Office Hours: Stop Discounting, Start Enrolling

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.

In this episode, I talk about something I think we’ve gotten backwards in the restaurant industry — loyalty. Too many of us are trying to buy it with discounts and deals. But real loyalty? That comes from connection. I dig into how to move beyond the transactional and start creating experiences that actually mean something to your guests. It’s about storytelling. It’s about generosity. It’s about making people feel like they matter. When you build that kind of emotional connection, you don’t need to bribe people to come back — they come back because they want to. And better yet, they tell their friends. If you're looking to turn one-time visitors into lifelong fans, this episode is for you.

Takeaways:

• You can run a successful restaurant without running a successful restaurant business.
• Most restaurant owners have great food but lack business acumen.
• Discounts do not drive loyalty; they create transactional relationships.
• Guests return for the experience, not for discounts.
• Creating a sense of belonging is key to guest loyalty.
• Generosity should be intentional and targeted, not random.
• Memorable experiences lead to word-of-mouth marketing.
• Identify high-value guest moments for targeted gestures of generosity.
• Document and share guest stories to enhance marketing efforts.
• True loyalty is built on experiences, not freebies.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Profitability
02:03 The Power of Genuine Connection Over Discounts
05:51 Creating Memorable Guest Experiences

If you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at [e-mail] and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.