In this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts, Michael Attias welcomes Jessica Lehrer, Owner of Adam & Joe’s Gourmet Eatery, a catering company that has mastered high-volume, high-quality corporate catering with a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients and exceptional service.
Jessica shares how she and her family grew their business from a small restaurant into a thriving catering operation, emphasizing the power of personalized service, strategic marketing, and premium presentation. She also discusses her journey from criminology and law enforcement back into the family business—and how her investigative skills even helped bust a credit card fraud ring!
In this episode, Jessica dives into:
✅ The best marketing strategy for corporate catering—and why in-person relationships still win
✅ Why premium presentation & packaging help command higher prices
✅ How strategic LinkedIn outreach lands high-value catering clients
✅ The power of customer service and becoming a catering “partner,” not just a vendor
✅ How technology and AI are shaping the future of catering sales & efficiency
If you’re looking for practical, proven strategies to grow your catering business while standing out from the competition, this episode is full of valuable insights you can apply today!
Restaurant Catering Smarts is sponsored by CaterZen Catering Software.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:27):
Hello again, I'm your host Michael Attias and today's guest is Jessica Lehrer, co-founderof Adam and Joe Know Lunch.
Her catering company is redefining lunch with vibrant locally sourced meals forbusinesses, events and communities, all with a focus on sustainability and gourmet
flavors.
Jessica's innovative approach and dedication to supporting local farmers has made her astandout in the catering world.
(00:51):
We're excited to dive into her story, but first a quick shout out to our sponsor.
This episode is brought to
CaterZen Catering Software, the industry leader in helping restaurants turn their cateringchaos into calm.
Discover why top independent enterprise restaurants trust CaterZen to save them time andincrease their catering sales.
Go to www.caterzen.com and sign up for a walkthrough of the software or a free 30-daytrial.
(01:16):
Now let's dive into this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts.
Welcome, Jessica.
How are you doing today?
I'm good, thank you for having me.
No, my pleasure.
So I'd to get everyone started off with the icebreaker question.
Give me a number between 1 and 300.
250.
What's the most interesting thing you've ever seen at a museum?
(01:38):
I could tell you my favorite thing I've seen at a museum, don't know if it was necessarilythe most interesting, but the Botticelli's Birth of Venus is my absolute favorite piece of
art.
And it's in Italy, yes.
I just, I remember being completely just blown away seeing it in person.
It's in Florence.
I love Florence.
Absolutely love Florence.
(01:59):
so that was, yeah.
I can't go to a museum by myself.
I need a guide.
Otherwise, I just walk around like the lost kid in school.
I don't know what I'm looking at.
I don't understand.
It's like, that looks nice.
Guided is the best way, even if it's just one of the headset tours.
It really is the best.
(02:20):
Otherwise, you don't know what you're looking at.
Yeah, that's for sure.
Okay, so tell me, I know, I know your dad, sort of know your brother, know you and yourdad from in person coming to Caterpalooza.
How long has your family been in the business and sort of how did your maybe the timeline,because I know there was a merging of the two family businesses, maybe walk everybody
(02:42):
through your background and your family's background.
So my family, my dad, he's been in the kind of in the restaurant business in some way, Iwould say since he was in his 20s.
mean, I actually think his dad also like had like a sandwich route, you know, when he waslike, you know, younger going to the offices.
Then my dad did something similar when he was in his 20s.
(03:03):
And then they moved to California.
My parents, they got married.
They were doing other things, you know, before then.
ended up in California and started a restaurant there.
So I would say since the late 70s, early 80s, they've been in the restaurant business.
So restaurants in California and those restaurants, they catered to Universal Studios forcatering and all over, other corporate stuff over there.
(03:30):
Then my family moved.
any interesting Hollywood stories about catering out there?
I think they do.
mean, I was little.
was only like either not born or like under two at the time.
So I don't remember.
And I know that they were, you know, catering, you know, to to the movie sets, not craftservices, but catering to the movie sets and to the executives.
(03:53):
And I think the most interesting story that I've heard is that apparently the phone numberfor our restaurant was the most out dialed phone number other than the New York office for
Universal Studios was our.
That's cool.
Yep.
Yeah.
So yeah, they definitely have some some good stories.
(04:14):
I know that they were doing like the Hill Street Blues set and some other things that weregoing on in like the late 70s, early 80s.
So they were they were right there.
And they were they must have been they were under 30.
Maybe you're just 30.
They were young.
So they were having a good time.
Yeah.
That's cool.
Okay, so how'd they end up in Florida?
(04:34):
Ended up in Florida, so my dad's from Detroit, my mom's from Toronto.
And so after California, they didn't really like being on the West Coast, they ended upback in Toronto, had a restaurant there, like a regular, you know, kind of like six day a
week breakfast, lunch and dinner type of restaurant with catering.
And my dad absolutely hated the cold.
He was like, I can't do this any longer.
(04:55):
We got to go somewhere warm.
And we ended up in South Florida.
And, you know, they moved down and when I was in
third grade and so 1992, 1991, 1992, opened up a small kind of restaurant kind of likesome similar to what they had back in California, which is just lunch.
(05:16):
And, you know, they have grew it from there.
My brother was in high school, went to college at the time and decided that, you know, hereally also wanted to start his own business and left school and started his own
restaurant in 96.
And then that we kind of just ran like neighbors, neighbors, two separate businesses, youknow, that were close by if we needed, you know, a couple cases of tomatoes and the other
(05:43):
one had it, but we were completely separate businesses.
and we did that until 2017 when my brother and I said, you know, it's time for our parentsto retire and we want to have a better quality of life, you know, between the two
families.
And so they said, okay, we'll travel and play pickleball.
(06:03):
And so that's what they do now.
I don't.
Yeah, they love it.
You know, it's so universal.
I've got a place in Costa Rica and they actually have two pickleball courts.
One of them is covered.
Maybe both of them are covered.
So that just shows you, you know, how it's picked up.
(06:25):
fastest growing sport in the world actually, I think.
Yeah, I love it.
It's fast paced.
It's basically ping pong antennas had a baby.
So how do you, I know you've, I don't know how we first met.
I don't know if it's a Cisco show or maybe through Rory fat or I don't.
(06:46):
I don't remember if it was a Cisco show.
I do remember us wanting catering software specifically.
And I know my dad had been getting your catering, like had gotten your book and your orsomething like over the years.
So he's he kind of was you were on his radar.
He's always reading.
(07:06):
I thought I just interviewed Butch Scott with Abbeville Catfish.
He was one of the first investors in the catering magic systems.
I think your dad probably bought some of my educational materials and then y'all were oneof the first software people.
And so you've been around forever.
How'd you decide to get in a family business?
Because number one, to decide you want to be in the food business, that's a big decision.
(07:27):
And then to work with your family, it's a bigger business.
Yeah, you know, growing up, I always said I was never going to go into the restaurantbusiness because my parents, you know, being, you know, owner operators of a small, you
know, at the time, kind of like just, you know, was them and their couple of their kitchenstaff.
They were always married to the restaurant, right?
They didn't, you know, they would close for two weeks during Christmas and we would takevacation.
(07:49):
But other than that, you know, it was the restaurant, restaurant, restaurant.
And so I was always like, I'm not I don't want to do that, you know, growing up.
I wanted to something else and I went to school, I graduated, I went to graduate school, Iactually was a police officer for a little while.
Yep, I used to be a police officer.
(08:10):
Yep.
I a whole other life.
I know I need to know like, were you a beat cop?
What was your?
yeah.
I mean, everyone starts off that way.
after college, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to use my degree,which is I have a master's in criminology, actually from Cambridge in England.
(08:32):
had gone to England to get my master's and I came home and I was hired by the city of WestPalm Beach.
They paid for me to go to police academy, graduated number one in my class.
no, and
And I went and worked as a police officer and it was not for me.
(08:52):
Honestly, I missed the restaurant business and being with my family.
And I said, I thought I never wanted to do it, but it really was all I wanted to do.
So, yeah.
I know your dad.
I'm surprised he didn't like put his foot down and go, you won't be a police officer.
I think they probably tried to, but I was an adult.
(09:15):
I don't know if they could have said that.
so two questions.
One, do you like to watch all those crime documentaries?
Do you find that interesting anymore or is that just?
There was, I do find it interesting.
Now there was a time after I was a police officer where I was like, I can't watch this.
It's just, it was like too much.
(09:37):
There are also certain like, I would say there's certain shows that like I booked back,it's been a long time since I was, I mean, I've been here for 17 years now.
So it's been a long time.
I remember there was a couple of things I was like, I can't watch this, too real or tooclose to.
Yeah.
you know, it's just too dramatic.
So, yeah.
(09:59):
So, you know, this is supposed to be about catering and food, but I'm just now I'm just soenthralled.
Like, I don't know if I should say this on my podcast.
I'll tell this story because it's sort of interesting.
You know, it doesn't have to all be educational.
I was at Vegas for a show and I was leaving out early the next morning.
(10:19):
I had a sinus infection.
I was sick and I heard somebody like four seats down, this attractive blonde woman talkingabout, the models in the house and this, that and the other.
I'm like, is she part of America's top model?
Like works on the set or production or whatever.
And I went, the minute I sat in my seat, I fell asleep, woke up, went to the
(10:41):
bathroom halfway through the flight and guess who comes out the bathroom door?
This woman.
I said, look, I hate to sound like, you know, I eavesdropping, but at the airport I heardyou talk about, you know, models in a house.
Are you, you know, do you work in, you know, television entertainment?
She goes, yeah, I'm a producer.
Well, what do you do?
(11:02):
Well, you know, she didn't really want to say, I said, well, what do you do?
She goes, I work in adult films.
I go, what?
Okay.
You can't go back to your seat.
I have so
many questions, like people are dying to know, like, and I was like, how'd you get intoit?
And so she told me how she got into the business and.
what her specialty was and the hierarchy of pay.
(11:26):
You know, it was very fascinating.
So before we get off this rabbit hole, what is the most interesting thing that happened toyou?
Why?
Why you were a cop like a story that you just don't forget.
Good cocktail party talk like, know, did you ever take down, you know, 350 pound guy byyourself or?
(11:47):
know what, I'm actually gonna pivot this back to the restaurant very easily for you.
I'm gonna tie the two together, okay?
Good.
After I had already left the police department and I am working in the restaurant, I get aphone call from a woman telling me that she has a charge from her credit card from our
(12:12):
restaurant, but she does not live in Florida and she's never ordered from our restaurant.
So of course we have all receipts from everything.
I'm able to pull the receipt and I find out that
it was ordered to basically like a call center kind of room.
Okay, it's like a phone room.
And basically I brought down this entire ring of like credit card scam artists.
(12:37):
And it was like, I they arrested like 20 or 30 people in Florida, in New York, because Iwas able to investigate and call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and said, hey, I'm
pretty sure there's some sort of like credit card scam going on out of this.
you know, office.
And it turned out that I was able to like investigate and bring down this entire ring ofcredit card scammers.
(13:00):
my god, is...
God, this is like...
This could be one of my favorite episodes, because it's so crazy.
So what were they doing with the cr-
So they were like a healthcare kind of company.
And so they were selling either insurance or maybe like devices to elderly people and thentaking their credit cards and buying themselves lunches.
(13:23):
it was just like a side scam.
It wasn't like the...
It wasn't the Nigerian.
no, no, and then they were selling the data to another credit card scam ring out of NewYork.
Oh yeah, was big, it was a big one.
But because they bought themselves lunch, also, they were busted.
(13:46):
my God, you know what?
This could be like a movie.
know, some, you know, the caterer goes in and busts the crime ring.
But you know, it's funny is during COVID, I was in Florida for 13 months, holed up and Ihave a ring doorbell in Nashville and there was a series of people dropping off DoorDash
(14:06):
at my door.
And I think what happened was a neighbor down the street.
put my address to deliver the food for Uber, waited till it got delivered and then justwent and picked it up and somebody else got stuck with the bill.
So it's crazy.
That is crazy.
So do you do only, do y'all only do lunch?
(14:32):
The actual physical restaurant is only lunch, but catering, breakfast, lunch, dinner,cocktail parties, all time of day for catering.
are you doing nights and weekends or you just do Monday through Friday and that's it.
We do nights and weekends for stuff that's large enough.
So we have different minimums for, you know, nighttime and weekend.
mean, this weekend I have, you know, we have some pickleball tournaments actually thatwe're doing.
(14:55):
We have some school stuff that we're doing, some church stuff.
So it just depends on, you if it's large enough to call somebody in.
Sorry, it's freezing here.
So did your parents always stick with lunch restaurants so they could be at home at nightand weekends for the most part?
Once we moved to Florida, yes.
When I was younger and we lived in Toronto, the restaurant was open six nights a week fordinner.
(15:19):
I think they were closed on Sundays, only Sundays for the whole day.
Yeah, I remember I spoke at a Cisco house and I took a tour.
You came to say hello to your family and like the amount of catering going out the doorlike on a Tuesday was ridiculous.
And I see your stuff on LinkedIn and it's definitely a whole next level with presentation,packaging.
(15:47):
Will you talk to that and the value that
builds and the prices you're able to command.
Because, you know, obviously there people probably getting sandwiches and you can getsandwiches from low end grocery store deli or Subway and then you can get what you're
doing.
How does that translate?
(16:07):
Where do you feel the packaging and the presentation fit in the value equation and whatyou're able to charge?
You know, I think it's really more twofold because we are doing a premium product, sowe're not going to compare ourselves to Subway or Panera.
mean, we're using something that's a higher end, completely fresh bread delivered everyday.
(16:31):
We're slicing the meat here fresh, so it's a little bit different.
But I think very specifically, I think where we command and are able to command a littlebit of a higher price point.
is that, is the service aspect, right?
So we're not a third party delivery person.
We have our own delivery people.
(16:52):
If you tell us you need something there at 11.30, it's gonna be there on time with thedriver setting it up with all the things you need to have with it.
You have to worry about us canceling an order on you, day of, like it might happen withsomebody else.
So I think the service aspect is a little bit more about why we command.
(17:13):
a little bit more of a premium product because our service is a little bit more premium.
I think that the higher end stuff we're doing has kind of grown a little bit moreorganically because as people order our food for the regular stuff we do from our regular
catering menu, they say, oh, I have this coming up.
(17:36):
Can you do that also?
And then it's, well, yes, we can.
And we kind of go from there.
Right, no, I totally get that.
It sort of morphs.
What are you excited about today in the catering business?
Like what gets you pumped up jazzed?
For me, it's the creativity.
(17:56):
I absolutely love you know, if there's something new that I get to do that we've neverdone before.
Like last week, we did an event for an African safari company that came in and was likeselling their safaris to high-end clients.
And so they said, can you do an African inspired menu and setup?
(18:18):
And so, you know, of course I was with them and said, okay, here's the things that I'veresearched.
this is what I'd love to do, is this on the right level?
And they said, yep, the menu's great.
And I was able to kind of decorate the buffet line with a safari theme.
And then when they were there and they tasted everything, they said, this is spot on.
(18:41):
You hit the nail right on the head.
This tastes like what it should taste like in South Africa or in Nigeria, like the actual.
I was able to hit the flavor.
I think that was exciting.
is when they, yeah.
And you know, when you're dealing with a client like that.
You know, it's always great to be working with people that prices in a budget.
(19:03):
I mean, everybody has a budget, but you know, I'm guessing they're charging 15 grand aperson for these high end safaris.
So whatever you're charging the food to help sell the event, it's a drop in the bucket andthey're not going to shortchange.
They're not going to bring people in for, you know, lunchables to eat in the middle of apresentation, right?
(19:24):
Are you using AI for inspiration on any of your designs?
No, I have not.
We do use AI a little bit for inspiration.
I'm sure you get some of my emails.
Sometimes I like to get fun and I like to do rhymes.
I think it's fun to give something a little different to do.
(19:45):
so normally I kind of do it myself.
And then I have recently kind of put in to chat to you, hey, give me a...
email that rhymes, you know, based on X, and Z, and I see what it spits out, and you know,sometimes it's great, sometimes it's, you know, okay.
Well, you know, it's funny, Wicked just came out around Christmas and Jill, who's our newCOO, and Jillian, who's been with us forever, they're wicked like fanatics.
(20:15):
I went and I fell asleep.
Movies are good for me to catch up on sleep.
I mean, it was good, but I still fell asleep and they were just all about it and they bothhave dogs.
So I went to chat GPT and I said, I want you to write me a version of popular from wickedand call it popular.
(20:35):
And then a guy who works for me in Canada as an actor and his daughter sings and I paidher, she's like 12 years old, I paid her a hundred bucks to produce the song.
And that was one of their Christmas presents.
That's awesome.
yeah, so it was a lot of fun.
will tell you that I like to do interior design for fun.
(20:57):
And I'm redoing my Nashville home and I've done the kitchen, I've done the den, all just.
off the top of my head and I'm sorry, the kitchen and the dining room, I'm redoing theden.
I have a wall unit and I'm trying to make it a little more modern.
I went to chat GBT, I put the dimensions of the room, what the other rooms look like, thevibe, whatever.
(21:20):
Seven iterations later.
Spot on.
So I'm guessing if you say I'm do I'm doing an Italian themed buffet.
I'm looking for things that aren't common It's gonna not that you're gonna copy it exactlybut you talk about inspiration and it takes five seconds ridiculous the advantages we have
Whether it's writing copy or coming up with menu ideas
(21:43):
I definitely use like, I use, I would say I use Google image search the most for likeinspiration and mostly for like color, you know, like in a couple of weeks we're doing,
you know, the Miami boat show is coming and that we have a lot of people coming in fromItaly.
And so they, you know, like a very, you know, more authentic Italian menu.
(22:04):
So I need some inspiration for like color and, know, what are we having?
And so that's.
I would say that that's usually a lot of the inspiration I get.
I would challenge you to try it.
Chetchabee tea for design ideas for your buffet for your presentations.
And you're going to be like, just send me an email or whatever and let me know how worksfor you.
(22:25):
I think you're going to be surprised.
Like, like what I sent my designer of my best one of my best friends from childhood ismom's 85 and she helps me.
She was a top designer in Memphis.
And when I sent her the design, she's like, my God, I can't believe that just came out ofAI.
It's ridiculous.
Yeah, it's it's next level.
And and I was able to send it to my carpet.
(22:45):
and he's gonna be able to, it's good enough that he can look at what they designed.
It's imperfect, but he can build something off of that.
Yeah, it's ridiculous.
And I would have never come up with the idea on my own in a million years.
So, through all the Google searches.
So let's talk about, you know, obviously I've known your family forever.
(23:06):
What have y'all done to build that catering business out of your restaurant?
You know, I know you're in an office industrial,
So I guess the low hanging fruit where the office is and businesses around you.
Tell me where you got started and sort of your marketing journey.
for us, our most successful tried and true marketing has been in person, cookie drops,saying hello, even cold calling.
(23:36):
You know, that's always been, you know, and quite honestly, no matter how much onlinemarketing we've ever tried to do, and we've tried over the years doing it ourselves, we've
tried paying for ads, we've tried bringing in outside marketing companies, the mostsuccessful.
for us has always been in person, actual physical contact or phone contact with realpeople to get in there.
(24:04):
And that's just been the most successful.
Are you doing any lead generation anymore?
have you just gotten so busy that the phone's ringing and you got all you can say graceover?
Yeah, we are not doing any more lead generation right now.
(24:25):
Honestly, it's hard to follow up with the funnel potentially.
And also our own book is so large of who we have that if we haven't heard from people in awhile, you need to call your own customers.
Maybe they have a new admin who's not the same admin you had before and that's why you'renot hearing from them.
(24:46):
So when you talk about the funnel is too, did you say the funnel is too large?
What do you mean?
if you're getting the lead generation from an outside customer, sometimes it's hard tosort through what's being sent to you.
That takes time.
It takes time to take the time to comb through the leads.
(25:07):
Yeah.
Well, I'm really, you know, we talked about AI.
feel like I've been thinking about about AI for probably four or five years.
I think eventually the voice is going to get there where they're not going to know if it'syou or AI you taking the order schmoozing the customer.
It could be five years from now, 10, which is going to make a big difference.
(25:30):
Where we're looking at applying AI in the next year
is customer analytics, right?
Because the old school was, let's call people that hadn't ordered in 30 days, right?
New school with AI is, every customer is an individual and they have individual buyinghabits and patterns and a cadence, right?
(25:50):
So you might only you might order once a year for your company's Christmas party, right?
You bring in Adam and Joe Knows Lunch.
They do a nice spread for everyone.
Then you have an admin who at a company does a lot of training.
She's ordering in three, four events a week because they have different training classescome in.
You have pharmaceutical reps.
And so where AI is going to be able to do
(26:12):
look at the velocity and the cadence of every customer and it's going to be able to tellyou - you need to reach out to Michael.
He orders three times a week normally and he's down to two times a week.
You might want to find out why he's not ordering that extra time, right?
Or he used to spend $25 ahead and now he's spending $15 ahead.
(26:34):
You might want to find out why or he was ordering for 25 people a time now it's 15.
So you're going to get so granular and so specialized just like
So we're gonna build that into our system.
It's like TV stations.
When you were a kid, you had four stations, right?
You had ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS.
Now you have 5,000.
(26:55):
ESPN, 79.
Midget Wrestling, ESPN, 79.
There's something for everybody.
So I think it's really cool.
And I think what it's going to do...
is the people who do well, it's going to make them better.
And the people who don't do well, it's going to put them out of business quicker.
(27:20):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm guessing just seeing what you've done and knowing your journey, the service level hasprobably been the best marketing you can do because once you wow them, they're not trying
to save a couple of bucks.
Do you wanna talk to that?
Because I'm sure you have some great stories about.
(27:42):
I think that that is, and that's what I would say to anybody who's looking to grow theirbusiness is the focus on the service is the entirety of it.
And actually that's, in a couple of weeks I'm speaking at Cater Source very specificallyabout being a partner, not just a vendor.
And it's very, very much relying on the human touch and the service and just it.
(28:09):
wowing them with not just having a great product, but being on time, having all theaccoutrement that go with everything, just thinking ahead for them so that they don't have
to worry about any of that.
How do you feel technology helps you do a better job with that?
I think technology helps with the being able to immediately give you know, confirmations,take their order immediately, have them, you know, take the payment information
(28:40):
immediately, and then have them have a hard copy for them that's tangible to see itimmediately.
I think that that is, you know, the faster the better, right?
If someone calls you and says, I want a quote, and by the time we're ending theconversation,
they already have it in their email.
Number one, they're shocked that they have it so quickly.
(29:01):
But number two that's great, now you've completed what they already have what they need.
They're not waiting on you.
And everybody can move on to whatever the next task is.
The speed is immense.
But then also being able to look back at all of their old orders or anything thatsomeone's done similar to what they're doing,
(29:23):
and pull that up very quickly, is, you know, it's invaluable.
Yeah, it's just, you know, I think back when I had my restaurant, I did a million a yearout of a barbecue restaurant with.
basically pen and paper and figured it out.
And if I had had some of the tools that are available, obviously shameless plug thatcaters and provides, it's like how much bigger I could have been to not focus on the
(29:50):
manual labor stuff and focus on some other stuff and also be able to have all yourcustomer data to be able to communicate to them and market to them and what have you.
So as you look forward, you know,
there a what's next for your company?
Is it, hey, I love what I'm doing and we're gonna keep doing this?
(30:13):
Is there another product line?
Because you see a lot of restaurants, they say, hey, we're known for our salad dressingsor our cookies and we're gonna create, is there a what's next?
I know you have, how old are your kids?
Five and ten.
Yeah, so you're raising a young family, right?
So you've got soccer and dance and braces and everything to run around.
(30:38):
What's the what's next?
Or is it just you and your brother divide and conquer and you both have a good quality oflife?
I think it's both.
That's the whole point was to have a good quality of life, which we do.
It's 3.30 and I could be at home already.
I stayed to do this and Adam and his wife have already left.
(30:59):
as far as hours, we've definitely been able to reduce them for ourselves.
I would say five years ago, less than five years ago.
Well, pre-COVID, let's say, pre things change after COVID, it would not be unheard of forme to be at work at 6.37 a.m.
(31:22):
and then not leave until 7 p.m.
because we just weren't as streamlined even five years ago as we are now.
so quality of life has definitely improved.
For us, micro, very, very specifically, our area where we are.
(31:43):
is changing very significantly.
where we are in Fort Lauderdale is called the Uptown Business District.
And it's actually the most concentrated area of business.
We're not downtown at all, but it is the most concentrated area of businesses in like theSouth Florida area, even though it's not downtown.
And so for the last 30 plus years, this has not been a residential neighborhood.
(32:07):
And because Florida is growing so much, they're building something like
10,000 apartments in this like two block, yes, in this like two block radius of where weare.
And we just found out it's already been greenlit.
They're bringing a target, a super target into our plaza where we are.
(32:29):
So our literal like area right here where we are is gonna be changing to a residentialneighborhood.
So we will most likely over the next two.
years, I would say probably be expanding our hours to be nights and weekends, you know,whereas, you know, we've not done that.
(32:50):
So those are other meal parts that we'll pick up that will probably also translate into,of course, more catering as more people are exposed to us and know us.
So I think it'll all kind of, you know, spoke out in that kind of direction.
So yeah.
mean, the one thing that's constant is change.
It's crazy.
It's absolutely crazy.
(33:13):
Okay, if you had to go to another city from scratch, obviously, your dad wander and momwandered all over the world for the food business.
What are the top three things you would do to build catering sales out of a restaurant?
Am I starting from scratch or am joining somebody else's business?
Yeah.
(33:33):
it doesn't matter.
It's a new restaurant to you and you you've got they have zero in catering sales, right?
So for me, I would probably do the same thing my parents did, which is start real small,the smallest space, the smallest space with a, with a hand sink I could find.
and I would start walking and, and we would be, I would want to be, you know, literally asclose as humanly possible to a big corporate park area.
(34:01):
And I would literally just start walking and knocking on doors and saying, hi.
You know, I'm new, this is what we do.
I have the menus ready to go and build from there.
good old door-to-door relationship.
that's the advantage that sampling food has.
If your food's good, at least they'll give you a shot.
(34:23):
Yeah, absolutely.
So in closing, anybody who's in the restaurant business trying to grow their cateringsales, I mean, you've talked about sampling.
Is there any other secrets, tips, throwaway ideas that would be valuable?
One of the things that I've done over the years that I would say has always been prettysuccessful, a couple of things I've done recently with LinkedIn and trying to get new
(34:53):
people, I figure out which businesses I want to target very specifically on LinkedIn, andI will email the highest person I can find on LinkedIn.
It might be the CEO, might be the SVP of HR, whoever the highest person I can find onLinkedIn is.
and I will email them directly and say, "hi, I am so and so, can you please put me incontact with the person that orders catering for your business?" And almost always they
(35:20):
respond and say, "hey, this is who you need to contact.
And so then when I contact this person, can say, "hey, your boss gave me your number, gaveme your email, know, here's what I am selling".
And, you know, it's great.
you know, it's funny.
I'm just gonna say I got a great idea.
I've used that before in cold email outreach.
(35:43):
But LinkedIn, that could be worth the whole interview that little soundbite is sovaluable.
Like, that's phenomenal.
I love that idea.
I freaking love it.
That's awesome.
Well, yeah.
Yeah.
is the people that I see on, you know, I try to connect with as many people as I can onLinkedIn.
(36:08):
When they get promoted or get a new job in the same area, I reach out to them and say,congratulations, I wanna stop by with some cookies for you to enjoy with your new team.
And then now they remember, fabulous, and you know, it's always people, you know, local,I'm not sending something somewhere far.
Right, right,
you know, they're super excited and, you know, remember you and want to bring you over andhave now got the menus and cookies at the new business.
(36:37):
God, that's amazing.
It's...
You know, when I used to do a lot of speaking, I told the story about the value ofsampling.
And did you ever sell world's finest chocolate covered almonds as a kid or candy?
Yeah.
So I sold them the Memphis Hebrew Academy in third grade.
I sold more than any other kid.
(36:58):
There are brother sister team that beat me, but too they didn't sell twice as much as me.
So I bought a box and I would go knock on the doors in the neighborhood and I'd introducemyself and I said here, try one.
First of all, they were amazing.
So they either bought them because they loved them or they felt guilty because some kidgave them something for free.
So the power of sampling is so...
(37:20):
It's really underestimated.
lot of people get it.
A lot of people don't get it.
It's super.
Those are great ideas.
Well, you have been a pleasure to interview today.
I hope you have a great weekend.
It's been great to know you and your family for all these years and see your successblossom and grow.
(37:41):
I love seeing your stuff on LinkedIn.
And I'm just amazed when I see some of these pictures like the wow factor is incredible.
So thanks and with that I'm going to take us
out.
Hello again, I'm your host Michael Attias and today's guest is Jessica Lehrer, co-founderof Adam and Joe Know Lunch.
Her catering company is redefining lunch with vibrant locally sourced meals forbusinesses, events and communities, all with a focus on sustainability and gourmet
flavors.
Jessica's innovative approach and dedication to supporting local farmers has made her astandout in the catering world.
(00:51):
We're excited to dive into her story, but first a quick shout out to our sponsor.
This episode is brought to
CaterZen Catering Software, the industry leader in helping restaurants turn their cateringchaos into calm.
Discover why top independent enterprise restaurants trust CaterZen to save them time andincrease their catering sales.
Go to www.caterzen.com and sign up for a walkthrough of the software or a free 30-daytrial.
(01:16):
Now let's dive into this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts.
Welcome, Jessica.
How are you doing today?
I'm good, thank you for having me.
No, my pleasure.
So I'd to get everyone started off with the icebreaker question.
Give me a number between 1 and 300.
250.
What's the most interesting thing you've ever seen at a museum?
(01:38):
I could tell you my favorite thing I've seen at a museum, don't know if it was necessarilythe most interesting, but the Botticelli's Birth of Venus is my absolute favorite piece of
art.
And it's in Italy, yes.
I just, I remember being completely just blown away seeing it in person.
It's in Florence.
I love Florence.
Absolutely love Florence.
(01:59):
so that was, yeah.
I can't go to a museum by myself.
I need a guide.
Otherwise, I just walk around like the lost kid in school.
I don't know what I'm looking at.
I don't understand.
It's like, that looks nice.
Guided is the best way, even if it's just one of the headset tours.
It really is the best.
(02:20):
Otherwise, you don't know what you're looking at.
Yeah, that's for sure.
Okay, so tell me, I know, I know your dad, sort of know your brother, know you and yourdad from in person coming to Caterpalooza.
How long has your family been in the business and sort of how did your maybe the timeline,because I know there was a merging of the two family businesses, maybe walk everybody
(02:42):
through your background and your family's background.
So my family, my dad, he's been in the kind of in the restaurant business in some way, Iwould say since he was in his 20s.
mean, I actually think his dad also like had like a sandwich route, you know, when he waslike, you know, younger going to the offices.
Then my dad did something similar when he was in his 20s.
(03:03):
And then they moved to California.
My parents, they got married.
They were doing other things, you know, before then.
ended up in California and started a restaurant there.
So I would say since the late 70s, early 80s, they've been in the restaurant business.
So restaurants in California and those restaurants, they catered to Universal Studios forcatering and all over, other corporate stuff over there.
(03:30):
Then my family moved.
any interesting Hollywood stories about catering out there?
I think they do.
mean, I was little.
was only like either not born or like under two at the time.
So I don't remember.
And I know that they were, you know, catering, you know, to to the movie sets, not craftservices, but catering to the movie sets and to the executives.
(03:53):
And I think the most interesting story that I've heard is that apparently the phone numberfor our restaurant was the most out dialed phone number other than the New York office for
Universal Studios was our.
That's cool.
Yep.
Yeah.
So yeah, they definitely have some some good stories.
(04:14):
I know that they were doing like the Hill Street Blues set and some other things that weregoing on in like the late 70s, early 80s.
So they were they were right there.
And they were they must have been they were under 30.
Maybe you're just 30.
They were young.
So they were having a good time.
Yeah.
That's cool.
Okay, so how'd they end up in Florida?
(04:34):
Ended up in Florida, so my dad's from Detroit, my mom's from Toronto.
And so after California, they didn't really like being on the West Coast, they ended upback in Toronto, had a restaurant there, like a regular, you know, kind of like six day a
week breakfast, lunch and dinner type of restaurant with catering.
And my dad absolutely hated the cold.
He was like, I can't do this any longer.
(04:55):
We got to go somewhere warm.
And we ended up in South Florida.
And, you know, they moved down and when I was in
third grade and so 1992, 1991, 1992, opened up a small kind of restaurant kind of likesome similar to what they had back in California, which is just lunch.
(05:16):
And, you know, they have grew it from there.
My brother was in high school, went to college at the time and decided that, you know, hereally also wanted to start his own business and left school and started his own
restaurant in 96.
And then that we kind of just ran like neighbors, neighbors, two separate businesses, youknow, that were close by if we needed, you know, a couple cases of tomatoes and the other
(05:43):
one had it, but we were completely separate businesses.
and we did that until 2017 when my brother and I said, you know, it's time for our parentsto retire and we want to have a better quality of life, you know, between the two
families.
And so they said, okay, we'll travel and play pickleball.
(06:03):
And so that's what they do now.
I don't.
Yeah, they love it.
You know, it's so universal.
I've got a place in Costa Rica and they actually have two pickleball courts.
One of them is covered.
Maybe both of them are covered.
So that just shows you, you know, how it's picked up.
(06:25):
fastest growing sport in the world actually, I think.
Yeah, I love it.
It's fast paced.
It's basically ping pong antennas had a baby.
So how do you, I know you've, I don't know how we first met.
I don't know if it's a Cisco show or maybe through Rory fat or I don't.
(06:46):
I don't remember if it was a Cisco show.
I do remember us wanting catering software specifically.
And I know my dad had been getting your catering, like had gotten your book and your orsomething like over the years.
So he's he kind of was you were on his radar.
He's always reading.
(07:06):
I thought I just interviewed Butch Scott with Abbeville Catfish.
He was one of the first investors in the catering magic systems.
I think your dad probably bought some of my educational materials and then y'all were oneof the first software people.
And so you've been around forever.
How'd you decide to get in a family business?
Because number one, to decide you want to be in the food business, that's a big decision.
(07:27):
And then to work with your family, it's a bigger business.
Yeah, you know, growing up, I always said I was never going to go into the restaurantbusiness because my parents, you know, being, you know, owner operators of a small, you
know, at the time, kind of like just, you know, was them and their couple of their kitchenstaff.
They were always married to the restaurant, right?
They didn't, you know, they would close for two weeks during Christmas and we would takevacation.
(07:49):
But other than that, you know, it was the restaurant, restaurant, restaurant.
And so I was always like, I'm not I don't want to do that, you know, growing up.
I wanted to something else and I went to school, I graduated, I went to graduate school, Iactually was a police officer for a little while.
Yep, I used to be a police officer.
(08:10):
Yep.
I a whole other life.
I know I need to know like, were you a beat cop?
What was your?
yeah.
I mean, everyone starts off that way.
after college, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to use my degree,which is I have a master's in criminology, actually from Cambridge in England.
(08:32):
had gone to England to get my master's and I came home and I was hired by the city of WestPalm Beach.
They paid for me to go to police academy, graduated number one in my class.
no, and
And I went and worked as a police officer and it was not for me.
(08:52):
Honestly, I missed the restaurant business and being with my family.
And I said, I thought I never wanted to do it, but it really was all I wanted to do.
So, yeah.
I know your dad.
I'm surprised he didn't like put his foot down and go, you won't be a police officer.
I think they probably tried to, but I was an adult.
(09:15):
I don't know if they could have said that.
so two questions.
One, do you like to watch all those crime documentaries?
Do you find that interesting anymore or is that just?
There was, I do find it interesting.
Now there was a time after I was a police officer where I was like, I can't watch this.
It's just, it was like too much.
(09:37):
There are also certain like, I would say there's certain shows that like I booked back,it's been a long time since I was, I mean, I've been here for 17 years now.
So it's been a long time.
I remember there was a couple of things I was like, I can't watch this, too real or tooclose to.
Yeah.
you know, it's just too dramatic.
So, yeah.
(09:59):
So, you know, this is supposed to be about catering and food, but I'm just now I'm just soenthralled.
Like, I don't know if I should say this on my podcast.
I'll tell this story because it's sort of interesting.
You know, it doesn't have to all be educational.
I was at Vegas for a show and I was leaving out early the next morning.
(10:19):
I had a sinus infection.
I was sick and I heard somebody like four seats down, this attractive blonde woman talkingabout, the models in the house and this, that and the other.
I'm like, is she part of America's top model?
Like works on the set or production or whatever.
And I went, the minute I sat in my seat, I fell asleep, woke up, went to the
(10:41):
bathroom halfway through the flight and guess who comes out the bathroom door?
This woman.
I said, look, I hate to sound like, you know, I eavesdropping, but at the airport I heardyou talk about, you know, models in a house.
Are you, you know, do you work in, you know, television entertainment?
She goes, yeah, I'm a producer.
Well, what do you do?
(11:02):
Well, you know, she didn't really want to say, I said, well, what do you do?
She goes, I work in adult films.
I go, what?
Okay.
You can't go back to your seat.
I have so
many questions, like people are dying to know, like, and I was like, how'd you get intoit?
And so she told me how she got into the business and.
what her specialty was and the hierarchy of pay.
(11:26):
You know, it was very fascinating.
So before we get off this rabbit hole, what is the most interesting thing that happened toyou?
Why?
Why you were a cop like a story that you just don't forget.
Good cocktail party talk like, know, did you ever take down, you know, 350 pound guy byyourself or?
(11:47):
know what, I'm actually gonna pivot this back to the restaurant very easily for you.
I'm gonna tie the two together, okay?
Good.
After I had already left the police department and I am working in the restaurant, I get aphone call from a woman telling me that she has a charge from her credit card from our
(12:12):
restaurant, but she does not live in Florida and she's never ordered from our restaurant.
So of course we have all receipts from everything.
I'm able to pull the receipt and I find out that
it was ordered to basically like a call center kind of room.
Okay, it's like a phone room.
And basically I brought down this entire ring of like credit card scam artists.
(12:37):
And it was like, I they arrested like 20 or 30 people in Florida, in New York, because Iwas able to investigate and call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and said, hey, I'm
pretty sure there's some sort of like credit card scam going on out of this.
you know, office.
And it turned out that I was able to like investigate and bring down this entire ring ofcredit card scammers.
(13:00):
my god, is...
God, this is like...
This could be one of my favorite episodes, because it's so crazy.
So what were they doing with the cr-
So they were like a healthcare kind of company.
And so they were selling either insurance or maybe like devices to elderly people and thentaking their credit cards and buying themselves lunches.
(13:23):
it was just like a side scam.
It wasn't like the...
It wasn't the Nigerian.
no, no, and then they were selling the data to another credit card scam ring out of NewYork.
Oh yeah, was big, it was a big one.
But because they bought themselves lunch, also, they were busted.
(13:46):
my God, you know what?
This could be like a movie.
know, some, you know, the caterer goes in and busts the crime ring.
But you know, it's funny is during COVID, I was in Florida for 13 months, holed up and Ihave a ring doorbell in Nashville and there was a series of people dropping off DoorDash
(14:06):
at my door.
And I think what happened was a neighbor down the street.
put my address to deliver the food for Uber, waited till it got delivered and then justwent and picked it up and somebody else got stuck with the bill.
So it's crazy.
That is crazy.
So do you do only, do y'all only do lunch?
(14:32):
The actual physical restaurant is only lunch, but catering, breakfast, lunch, dinner,cocktail parties, all time of day for catering.
are you doing nights and weekends or you just do Monday through Friday and that's it.
We do nights and weekends for stuff that's large enough.
So we have different minimums for, you know, nighttime and weekend.
mean, this weekend I have, you know, we have some pickleball tournaments actually thatwe're doing.
(14:55):
We have some school stuff that we're doing, some church stuff.
So it just depends on, you if it's large enough to call somebody in.
Sorry, it's freezing here.
So did your parents always stick with lunch restaurants so they could be at home at nightand weekends for the most part?
Once we moved to Florida, yes.
When I was younger and we lived in Toronto, the restaurant was open six nights a week fordinner.
(15:19):
I think they were closed on Sundays, only Sundays for the whole day.
Yeah, I remember I spoke at a Cisco house and I took a tour.
You came to say hello to your family and like the amount of catering going out the doorlike on a Tuesday was ridiculous.
And I see your stuff on LinkedIn and it's definitely a whole next level with presentation,packaging.
(15:47):
Will you talk to that and the value that
builds and the prices you're able to command.
Because, you know, obviously there people probably getting sandwiches and you can getsandwiches from low end grocery store deli or Subway and then you can get what you're
doing.
How does that translate?
(16:07):
Where do you feel the packaging and the presentation fit in the value equation and whatyou're able to charge?
You know, I think it's really more twofold because we are doing a premium product, sowe're not going to compare ourselves to Subway or Panera.
mean, we're using something that's a higher end, completely fresh bread delivered everyday.
(16:31):
We're slicing the meat here fresh, so it's a little bit different.
But I think very specifically, I think where we command and are able to command a littlebit of a higher price point.
is that, is the service aspect, right?
So we're not a third party delivery person.
We have our own delivery people.
(16:52):
If you tell us you need something there at 11.30, it's gonna be there on time with thedriver setting it up with all the things you need to have with it.
You have to worry about us canceling an order on you, day of, like it might happen withsomebody else.
So I think the service aspect is a little bit more about why we command.
(17:13):
a little bit more of a premium product because our service is a little bit more premium.
I think that the higher end stuff we're doing has kind of grown a little bit moreorganically because as people order our food for the regular stuff we do from our regular
catering menu, they say, oh, I have this coming up.
(17:36):
Can you do that also?
And then it's, well, yes, we can.
And we kind of go from there.
Right, no, I totally get that.
It sort of morphs.
What are you excited about today in the catering business?
Like what gets you pumped up jazzed?
For me, it's the creativity.
(17:56):
I absolutely love you know, if there's something new that I get to do that we've neverdone before.
Like last week, we did an event for an African safari company that came in and was likeselling their safaris to high-end clients.
And so they said, can you do an African inspired menu and setup?
(18:18):
And so, you know, of course I was with them and said, okay, here's the things that I'veresearched.
this is what I'd love to do, is this on the right level?
And they said, yep, the menu's great.
And I was able to kind of decorate the buffet line with a safari theme.
And then when they were there and they tasted everything, they said, this is spot on.
(18:41):
You hit the nail right on the head.
This tastes like what it should taste like in South Africa or in Nigeria, like the actual.
I was able to hit the flavor.
I think that was exciting.
is when they, yeah.
And you know, when you're dealing with a client like that.
You know, it's always great to be working with people that prices in a budget.
(19:03):
I mean, everybody has a budget, but you know, I'm guessing they're charging 15 grand aperson for these high end safaris.
So whatever you're charging the food to help sell the event, it's a drop in the bucket andthey're not going to shortchange.
They're not going to bring people in for, you know, lunchables to eat in the middle of apresentation, right?
(19:24):
Are you using AI for inspiration on any of your designs?
No, I have not.
We do use AI a little bit for inspiration.
I'm sure you get some of my emails.
Sometimes I like to get fun and I like to do rhymes.
I think it's fun to give something a little different to do.
(19:45):
so normally I kind of do it myself.
And then I have recently kind of put in to chat to you, hey, give me a...
email that rhymes, you know, based on X, and Z, and I see what it spits out, and you know,sometimes it's great, sometimes it's, you know, okay.
Well, you know, it's funny, Wicked just came out around Christmas and Jill, who's our newCOO, and Jillian, who's been with us forever, they're wicked like fanatics.
(20:15):
I went and I fell asleep.
Movies are good for me to catch up on sleep.
I mean, it was good, but I still fell asleep and they were just all about it and they bothhave dogs.
So I went to chat GPT and I said, I want you to write me a version of popular from wickedand call it popular.
(20:35):
And then a guy who works for me in Canada as an actor and his daughter sings and I paidher, she's like 12 years old, I paid her a hundred bucks to produce the song.
And that was one of their Christmas presents.
That's awesome.
yeah, so it was a lot of fun.
will tell you that I like to do interior design for fun.
(20:57):
And I'm redoing my Nashville home and I've done the kitchen, I've done the den, all just.
off the top of my head and I'm sorry, the kitchen and the dining room, I'm redoing theden.
I have a wall unit and I'm trying to make it a little more modern.
I went to chat GBT, I put the dimensions of the room, what the other rooms look like, thevibe, whatever.
(21:20):
Seven iterations later.
Spot on.
So I'm guessing if you say I'm do I'm doing an Italian themed buffet.
I'm looking for things that aren't common It's gonna not that you're gonna copy it exactlybut you talk about inspiration and it takes five seconds ridiculous the advantages we have
Whether it's writing copy or coming up with menu ideas
(21:43):
I definitely use like, I use, I would say I use Google image search the most for likeinspiration and mostly for like color, you know, like in a couple of weeks we're doing,
you know, the Miami boat show is coming and that we have a lot of people coming in fromItaly.
And so they, you know, like a very, you know, more authentic Italian menu.
(22:04):
So I need some inspiration for like color and, know, what are we having?
And so that's.
I would say that that's usually a lot of the inspiration I get.
I would challenge you to try it.
Chetchabee tea for design ideas for your buffet for your presentations.
And you're going to be like, just send me an email or whatever and let me know how worksfor you.
(22:25):
I think you're going to be surprised.
Like, like what I sent my designer of my best one of my best friends from childhood ismom's 85 and she helps me.
She was a top designer in Memphis.
And when I sent her the design, she's like, my God, I can't believe that just came out ofAI.
It's ridiculous.
Yeah, it's it's next level.
And and I was able to send it to my carpet.
(22:45):
and he's gonna be able to, it's good enough that he can look at what they designed.
It's imperfect, but he can build something off of that.
Yeah, it's ridiculous.
And I would have never come up with the idea on my own in a million years.
So, through all the Google searches.
So let's talk about, you know, obviously I've known your family forever.
(23:06):
What have y'all done to build that catering business out of your restaurant?
You know, I know you're in an office industrial,
So I guess the low hanging fruit where the office is and businesses around you.
Tell me where you got started and sort of your marketing journey.
for us, our most successful tried and true marketing has been in person, cookie drops,saying hello, even cold calling.
(23:36):
You know, that's always been, you know, and quite honestly, no matter how much onlinemarketing we've ever tried to do, and we've tried over the years doing it ourselves, we've
tried paying for ads, we've tried bringing in outside marketing companies, the mostsuccessful.
for us has always been in person, actual physical contact or phone contact with realpeople to get in there.
(24:04):
And that's just been the most successful.
Are you doing any lead generation anymore?
have you just gotten so busy that the phone's ringing and you got all you can say graceover?
Yeah, we are not doing any more lead generation right now.
(24:25):
Honestly, it's hard to follow up with the funnel potentially.
And also our own book is so large of who we have that if we haven't heard from people in awhile, you need to call your own customers.
Maybe they have a new admin who's not the same admin you had before and that's why you'renot hearing from them.
(24:46):
So when you talk about the funnel is too, did you say the funnel is too large?
What do you mean?
if you're getting the lead generation from an outside customer, sometimes it's hard tosort through what's being sent to you.
That takes time.
It takes time to take the time to comb through the leads.
(25:07):
Yeah.
Well, I'm really, you know, we talked about AI.
feel like I've been thinking about about AI for probably four or five years.
I think eventually the voice is going to get there where they're not going to know if it'syou or AI you taking the order schmoozing the customer.
It could be five years from now, 10, which is going to make a big difference.
(25:30):
Where we're looking at applying AI in the next year
is customer analytics, right?
Because the old school was, let's call people that hadn't ordered in 30 days, right?
New school with AI is, every customer is an individual and they have individual buyinghabits and patterns and a cadence, right?
(25:50):
So you might only you might order once a year for your company's Christmas party, right?
You bring in Adam and Joe Knows Lunch.
They do a nice spread for everyone.
Then you have an admin who at a company does a lot of training.
She's ordering in three, four events a week because they have different training classescome in.
You have pharmaceutical reps.
And so where AI is going to be able to do
(26:12):
look at the velocity and the cadence of every customer and it's going to be able to tellyou - you need to reach out to Michael.
He orders three times a week normally and he's down to two times a week.
You might want to find out why he's not ordering that extra time, right?
Or he used to spend $25 ahead and now he's spending $15 ahead.
(26:34):
You might want to find out why or he was ordering for 25 people a time now it's 15.
So you're going to get so granular and so specialized just like
So we're gonna build that into our system.
It's like TV stations.
When you were a kid, you had four stations, right?
You had ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS.
Now you have 5,000.
(26:55):
ESPN, 79.
Midget Wrestling, ESPN, 79.
There's something for everybody.
So I think it's really cool.
And I think what it's going to do...
is the people who do well, it's going to make them better.
And the people who don't do well, it's going to put them out of business quicker.
(27:20):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm guessing just seeing what you've done and knowing your journey, the service level hasprobably been the best marketing you can do because once you wow them, they're not trying
to save a couple of bucks.
Do you wanna talk to that?
Because I'm sure you have some great stories about.
(27:42):
I think that that is, and that's what I would say to anybody who's looking to grow theirbusiness is the focus on the service is the entirety of it.
And actually that's, in a couple of weeks I'm speaking at Cater Source very specificallyabout being a partner, not just a vendor.
And it's very, very much relying on the human touch and the service and just it.
(28:09):
wowing them with not just having a great product, but being on time, having all theaccoutrement that go with everything, just thinking ahead for them so that they don't have
to worry about any of that.
How do you feel technology helps you do a better job with that?
I think technology helps with the being able to immediately give you know, confirmations,take their order immediately, have them, you know, take the payment information
(28:40):
immediately, and then have them have a hard copy for them that's tangible to see itimmediately.
I think that that is, you know, the faster the better, right?
If someone calls you and says, I want a quote, and by the time we're ending theconversation,
they already have it in their email.
Number one, they're shocked that they have it so quickly.
(29:01):
But number two that's great, now you've completed what they already have what they need.
They're not waiting on you.
And everybody can move on to whatever the next task is.
The speed is immense.
But then also being able to look back at all of their old orders or anything thatsomeone's done similar to what they're doing,
(29:23):
and pull that up very quickly, is, you know, it's invaluable.
Yeah, it's just, you know, I think back when I had my restaurant, I did a million a yearout of a barbecue restaurant with.
basically pen and paper and figured it out.
And if I had had some of the tools that are available, obviously shameless plug thatcaters and provides, it's like how much bigger I could have been to not focus on the
(29:50):
manual labor stuff and focus on some other stuff and also be able to have all yourcustomer data to be able to communicate to them and market to them and what have you.
So as you look forward, you know,
there a what's next for your company?
Is it, hey, I love what I'm doing and we're gonna keep doing this?
(30:13):
Is there another product line?
Because you see a lot of restaurants, they say, hey, we're known for our salad dressingsor our cookies and we're gonna create, is there a what's next?
I know you have, how old are your kids?
Five and ten.
Yeah, so you're raising a young family, right?
So you've got soccer and dance and braces and everything to run around.
(30:38):
What's the what's next?
Or is it just you and your brother divide and conquer and you both have a good quality oflife?
I think it's both.
That's the whole point was to have a good quality of life, which we do.
It's 3.30 and I could be at home already.
I stayed to do this and Adam and his wife have already left.
(30:59):
as far as hours, we've definitely been able to reduce them for ourselves.
I would say five years ago, less than five years ago.
Well, pre-COVID, let's say, pre things change after COVID, it would not be unheard of forme to be at work at 6.37 a.m.
(31:22):
and then not leave until 7 p.m.
because we just weren't as streamlined even five years ago as we are now.
so quality of life has definitely improved.
For us, micro, very, very specifically, our area where we are.
(31:43):
is changing very significantly.
where we are in Fort Lauderdale is called the Uptown Business District.
And it's actually the most concentrated area of business.
We're not downtown at all, but it is the most concentrated area of businesses in like theSouth Florida area, even though it's not downtown.
And so for the last 30 plus years, this has not been a residential neighborhood.
(32:07):
And because Florida is growing so much, they're building something like
10,000 apartments in this like two block, yes, in this like two block radius of where weare.
And we just found out it's already been greenlit.
They're bringing a target, a super target into our plaza where we are.
(32:29):
So our literal like area right here where we are is gonna be changing to a residentialneighborhood.
So we will most likely over the next two.
years, I would say probably be expanding our hours to be nights and weekends, you know,whereas, you know, we've not done that.
(32:50):
So those are other meal parts that we'll pick up that will probably also translate into,of course, more catering as more people are exposed to us and know us.
So I think it'll all kind of, you know, spoke out in that kind of direction.
So yeah.
mean, the one thing that's constant is change.
It's crazy.
It's absolutely crazy.
(33:13):
Okay, if you had to go to another city from scratch, obviously, your dad wander and momwandered all over the world for the food business.
What are the top three things you would do to build catering sales out of a restaurant?
Am I starting from scratch or am joining somebody else's business?
Yeah.
(33:33):
it doesn't matter.
It's a new restaurant to you and you you've got they have zero in catering sales, right?
So for me, I would probably do the same thing my parents did, which is start real small,the smallest space, the smallest space with a, with a hand sink I could find.
and I would start walking and, and we would be, I would want to be, you know, literally asclose as humanly possible to a big corporate park area.
(34:01):
And I would literally just start walking and knocking on doors and saying, hi.
You know, I'm new, this is what we do.
I have the menus ready to go and build from there.
good old door-to-door relationship.
that's the advantage that sampling food has.
If your food's good, at least they'll give you a shot.
(34:23):
Yeah, absolutely.
So in closing, anybody who's in the restaurant business trying to grow their cateringsales, I mean, you've talked about sampling.
Is there any other secrets, tips, throwaway ideas that would be valuable?
One of the things that I've done over the years that I would say has always been prettysuccessful, a couple of things I've done recently with LinkedIn and trying to get new
(34:53):
people, I figure out which businesses I want to target very specifically on LinkedIn, andI will email the highest person I can find on LinkedIn.
It might be the CEO, might be the SVP of HR, whoever the highest person I can find onLinkedIn is.
and I will email them directly and say, "hi, I am so and so, can you please put me incontact with the person that orders catering for your business?" And almost always they
(35:20):
respond and say, "hey, this is who you need to contact.
And so then when I contact this person, can say, "hey, your boss gave me your number, gaveme your email, know, here's what I am selling".
And, you know, it's great.
you know, it's funny.
I'm just gonna say I got a great idea.
I've used that before in cold email outreach.
(35:43):
But LinkedIn, that could be worth the whole interview that little soundbite is sovaluable.
Like, that's phenomenal.
I love that idea.
I freaking love it.
That's awesome.
Well, yeah.
Yeah.
is the people that I see on, you know, I try to connect with as many people as I can onLinkedIn.
(36:08):
When they get promoted or get a new job in the same area, I reach out to them and say,congratulations, I wanna stop by with some cookies for you to enjoy with your new team.
And then now they remember, fabulous, and you know, it's always people, you know, local,I'm not sending something somewhere far.
Right, right,
you know, they're super excited and, you know, remember you and want to bring you over andhave now got the menus and cookies at the new business.
(36:37):
God, that's amazing.
It's...
You know, when I used to do a lot of speaking, I told the story about the value ofsampling.
And did you ever sell world's finest chocolate covered almonds as a kid or candy?
Yeah.
So I sold them the Memphis Hebrew Academy in third grade.
I sold more than any other kid.
(36:58):
There are brother sister team that beat me, but too they didn't sell twice as much as me.
So I bought a box and I would go knock on the doors in the neighborhood and I'd introducemyself and I said here, try one.
First of all, they were amazing.
So they either bought them because they loved them or they felt guilty because some kidgave them something for free.
So the power of sampling is so...
(37:20):
It's really underestimated.
lot of people get it.
A lot of people don't get it.
It's super.
Those are great ideas.
Well, you have been a pleasure to interview today.
I hope you have a great weekend.
It's been great to know you and your family for all these years and see your successblossom and grow.
(37:41):
I love seeing your stuff on LinkedIn.
And I'm just amazed when I see some of these pictures like the wow factor is incredible.
So thanks and with that I'm going to take us
out.
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