December 10, 2024 • 20 mins
In this episode of Give an Ovation, we’re joined by Abney Harper, CEO and Founder of Prima Après, a unique fast-casual concept combining fresh pasta and pavlovas with a focus on thoughtful design, quality ingredients, and heartfelt hospitality. Abney shares her journey from fine dining and fashion retail to creating a chef-driven brand that delivers a luxury dining experience in a fast-casual setting.
Zack and Abney discuss:
- Transforming Fine Dining Into Fast-Casual Excellence
How Abney turned a $50 pasta dish into an accessible yet premium quick-service experience. - The Magic of Details in Guest Experience
Why everything from custom bronze-cut pasta to perfect table heights makes a difference in how guests experience a restaurant. - Hospitality Rooted in Human Connection
How kindness, warmth, and personal interactions build lasting customer loyalty. - Design That Enhances the Brand
How Abney’s background in fashion and interior design inspired Prima Après' stylish, inviting spaces. - Lessons in Restaurant Innovation and Growth
What it takes to blend creativity with operational excellence while scaling a restaurant concept.
Tune in to learn how Abney Harper is redefining fast-casual dining by blending exceptional cuisine with intentional design and genuine hospitality!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation, the
restaurant guest experiencepodcast, where I talk to
industry experts to get theirstrategies and tactics you can
use to create a five-star guestexperience.
This podcast is sponsored byOvation, an operations and guest
recovery platform formulti-unit restaurants that
gives all the answers withoutannoying guests with all the
(00:21):
questions.
Learn more at OvationUpcom.
Today I am so excited becausewe don't only have someone who
is a phenomenal operator, butsomeone who just has such an
engaging social media presenceand someone who you meet and you
just cannot help but love.
She's the CEO and founder ofPrima Apre and a mutual pizza
(00:42):
lover oh my gosh, of course,yeah.
And a mutual pizza lover oh mygosh, of course, yeah.
And if you hit up her Instagram, you will find she's got a
whole series of highlights justdedicated to pizza, as I do.
But, abney, so great to haveyou on the podcast.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Oh my gosh, zach, I'm so happy to be here.
I'm great, I'm so happy to seeyou.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Likewise, there may be some people who don't know
about your restaurant, so do youwant to kind of give us a
little tour of what's it like,what's the experience like and
what are you doing over there?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, thank you.
So my husband, james, and Ico-founded a brand called Prima
Pre, and it's a pasta and apavlova concept, and just on its
face it seems sort of like anodd combination, but the story
behind it is so, for me,interesting, a part of like our
past and my growth as a chef anda restaurateur, and so what it
(01:36):
is is.
I started in the restaurantbusiness with I had not just a
restaurant, but I had fashionand home retail, and so I would
go to Milan and Paris on buyingtrips to buy for the fashion.
And when I was in Paris, I keptseeing all of these meringue
clouds and I was like they'renowhere in the United States.
(01:56):
And so I came home.
I had a couple of fine diningrestaurants in Georgia and I
started making these meringueclouds, these pavlovas, and they
took off in my restaurant andso they became my best-selling
dessert.
Well, so then I had all theseresidual, leftover, residual egg
yolks and I'm like, well, whatdo I do with them?
And so I was making soufflesand some custards and things
(02:17):
like that, and then I startedmaking fresh pasta with the egg
yolks.
So, in my fine diningbackground, pasta with the egg
yolks.
So in my fine dining background.
I had a very small, curatedmenu that changed monthly.
So I always had a pasta and Iwould just use sort of
traditional sauces, but thosebecame my best-selling entrees.
And so when COVID hit and weclosed my fine dining
(02:41):
restaurants, then I was sort ofin a massive identity crisis
because I didn't know what to dowith myself after that, and so
I really was struggling withwhat to do next.
And my husband, who knows andloves you so much he's a
restaurant growth guy and doesscale and through franchising
and corporate growth and he waslike why don't we take some of
(03:03):
this and like figure out a wayto do something with what you
did in your fine diningrestaurant?
Because I was burned out, I wastired, I didn't want to operate
a restaurant like a one unitrestaurant anymore.
So we came up with this conceptand like we just literally like
held up in our apartment andlike created the business plan
for it and we have a chef-drivenscratch kitchen where we
(03:28):
produce fresh pastas and sauces.
We buy wheels ofParmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino
Romano and Empor Prosciutto andwe use those as the toppings
for our pastas and then we makepavlovas on the other side.
So it's a counter service, quickservice concept where you come
in and what was a $40 entree anda fine dining concept, that was
(03:51):
because of all the overheadthat is associated.
I mean, it was a linen, fullservice, beautiful space, and
now what was $40 is a $15 pastadish and it's the same offering.
That was fine dining but in aquick service concept.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
And the packaging, by the way, is so interesting.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh, thank you.
So I love it.
I think there's somethingreally sophisticated about those
origami white takeoutcontainers and I sort of love an
Asian and love sort of whenFrench meets Asian, and so I
love the use of the chopsticksand all of that, and so that's
kind of all went into the design.
(04:31):
So I love interior design and Ilove fashion, so I tried to
incorporate a lot of that intothis brand right.
So when you come in, you kindof it's a quick service and you
just walk in and you can takeyour pasta to go, you can take
your pavlova to go, but I wantpeople to want to sit and to
want to stay.
So operationally it's so very,very simple.
(04:51):
But the spaces that we have twolocations and the spaces I've
worked really hard to createbeautiful spaces that make you
want to linger.
We have wine and that kind ofthing.
So it's a really unusualconcept and people don't really
understand it.
So there's like an educationalcomponent to it, to when they're
like pasta and pavlova, thatdoesn't really make sense.
(05:12):
But I think it's really specialand I love it.
It's a really beautiful conceptto me.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, and, as I said, I think you do such a good job
of telling the story on yoursocial media and showing how you
put it together and how youlayer it and the passes and the
sauces, and I've actually I'veeven watched different user
generated content around peoplewho have tried it out and just
their experiences there.
That it's just.
It's a really unique, funexperience, and I think that
(05:39):
that's really what I want to getto.
Is, what do you think is themost important aspect of guest
experience nowadays?
Creating such a unique oneyourself.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Well, I feel like guests these days want something
new and original and thoughtful, and so what we did in trying
to implement that to sort ofmeet that guest need, is we
actually don't use egg yolk inour pasta, even though that's
sort of how the concept cameoriginally to be.
We use semolina, flour andwater and we buy the bronze dyes
(06:12):
, which the bronze dyes are thelike.
They're very expensive but theymake a real for a really
delicious pasta.
So they create a rough surfacearea so the pasta, the sauce,
really clings to the pasta andso people don't really
understand why it tastes better.
But it tastes better because Athe quality of the flour and
there's no preservatives oradditives to it.
But also we use that bronze dyethat makes our delicious sauces
(06:36):
cling to it, and so we boughtdyes that were unconventional I
mean, not in Italy, but to us.
I wanted to do pastas that youcouldn't buy in a grocery store.
We do have spaghetti, but eventhe spaghetti we bought a little
bit of a different size andit's just delicious and we cut
the strands long.
So I feel like giving guestssomething that they can't have
(07:00):
at home but that's stillapproachable and still easy for
them to do without having to goand have a whole sit down
experience.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Well, and I think that these little details that
you're talking about are socritical because, as I was
actually just reading an articleabout Star Wars and here's, the
thing about Star Wars is likethere are certain camera shots
that you're not allowed to do.
Like Lucasfilm will send peopleto set of any show or any movie
(07:29):
that they're doing about StarWars, and like there's certain
camera shots that they can't dobecause it doesn't have the Star
Wars feel.
There are no buttons allowed onany costumes in Star Wars.
There's no paper allowed in thebackground on any Star Wars.
Like you can't have like astack of paper on a desk, like
(07:49):
in the Star Wars universe.
There are no buttons, there isno paper, the camera angles are
certain things.
Now, when you watch a Star Warsshow, you're not like, oh my
gosh, look at that Velcro,that's amazing Velcro, but it's
like there's something about itthat's different than other
shows.
And I's like there's somethingabout it that's different than
other shows and I think thatwhat you're talking about with
your pasta, it's like when youfocus in on those details to
(08:11):
care about the guest experience,not everyone is going to say,
oh, wow, the texture of thispasta really allows the sauce to
cling to it.
But they'll say, man, this isso much better than going to
that restaurant or than buyingthis in the grocery store and
making it at home, even thoughI'm doing the same exact thing
quote unquote it's different andI think that that attention to
(08:35):
detail really comes out.
Even if people can't articulateit, they can feel it right.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I love that, I absolutely love that.
It's like the whole you knowFrench je ne sais quoi thing
right, like when you hear it youjust can't put into words.
But you know there's somethingso brilliant behind the
creativity of it and I love thatthat you say about Star Wars
and that's what I love about thecreative process when people
(09:02):
don't just they love something,but they just can't quite put
their finger on what they loveabout it, that's how much you
know you've done somethingspecial.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
When you woke up this morning, abney, I bet you were
like.
I bet you I'm going to talkabout Star Wars with someone
today.
You seem like a Star Wars kindof nerd to me, right.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
No, I'm not, but I have mad appreciation for what
you've just shared.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
And I think that's the beauty of it.
I don't really get Star Warseither, but I appreciate the
little things and I always tellpeople Abby, in my opinion, the
little things matter becausethey're the little things I can
fake the big things matterbecause they're the little
things I can fake the big things.
I could fake the big apology.
Let's go on a trip because Iwas really rude to you and so
(09:49):
I'm going to buy you this trip.
But when I asked my wife onetime, how do you know that I
love you?
She said because you fill up mywater bottle at night.
And I was like wait a second.
I could have saved how muchmoney.
A trip, a piece of jewelry, butthose things are somewhat less
sincere because they are the bigthings.
The little things matter somuch.
(10:10):
And so, with that in mind, whatare some tactics I know we're
talking about kind of like thedetails?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
That's so sweet.
It reminds me there's a book Iread I can't remember the name
of it it was oh, I wish I couldremember.
I'm going to think of it andI'm going to text you, but it
was that same story.
It was a friend of CS Lewis'swho wrote the book and I'm going
to remember it at some point.
But he said that he and hiswife.
It was about their love story.
And he said my wife and I havethis thing where if somebody
(10:41):
asks for a glass of water in themiddle of the night, we always
get it, because it was theprivileges.
Is that she asked me to get it,you know, and I think that's so
true and so sweet.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So I love that.
Well good tactic for marriage.
What about a tactic forrestaurants Like what are some
things that you've done toimprove the guest experience?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh wow, what are some things that you've done to
improve the guest experience?
Oh, wow, well, I hope that whatI've done to improve the guest
experience is just exactly whatwe've been talking about, right,
like, I hope that I havefocused on every little detail,
and, to me, those are the thingsthat I love about the
restaurant space.
Right, it's like I love thedesign of spaces and I love the
(11:22):
food and I love the ambiance,and so I think that, for me, I
measure seat heights of thebenches that I had built.
You know, I measure the tableheights to make sure that they
hit just where they should hit.
I source glasses that, like,feel good in the hand and are
nice to sip from.
We try to edit the wines thatwe offer, just so you even
(11:44):
though it's, you know, you'rebuying a pasta in a takeaway
container, you still want to sitand have a glass of wine while
you eat it, and so those are thethings and those are the
details that I hope that,tactically, I feel like we have
given to the guests to enhancetheir experience.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And any strategies that you give to people around
like.
I'm sitting here in myrestaurant and I'm like man, I'm
running a pizza joint, andhopefully one that you'll come
visit sometime, abney, and soI'm running this 10 location
pizza joint.
Hypothetically, I don'tactually run a 10 location pizza
joint, and-.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
You would do a tremendous job.
If you did, it would be thebest pizza ever.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
I dream about that sometimes and I have nightmares
about it other times.
But let's say that you know I'mrunning this pizza joint and
I'm like I get it abney, but Idon't have this fancy idea
around my brand.
How do I still improve theguest experience?
Like?
What should I be looking at,thinking about?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I think your offering is exceedingly important.
Right, like always, using thehighest quality ingredients that
you can afford and still makethe margins work is the most
important thing.
I think anything that you can doto make a guest comfortable
from an ambiance standpoint, youknow, as far as like
(13:01):
hospitality and greeting andenhancing their experience, I
think anything you can do tomake a guest feel special when
they walk in the door, that whenthey walk out they felt like,
wow, I love that.
You know, it's really about thehuman connection and the
restaurant experience and I feellike that's what gets lost, and
so I think that the quality ofthe offering and the kindness
(13:24):
and the hospitality that'sshared with the guest is
absolutely the most importantthing.
I was talking to somebodyyesterday and he was saying I
come for the food, I come forthe ambiance, he said, and I
care the most about how I'mtreated when I walk in the door.
I think that's what we are.
We're in the hospitalitybusiness and that's absolutely
the most important thing.
(13:44):
And, as a Southerner who wasraised on Southern hospitality,
it's really about warmth andgreeting and making everybody
comfortable and greeting them atthe door and walking them out
the door and making them feelspecial.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Amen.
I mean I had Will Guder onrecently and this podcast and
talking to him about hospitalityand helping people feel seen
and the way that I definehospitality is proving to the
guests that you care.
But I love the way you justboil it down to like kindness,
right, Just that human nature ofinteracting with someone on a
(14:22):
bus or interacting with someoneacross the counter.
It's like how can you be kind,how could you help them smile a
little bit?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
And the thing is that if you really notice, when
you're operating a business andyou're interacting with guests,
they say things all the timethat give you an opportunity to
get to know them a little bitbetter, to make them feel a
little more special.
You know, I'm picking up pastafor my kids oh my gosh, how many
kids do you have, you know.
And it leads this wholeconversation and then the guest
leaves feeling appreciated toyour point, heard and understood
(14:56):
, and they'll want to come back.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Amen.
I love that, abney.
I love the direction of, likethe detail and the authenticity
that we're talking about here,because you're someone where,
yes, you use technology and, yes, you're all about and talking
to you about using thetechnology and having that data.
I think is so important, butit's about the human connection
and we always say don't let thetech get in the way of the
(15:19):
hospitality Right.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
I mean, I really believe at the end of the day, I
think it's important that thefood tastes good, I think the
spaces are pretty and thatyou're really kind to everybody
that walks in the door.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Amen, bam.
There we go.
There's the title of the nextbook by Abney Harper.
Okay, so who's someone thatdeserves an ovation in the
restaurant industry?
Who's someone that we should befollowing?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I'm going to give my sincerest shout out to my
husband, james Petrano, whichyou already had on here, but I
got to give him the props forSucre and what he has done for
that brand.
I mean, it's just it's anamazing brand and the future is
so bright and it's just been areal pleasure and an honor to be
(16:00):
a part of the journey with himon that.
So I just kind of watch outworld that brand's coming and
I'm so happy for him and allhe's done.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
And such a cool vibe too.
I actually went there and Ididn't even know that it was his
, but I went there and I waslike this is so cool.
And then, as I was walking out,I was like, oh my gosh, this is
Sucre.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
It was.
It was really cool.
Well, and you know, the thingthat's to me so amazing about
Sucre is is that, like Iremember, when it was founded
and I was in New Orleans and Iwas driving, I saw it and I was
like, oh my gosh, this is sobeautiful, I have to go in there
.
I want to be a part of this andthen flash forward this many
years later and Sucre has, like,sustained and weathered bad
business decisions, the Me Toomovement, lawsuits, bankruptcy,
(16:49):
multiple ownerships, and it'slike it's this brand that
transcends ownership.
But what I am so amazed by withJames is is he sees what it is,
he sees what it can be and he'screated this vision for how it
can grow and how it's a brandthat deserves to be shared with
(17:09):
everyone, and he's got a visionfor it and he's executing on it.
And it's just a really specialthing James and I did.
We were introduced to Dave Query.
He has the Post, his chicken inColorado, yeah, yeah, and he
(17:32):
has some other restaurants and Ilove the guy.
And the reason I love the guyis because I feel like he
embodies so much of everythingwe've just talked about on this
podcast.
He lives in Colorado, but heloves to have a place in New
Orleans.
He has a massive appreciationfor the food culture in New
Orleans.
But he went to CIA and he is atremendous chef, like he's so
(17:55):
talented.
But oftentimes when you find achef that's that talented who's
also a great restaurateur, it'stough Like I'm a terrible
operator.
I am so bad, I'm the worst.
That's what James is like.
Stay at Lane, abney, I'll takeover operations.
I'm so because I don't everwant to do the same thing twice.
I want to do it differentlyevery time and that's terrible
(18:16):
for operations.
But Dave has.
You know, when we met him, he'sdone just what I feel like is
important, right, he hasbasically a fine dining offering
with fried chicken, right, butit's absolutely a fine dining
offering.
By that I mean the attention todetail with the ingredients.
(18:36):
They have a gluten-free chickensandwich where they use, I
think, almond flour might behaving.
I don't know exactly whichflour they use, but they do the
waffles with a pumpkin seedbutter, maple syrup and I
actually haven't been to thepost, but I've just learned
about it through him and thenhave, like, studied it online
because it looks so good.
But they have multiplelocations.
(18:56):
But then he has a seafoodrestaurant in downtown Denver
that we went this summer calledJack's, and it was incredible.
Like the wine list waswonderful, the food was
beautiful and as delicious as itwas beautiful and it had such a
vibe.
It was sort of that thing whereyou just wanted to sit and
linger and not leave, and that'ssort of what I like, truly
(19:17):
value, and I think he's reallytalented and I think that he's
doing some great things.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Oh, that's awesome.
Love those shout outs.
And now, how can people findand follow you, abney and Prima
at Prey?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So we're on Instagram and TikTok and it's at
PrimaPreycom.
Our website is Prima.
I'm sorry we're at PrimaPrey onInstagram and Facebook and
TikTok and then our website'sPrimaPreycom.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Awesome.
Well, abney, for bringing usfrom the data cloud all the way
down to the moraine cloud.
Today's ovation goes to you.
Thank you for joining us onGive an Ovation Always fun to
hang out.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Thank you so much, Zach.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Thanks for joining us today.
If you liked this episode,leave us a review on Apple
Podcasts or your favorite placeto listen.
We're all about feedback here.
Again, this episode wassponsored by Ovation, a
two-question, sms-basedactionable guest feedback
platform built for multi-unitrestaurants.
If you'd like to learn how wecan help you measure and create
a better guest experience, visitus at OvationUpcom.
Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation, the
restaurant guest experiencepodcast, where I talk to
industry experts to get theirstrategies and tactics you can
use to create a five-star guestexperience.
This podcast is sponsored byOvation, an operations and guest
recovery platform formulti-unit restaurants that
gives all the answers withoutannoying guests with all the
(00:21):
questions.
Learn more at OvationUpcom.
Today I am so excited becausewe don't only have someone who
is a phenomenal operator, butsomeone who just has such an
engaging social media presenceand someone who you meet and you
just cannot help but love.
She's the CEO and founder ofPrima Apre and a mutual pizza
(00:42):
lover oh my gosh, of course,yeah.
And a mutual pizza lover oh mygosh, of course, yeah.
And if you hit up her Instagram, you will find she's got a
whole series of highlights justdedicated to pizza, as I do.
But, abney, so great to haveyou on the podcast.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Oh my gosh, zach, I'm so happy to be here.
I'm great, I'm so happy to seeyou.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Likewise, there may be some people who don't know
about your restaurant, so do youwant to kind of give us a
little tour of what's it like,what's the experience like and
what are you doing over there?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, thank you.
So my husband, james, and Ico-founded a brand called Prima
Pre, and it's a pasta and apavlova concept, and just on its
face it seems sort of like anodd combination, but the story
behind it is so, for me,interesting, a part of like our
past and my growth as a chef anda restaurateur, and so what it
(01:36):
is is.
I started in the restaurantbusiness with I had not just a
restaurant, but I had fashionand home retail, and so I would
go to Milan and Paris on buyingtrips to buy for the fashion.
And when I was in Paris, I keptseeing all of these meringue
clouds and I was like they'renowhere in the United States.
(01:56):
And so I came home.
I had a couple of fine diningrestaurants in Georgia and I
started making these meringueclouds, these pavlovas, and they
took off in my restaurant andso they became my best-selling
dessert.
Well, so then I had all theseresidual, leftover, residual egg
yolks and I'm like, well, whatdo I do with them?
And so I was making soufflesand some custards and things
(02:17):
like that, and then I startedmaking fresh pasta with the egg
yolks.
So, in my fine diningbackground, pasta with the egg
yolks.
So in my fine dining background.
I had a very small, curatedmenu that changed monthly.
So I always had a pasta and Iwould just use sort of
traditional sauces, but thosebecame my best-selling entrees.
And so when COVID hit and weclosed my fine dining
(02:41):
restaurants, then I was sort ofin a massive identity crisis
because I didn't know what to dowith myself after that, and so
I really was struggling withwhat to do next.
And my husband, who knows andloves you so much he's a
restaurant growth guy and doesscale and through franchising
and corporate growth and he waslike why don't we take some of
(03:03):
this and like figure out a wayto do something with what you
did in your fine diningrestaurant?
Because I was burned out, I wastired, I didn't want to operate
a restaurant like a one unitrestaurant anymore.
So we came up with this conceptand like we just literally like
held up in our apartment andlike created the business plan
for it and we have a chef-drivenscratch kitchen where we
(03:28):
produce fresh pastas and sauces.
We buy wheels ofParmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino
Romano and Empor Prosciutto andwe use those as the toppings
for our pastas and then we makepavlovas on the other side.
So it's a counter service, quickservice concept where you come
in and what was a $40 entree anda fine dining concept, that was
(03:51):
because of all the overheadthat is associated.
I mean, it was a linen, fullservice, beautiful space, and
now what was $40 is a $15 pastadish and it's the same offering.
That was fine dining but in aquick service concept.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
And the packaging, by the way, is so interesting.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh, thank you.
So I love it.
I think there's somethingreally sophisticated about those
origami white takeoutcontainers and I sort of love an
Asian and love sort of whenFrench meets Asian, and so I
love the use of the chopsticksand all of that, and so that's
kind of all went into the design.
(04:31):
So I love interior design and Ilove fashion, so I tried to
incorporate a lot of that intothis brand right.
So when you come in, you kindof it's a quick service and you
just walk in and you can takeyour pasta to go, you can take
your pavlova to go, but I wantpeople to want to sit and to
want to stay.
So operationally it's so very,very simple.
(04:51):
But the spaces that we have twolocations and the spaces I've
worked really hard to createbeautiful spaces that make you
want to linger.
We have wine and that kind ofthing.
So it's a really unusualconcept and people don't really
understand it.
So there's like an educationalcomponent to it, to when they're
like pasta and pavlova, thatdoesn't really make sense.
(05:12):
But I think it's really specialand I love it.
It's a really beautiful conceptto me.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, and, as I said, I think you do such a good job
of telling the story on yoursocial media and showing how you
put it together and how youlayer it and the passes and the
sauces, and I've actually I'veeven watched different user
generated content around peoplewho have tried it out and just
their experiences there.
That it's just.
It's a really unique, funexperience, and I think that
(05:39):
that's really what I want to getto.
Is, what do you think is themost important aspect of guest
experience nowadays?
Creating such a unique oneyourself.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Well, I feel like guests these days want something
new and original and thoughtful, and so what we did in trying
to implement that to sort ofmeet that guest need, is we
actually don't use egg yolk inour pasta, even though that's
sort of how the concept cameoriginally to be.
We use semolina, flour andwater and we buy the bronze dyes
(06:12):
, which the bronze dyes are thelike.
They're very expensive but theymake a real for a really
delicious pasta.
So they create a rough surfacearea so the pasta, the sauce,
really clings to the pasta andso people don't really
understand why it tastes better.
But it tastes better because Athe quality of the flour and
there's no preservatives oradditives to it.
But also we use that bronze dyethat makes our delicious sauces
(06:36):
cling to it, and so we boughtdyes that were unconventional I
mean, not in Italy, but to us.
I wanted to do pastas that youcouldn't buy in a grocery store.
We do have spaghetti, but eventhe spaghetti we bought a little
bit of a different size andit's just delicious and we cut
the strands long.
So I feel like giving guestssomething that they can't have
(07:00):
at home but that's stillapproachable and still easy for
them to do without having to goand have a whole sit down
experience.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Well, and I think that these little details that
you're talking about are socritical because, as I was
actually just reading an articleabout Star Wars and here's, the
thing about Star Wars is likethere are certain camera shots
that you're not allowed to do.
Like Lucasfilm will send peopleto set of any show or any movie
(07:29):
that they're doing about StarWars, and like there's certain
camera shots that they can't dobecause it doesn't have the Star
Wars feel.
There are no buttons allowed onany costumes in Star Wars.
There's no paper allowed in thebackground on any Star Wars.
Like you can't have like astack of paper on a desk, like
(07:49):
in the Star Wars universe.
There are no buttons, there isno paper, the camera angles are
certain things.
Now, when you watch a Star Warsshow, you're not like, oh my
gosh, look at that Velcro,that's amazing Velcro, but it's
like there's something about itthat's different than other
shows.
And I's like there's somethingabout it that's different than
other shows and I think thatwhat you're talking about with
your pasta, it's like when youfocus in on those details to
(08:11):
care about the guest experience,not everyone is going to say,
oh, wow, the texture of thispasta really allows the sauce to
cling to it.
But they'll say, man, this isso much better than going to
that restaurant or than buyingthis in the grocery store and
making it at home, even thoughI'm doing the same exact thing
quote unquote it's different andI think that that attention to
(08:35):
detail really comes out.
Even if people can't articulateit, they can feel it right.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I love that, I absolutely love that.
It's like the whole you knowFrench je ne sais quoi thing
right, like when you hear it youjust can't put into words.
But you know there's somethingso brilliant behind the
creativity of it and I love thatthat you say about Star Wars
and that's what I love about thecreative process when people
(09:02):
don't just they love something,but they just can't quite put
their finger on what they loveabout it, that's how much you
know you've done somethingspecial.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
When you woke up this morning, abney, I bet you were
like.
I bet you I'm going to talkabout Star Wars with someone
today.
You seem like a Star Wars kindof nerd to me, right.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
No, I'm not, but I have mad appreciation for what
you've just shared.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
And I think that's the beauty of it.
I don't really get Star Warseither, but I appreciate the
little things and I always tellpeople Abby, in my opinion, the
little things matter becausethey're the little things I can
fake the big things matterbecause they're the little
things I can fake the big things.
I could fake the big apology.
Let's go on a trip because Iwas really rude to you and so
(09:49):
I'm going to buy you this trip.
But when I asked my wife onetime, how do you know that I
love you?
She said because you fill up mywater bottle at night.
And I was like wait a second.
I could have saved how muchmoney.
A trip, a piece of jewelry, butthose things are somewhat less
sincere because they are the bigthings.
The little things matter somuch.
(10:10):
And so, with that in mind, whatare some tactics I know we're
talking about kind of like thedetails?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
That's so sweet.
It reminds me there's a book Iread I can't remember the name
of it it was oh, I wish I couldremember.
I'm going to think of it andI'm going to text you, but it
was that same story.
It was a friend of CS Lewis'swho wrote the book and I'm going
to remember it at some point.
But he said that he and hiswife.
It was about their love story.
And he said my wife and I havethis thing where if somebody
(10:41):
asks for a glass of water in themiddle of the night, we always
get it, because it was theprivileges.
Is that she asked me to get it,you know, and I think that's so
true and so sweet.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So I love that.
Well good tactic for marriage.
What about a tactic forrestaurants Like what are some
things that you've done toimprove the guest experience?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh wow, what are some things that you've done to
improve the guest experience?
Oh, wow, well, I hope that whatI've done to improve the guest
experience is just exactly whatwe've been talking about, right,
like, I hope that I havefocused on every little detail,
and, to me, those are the thingsthat I love about the
restaurant space.
Right, it's like I love thedesign of spaces and I love the
(11:22):
food and I love the ambiance,and so I think that, for me, I
measure seat heights of thebenches that I had built.
You know, I measure the tableheights to make sure that they
hit just where they should hit.
I source glasses that, like,feel good in the hand and are
nice to sip from.
We try to edit the wines thatwe offer, just so you even
(11:44):
though it's, you know, you'rebuying a pasta in a takeaway
container, you still want to sitand have a glass of wine while
you eat it, and so those are thethings and those are the
details that I hope that,tactically, I feel like we have
given to the guests to enhancetheir experience.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And any strategies that you give to people around
like.
I'm sitting here in myrestaurant and I'm like man, I'm
running a pizza joint, andhopefully one that you'll come
visit sometime, abney, and soI'm running this 10 location
pizza joint.
Hypothetically, I don'tactually run a 10 location pizza
joint, and-.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
You would do a tremendous job.
If you did, it would be thebest pizza ever.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
I dream about that sometimes and I have nightmares
about it other times.
But let's say that you know I'mrunning this pizza joint and
I'm like I get it abney, but Idon't have this fancy idea
around my brand.
How do I still improve theguest experience?
Like?
What should I be looking at,thinking about?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I think your offering is exceedingly important.
Right, like always, using thehighest quality ingredients that
you can afford and still makethe margins work is the most
important thing.
I think anything that you can doto make a guest comfortable
from an ambiance standpoint, youknow, as far as like
(13:01):
hospitality and greeting andenhancing their experience, I
think anything you can do tomake a guest feel special when
they walk in the door, that whenthey walk out they felt like,
wow, I love that.
You know, it's really about thehuman connection and the
restaurant experience and I feellike that's what gets lost, and
so I think that the quality ofthe offering and the kindness
(13:24):
and the hospitality that'sshared with the guest is
absolutely the most importantthing.
I was talking to somebodyyesterday and he was saying I
come for the food, I come forthe ambiance, he said, and I
care the most about how I'mtreated when I walk in the door.
I think that's what we are.
We're in the hospitalitybusiness and that's absolutely
the most important thing.
(13:44):
And, as a Southerner who wasraised on Southern hospitality,
it's really about warmth andgreeting and making everybody
comfortable and greeting them atthe door and walking them out
the door and making them feelspecial.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Amen.
I mean I had Will Guder onrecently and this podcast and
talking to him about hospitalityand helping people feel seen
and the way that I definehospitality is proving to the
guests that you care.
But I love the way you justboil it down to like kindness,
right, Just that human nature ofinteracting with someone on a
(14:22):
bus or interacting with someoneacross the counter.
It's like how can you be kind,how could you help them smile a
little bit?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
And the thing is that if you really notice, when
you're operating a business andyou're interacting with guests,
they say things all the timethat give you an opportunity to
get to know them a little bitbetter, to make them feel a
little more special.
You know, I'm picking up pastafor my kids oh my gosh, how many
kids do you have, you know.
And it leads this wholeconversation and then the guest
leaves feeling appreciated toyour point, heard and understood
(14:56):
, and they'll want to come back.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Amen.
I love that, abney.
I love the direction of, likethe detail and the authenticity
that we're talking about here,because you're someone where,
yes, you use technology and, yes, you're all about and talking
to you about using thetechnology and having that data.
I think is so important, butit's about the human connection
and we always say don't let thetech get in the way of the
(15:19):
hospitality Right.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
I mean, I really believe at the end of the day, I
think it's important that thefood tastes good, I think the
spaces are pretty and thatyou're really kind to everybody
that walks in the door.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Amen, bam.
There we go.
There's the title of the nextbook by Abney Harper.
Okay, so who's someone thatdeserves an ovation in the
restaurant industry?
Who's someone that we should befollowing?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I'm going to give my sincerest shout out to my
husband, james Petrano, whichyou already had on here, but I
got to give him the props forSucre and what he has done for
that brand.
I mean, it's just it's anamazing brand and the future is
so bright and it's just been areal pleasure and an honor to be
(16:00):
a part of the journey with himon that.
So I just kind of watch outworld that brand's coming and
I'm so happy for him and allhe's done.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
And such a cool vibe too.
I actually went there and Ididn't even know that it was his
, but I went there and I waslike this is so cool.
And then, as I was walking out,I was like, oh my gosh, this is
Sucre.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
It was.
It was really cool.
Well, and you know, the thingthat's to me so amazing about
Sucre is is that, like Iremember, when it was founded
and I was in New Orleans and Iwas driving, I saw it and I was
like, oh my gosh, this is sobeautiful, I have to go in there
.
I want to be a part of this andthen flash forward this many
years later and Sucre has, like,sustained and weathered bad
business decisions, the Me Toomovement, lawsuits, bankruptcy,
(16:49):
multiple ownerships, and it'slike it's this brand that
transcends ownership.
But what I am so amazed by withJames is is he sees what it is,
he sees what it can be and he'screated this vision for how it
can grow and how it's a brandthat deserves to be shared with
(17:09):
everyone, and he's got a visionfor it and he's executing on it.
And it's just a really specialthing James and I did.
We were introduced to Dave Query.
He has the Post, his chicken inColorado, yeah, yeah, and he
(17:32):
has some other restaurants and Ilove the guy.
And the reason I love the guyis because I feel like he
embodies so much of everythingwe've just talked about on this
podcast.
He lives in Colorado, but heloves to have a place in New
Orleans.
He has a massive appreciationfor the food culture in New
Orleans.
But he went to CIA and he is atremendous chef, like he's so
(17:55):
talented.
But oftentimes when you find achef that's that talented who's
also a great restaurateur, it'stough Like I'm a terrible
operator.
I am so bad, I'm the worst.
That's what James is like.
Stay at Lane, abney, I'll takeover operations.
I'm so because I don't everwant to do the same thing twice.
I want to do it differentlyevery time and that's terrible
(18:16):
for operations.
But Dave has.
You know, when we met him, he'sdone just what I feel like is
important, right, he hasbasically a fine dining offering
with fried chicken, right, butit's absolutely a fine dining
offering.
By that I mean the attention todetail with the ingredients.
(18:36):
They have a gluten-free chickensandwich where they use, I
think, almond flour might behaving.
I don't know exactly whichflour they use, but they do the
waffles with a pumpkin seedbutter, maple syrup and I
actually haven't been to thepost, but I've just learned
about it through him and thenhave, like, studied it online
because it looks so good.
But they have multiplelocations.
(18:56):
But then he has a seafoodrestaurant in downtown Denver
that we went this summer calledJack's, and it was incredible.
Like the wine list waswonderful, the food was
beautiful and as delicious as itwas beautiful and it had such a
vibe.
It was sort of that thing whereyou just wanted to sit and
linger and not leave, and that'ssort of what I like, truly
(19:17):
value, and I think he's reallytalented and I think that he's
doing some great things.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Oh, that's awesome.
Love those shout outs.
And now, how can people findand follow you, abney and Prima
at Prey?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So we're on Instagram and TikTok and it's at
PrimaPreycom.
Our website is Prima.
I'm sorry we're at PrimaPrey onInstagram and Facebook and
TikTok and then our website'sPrimaPreycom.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Awesome.
Well, abney, for bringing usfrom the data cloud all the way
down to the moraine cloud.
Today's ovation goes to you.
Thank you for joining us onGive an Ovation Always fun to
hang out.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Thank you so much, Zach.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Thanks for joining us today.
If you liked this episode,leave us a review on Apple
Podcasts or your favorite placeto listen.
We're all about feedback here.
Again, this episode wassponsored by Ovation, a
two-question, sms-basedactionable guest feedback
platform built for multi-unitrestaurants.
If you'd like to learn how wecan help you measure and create
a better guest experience, visitus at OvationUpcom.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.