June 9, 2025 • 16 mins
Ralph Lewis, CEO and third-generation owner of Okeechobee Steakhouse, joins Zack Oates to share the secrets behind one of Florida’s most iconic dining institutions. From 75 years of legacy service to 350,000 free birthday steaks, Ralph dives into how family values and consistent hospitality drive lasting guest loyalty.
Zack and Ralph discuss:
- What it means to deliver true hospitality, not just service
- How Ralph’s team creates “wow” moments with steak and dessert trays
- Why every team member should feel seen, not just staffed
- The impact of birthday traditions on guest memory and retention
- How to train front-of-house staff as experience specialists
- Why culture and consistency beat trendy tech
Thanks, Ralph!
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-lewis-980a74358/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/okeechobee-steakhouse/
https://www.instagram.com/okeechobeesteakhouse/
https://www.okeesteakhouse.com/
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.
I am your host, zach Oates, andeach week I chat with industry
experts to uncover theirstrategies and tactics you can
use to create a five-star guestexperience.
This podcast is powered byOvation, the feedback and
operations platform built formulti-unit restaurants.
(00:20):
You get all the insights youneed to improve without an
annoying survey for your guests.
Learn more at OvationUpcom.
And today we have someone whojust has an incredible
background.
He has just done it in therestaurant industry.
I met him through Kathleen Woodand I think everybody knows and
loves Kathleen Wood, but ifyou're not familiar with her, go
(00:43):
check out her episode of mypodcast.
But we have Ralph Lewis with ustoday and Ralph has been the
CEO and owner of OkeechobeeSteakhouse and Prime Meat Market
and you've got a couple otherthings, but you've been in the
Okeechobee Steakhouse for almostfor 48 and a half years.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
No, longer than that.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
No, really.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, zach.
So thanks for the introduction.
We're just restaurant operators.
But to give you a littlebackground real quick, we're in
West Palm Beach, florida.
Okeechobee Steakhouse is theoldest steakhouse in the state
of Florida, so this October,coming up in just a few months,
78 years.
It was started by mygrandfather and grandmother in
(01:26):
1947.
We're the original building,original location and, by the
way, you see West Palm Beach,palm Beach County, on the news
every day now that Trump is ourpresident.
You just see it If you watchany news.
Everything's being broadcastfrom here.
So ton of people here now thinklike 1.7 million people.
(01:47):
And where I'm going with this?
When my grandparents built thisrestaurant it was so far out of
town they couldn't getdeliveries.
So here we are, almost 78 yearslater, and moving right along
and things are doing amazing.
So I'm a third generation.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh my gosh.
So I know that you've beenthere for a while.
I didn't realize that yourgrandfather started it.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, my grandfather started it.
My father run the business forthe longest of all of us,
probably close to 45, 50 years.
He still comes in every dayhangs around world knowledge, so
it's been a family business.
Like I said, three generations.
We've opened a Okeechobee PrimeMeat Market a few years ago.
(02:30):
Catty corner behind OkeechobeeSteakhouse, we have an event
hall which is where I'm sittingthis morning.
At our event hall only place Icould get some silence and catch
up with you, my friend, and, bythe way, it was great seeing
you the other day at therestaurant show in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I do.
I feel like you bump intoeveryone there in Chicago.
So I was happy to see you there, Ralph, and it was funny
because I was like wait, don'twe have a podcast like this week
.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah so.
And then we have LewisSteakhouse in Jupiter, Florida,
and then we have Lewis PrimeGrill which is out in
Loxahatchee.
They're all in Palm beachCounty, so we've expanded but
here we are.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Oh my gosh.
And by the way, for thosewondering, he's not just using
that in hyperbole, I really didjust Google what is the oldest
steakhouse in Florida?
And sure enough, okeechobeesteakhouse.
So not like I didn't believeyou, ralph, I just wanted to see
if the internet agreed with you.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
And yeah, there you go.
Well, you know, if you tell theinternet something enough times
, you know I slip it in there.
It starts to believe it too.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
I love that.
So, Ralph, this is somethingwhere, from your cradle you have
been, Okeechobee Steakhouse hasbeen like in your blood.
What are some like crazystories, Because I mean, over
the years you've had to have hadsome like crazy things happen
in the steakhouse.
Anything come to mind?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
if you want things that are like funny stories and
different stories.
So we had a server waiter thatworked for us for 44 years,
hired by my grandparents, workedfor all three generations of us
, mr Hospitality, very oldschool Southern gentleman.
Of course when he started withus he was young, from Georgia.
Had that very old schoolSouthern gentleman demeanor.
(04:16):
People loved him.
So one day he was waiting onsome tables and this is when he
got a little older.
He had a lot of call parties, alot of people requested him.
He's a very popular server andhe was bending over showing some
ladies our steak tray.
We present our steaks on a trayand when he did he always wore
(04:37):
a pin like an American flag pinon his vest and it caught in her
hair, her wig, and when hestood up it pulled her wig off
and then she went to holler andit scared him bad and his false
teeth fell out on the meat tray.
So it just escalated from thereand of course, everybody in the
(04:59):
whole dining room was laughingand as it got worse and
escalated, he started backing up.
You know, oh my God, I'm sorry,Of course, pulling our wig
across the dining room floor,but there's a hundred stories
like that.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Oh my gosh, that is so funny and you know what I
love about those stories is thatyou go to work getting ready
for like just another day andthen, just like some crazy story
, like that happens.
I have never asked anyone thatquestion, but just knowing how
steakhouses are and how intimateyou are, like you know,
(05:32):
involved in this I figured youhad a couple up your sleeve.
So, thinking about the guestexperience, ralph, what do you
think is one of the mostimportant aspects of guest
experience nowadays and, in youropinion, how has that, if it
has evolved over the last 70some odd years?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, guest experiences have definitely
evolved.
One of the huge reasons,obviously in the last 25, 30
years, is exactly what we'redoing now Podcasts, social media
, phones, you know where you canvideo, snap pictures at the
dining room table.
Those are all things.
So it still comes back to yourbasic fundamentals.
(06:10):
People want a great experience,so they want great food, great
service, a great atmosphere, butyou also have to deliver
hospitality, which is waydifferent than just points of
service.
Anyone you know a robot coulddeliver points of service, and I
don't know if you were like me.
I seen a ton of robots at theNational Restaurant Show last
(06:31):
week, but they can't deliverhospitality and hospitality.
I'm going to go back to thegentleman Wesley who I was
telling you.
They've been with us 44 years,so one of the reasons he was so
popular was every single day for44 years he had a new joke to
tell the guests, so he alsoremembered their names.
He remembered their children'snames, birthdays.
(06:53):
He would write this down.
He memorized every, even whatthey were wearing when they came
in so he could compliment theladies the next time.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
What did he say about the wig the next time?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
What did you say about the wig the next time?
They actually they got a greatlaugh out of that.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
All of them did so that, of course if we'd had the
internet, then that was when theinternet was just starting to
come out, really good, buthospitality it's a feeling you
have to give the people anddeliver a feeling.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
You can go anywhere and get food, but you have to
deliver that experience.
You have to make the guestsunderstand that they're
appreciated, they're welcomed,and you will go above and beyond
to show that appreciation.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
And there's just so many ways to do it and, like the
gentleman who authored thisbook right behind me, he always
talks about how service isperforming the technical aspects
of the job effectively right.
That's giving the right food atthe right time at the right
time.
Hospitality is how the guestfeels as you do that, and I
(07:59):
think that in an increasingdigital world, it doesn't mean
that people don't care abouthospitality.
I went around and I did micropodcasts all over NRA and that's
what a lot of people weresaying is like it's about
getting back to the roots ofhospitality, about proving to
the guests that you really care,like that's what it comes down
to, and I think that's somethingwhere I've loved seeing that
(08:21):
return to the humanistic,humanality, whatever, to the
human, to human part ofhospitality, because that's what
it's really all about.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, it is, and one of the things we strive for is
we never want to have acorporate feel.
We don't want to have thatcorporate feel where you feel
like you're just a number, andthat starts with your staff too.
Feel like you're just a numberand that starts with your staff
too.
You don't want your staff tojust feel like they're lost in a
sea of 10,000 employees or even100 employees.
(08:51):
Everyone needs to feelimportant.
That's your staff, your guests,your vendors.
It's the same experience.
Everyone needs to think of yourplace and smile.
So one of the things we do is wegive away a free birthday
dinner on your birthday steakdinner at all three of our
restaurants.
(09:11):
So if you come in, we get you abirthday dinner, or we take
that price of the dinner off ofanother dinner if you get
something more expensive.
Well, one of the reasons and myfather was the one instrumental
in starting that probably 35years ago and as of last
September 2024, we had givenaway 350,000 free steak dinners,
(09:36):
birthday dinners at OkeechobeeSteakhouse.
But here is where the rub iswith this.
But here is where the rub iswith this.
So, again going back toexperiences, I don't remember
last year where I was the daybefore my birthday.
I don't even remember where Iwas two or three days after, but
I remember where I was, mybirthday and, like most of us,
(09:57):
we remember Christmas, ourbirthdays, our children's
birthday.
So we want you in ourrestaurant experiencing that
memorable moment that's going toget passed down in those photos
for decades at OkeechobeeSteakhouse and we have
generational people now that arecoming in saying their
(10:19):
grandparents or parents broughtthem in here 30 years ago at 15
years old for a free birthdaydinner and they remember
celebrating that with theirgrandparents who are no longer
with them or their parents.
So those are things you can'tbuy with advertising or you
can't jump on and be aninfluencer and give that feeling
(10:41):
.
I do a lot of video content, alot of videos, but I can't
replicate that feeling.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah, I love that idea because that's such a smart
thing of like, yeah, where youcelebrate your birthday, you
remember.
That's a really good point of.
I remember my birthday lastyear but I don't remember what I
did before or after.
But yeah, I remember where Iwas.
That's a really interestingidea.
Besides that, I mean likebecause the birthday club it
normally seems like a kind oftired idea, but how you're
(11:10):
explaining it is really likegive me huge hope in the fact
that it's not a tired idea.
It's actually that opportunityto create a lasting memory and
that's really powerful.
Any other tactics that youwould use to improve the guest
experience?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yes, Well, you want to give them wild moments.
One of the things we do wepresent a steak tray.
We come to the table with oursteaks raw, show them and
describe each steak.
It's something different.
So you get a visual, you getknowledge.
The waitstaff, the servers andthey're really guest experience
(11:45):
specialists is who works in thefront of our house.
They're very professional,well-trained staff that embrace
the culture.
They're very knowledgeable oftheir product.
In fact I would consider themexperts of their product.
They understand the steak allthe way, from where it
originates, the cut, the quality, as far as the tenderness
(12:07):
profile, the flavor profiles,but they present that at the
table and explain each one.
There again, it's a little bitdifferent experience.
We do the same with ourdesserts.
We come to the table with adessert tray, present our
dessert, show them to you, youorder and then we bring the
dessert out.
So there's a lot of things, fromthe beginning to the end, to
(12:30):
the way the valet makes you feel.
The hostess at the front door,the way they smile, engage.
I'm really big on smiling.
I believe smiling is huge.
Give that extra little step, asmy grandmother, who was one of
the founders of the steakhouse,used to tell me, when a person
leaves our restaurant, they needto feel like they just met
(12:51):
their long lost cousin and thatthey're already talking about
their next visit.
So if they're not talking abouttheir next visit, her belief
was you've dropped the ball.
And so do we nail that everytime?
Probably not, you know, noone's perfect, but we go out of
our way every day.
And it's also delivering thatsame message every day
(13:16):
repetitively, and understandingthat the message in your culture
may get boring to you as arestaurant owner, and the
managers and the staff, but it'snew to your guests.
Oh, I love that, you see whatI'm saying, because your guests
aren't there all day, every day,even though we have guests that
come in, maybe every day forlunch, but tomorrow they may
(13:37):
bring a person that's never beenhere, they may bring a family
member.
So those are all important, andwhat we strive for is a
trust-based business.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I love that, Ralph.
I mean it's so powerful, and Iwish we had three hours to chat,
but unfortunately we'rewrapping up here.
So, ralph, a couple lastquestions.
Is who deserves an ovation inthe restaurant industry?
Who's someone that we should befollowing?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Well, gosh, there are so, so many.
Here's what I'm going to say tothat.
I can't say as I have one, buthere's what I do.
I look at two things, zach,real quick.
One, the legends who have beenaround for 50, 75, 100 years and
are kind of with the sameownership, and also look for the
ones that are on the cuttingedge and love to take risks and
(14:26):
challenges when everyone saysthat won't work and they prove
them wrong.
And there's a lot of thosepeople.
But I damn well love thosepeople.
Man, just say I'm not willingto, I'm not afraid to put it out
there and I'm willing to take achance and roll the dice and
they show that it will work andbuck the industry.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Love that, ralph.
And how do people find andfollow you?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
industry.
Love that, ralph.
And how do people find andfollow you?
Well, they can go on Facebook.
I'm at Ralph A Lewis onFacebook and Instagram and then
I'm on LinkedIn, so they canfollow me at all of those.
They can follow OkeechobeeSteakhouse
okeechobeestakehousecom andOkeechobee Steakhouse on
Facebook, instagram, linkedin.
We're there and you can seesome of my videos and make
(15:15):
comments there too.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Well, the million dollar question, Ralph, what is
your steak of choice and how doyou like it cooked?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Oh so I love a prime dry, aged, bone-in ribeye.
That's about 27, 28 ounces thatthick, wow, seared on the
outside, medium rare.
Love that, love that.
That's my go-to steak.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Okay, there you go.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Lots of marble, lots of flavor, and if you want the
savory flavor, that's the go-to.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Love that Well, ralph , for teaching us three
generations of hospitality.
Today's ovation goes to you.
Thank you for joining us onGive an Ovation.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Zach, thank you for having me Wonderful.
Look forward to talking to youagain.
Everyone, have an amazingweekend.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Thanks for joining us today.
If you like this episode, leaveus a review on Apple Podcasts
or your favorite place to 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.
I am your host, zach Oates, andeach week I chat with industry
experts to uncover theirstrategies and tactics you can
use to create a five-star guestexperience.
This podcast is powered byOvation, the feedback and
operations platform built formulti-unit restaurants.
(00:20):
You get all the insights youneed to improve without an
annoying survey for your guests.
Learn more at OvationUpcom.
And today we have someone whojust has an incredible
background.
He has just done it in therestaurant industry.
I met him through Kathleen Woodand I think everybody knows and
loves Kathleen Wood, but ifyou're not familiar with her, go
(00:43):
check out her episode of mypodcast.
But we have Ralph Lewis with ustoday and Ralph has been the
CEO and owner of OkeechobeeSteakhouse and Prime Meat Market
and you've got a couple otherthings, but you've been in the
Okeechobee Steakhouse for almostfor 48 and a half years.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
No, longer than that.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
No, really.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, zach.
So thanks for the introduction.
We're just restaurant operators.
But to give you a littlebackground real quick, we're in
West Palm Beach, florida.
Okeechobee Steakhouse is theoldest steakhouse in the state
of Florida, so this October,coming up in just a few months,
78 years.
It was started by mygrandfather and grandmother in
(01:26):
1947.
We're the original building,original location and, by the
way, you see West Palm Beach,palm Beach County, on the news
every day now that Trump is ourpresident.
You just see it If you watchany news.
Everything's being broadcastfrom here.
So ton of people here now thinklike 1.7 million people.
(01:47):
And where I'm going with this?
When my grandparents built thisrestaurant it was so far out of
town they couldn't getdeliveries.
So here we are, almost 78 yearslater, and moving right along
and things are doing amazing.
So I'm a third generation.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh my gosh.
So I know that you've beenthere for a while.
I didn't realize that yourgrandfather started it.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, my grandfather started it.
My father run the business forthe longest of all of us,
probably close to 45, 50 years.
He still comes in every dayhangs around world knowledge, so
it's been a family business.
Like I said, three generations.
We've opened a Okeechobee PrimeMeat Market a few years ago.
(02:30):
Catty corner behind OkeechobeeSteakhouse, we have an event
hall which is where I'm sittingthis morning.
At our event hall only place Icould get some silence and catch
up with you, my friend, and, bythe way, it was great seeing
you the other day at therestaurant show in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I do.
I feel like you bump intoeveryone there in Chicago.
So I was happy to see you there, Ralph, and it was funny
because I was like wait, don'twe have a podcast like this week
.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah so.
And then we have LewisSteakhouse in Jupiter, Florida,
and then we have Lewis PrimeGrill which is out in
Loxahatchee.
They're all in Palm beachCounty, so we've expanded but
here we are.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Oh my gosh.
And by the way, for thosewondering, he's not just using
that in hyperbole, I really didjust Google what is the oldest
steakhouse in Florida?
And sure enough, okeechobeesteakhouse.
So not like I didn't believeyou, ralph, I just wanted to see
if the internet agreed with you.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
And yeah, there you go.
Well, you know, if you tell theinternet something enough times
, you know I slip it in there.
It starts to believe it too.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
I love that.
So, Ralph, this is somethingwhere, from your cradle you have
been, Okeechobee Steakhouse hasbeen like in your blood.
What are some like crazystories, Because I mean, over
the years you've had to have hadsome like crazy things happen
in the steakhouse.
Anything come to mind?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
if you want things that are like funny stories and
different stories.
So we had a server waiter thatworked for us for 44 years,
hired by my grandparents, workedfor all three generations of us
, mr Hospitality, very oldschool Southern gentleman.
Of course when he started withus he was young, from Georgia.
Had that very old schoolSouthern gentleman demeanor.
(04:16):
People loved him.
So one day he was waiting onsome tables and this is when he
got a little older.
He had a lot of call parties, alot of people requested him.
He's a very popular server andhe was bending over showing some
ladies our steak tray.
We present our steaks on a trayand when he did he always wore
(04:37):
a pin like an American flag pinon his vest and it caught in her
hair, her wig, and when hestood up it pulled her wig off
and then she went to holler andit scared him bad and his false
teeth fell out on the meat tray.
So it just escalated from thereand of course, everybody in the
(04:59):
whole dining room was laughingand as it got worse and
escalated, he started backing up.
You know, oh my God, I'm sorry,Of course, pulling our wig
across the dining room floor,but there's a hundred stories
like that.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Oh my gosh, that is so funny and you know what I
love about those stories is thatyou go to work getting ready
for like just another day andthen, just like some crazy story
, like that happens.
I have never asked anyone thatquestion, but just knowing how
steakhouses are and how intimateyou are, like you know,
(05:32):
involved in this I figured youhad a couple up your sleeve.
So, thinking about the guestexperience, ralph, what do you
think is one of the mostimportant aspects of guest
experience nowadays and, in youropinion, how has that, if it
has evolved over the last 70some odd years?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, guest experiences have definitely
evolved.
One of the huge reasons,obviously in the last 25, 30
years, is exactly what we'redoing now Podcasts, social media
, phones, you know where you canvideo, snap pictures at the
dining room table.
Those are all things.
So it still comes back to yourbasic fundamentals.
(06:10):
People want a great experience,so they want great food, great
service, a great atmosphere, butyou also have to deliver
hospitality, which is waydifferent than just points of
service.
Anyone you know a robot coulddeliver points of service, and I
don't know if you were like me.
I seen a ton of robots at theNational Restaurant Show last
(06:31):
week, but they can't deliverhospitality and hospitality.
I'm going to go back to thegentleman Wesley who I was
telling you.
They've been with us 44 years,so one of the reasons he was so
popular was every single day for44 years he had a new joke to
tell the guests, so he alsoremembered their names.
He remembered their children'snames, birthdays.
(06:53):
He would write this down.
He memorized every, even whatthey were wearing when they came
in so he could compliment theladies the next time.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
What did he say about the wig the next time?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
What did you say about the wig the next time?
They actually they got a greatlaugh out of that.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
All of them did so that, of course if we'd had the
internet, then that was when theinternet was just starting to
come out, really good, buthospitality it's a feeling you
have to give the people anddeliver a feeling.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
You can go anywhere and get food, but you have to
deliver that experience.
You have to make the guestsunderstand that they're
appreciated, they're welcomed,and you will go above and beyond
to show that appreciation.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
And there's just so many ways to do it and, like the
gentleman who authored thisbook right behind me, he always
talks about how service isperforming the technical aspects
of the job effectively right.
That's giving the right food atthe right time at the right
time.
Hospitality is how the guestfeels as you do that, and I
(07:59):
think that in an increasingdigital world, it doesn't mean
that people don't care abouthospitality.
I went around and I did micropodcasts all over NRA and that's
what a lot of people weresaying is like it's about
getting back to the roots ofhospitality, about proving to
the guests that you really care,like that's what it comes down
to, and I think that's somethingwhere I've loved seeing that
(08:21):
return to the humanistic,humanality, whatever, to the
human, to human part ofhospitality, because that's what
it's really all about.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, it is, and one of the things we strive for is
we never want to have acorporate feel.
We don't want to have thatcorporate feel where you feel
like you're just a number, andthat starts with your staff too.
Feel like you're just a numberand that starts with your staff
too.
You don't want your staff tojust feel like they're lost in a
sea of 10,000 employees or even100 employees.
(08:51):
Everyone needs to feelimportant.
That's your staff, your guests,your vendors.
It's the same experience.
Everyone needs to think of yourplace and smile.
So one of the things we do is wegive away a free birthday
dinner on your birthday steakdinner at all three of our
restaurants.
(09:11):
So if you come in, we get you abirthday dinner, or we take
that price of the dinner off ofanother dinner if you get
something more expensive.
Well, one of the reasons and myfather was the one instrumental
in starting that probably 35years ago and as of last
September 2024, we had givenaway 350,000 free steak dinners,
(09:36):
birthday dinners at OkeechobeeSteakhouse.
But here is where the rub iswith this.
But here is where the rub iswith this.
So, again going back toexperiences, I don't remember
last year where I was the daybefore my birthday.
I don't even remember where Iwas two or three days after, but
I remember where I was, mybirthday and, like most of us,
(09:57):
we remember Christmas, ourbirthdays, our children's
birthday.
So we want you in ourrestaurant experiencing that
memorable moment that's going toget passed down in those photos
for decades at OkeechobeeSteakhouse and we have
generational people now that arecoming in saying their
(10:19):
grandparents or parents broughtthem in here 30 years ago at 15
years old for a free birthdaydinner and they remember
celebrating that with theirgrandparents who are no longer
with them or their parents.
So those are things you can'tbuy with advertising or you
can't jump on and be aninfluencer and give that feeling
(10:41):
.
I do a lot of video content, alot of videos, but I can't
replicate that feeling.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah, I love that idea because that's such a smart
thing of like, yeah, where youcelebrate your birthday, you
remember.
That's a really good point of.
I remember my birthday lastyear but I don't remember what I
did before or after.
But yeah, I remember where Iwas.
That's a really interestingidea.
Besides that, I mean likebecause the birthday club it
normally seems like a kind oftired idea, but how you're
(11:10):
explaining it is really likegive me huge hope in the fact
that it's not a tired idea.
It's actually that opportunityto create a lasting memory and
that's really powerful.
Any other tactics that youwould use to improve the guest
experience?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yes, Well, you want to give them wild moments.
One of the things we do wepresent a steak tray.
We come to the table with oursteaks raw, show them and
describe each steak.
It's something different.
So you get a visual, you getknowledge.
The waitstaff, the servers andthey're really guest experience
(11:45):
specialists is who works in thefront of our house.
They're very professional,well-trained staff that embrace
the culture.
They're very knowledgeable oftheir product.
In fact I would consider themexperts of their product.
They understand the steak allthe way, from where it
originates, the cut, the quality, as far as the tenderness
(12:07):
profile, the flavor profiles,but they present that at the
table and explain each one.
There again, it's a little bitdifferent experience.
We do the same with ourdesserts.
We come to the table with adessert tray, present our
dessert, show them to you, youorder and then we bring the
dessert out.
So there's a lot of things, fromthe beginning to the end, to
(12:30):
the way the valet makes you feel.
The hostess at the front door,the way they smile, engage.
I'm really big on smiling.
I believe smiling is huge.
Give that extra little step, asmy grandmother, who was one of
the founders of the steakhouse,used to tell me, when a person
leaves our restaurant, they needto feel like they just met
(12:51):
their long lost cousin and thatthey're already talking about
their next visit.
So if they're not talking abouttheir next visit, her belief
was you've dropped the ball.
And so do we nail that everytime?
Probably not, you know, noone's perfect, but we go out of
our way every day.
And it's also delivering thatsame message every day
(13:16):
repetitively, and understandingthat the message in your culture
may get boring to you as arestaurant owner, and the
managers and the staff, but it'snew to your guests.
Oh, I love that, you see whatI'm saying, because your guests
aren't there all day, every day,even though we have guests that
come in, maybe every day forlunch, but tomorrow they may
(13:37):
bring a person that's never beenhere, they may bring a family
member.
So those are all important, andwhat we strive for is a
trust-based business.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I love that, Ralph.
I mean it's so powerful, and Iwish we had three hours to chat,
but unfortunately we'rewrapping up here.
So, ralph, a couple lastquestions.
Is who deserves an ovation inthe restaurant industry?
Who's someone that we should befollowing?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Well, gosh, there are so, so many.
Here's what I'm going to say tothat.
I can't say as I have one, buthere's what I do.
I look at two things, zach,real quick.
One, the legends who have beenaround for 50, 75, 100 years and
are kind of with the sameownership, and also look for the
ones that are on the cuttingedge and love to take risks and
(14:26):
challenges when everyone saysthat won't work and they prove
them wrong.
And there's a lot of thosepeople.
But I damn well love thosepeople.
Man, just say I'm not willingto, I'm not afraid to put it out
there and I'm willing to take achance and roll the dice and
they show that it will work andbuck the industry.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Love that, ralph.
And how do people find andfollow you?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
industry.
Love that, ralph.
And how do people find andfollow you?
Well, they can go on Facebook.
I'm at Ralph A Lewis onFacebook and Instagram and then
I'm on LinkedIn, so they canfollow me at all of those.
They can follow OkeechobeeSteakhouse
okeechobeestakehousecom andOkeechobee Steakhouse on
Facebook, instagram, linkedin.
We're there and you can seesome of my videos and make
(15:15):
comments there too.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Well, the million dollar question, Ralph, what is
your steak of choice and how doyou like it cooked?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Oh so I love a prime dry, aged, bone-in ribeye.
That's about 27, 28 ounces thatthick, wow, seared on the
outside, medium rare.
Love that, love that.
That's my go-to steak.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Okay, there you go.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Lots of marble, lots of flavor, and if you want the
savory flavor, that's the go-to.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Love that Well, ralph , for teaching us three
generations of hospitality.
Today's ovation goes to you.
Thank you for joining us onGive an Ovation.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Zach, thank you for having me Wonderful.
Look forward to talking to youagain.
Everyone, have an amazingweekend.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Thanks for joining us today.
If you like this episode, leaveus a review on Apple Podcasts
or your favorite place to 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.
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