboni Services

Summary

Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast Episode 1252: Jody Fiess, COO at Cerboni Services

Date: February 12, 2026
Host: Eric Cacciatore
Guest: Jody Fiess (COO, Cerboni Services)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the intersection of hospitality, leadership, financial expertise, and technology in the restaurant industry. Host Eric Cacciatore engages Jody Fiess, COO of Cerboni Services, in an inspiring, insight-packed conversation about what makes restaurants (and restaurateurs) truly unstoppable. The discussion covers Jody's personal journey in the industry, the purpose and unique approach of Cerboni Services, and essential advice for operators seeking to thrive in a complex and ever-changing landscape.

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Main Themes

• The DNA of successful restaurant leadership: passion, hospitality, and financial acumen
• The growing critical role of specialized support services (like Cerboni) for independent operators
• The evolution of restaurant operations: from service to experience, and onto transformation
• Leveraging technology (especially AI) and systems to do more with less, and remain competitive
• Why building strong culture and genuine relationships is vital for team and guest experience

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Core Mantra: "Passion and Pennies"

[03:59] Jody Fiess:
Jody’s mantra for running successful restaurants: "It's passion and pennies."

“If we all share in the passion of what the industry is and we all watch our pennies, it’s a successful one.” — Jody Fiess (03:59)

Meaning:

• Passion: The love for hospitality work, service, and connection.
• Pennies: The vigilance required in managing slim margins.

2. Hospitality as a Human Imperative

[05:06] Jody Fiess & [06:05] Eric Cacciatore:
They explore what it means to "lead with hospitality".

“Hospitality, I think, is... service, enthusiasm, generosity, respect… It should be a non-negotiable. We expect it whenever we go into a restaurant.” — Jody Fiess (05:06)

Eric connects hospitality to human tribal history:

“Our DNA literally needs to, to receive and to give hospitality… it’s so close to our nature, but we take it for granted.” — Eric Cacciatore (06:05)

Insight:
Genuine hospitality connects teams and guests on a deep, almost primal level.

3. Jody’s Industry Journey

[08:39]–[15:04]

• Started as a busser in 1995, worked all positions up to director level.
• Stayed within hospitality—never left the industry, culminating in executive leadership roles.
• Education in business and psychology, emphasizing the importance of understanding people (staff and guests).

“Running businesses and understanding people… it’s actually the perfect marriage.” — Jody Fiess (13:19)

4. The Role of Cerboni Services

[09:37]–[10:51]
Cerboni is a specialized financial services firm for restaurants, offering:

• Accounting
• Tax
• Payroll
• Inventory support
• Consulting (incl. fractional CFO services)

Crucial Value:
Not just generating data (like a plain P&L), but interpreting operational implications and plotting paths for actionable results.

“What does it mean that labor is higher? ...When we look at a P&L, what is the operational implication of what we’re looking at?” — Jody Fiess (09:37)

5. Leadership, Self-Awareness, and Culture

[17:43]–[22:57]
Self-awareness through honest feedback and reflective improvement is key.
Leadership, to Jody, means listening well, motivating teams, and fostering a culture where people care.

“I admire diligent operators. I admire people that take information, create action, and deliver results.” — Jody Fiess (57:32)

Creating Culture ([21:49]–[22:57]):

• Build belief in vision and product.
• Empower people with respect and a strong culture.
• Growth is making people better than when they joined.

6. Growth: Internal First, External Follows

[25:46]–[27:18]
Growth isn't just more locations or revenue; it's improvement in processes, people, and consistency.

“Even consistency is growth. ...You can’t grow externally if you haven’t done the work and the growth internally.” — Jody Fiess (26:41)

7. The Power & Purpose of Cerboni’s Niche

[31:16] Jody Fiess:
Cerboni’s purpose is to give restaurants one less hat, lighten the burden, and help them succeed financially.

“If I can’t help you succeed, then I’m not successful. Your success is my success.” — Jody Fiess (31:58)

Their Unique Edge:

• Deep restaurant/operations expertise (restaurant managers and chefs on staff).
• Not just accountants—translators & action-partners for ops.

8. The Only Path Forward for Independents: Tech & Outsourcing

[35:40]–[38:10]
It's impossible for independent operators to keep up with technology and financial complexity alone.

“You have to have somebody on your team… someone who is plugged into that so you, they can manage that and the numbers and you can do what you love.” — Eric Cacciatore (35:39)

Cerboni partners with leading tech: Restaurant Systems Pro, Restaurant 365, Margin Edge, etc.

Fractional Executives ([47:22]): Bridge the gap for independents between owner-operator and a full executive suite.

9. The Future — AI, Integrated Systems, & Deep Service

AI & Dashboards ([48:19]–[50:22]):

• AI is a game-changer, allowing right-brained operators to focus on what matters, surfacing only essential insights.
• Fully integrated tech stacks and holistic systems are critical for efficient operations and reliable data that drives action.

Deep Service is Back ([54:01]–[55:43]): Jody predicts a renewed emphasis on “deep service”—experiences that are memorable and engaging, which will define successful operators in the next phase.

“More successful operators are having restaurants that are very aligned to deep service.” — Jody Fiess (55:27)

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Notable Quotes

• “It’s passion and pennies... we follow our hearts, we lead with hospitality.” — Jody Fiess (03:59)
• “Hospitality is service, enthusiasm, generosity, respect… it’s a non-negotiable.” — Jody Fiess (05:06)
• “Running businesses and understanding people… it’s the perfect marriage.” — Jody Fiess (13:19)
• “If I can’t help you succeed, then I’m not successful. Your success is my success.” — Jody Fiess (31:58)
• “Growth is getting better at what you did yesterday, today.” — Eric Cacciatore (26:06)
• “AI… the implication of being able to leverage this creates our ability to… put that data together... just tell me what I need to know.” — Jody Fiess (48:19)
• “I admire diligent operators. I admire people that take information, create action, and deliver results.” — Jody Fiess (57:32)

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Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment / Insight | |--------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:59 | Jody’s mantra: “Passion and pennies.” | | 05:06 | Defining “leading with hospitality.” | | 06:05 | Hospitality as human DNA and tribal connection. | | 09:37 | Jody’s role at Cerboni and the importance of interpreting financials for operators. | | 17:43 | On listening to feedback and building real self-awareness. | | 21:49 | How to create a culture where people care. | | 25:46 | Growth as making people better, not just expansion. | | 31:16 | Cerboni’s purpose: serve, support, and empower restaurant operators. | | 35:40 | The vital need for independent operators to partner with tech/finance pros to survive & thrive. | | 38:10 | How Cerboni stays tech-agnostic and builds solutions for clients’ actual needs. | | 48:19 | The game-changing, dashboard-creating possibilities of real AI integration. | | 54:01 | Where is hospitality going? The return of “deep service.” | | 57:32 | Who does Jody admire? The diligent operators who take action and deliver results. |

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Memorable Moments

• "A leader is a dealer of hope." — Referenced by Eric; becomes a throughline in talking about leadership’s best role (24:41, 31:09)
• Jody’s journey: From busser to bartender to COO—never left hospitality; credits business and psychology as a perfect blend for a leader.
• Real talk about operational pain: The challenge of bandwidth, turnover, and the overwhelming burden of managing tech and finance without support (45:13–46:28).
• The case for fractional executives: Not everyone needs (or can afford) a full C-suite. Outsourcing finance, ops, and tech is the new way forward.

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The Future: Deep Service & Transformation

Jody and Eric agree — the next era in hospitality will be defined by operators who genuinely deliver deep, transformational service. This means:

• Consistently great experiences start with caring, respected teams
• Operators partner with specialized support (like Cerboni), leveraging tech for insights, but focusing on people and relationships
• The rise of "fractional" roles (CFO, CMO, etc.) opens up new, rewarding career paths and makes robust operations accessible for independents

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Final Takeaway

Cerboni Services stands out by not just handling the numbers, but by arming restaurants with insight, empowering action, and ultimately allowing passionate, right-brained operators to focus on hospitality. This, coupled with embracing technology and a culture-first mindset, is what will keep independents unstoppable for years to come.

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Learn More:

• Cerboni Services: Call 281-888-2413 and mention this episode for a discount.
• Podcast Community/Show Notes: restaurantunstoppable.com

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“There is no questioning, my man—you and Cerboni are UNSTOPPABLE!” — Eric Cacciatore (60:24)

Transcript

[Eric Cacciatore]

A couple things before we get started today. First, thank you so much for showing up week after week making my vision for Restaurants Unstoppable come true. Your downloads are allowing me to do this show the way I've always wanted to do it. Boots on the ground, word of mouth, leaders, referring leaders, giving the industry an uncensored, no BS platform to share their perspectives and truth. That's on you. Thank you so much. And we're just getting started. So if you're enjoying what we're doing here and you want to help us do it even better, please subscribe to this podcast on your platform of choice. And if you do that, I promise to do everything in my power to continue to improve the show. I'll deliver the restaurant tours you want to hear from and we'll continue to make everything you love about this show better.

[Jason Feifer]

Thank you.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Welcome to restaurant unstoppable. For 10 years and over 1,000 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 Restaurant Systems Pro and beginning in January 2026, Restaurant Systems Pro is going to be doing a 30 day MAST program. This is valued at $4,000 and if you head over to go.restaurant systemspro.netprofits you can for a limited time get this for only $97. But there is an even better deal if you sign up for a Restaurant.

[Jason Feifer]

Unstoppable network by heading to restaurant unstoppable.com live.

[Eric Cacciatore]

You can get this 30 day mastery.

[Jason Feifer]

Program for free when you join the.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Community and you also get access to this in perpetuity because they're going to be popping it off every month. 2026 with all the knowledge and resources.

[Jason Feifer]

And tools you need to be unstoppable.

[Eric Cacciatore]

In partnership with Restaurant Unstoppable and Restaurant Systems Pro Again, Restaurant Unstoppable.com live join the community get access to this training. This episode is made possible by US Foods. Running a successful restaurant takes more than just great food. With US Foods you can expect more high quality products, advanced tools and flexible deliveries to grow your business. Their industry leading moxy platform also does more than just place. Your US Foods order uses AI to help you take control, save time and increase profitability. Visit usfoods.com expectmore to learn how to become a US Foods customer one more time. That is usfoods.com expect this episode is brought to you by Restaurant Technologies, the leader in automated cooking oil management. Their total oil management solution is an end to end, closed loop automated system that delivers, monitors, filters, collects and recycles your cooking oil, eliminating one of the dirtiest jobs and in the kitchen. Restaurant technologies services over 45,000 customers nationwide. Automate your oil and elevate your kitchen by visiting RTI hyphen inc.com or call 888-779-5314 to get started with excitement.

[Jason Feifer]

Allow me to introduce to you today's guest COO of Sir Bony Services, Jody Feast. My man, Jody, are you feeling unstoppable today?

[Jody Feast]

I'm feeling very unstoppable, man.

[Jason Feifer]

I'm stoked to be here. Everyone that I'm coming into who is familiar with, with Siboney, who is using Siboney services, including the founders, are saying, Jody's the one you got to talk to. So we made it happen. You're sitting here, I can't wait to dive into what got you into this work and the work you do today. But let's get that motivational, inspirational ball rolling with a success quote or mantra. What do you got for us, man?

[Jody Feast]

If I had anything to go by, that is my mantra or the mantra I actually share with my operators, I think really it's what this industry is, right? And I say it's two things. It's passion and pennies. And if we all share in the passion of what the industry is and we all watch our pennies, it's a successful one.

[Jason Feifer]

I mean, passion, it can be passion in so many different ways. But what do you mean by that? Passion for what?

[Jody Feast]

Passion for the industry. I think whenever it comes to restaurant operators, when it comes to restaurant owners, we're a different breed. We, we follow our hearts, we lead with hospitality. I think it's something that you don't find in a lot of other industries. I think, you know, we take on numerous different roles, wear many different hats, I think is kind of how it's referred to a lot of times. But that passion, I think really just it spills forward in everything that we do and I think it just makes it somebody that it's a type of clientele, it's a type of person, it's type of owner and operator that we love to work with. We identify.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah.

[Jody Feast]

With the restaurant operators.

[Jason Feifer]

What does it mean to lead with hospitality?

[Jody Feast]

I think let's Define hospitality first. Right. So hospitality, I think, is. It's service, it's enthusiasm, it is, you know, generosity, it is respect. It has all of these elements to it. Right. And so when I say lead with hospitality, it is to actually go forward. Right. And embracing that with everybody that we bring to it. You know, that's something that I think we call our industry, the hospitality industry. Right. And I think it's because it's a non negotiable. It is something that it should be a non negotiable. Right. And it's something that we expect, whenever we go into a restaurant, we expect to have that experience. Right. We can always talk that we're selling food, we're selling service, all of these things. But truly, when we go into. We go into a restaurant, a bar, bar, whatever it may be, we're there for the experience and it's that, that sets everything apart. So that experience begins with hospitality. Yeah, Right. So we have to lead with it.

[Jason Feifer]

You know, it's interesting. I really, I truly believe that hospitality, we just refer to it as like this, this way to describe an industry or, you know, a thing that you do for guests. But I think hospitality really cuts deeper into the core of our DNA and what we are as a species. If you look at what hospitality is, it's. To all of your points, it's warrant, generosity, caring, loving, being of service to others. We are tribal creatures. We need others to survive. We need to be valuable to other people in order to be accepted into the tribe and to be seen to be valued is critical in our survival as an individual in a tribe of human beings. Right. So I think that our DNA literally needs to, to receive and to give hospitality, it's this thing that is so close to our, our DNA and our human nature, but we just kind of take it for granted. You know, we don't even see it like air. We don't even see it as being critical as to who we are.

[Jody Feast]

Absolutely. I think, you know, it's a. It's about community. Right, Right. I think you hit the nail on the head. That tribal sense really kind of what flows through our veins. But, you know, in. I think as much as we can identify that to who we are as people. Right. Whenever it comes to, you know, businesses and when it comes to, you know, experiences that you may have outside of restaurants. Right. And other things, I think hospitality, sometimes it's, it's lost. Right, Right. So it's a, it's a focus, it's a center point of what we do whenever we go into a restaurant whenever we have those experiences, and I think it connects us in a very different way. And I. Flows right back into the whole passion piece.

[Jason Feifer]

Right.

[Jody Feast]

There is a passionate piece about it that fundamentally. Right. That we are. We are connecting whenever. Whenever we're experiencing that.

[Jason Feifer]

Even when people say they're passionate about food, I think there's some truth to, like, the act of learning and creating. But I think that the thing that really people are passionate about is being seen for creating. Like, being valued for being able to create this. It's in that moment of being appreciated for what you can create. And when people enjoy that and they know that you made it and you're seen for that, I think that's like, that's the dopamine hit. That's like, that's the thing that we're addicted to, is being appreciated and seen for the thing we do. And I don't think that that's discussed enough in terms of why we do what we do and where the passion comes from. But great way to get this thing started. So where does it make sense to start sharing your story? You didn't just start working at restaurants the day you joined Serboni Services SEO, right?

[Jody Feast]

Probably not.

[Jason Feifer]

So take us back to where it makes sense.

[Jody Feast]

Sure. You know, I think my first job was a busser, a restaurant out of Deer Park, Texas, when I was in high school.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay.

[Jody Feast]

So, you know, I immediately kind of partnered in the industry. Right. And out of convenience at the time. But it's also something that even when I went to college, you know, I bartended. I worked the entire time I went to college to help support myself, to do that, and really just kind of fell in love with the industry. Since then, you know, I've spent my life inside of restaurants.

[Jason Feifer]

Did you ever take a detour for something else? And did you come back?

[Jody Feast]

Never.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay.

[Jody Feast]

So I've never.

[Jason Feifer]

I hate to date you. Bring us back to when you started working in restaurants for the first time. What year are we talking about?

[Jody Feast]

We're talking about 1995.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay. Going back, like, 30 years.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah. So long time.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah. And real quick, and I didn't give you a chance to do this before. I mean, I introduced you as the CEO of Siboney Services. But what does that look like? What does your job look like today? Like, what is your role here at Sir Boni Financial Services?

[Jody Feast]

Sure. I think it encompasses quite a bit. You know, a member of the executive team where we, you know, really take care of everything within the business. You know, Cerboni has Numerous different departments. It's going to be accounting, tax payroll, consulting, inventory partnerships. But, you know, I think a big piece of what I do is going to be through this fractional CFO surfaces that we offer, which is going to be consultation. Right. And given my experience, given my knowledge within the industry, we do a lot of consultation with owners and operators through the fractional CFO services. Really taking the financials and saying, what is the operational implication of your financials? Right. It's one thing to have an accounting company or to have a CPA or whatever it may be that gives you a P and L. And that's great. A P and L is a great tool. But what do we do with the P and L? And what does it mean? What does it mean that labor is higher? What does it mean that, you know, my food is higher? What does it mean that, you know, dues and subscriptions is beyond a certain amount? Right. So when we look at a P and L, what is the operational implication of what we're looking at? And then what is my path forward to be able to create action and deliver results?

[Eric Cacciatore]

Got it.

[Jason Feifer]

So where did you develop these skills the most? Like to be able to move into this position with Sir Boni.

[Jody Feast]

So I think, you know, my experience is great. So, you know, even prior to being with Sir Boni, in my years of hospitality, you know, I spent 17 years with one particular organization here in Houston across multiple different concepts and basically with full responsibility. In so much of doing that, it was working directly with our controller, working direct control with ownership, and being able to understand how to successfully run a business in difficult landscapes. Not only that, but my education also was a piece of, you know, understanding and being able to drive that momentum.

[Jason Feifer]

What'd you go to school for?

[Jody Feast]

Business and psychology.

[Jason Feifer]

Ooh, psychology. You know, yeah. If I could go back to school, it would be something psychology related, whether it be like evolutionary psychology or.

[Jody Feast]

I actually took evolutionary psychology.

[Jason Feifer]

I love that stuff. And it's. Honestly, I think the. The answer to our future is understanding our past. Not just our history of, you know, collective, you know, group psychology, of how the cities and organizations form, but like on an individual, what does a human need to be happy? And if we can figure that out, if we can crack the goal of the code, and the goal is just to be happy, is to create an ecosystem where people can thrive. We're going to figure that out by looking back 30 to 10,000 years ago in that period of where we evolved to be optimal.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right.

[Jason Feifer]

And how do we reverse engineer that? That's a topic that fascinates.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah, psychology. That's a lot of different facets to it that I think, you know, the thing that really drew me to that piece of, you know, school was personalities and motivation. I want to understand what motivates people. Right. How different personalities are engaged. Right. How to motivate different personalities, how to lead different personalities. And I think psychology offers a very good understanding of that. You know, a lot of people are like, you know, how can you have that background of psychology and business and, you know, kind of end up where you're at? And I think it's actually the perfect marriage. Right.

[Jason Feifer]

How could you not?

[Jody Feast]

It's running businesses and understanding people, not only from an employee standpoint, but even from a demographic, a client standpoint. It's understanding tendencies. All of those things really kind of conglomerate together, really. To one interesting background.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah, it's all connected, for sure. So it was 17 years you're with this organization. I mean, you were in high school in the mid-90s. I'm assuming you graduated right around 2000, late 90s from college with this focus. Where'd you go to school?

[Jody Feast]

Ut.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay. And did you get right into restaurants from that point?

[Jody Feast]

Yeah, right. Right out of the gate. And again, you know, I think it was. It was natural that during my time going to school, I think I was in it and I really kind of fell in love with it. So once I got done, you know, I had a lot of success with the restaurants that I was in and really kind of rose quickly. And I think it was something that I just kind of latched onto.

[Jason Feifer]

When did you join Sir Bonus Services?

[Jody Feast]

Sir Bonus Services. I've been here for two years.

[Jason Feifer]

Two years. So in 2023.

[Jody Feast]

At the time, I was Texadelphia.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay.

[Jody Feast]

Was one of them that I did. And I managed a couple. A couple different stores for them. One off south.

[Jason Feifer]

You know Brian Bogart?

[Jody Feast]

I know Brian Bogart.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Yeah.

[Jason Feifer]

I had him on the show. I know he came up in that world.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah, yeah, I know Brian Bogart.

[Jason Feifer]

He was a lot of fun.

[Jody Feast]

That's. That's crazy. I actually managed the South Voltage store. And if you've ever been to the. The 40 acres UT, there is a Texadelphia right on the drag. And that was my store as well.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay. How did you grow and evolve during this time? Like, what was the biggest thing. This is a long time you were with this organization, Right. Or no short time.

[Jody Feast]

This is getting my.

[Jason Feifer]

My wires crossed.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah. So the 17 years was an organization here in Houston.

[Jason Feifer]

How did you grow the most? I guess during this time? Like, what were the biggest transformative points for you and what was your title with these different organizations?

[Jody Feast]

So I think going back to Texadelphia, I was a general manager with a couple different stores. And after that when I joined and I, you know, the organization here in Houston is Schiller Del Grande. Okay. Shiller Del Grande was responsible for the Cafe Annie, Cafe Express, Taco Milagro, the Grove, the Lake House. Right. So a whole bunch of different concepts. During that time, whenever I joined, I actually came on as a bar manager for a Taco Milagro that was out in Willowbrook. But after that I really kind of, I think after three months I was promoted to a general manager of one in Baybrook and then promoted from there went to the Downtown Concepts, which was the Grove, the Lake House, and from there joined as a general manager as well and really kind of finished my tenure there as a do.

[Jason Feifer]

All right, so your director of DM, you said Dr. Director of operations for all the units within the organization or.

[Jody Feast]

One the Downtown Concepts.

[Jason Feifer]

Got it, Got it. And how many concepts were there at the downtown spot?

[Jody Feast]

2.

[Jason Feifer]

2. So how, how did you find this opportunity to join Sir Boni Services?

[Jody Feast]

A mutual friend. So you know, Joshua and Maria are the co founders of Sir Bony and they actually have a mutual contact that I had. His name is Gary. He's with Hospitality Pro Search, he's a recruiter. And Gary and I had a long relationship, you know, through 17 years and beyond, actually using him for services. Right. To staff the restaurant. And him and I had just talked at times about, you know, what the future held and opportunities and things like that. And he connected myself with Joshua and Maria and just kind of started a conversation, started interest and from there really saw the what could happen, the success that could really be generated given what Sir Boni does. Sir Boni is, you know, specializes in the hospitality industry. And I think a lifetime, 30 years plus of experience in that world really serves as a great foundation with being able to provide a lot of the services that we do for, for the restaurant industry.

[Jason Feifer]

What were the, what was the feedback you were getting as a professional leading up until like 2023, before you left, like your, your career accumulation of like feedback and where you're strong and what you're good at and the lanes you belong in? Like, where were you at that point? Like your. Of your, like if you're giving me a self awareness assessment, like what would you say?

[Jody Feast]

What do you think would be the. My strength?

[Eric Cacciatore]

Yeah.

[Jason Feifer]

Like if you're, if you're telling me about like the, you know what, you know, I think that we are become self aware because of what other people say to us. I don't think we really truly start to become self aware. It's all that, those little, you know, points of data that we pick up along the way as we grow into who we are, people reinforcing our strengths, being, oh wow, you did a really great, oh, you're really good at this. Like, and we pay attention to that and like that helps us build that, that self awareness. So like after, you know, 17 years plus working in the industry, what was the feedback you're getting? If you were to say this is what I was really good at?

[Jody Feast]

You know, I think one of the best compliments I ever had in my life and this was from a mentor that I had at a previous position. She said to me one time, you know, you're excellent at listening to feedback. And I think, you know, at the time I was like, great, I'm great at listening to feedback. But the more I thought about that, the more it's, it's really hard to be, you know, self inclusive and under and really kind of read into yourself, what can I do better? How could I have improved in certain circumstances? It's, it's a self critical. Yeah, it's not human nature.

[Jason Feifer]

Right.

[Jody Feast]

It's human nature more to deflect rather than to.

[Jason Feifer]

Or defend or defend.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah, right. Rather, rather than to actually critically think about what you can do to improve. And I think that's something that I always have tried to bring to the table is what can I do better in any circumstance? You know, So I think that's one thing that I, even if I tell you what are the things that I am good at, what are the things that I felt that I succeeded on? I want to say that I'm always working on the things that I wasn't quite as good at. However, I think that at the peak of even my previous positions, I had 100 employees or more. And I think one of the most important things in order to be successful in an environment where you're managing multiple concepts, UPS with hundreds of employees, it's truly leadership. And you know, I don't again, it's not to, you know, haunt my own horn or anything like that, but I think leadership is critically important. I think it's important to motivate people. I think it's important for people to want to do and for people to want to care and creating an environment where people Care, you know, it's a, it's, it's critical to making something special.

[Jason Feifer]

How do you create an environment where people care? What'd you learn about how to do that?

[Eric Cacciatore]

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[Jody Feast]

You know, I think it's motivation and I think it's whenever you create something where people believe in the product, they believe in the vision that you are able to lead them in a way that they feel empowered and motivated. They care. If respect isn't there, if the vision isn't there, if culture isn't there, right. I think culture is a big piece as well. If those things aren't there, then it becomes an environment that really I'm coming in to check in and check out and there is less care. So by creating an environment where you know, you have strong culture, right? You have a culture that you know and I'll use the values, I've used one with respect. But I mean, when you talk about respect and enthusiasm and hospitality and when you talk about you Know, you know, calculating and being disciplined in the things that you do and you create this environment. You know, people are empowered to that.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right.

[Jody Feast]

They feel like they're a piece of it. It's more than just. It's a clocking in and clocking out and getting something you're a part of something bigger.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah.

[Jody Feast]

And if you can create that with culture, if you can create that with, you know, motivating people, if you can. I think that's all done through, you know, leadership, then really you're creating something where people care.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Yeah.

[Jody Feast]

And that is the difference. You know, I've always really defined employees in the past, you know, that the critical thing is that person cares or that person doesn't care. When you have people that do care, those are the ones you want to cultivate, those are the ones you want to grow. Those are the ones that are the ones become your servers to your managers, that, you know, climb that and succeed. Succeed.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah.

[Jody Feast]

And it's great to see people grow like that. Yeah.

[Jason Feifer]

I had a professor once, Professor David Mazer, shout out who said a leadership. A leader is a dealer of hope. And I just always kind of resonate with me and I think that what in. In all those tools that you just share with us, where you're painting a vision, you're sharing values and you know, they say we're going into the transformation economy where our job is to literally, to take, whether it be our employees or the consumer or community from point A to point B in. We all want to get better. We're all starting to realize the, the significance of personal growth in, in or, you know, just whether that be our perspectives and knowledge or our physical well being, you know, we are moving in that direction. I think a dealer of hope paints that picture of what the better world could look like. The transformation that we can make. For yourself in your career, in this, in this community, in the world. And I think be in painting that picture, creating that hope that there's something greater to work for. We're dealing that man. You got to believe you the leader. You have to believe in order to get other people to believe. Would you get behind that sentiment 100%.

[Jody Feast]

I actually like dealer of hope. You know, again, one of the things that you know in that, that leadership piece. Right. That to your, your professor's point, you know, it's motivation. And when you're dealing hope, you're motivating people, you're resonating with them about the things that are possible and what can be. You mentioned the word growth, which I think is important. Growth means a lot of things to a lot of people. But I think in a fundamental way, when you grow somebody, and I've always kind of looked at this in the past, from the day that you join the business to the day that you leave, I hope that you're better from the day you came. And that's growth. Money's great, titles are great. All those things that come with what people professionally attribute to growth is great. But if you can be better the day you left than the day you came, then that says a lot about the organization. It says a lot about the leadership. It says a lot about. About your growth and, you know, what you're creating.

[Jason Feifer]

I'm so happy you said that, because I think when people think of growth, their mind goes to more units, more revenue. And don't get me wrong, more revenue is not bad, but more revenue becomes a. Is a result of growing on the things that matter, like growing the people that are around you. Growing. Growth is getting better at what you did yesterday, today.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right?

[Jason Feifer]

That's growth. And I think we don't focus on. We didn't. We put the energy out, we promote, we buy new land or we go into more units. We grow. But growth will. The opportunity. That's opportunity. Growth comes from putting the energy in, you know, and I think you attract growth. You don't go out chasing it, so. And I hear that from you.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah, no, I completely agree with that. I think it's, you know, even consistency is growth. Right. And I think that's something that, you know, especially in our industry, you know, very wise person once told me, it's better to be consistent than good.

[Jason Feifer]

Right.

[Jody Feast]

And you know, even consistency is growth. It's. What are we doing to develop systems and growing people inside. You can't grow externally if you haven't done the work and the growth internally. Yeah, you know, it's. You can't create. You can't pick up and replicate bad systems and expect it to happen.

[Jason Feifer]

Well, yeah, Growth comes from putting so much into the people that you already have that your bench is deep and you. That is only then cash flow. And people, you got to have depth in those two verticals in order to grow. And then you grow to only create opportunity for others. I don't know if I'm gonna add.

[Jody Feast]

I'm add. Systems.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Systems, yeah, yeah, for sure.

[Jody Feast]

Say standard operating procedure. And systems is a good one, which.

[Jason Feifer]

Is a great, great segue into. We had to start talking about Sir Boni now and how you became here. So you were Discovered through a recruiter. There was an introduction made 20, 23, were you, were you hired to Sir Bon Services as the coo?

[Jody Feast]

That is correct.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay, and what was it about Sir Bony Services? Well, let me ask you this question. Before this opportunity was on your, your, your plate in front of you, what was your vision for yourself?

[Jody Feast]

That's a good question. You know, I think my vision for myself, I think at times is, is changed a little bit. You know, I think all of us in this industry, it's sometimes, and, you know, I know a lot of your listeners, it's like, you know, what can I, what can I do on my own, Right? And I think that that's been something that has always crossed my mind, you know, what can I do on my own? You know, when is the timing right for that type of thing? But I also think that, you know, my vision for myself has always been to really, I'm going to use the word grow, but to expand and use the toolkit, the experience, the wisdom that I've gained over a lifetime in the industry, but be able to apply it in a different way. When this opportunity came about, it was extremely interesting because it really puts me in contact with owners, with operators, and really being able to work with them to initiate action, see results. And I think, you know, more than ever, you know, it's great to have great intentions, it's great to want to do well. It's great to, hey, I illustrated. But when we're able to really create action and see results, that, that's, that's what really, really sets everything apart. And that's something that we all like to work with operators on.

[Jason Feifer]

Did you ever want to be an owner?

[Jody Feast]

Sure, I've thought about that.

[Jason Feifer]

What, what made you think that maybe a career being a specialist was better for you?

[Jody Feast]

You know, I think it's first and foremost, I think, you know, the opportunity when I was able to meet the founders of Cerboni, Joshua and Maria, I think I was taken away with them. I think that they are, you know, very special individuals. I think that they are. Have created something very niche, something that is, you know, very useful. And I think it, I don't even, I don't even want to use the word altruistic, but for this industry, right, where we have owners and operators that wear a thousand hats, they have no bandwidth, they're counting every penny, right. They're passionate. But we have, we don't have a lot of pennies at times, right. Our net profit is very small whenever it comes to most restaurants and Restaurant operations. But this is something that supports the industry. It supports those people. It takes burden away. It lightens the albatross. It creates resource. I think in, you know, again, you know, sir, Boni is a business for sure, but there is a piece of that, that it. There is a huge value. There is an altruism involved to it. There is the ability to connect with these people that work so hard, that give so much, and be able to see them, you know, reap benefit and open their eyes to different opportunities, to be able to see their financials in a way where, you know, it's. It translates to operations and they understand how to proceed. You know, in that moment, I think, you know, not only did, you know, Joshua, Maria, you did an interview with. On another episode. Yeah. But not only did they really, you know, I guess really take my interest and really kind of identify greatly with them as individuals, but I identified with the purpose.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right.

[Jody Feast]

And the purpose is something that I think has overarching implications.

[Eric Cacciatore]

So what, what was the purpose?

[Jody Feast]

I think. I think the purpose is to serve the industry.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah.

[Jody Feast]

The purpose is to create success within the industry. How many restaurants fail. How many restaurants fail within the first year? How many fail within three years? And to be able to provide resource to that, to be able to provide awareness, to be able to provide a path, to be able to succeed. That's the purpose. And I think, you know, if anything, it's us coming to the industry and being able to say, here's one less hat that you have to wear, and on top of it, it's going to help you succeed. Yeah. And we're a financial firm, right? We're a financial services firm. If I can't help you succeed, then I'm not successful.

[Jason Feifer]

Right. So you have a vested interest.

[Jody Feast]

Your success is my.

[Jason Feifer]

I don't help you, then I'm not helping myself.

[Jody Feast]

Your success is my success, right.

[Jason Feifer]

Well, in 2023, when you joined, you said that they were filling a niche. What was the niche that was being filled?

[Jody Feast]

But did you see the restaurant industry? Right. So again, we do. The services that we offer are great. It's accounting, it's payroll, it's taxes, it's consulting, inventory services. Right. But other firms that have this aren't serving restaurants in particular. Right.

[Jason Feifer]

So other firms that don't specialize in restaurants. Right, but there were firms that existed that specialized in restaurants. What was, what was the. The area of opportunity that wasn't being capitalized on? How was it. How was what Maria and Joshua wanted to do different?

[Jody Feast]

I think you Know, when Sibonia was founded eight years ago, I think there was less of a presence of people that were supporting restaurants. Yeah, I think, you know, today there, there are others out there that do specialize in it, but I also think that we bring a lot to the table that maybe others don't. You know, even with having an inventory department, our inventory department, the head of our inventory department, inventory manager, is a restaurant manager. Inside the inventory department, we have chefs on staff. So when it actually comes to identifying units of measure, when it comes to your recipes, when it comes to builds those types of things, we speak the language, we understand. I think for myself, you know, being in the COO position and consulting with clients, more than anything, I speak the language of operations. You know, not only are we able to translate what your financials mean, but the operational path forward is something very different. When you go to other CPAs, when you go to other tax firms or accounting firms, you're not getting operational direction, you know, you're getting data.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah.

[Jody Feast]

And here we take data and interpret it and, and give you a path and resource.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Yeah.

[Jason Feifer]

You know, and I think it's safe to say that sir Boney is a dealer of hope for me, if I'm being honest, because leading into 2025, the past couple years, paying attention, seeing what was happening in the industry, seeing that really good operators, people who had the things where we discussed passion, hospitality, desire to serve, no matter how passionate you are, no matter how good you are, what you, what you do, no matter how much love you have for the people that work for you and for your community, and you're disciplined to do the right thing. When cost of goods are going out of control, when labor is going out of control, when the complexity of the industry is going to crazy. Having to leverage different types of technologies in order to get access to that data to be competitive, it was getting harder and harder for independent operators to do good work. And I was scared. I was like, I don't see a future for independent operators. There's just too much. It's drinking from a fire hose. Once you figure it out, five years later, the whole systems are. Everything's different. You gotta. People didn't get into the restaurant industry to pay attention to systems and technology and to mind data like we. Most people in the restaurant industry are very right brain kind of people. They're emotionally and socially intelligent. They live in the here, the now, the purpose, like the big picture.

[Jody Feast]

Right.

[Jason Feifer]

They get lost in the details.

[Eric Cacciatore]

They don't want to sit talking to Charles or Clark. Charles Clark yesterday, he's like I hate computers. I don't want to sit in front of a computer.

[Jason Feifer]

I want to be with people that's most people in the restaurant industry. But we're moving in a direction where you, you cannot not do that. Like you have to have somebody, you.

[Jody Feast]

Have to be on your team.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Multi dimensional, who's left brained or maybe.

[Jason Feifer]

Not you, but somebody who is a part of your team.

[Jody Feast]

Yep.

[Jason Feifer]

You know, you need that, you need that in your business today. And I was worried, I didn't, I don't know how we can compete with the 10 or like above, you know, the, the 50 unit operators, 100 unit operators. So I think sir Bony in conjunction with technology that was engineered, optimized for the restaurant industry, I'm talking enterprise solutions like Restaurant Systems Pro and Restaurant 365 and you know me's and Margin Edge which you are all fluent in. Having someone who's plugged into that so you, they can manage that and the numbers and you can do what you love. I think that's the only way forward.

[Jody Feast]

And It's a win, win 100, you know, and again it's that exact. I love, I love that Sir Boni is a dealer of hope. Right. And again I love your professors coin on that word. It's something I'm definitely going to put in my tool belt. But at the same time it's exactly that because you know, especially our independent operators, right. That's when bandwidth is less, it's when deep pockets are less, it's when everything matters more and we really create an opportunity for them to focus back on what they should, which is the experience. And to your point, it's relationships, right. It's being inside its relationships with your staff, it's relationships with your clients. It's understanding the dynamic between actually delivering a service and a food and experience that is the primary focus of what our owners and operators should be doing. It shouldn't be leveraging three different softwares, their integrations and what I need to get in terms of data and then being able to manipulate that to understand what I need to do in terms of vendor negotiations. Right. That should basically be placed in front of you. And I think that that's something that we do is we take on that burden and be able to give that to the operator so that they can take clear, actionable steps forward.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah. And that just sucks so much bandwidth. Sucks so much bandwidth from the operator. I think the cool thing about the world we live in today with technology.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Is that There are tools for the.

[Jason Feifer]

Left brain people, the CFOs, the, the accountants, the bookkeepers, the, the directors of operation, where they can now, because of the, the rigidity and the robustness of these tools, they can now handle a whole lot more with less.

[Jody Feast]

Great.

[Jason Feifer]

That technology lets you do more.

[Jody Feast]

Absolutely.

[Jason Feifer]

So I think what's really cool about Sir Boni's business model is like, we're just going to stay in this lane because we can leverage all this technology and we can do so much more if we just focus on this. And we can do it for the people who, who don't want to focus on this.

[Jody Feast]

And I think that's exactly what, you know, what our intent is, is, you know, Cerboni is a services firm. We provide service just like all of our owners and operators are providing a service. Right. And what we want is to be able to go across as many platforms, as many softwares, leverage as many solutions as is possible so that we can customize. Right. Solutions and whatever it may be for our clients. Really we want to identify what is your need. Right. And we don't want to provide too much or too little. We want to be able to go across POS systems, accounting softwares, inventory softwares, whatever it may be, so that we understand the best way to complement the client's needs and really be able to let them amplify their profitability.

[Jason Feifer]

Do you do any like, consulting, steering in helping your clients? Like, you know, based on where you are right now, here's what we recommend you use for technology, bare minimum, and then here in this order, like, so you're doing like CFO work where you're talking about, like, here are the financials, but what about financials as to put on to implement more systems over time as the resources?

[Jody Feast]

Absolutely. So that's a big piece of it, I think, you know, when people come to us, sometimes systems are broke and we have to really kind of recommend how to build systems that are going to be more appropriate to the operation. I think also there's, you know, opportunities for us to really compound systems, right. And say, hey, oh, you're working through this. Why are you doing payroll through a separate ecosystem when you could have it in one ecosystem, lower manual work? So I think identifying what are the ways that we can really complement and put a lot of those things together is, is a big piece of what we do. You know, we have partnerships with payroll platforms, POS platforms, accounting software and more. And all of it is really to be able to leverage the most expertise in each of these different platforms, but also to be able to say, hey, this is a best practice, this is something that you should be looking for. That's going to minimize your time, it's going to minimize your efforts, can minimize mistake, it's going to minimize all of these things and be able to have a system that is going to complement and support the, the business.

[Jason Feifer]

When you say you have a partnership, what does that mean? What does a partnership in your definition, what these companies mean?

[Jody Feast]

Part A partnership means that, you know, we can implement these softwares so we teach people how to use them. So that's across, you know, pos accounting, payroll and more. So not only do we teach people how to use the software, which means our partnership department are experts within all of these different software.

[Jason Feifer]

You have companies that you're working with and individuals within all those companies that are teaching you and you're paying that forward to the client.

[Jody Feast]

So we have a partnership department that basically they are experts within softwares whether it's payroll, accounting software, pos inventory software. So we, whenever a client say they sign up for X POS system, right. Or X payroll system, they will, that company will well then use us to implement the client on the software and teach them how to use it and build it and make sure the database is built.

[Jason Feifer]

This is huge. And in working with people, in hearing the feedback specifically what comes to my mind is enterprise solutions. If you're onboarding an enterprise solution and what I mean by an enterprise solution, I'm talking about the restaurant 365s and the restaurant systems pros, those companies that is a very robust tool. You have inventory management to your point, general ledger built for restaurants, labor management, costs, purchasing. Like the list goes on and on and on and on. And you're handing like you're already maybe working 70 plus hours a week. You don't have the gas in the tank to go to not just do, but to learn. And the likelihood that you do it right the first time, slim. I really do think that the, the secret sauce. The rub is in hiring a service like Sir Boni to be the implementer and then to manage that. And, and people say I can't afford to do that. I'm like okay, so you're gonna hire a general manager to do it for you who might not have lots of experience. That general manager might quit and go do it somewhere else or do it on their own. And then the person that replaces them is going to be handed this giant project that was would be hard to do even if you got to learn and go through the steps of implementing it, but they're not going to. If you don't build something, you don't really understand how it works. So having handing off that thing and saying good luck figuring out my cryptid thing that I built, like you need something that or someone or an entity like Strabonia that's consistent and then not only can build it right the first time, but can then teach everybody how to do it right thereafter.

[Jody Feast]

Absolutely. You know, that's another. I think it's a good point.

[Eric Cacciatore]

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[Jason Feifer]

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[Eric Cacciatore]

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[Jody Feast]

You know, one of the things that the hospitality industry is known for, it's one of our Achilles heels, if you will, is turnover, right? And I think whenever you create these hats that you have to have managers wear, whether it be a general manager, you know, I'm have my managers are uploading or doing these different functions, they're part of these systems, right? That not only Is it lessening their bandwidth to create an experience? Is it lessening their bandwidth to lead their teams? Is it lessening their bandwidth to make sure that hospitality is in place? But then once these systems are learned and you have turnover, you have that loss of knowledge. Right. So, you know, Cerboni provides a affordable way to outsource that, to be able to have, you know, that absolutely rigid for it to be a process and to create bandwidth back to your team. So I think that's a really important piece, you know, and there's a lot of different, you know, aspects, I guess, of services that we provide. But when it comes to having managers do what they're supposed to do, which is all a part of the experience, it's part of running the business, I think it's an incredible value.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah. And I, you know, they say in order to go forward, we're gonna have to learn how to do more of less. And I think that Sir Boni is a great example of that. Because we're limited with our resources. It's almost like crowdsourcing, like financial support.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right.

[Jason Feifer]

And financial technical support. We as independents have to band together and focus on what we can do. And we can't go if we're scaling, say we make it to three locations. Right. And our goal is to get to 10 locations. The, the strategy would be to build a house before you move into it, to get everything kind of where it needs to be. But the amount of investment, not just on the systems, the technology, but also on hiring your C suite. You're, you know, you're, you're a director of marketing, your director of finance, your, your, all of your chiefs. Yeah, that all come with six figure plus, you know, salaries.

[Jody Feast]

And don't forget, don't forget benefits and Right. Pto, it's time off.

[Jason Feifer]

So that bridge, being able to make that bridge to build the house before you move in to push to 10 units, becomes really out of reach for most independent operators. So I think that the idea genuinely do think that the future of independence hinges on the world of fractional executives. And I think that you're going to see more not just CFOs, but CMOs and COOs. And I think that that is a pathway forward for a lot of people in this industry too, to grow their own career. Maybe you don't open a restaurant, maybe you're a jody.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right.

[Jason Feifer]

Like maybe you have specialties, maybe you can start your own business doing what it is that you're really good at. And I think that this is the future of the Industry. I am curious because you are kind of, you know, director of operations. You're kind of a nerd when it comes to what's out there in terms of solutions and technologies. What excites you right now in terms like what do you, like, what, what gets the Jody, like badge of approval, like seat suite or text suite of.

[Jody Feast]

Tools, like, you know. Yeah, I think one of the biggest things right now, and it's a pretty cliche answer for this, for this day and age, right. But AI, you know, that's something that, you know, we have a lot of different technologies that we are using that are integrated with one another that we get a lot of solutions with. But the implication of being able to leverage this also creates our ability to be able to see things a little bit more in a dashboard scale. And I think that's important. I think whenever we're able to, you know, really kind of run the business, you know, and combine accounting technologies, combine POS payroll, all of these different platforms. But if we can use and bridge.

[Jason Feifer]

AI all the data, right.

[Jody Feast]

To be able to put that data together in a little bit more of a format that especially like you said, for these, you know. Right. Brained operators that really, you know, just, just tell me what I need to know. Right. Tell me what I need to know.

[Jason Feifer]

I just need the scorecard and then tell me how to make the numbers better and I'll go out and do that.

[Jody Feast]

Exactly. Tell me what I need to know. So, you know, I think that's exciting. You know, I think it's definitely something that we're looking to see how it continues to travel so that we can put more in an operator's hands so that they can make great decisions.

[Jason Feifer]

So who's doing AI well right now? Who has you really excited, you know, on that?

[Jody Feast]

I think, you know, so we've seen it across a couple POS platforms. That is very interesting. Being able to get data that's in the POS that's inherently important to your business, but sometimes it's just fragmented. That's exciting. I think having an operator POS is something that it's there and there's different POS systems that provide different reporting, different metrics and give you different visibility. But integrating that into it, I think is going to be something that has a lot of implication to it and a lot of implication for operators on a day to day basis and being able to have information readily at hand.

[Jason Feifer]

To make decisions daily as AI progresses. How important do you think having a fully integrated system will be in order for that AI to be able to really seamlessly comb through that data and pull it from one source.

[Jody Feast]

I mean, I. We are always, you know, fans and protagonists of having holistic environments. Right. The more fragmented systems you have, I think, you know, the. The more error we're going to have, the more difficult it's going to be to get the visibility that we want.

[Jason Feifer]

So, you know, more problems down the road as different platforms are being sold, acquired and not keeping up with.

[Jody Feast]

Absolutely. And integrated versus not integrated. I think all of those things, you know, it really starts to create. It can create a headache. So I think, you know, having holistic environments, I think is great. And I also think the implication for being able to get data more readily, more accessible, and have it be as accurate as possible is great. You know, that's one thing that, you know, when it comes to what Cerboni services does, I think one of the biggest takeaways of what we provide is accurate, timely data with operational implications and having that allows you to steer the ship. Right. And when you can steer the ship, you're not hitting icebergs. Right. And I think that's incredibly important. I think the more that we have those systems, you know, kind of holistic in one environment, much like, Like Cerboni is. Right. Cerboni is one holistic environment for everything you need from a financial services standpoint.

[Jason Feifer]

Agnostic. Agnostic to platform.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah.

[Jason Feifer]

Which I think is really important. So you don't have to come into this relationship with Cerboni with a. A specific tech stack. No, you can come where you are.

[Jody Feast]

No, we celebrate all tech stacks. Right. And it may be that what you're coming to us with is appropriate, it's functional, fits the business, gives us what we need. But then again, it may be something that, hey, maybe you haven't thought of this. Maybe this is something that we can switch that's going to provide this much more.

[Jason Feifer]

No redundancy.

[Jody Feast]

Yeah. So being able to assess those things, I think is a part of what we do. You know, we have hundreds of clients across the country and we're able to see what works for some, what doesn't work for others, and then be able to recommend best practices, be able to recommend what is going to give you the visibility you need.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah. Anything you want to talk about that hasn't come out of today's conversation? Something that you think is really important to discuss? I have some more questions, but I want to make sure we leave room to talk about what is near and dear to your.

[Jody Feast]

I'm. I'm Interested in Eric's questions? What do you got?

[Jason Feifer]

I'm. I'm curious about the future as a director of operations or a chief operating officer for not just one restaurant group, but you get to talk to, like, how many people. People do you engage with? How many different restaurant groups do you, Jody, get to engage with?

[Jody Feast]

A lot.

[Jason Feifer]

So I, like, you know, if you haven't figured out the format of the show is really like, who are you? Where did you come from? Where are you now? Where are we going? And I don't think we talk enough about where we're going and really get that foresight into the future and say, well, if that's where we're going, do we want to go there?

[Jody Feast]

Right.

[Jason Feifer]

And how do we collectively choose where we go as an independent industry that isn't being reactive to what we're being told we have to do, but what we think we should do. Like, what's a better. As somebody who studied psychology and evolutionary psychology and organizational psychology, like, how do we go into a better future? So, like, I'm just curious, like, what is in that head?

[Jody Feast]

You know, I think, and I can touch on this from. From one perspective, for sure. You know, I think as the industry goes into the future, as the industry progresses, you know, I think it's funny how trends come back around, right? You know, we see it with fashion, right? Things my parents wore. I swore that, you know, we would never see that again. And now I see it in younger generations, they're wearing exactly what. Yeah, Cyclical, right? You know, I think that that's something that we've. We've seen a big shift in terms of the restaurant industry going kind of being from different habits, from different generations. Right. So even when Covid hit, I think habits started to change quite a bit, and we saw people not dining out quite as much. Right. Habits change. Third party. You know, the integration of, you know, being able to have things delivered. But then, you know, fine dining and things like that we saw start to taper, right? And fast casual start to boom. And. And we've definitely seen that progression, especially over the past decade or more. But I also think that as we do continue, I think what's going to be very important, I think that cyclical thing of service is going to come back around. I think that's something that, as I speak with operators a lot, I think that that's something that I see more successful operators are having businesses and having restaurants that are very aligned to deep service.

[Jason Feifer]

What's deep service mean?

[Jody Feast]

Deep service is that experience. It's it's focusing on the experience. Right? It is absolutely engaging the guests from the moment they walk in the door. And it's creating something whenever they leave that they talk about.

[Jason Feifer]

Yeah, I think that deep experience, that. Excuse me, that deep experience is going to cut even deeper real soon.

[Jody Feast]

Soon.

[Jason Feifer]

I think so.

[Jody Feast]

Joe.

[Jason Feifer]

Joe Pine, have you heard the Experience Economy? Great book author, Joe. Phenomenal. He's about to release his latest book, I think January or February of 2026, called the Transformation Economy. And his prediction is that we're going, we're coming out of the experience economy and we're going into the transformation economy where that service isn't in that, that experience isn't in that here and now in the moment. But it's this idea of creating a relationship with a consumer and then helping them get from point A to point B or connecting with a community and helping a community get to point A and point B and having a lot of experiences compounded on each other that help improve or to create awareness about your wealth or the community wealth or what's wrong with the community and supporting the community. And it's literally transforming individuals even on the, the, the employer employee front. And that's where it starts.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Right.

[Jason Feifer]

Like you as the restaurant owner, you bring people into your world, you empower them with knowledge and hope. You're a dealer of hope. And you say, our mission, our purpose is this. Maybe it's to make your community or your, your experiences better in some way. And people buy in, not just the, the, the team, but the community buys into that vision of hope and you transform. So I like to ask all my guests before we say goodbye, who, who do you truly admire in this industry? Like if you fanboy over an operator who is making these deep experiences and creating transformation in their staff and their communities and making money while they do it, while it's not all about money. Fiscal responsible. Fiscal responsibility is really important. So who is that for you? Who do you think I should get on the show? Or if you can think of multiple people, I love a list.

[Jody Feast]

You know, I think I'll leave it with this. You know, I think I have contact with lots of owners and lots of operators. And I think the one thing that I celebrate is diligent operators. And I don't think that they always exist. I think that whenever it comes to our industry, there are people that have a pulse that know the numbers that are completely immersed in what is going on. And there are some that are a little bit more hands off. But, you know, whenever it Comes to. Who do I admire? I admire diligent operators. I admire people that take information, create action, and deliver results.

[Jason Feifer]

Is there a diligent operator that comes to mind when you say that? An image in your head.

[Jody Feast]

Jason Carrey.

[Jason Feifer]

Okay, well, we had Jason on the show and he was truly phenomenal and he's how I found you. And I do want to be clear. I, I reached out to Serbo. I'm really committed going forward to commit to using the podcast, using my interviews to be my research, to use word.

[Eric Cacciatore]

Of mouth in a world that is so noisy.

[Jason Feifer]

You're on the Internet, you're on these social platforms, you're getting hit with ads every day. You don't know what to trust. There are organizations that are very good at marketing themselves and they. And that's why they're successful. And I think that it's. The organization should be that should that are good at what they do and how well they take care of their clients and their reputation. Word of mouth should be the ones that rise to the top. And it's my mission to find those people. And when I do discover them, I go to them. If you're not intentional with your time and your relationships, somebody else will be. Right? And I made that commitment to prioritize freedom of purpose, to inspire, empower, and transform the industry, and then to prioritize beyond that, just behind that freedom of relationships. Who are the people that I'm hearing about that are doing good, honest work and how do I amplify them? How do I create awareness about these organizations? And these technologies are actually helping put the ball back in the court of the independent operator. Because if we don't start helping each other out and sharing this information, the rich are getting richer, the poorer getting poorer. It has to be conscious. It has to be a conscious effort. And I just want to be public. I found you, I approached you. And I can't say thank you guys enough for your support in helping me do this honest work.

[Jody Feast]

Absolutely. We 100 believe in the mission, and it is a part of our mission as well.

[Jason Feifer]

Awesome. So if you're interested in learning more about Sir Pony, call this number, 281-888-2413, and you can schedule a free 30 minute consultation. And if you mention this podcast, you'll get 20 off your first month of services. And when you use my links and you call my numbers and you, you mention restaurant unstoppable, you support this mission and I cannot thank you enough if you do.

[Jody Feast]

Awesome. I appreciate it, Jody.

[Jason Feifer]

Now is where I say? There is no questioning, my man. You and Sir Bony are unstoppable.

[Jody Feast]

Cheers, my man. Thank you.