April 16, 2025 • 18 mins
Chef Troy Guard, founder of TAG Restaurant Group, joins the show to share how creating a vibe, embracing the unexpected, and mentoring talent have helped him grow multiple restaurant concepts across states. From dishwasher to executive chef, Troy reflects on his journey and how guest experience is driven by feeling—not formulas.
Zack and Troy discuss:
- Why “vibe” is the first thing he notices in a restaurant
- How to scale a brand while staying true to its soul
- The power of mentorship and opening doors for others
- Why hospitality is more than food—it’s emotion
- How to keep concepts fresh without losing consistency
- Why feedback and change go hand in hand
Tune in to hear how Troy’s people-first philosophy creates lasting guest impressions and sustainable growth.
Thanks, Troy!
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, as always, issponsored by Ovation, an
operations and guest recoveryplatform for multi-unit
restaurants that gives you allthe answers without annoying
guests.
(00:21):
With all the questions.
Learn more at OvationUpcom.
And today we have chef TroyGard, who started off as a
dishwasher at 14 and now is theowner and executive chef at Tag
Restaurant Group.
He's Hawaiian born, coloradoproud.
He's a husband and father andhe has got some energy and, for
those who don't get a chance towatch this, he has got such a
(00:43):
cool office.
He kind of gave me a quick tourfrom salsa to dog statues, to
kids' drawings, to the RollingStones.
You've got it all there, troy.
Thanks for joining us on Givean Ovation.
Man, this is my home away fromhome, yeah, man.
Well, you have had such a coolcareer and you're doing some
(01:05):
really cool stuff now and you'vehad an interesting upbringing
from, obviously, hawaii.
You've been all over the worldwith restaurants and now based
in Colorado.
So I would love to just hearwhat's your philosophy when it
comes to restaurants.
How do you know when you walkin that this is going to be a
fire concept or this is going tobe a struggling concept?
(01:27):
You know?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
what?
That's a great question, and Iwish you would have called
tomorrow because we have ChefRobert Irvine.
Have you seen that guy?
Oh, yeah, of course he's alegend.
He's doing a guest chef with mehere in Denver at Garden Grace,
so he'd be the perfect guy toask.
Remember that show?
He would turn around arestaurant in two days or 48
hours.
But with me it's kind of oneword and it's vibe.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
I get a vibe.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
when I walk into a restaurant, a vibe could mean
the presence, the music, thelighting, the commotion.
It's just poetry, emotion, andyou don't even have to talk, you
just feel it right.
You feel this vibe.
So I think you can tell a lotby a restaurant and that's one
of our main lines in our vision.
(02:18):
Statement is tag is acelebration of the unexpected
and an inspiring vibe.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
So what does that mean?
When you talk about theunexpected, how does that
actually play out in real life?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
If someone wants something and it's not on the
menu, well, let's make it happen.
If someone made a mistake onour open table and we got to
figure it out, well that's theunexpected.
If someone overcooked a meat, asteak, and we got to figure it
out, that's the unexpected.
The dishwasher goes down.
That's the unexpected.
(02:53):
I used to walk years ago.
I'm an old guy now I'm 54, butI used to go to this restaurant.
As soon as I walked in, the guywalked out the back door, the
next door to the store, andbought Red Bulls, because he
knew I loved Jaeger and Red Bull, but they didn't carry it in
their restaurant.
So that's the unexpected.
(03:14):
You go above and beyond.
So TAG is a celebration of theunexpected.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
How do you train for that?
Obviously a big fan of DannyMeyer.
I have his book right behind me.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Oh yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
And there's this article going around right now
that the founder of Shake Shacksays I don't give a damn about
IQ, he looks for people who theyjust haven't already.
But how do you scale that?
How do you scale the unexpected?
Because the whole purpose ofscaling is like get your system,
get your box, be in your box,and what you're saying is you
got to be outside that boxsometimes.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, it's like a contradiction, right.
So it's like going to war and Ican't remember who I think it
was Patton but 80% of the war iswon in the trenches, meaning
the offices and where you planeverything.
20% is out there on the field.
So you got to have that and,like Danny says and everyone
else, you got to find that itfactor.
(04:07):
And I was just talking tosomeone today about I can't
remember what it was, but I'mlike dude, I can teach a monkey
how to make this steak, but Ican't teach them how to feel and
talk and really put your wholeheart out there into it.
So it's all about hospitality.
(04:29):
It's how you make people feeland it's a tough business.
It's a very, very toughbusiness.
I've been doing it, like yousaid, since 14.
I actually started when I was13, but who cares, it's been a
long time.
I didn't go to a culinaryschool.
I went from high school to ajunior college.
I worked my way through thatand it wasn't until I was 21
(04:51):
that I really had a mentor andsomeone that said get over here,
man, I can see you're good atthis, let me help you hone it,
let me be your mentor.
But a good teacher.
I didn't go to culinary schoolso I didn't have that teacher.
So Roy Yamaguchi and Roy's hewas my teacher.
(05:11):
And that's what we try to dohere.
I try to find a few people whoI know really have it in their
heart or maybe don't know whatthey have yet, but I can see it
and I said, hey, get on, get onover here.
And honestly, we've had somegreat people who have been
servers, who have gone on to begreat managers or prep cooks or
now chefs or cooks that are nowowners of restaurants.
(05:31):
Nothing makes me feel prouderto see them succeed and I'm not
saying it's all because of me,but I think I helped them get to
that path and someone helped me.
I'm just trying to pay itforward and give them some of
the lessons of life and battlesthat I've gone through.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, I love that and the whole concept of standing
on the shoulders of giants andhelping to understand what do we
need to do?
How do we get there?
And just because you open thedoor for someone doesn't mean
that they get any less creditfor walking through it.
Everyone has to do the hardwork.
But when I look at my life andthe series of people who opened
doors for me, I equally havegratitude for them, because I
(06:11):
would have probably goneknocking on a lot of doors had
they not opened up the right onefor me.
But also it's understanding oflike, yeah, I had to work really
hard to get through there andto get where I'm at and so, yeah
, likewise, how do we open doorsfor other people?
I love that concept, becausepeople I mean, you have in your
shirt, ohana, and like, rightthere, right, and it's like that
(06:31):
is this talking about vibe?
But this vibe of it's somethingless than family, more than a
team, right when we got to findthat right balance there.
And I think one of the thingsthat really gets everyone
together is going really towardsthe guest experience, because
everything we do is about theguest experience, and so I'd
love to get your understandingof, like, what do you think the
(06:53):
most important aspects of guestexperience?
And so I'd love to get yourunderstanding of, like, what do
you think the most importantaspects of guest experience?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
are nowadays.
Gosh, darn, you're asking somegreat, great questions, man.
I love it, zach.
Things change rapidly, yet theydon't if that even makes sense,
right, you still have Outback'sand Chili's and Denny's and all
these restaurants that havebeen around a long time.
But I think they're starting torealize we have to adapt, and
so they see these younger peoplecoming up, like, for instance,
(07:20):
sam Fox sold some of hisconcepts to Cheesecake Factory,
or PF Chang bought True FoodKitchen.
So these ones that have beenaround are looking for young
inspirations and differentthings all the time.
I was just talking to my wifetoday.
I'm like, okay, garden Gracehas been open 11 years now.
Like we've kept up therefreshing new paint, new chairs
(07:43):
, new menus, new, this like, butI always want to keep that.
So when Zach walks in, he'slike something different about
this place.
It feels even better than lasttime.
That's what I try to do, whetherit's a plate, a glass, a
cocktail or something.
So it's definitely like yousaid, about the experience.
These days and someone eventold me last night I'd rather go
(08:07):
to a restaurant that has a vibeand looks awesome with B or C
food, than a restaurant that's Abut it's dirty or the vibe's
not good at a, b or C.
And I think that's what peoplewant.
They're looking for theexperience, right, so they want
to go out there and have somefun.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I mean I look at it just like I'm at a runway model.
I was just on a subway in NewYork City.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
It's the best I love subways.
You can talk and meet everybody.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Oh right, and it's like you meet the, it's so
interesting.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
The best people yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And I was standing next to her.
We struck up a conversation andI was like, oh, what do you do?
She's like, oh, I'm a runwaymodel, almost so offensively.
It was like, oh my gosh, and itwas so shocking like how
(08:59):
different she looked.
But it was like it's like, howdo you make it up?
How do you do things that are alittle bit more pizzazz?
Because I went to a restaurantand the food there, if it was
presented differently, if it wasin a different environment, if
it wasn't in this like randomcheapo strip mall, if they had
(09:19):
some music playing, literally itwas dead silent.
They still had some likeconstruction up on the wall.
It just was totally off.
You could see all like the sodafountain pipes and the food
itself, independent ofeverything else, was so good.
But when you put it in thatenvironment, troy, we were like
we never want to go back here.
(09:40):
It was so weird.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, that's a bummer and I don't want to see anyone
fail because it's a hardbusiness and it takes a lot of
time and money.
But also be smart.
You know, I was driving aroundHouston the other day looking
for some firsthand spots to opensome restaurants and also some
second generations, and I justthink, like who would think to
(10:03):
put a restaurant there?
That's a lousy location or abad building.
Or why did you think of thisfurniture?
And I'll give you a perfectexample.
When I opened TAG 15 years agoit'll be actually 16 years in
May it was right after themarket crash in 08.
I opened in May 09.
Luckily, my three otherinvestors plus me, we still had
(10:24):
money and they said, okay, troy,we're going to do it.
But I bought everything usedexcept the refrigeration.
So I spent all day long onlinegoing to restaurants that were
going out of business, going toequipment places to find the
right fit for everything.
But I also hired a designer,because I'm not a designer.
(10:47):
So I said, hey, here's this redcouch, what do you think of it?
Oh, yeah, we can make this work.
Or here's this green cast no,that sucks, troy.
So I did it on a budget, but Ialso used experience, if that
makes sense.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Oh, totally, because that's the thing is like my wife
, she's a fashion designer andour house she literally will
find it in goodwill, right, butshe makes it look so good, and
so it's not about just likespending the money, but it's
about, again like you said, it'sthe vibe, it's how do you feel.
And so when you're looking at,let's say that someone's
(11:24):
listening here and they've got20, 30 restaurants and they're
trying to think what are sometactics, chef, that I can use in
my restaurant to improve theguest experience?
I mean, you talked aboutupdating the menu and the paint
and just making things seemfresh.
Any other tactics that youthink have improved the guest
experience in your brands?
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, you got it, zach.
Again, some people appreciatethe same thing every day for 20
years.
I like just something a littlebit that makes you kind of think
or recognize or just brings aoh, okay.
So someone who has 20restaurants, like you asked,
probably is doing a probably apretty good job because they
(12:07):
have 20 restaurants, butnonetheless, I think around the
seven, eight, 10 year mark,that's when the lease is up.
So you have to recognize,usually around year eight, like
hey, am I going to renew thislease, because they're usually
10 year leases.
If I'm going to renew it,that's another five years.
It's a lot more money.
That means you're probablydoing okay, but we need to
(12:30):
refresh, we need to change it up.
So, for instance, my LosChingones, which is Mexican.
I grew up in San Diego as welland I would go down to Tijuana
all the time.
This menu has changed probablytwo or three times the layout
when I first got it andliterally was like basic, just
writing, and so it's adaptedover the years to the
(12:52):
neighborhood, the people thathave come in.
The color palette has changed alittle bit.
The plateware there's stillobviously signature dishes, but
we got some new stuff on there.
We hear comment cards andfeedback and Yelp reviews, et
cetera, and we listen to whatother people say as well.
So you can't just say, well,it's my way or the highway that
(13:13):
may work, but a lot of timesit's not always going to work
that way, so you got to be opento change.
As we all say, the only thingthat's inevitable is change.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, right, exactly, and I think that's such a great
way to think about it, becauseit's easy to get stuck just
because something worked lastyear and be like, okay, let's
keep doing it.
The question we need to askourselves with everything,
regardless of what business itis, is why are we doing what
we're doing and fall in love?
Not with the solution, not withthe menu item, not with the
(13:45):
color, but fall in love with thefeeling, fall in love with the
problem you're trying to solve,fall in love with what you want
people to feel, and that is whatI found in business.
In restaurants, the thing thatpeople are really obsessed with
is they're obsessed with makingsure that the guest feels
special and that creates alifelong brand.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
From what I've seen, Yep, I think Danny said it best
Hospitality is the feeling thatthey're going to remember how
you made them feel, notnecessarily the dish or anything
like that.
So that's what I try to do.
I think I got lucky workingwith the restaurants that I did
and I always tried to work forthe best people.
(14:29):
So I worked at a restaurant orI worked at a hotel or I worked
at this catering company.
I tried to work in differentareas to get a very well-rounded
balance.
So the Marriott, the Ritz Roy'sTower in New York I was all
over the gamut.
And then I traveled and lived inAsia for eight years.
(14:50):
So then when I did get myopportunity to open hopefully I
did one day I wasn't counting onit but I wanted to.
And then the opportunity cameat 38 years old.
That's kind of old for a lot ofpeople at that time, but I felt
good and confident at that timethat I had the experience.
(15:13):
Some of these younger guys 23,24, 25, kudos to them, hats off,
probably bigger balls than Ihad when I was younger, but it's
a lot.
So I wanted to have thatexperience and know like, hey, I
can hit anything they throw atme, and that's kind of how I did
it.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
So I love that.
I think that makes a lot ofsense.
And, closing up here, I knowthat you know a lot of people
and we've got some mutualfriends.
In fact, I'm wearing the CaliBarbecue Media shirt.
Sean Walchef Shout out to him,he's just a rock star.
But who is someone that weshould be following?
If we're looking for goodinspiration for restaurants, and
either an individual or a brandthat you really respect that we
(15:51):
should all be following?
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Love the question.
I like to look at differentareas.
So we're going into Charlottesoon and I'm just now
recognizing another part of ourbeautiful US of A that has great
people and great upbringingsand great food etc.
I live in Denver for 25 yearsNow.
(16:15):
I've moved to Houston to trysomething new and different, and
I told you I lived in 10 other25 years.
Now.
I've moved to Houston to trysomething new and different, and
I told you I lived in 10 othercities my whole life.
I like checking new things out.
So I don't know if Inecessarily look at one person
or one group, but I look at howthese towns or cities or states.
They're growing, they'rechanging, but they're also
(16:37):
welcoming so many new people.
In Houston I didn't even knowit's more international than New
York or LA or Chicago.
You know what I mean.
And the food scene is off thecharts.
But yeah, I just think it'shard and challenging in every
city, but there's so manyamazing things in each city that
(16:59):
make it special so I can'treally pick one thing.
I can go to any town, any city,any state and just, I'm a guy
half full or if not fuller, andI just try to find the best in
everything.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
I love that.
Well, where can people go tofind and follow you and your
brands?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, that's awesome.
I've got an Instagram.
I don't even know what it isbecause I don't get on it very
much, but we also go to it's.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
ChefTroyGuard is your Instagram.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
I know because I'm following you.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
But I put a few things on there here and there.
But, yeah, go out and we've goteight different concepts.
We're in two different statesright now, soon to be three and
up to four and five.
So I love what I do.
We're a small company.
My wife is a sommelier, worksin the front, I work in the back
with the numbers.
We got an amazing team, over500 people.
(17:52):
But come check us out, andRobert Irvine tomorrow night if
you're in Denver.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
That's awesome, Super cool.
Well, Troy, for bringing usyour insights from the mountains
to the oceans.
Today's ovation goes to you.
Thank you for joining us onGive an Ovation.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Thanks Zach, thanks everyone.
You guys have an awesome day.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
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, where I talk to
industry experts to get theirstrategies and tactics you can
use to create a five-star guestexperience.
This podcast, as always, issponsored by Ovation, an
operations and guest recoveryplatform for multi-unit
restaurants that gives you allthe answers without annoying
guests.
(00:21):
With all the questions.
Learn more at OvationUpcom.
And today we have chef TroyGard, who started off as a
dishwasher at 14 and now is theowner and executive chef at Tag
Restaurant Group.
He's Hawaiian born, coloradoproud.
He's a husband and father andhe has got some energy and, for
those who don't get a chance towatch this, he has got such a
(00:43):
cool office.
He kind of gave me a quick tourfrom salsa to dog statues, to
kids' drawings, to the RollingStones.
You've got it all there, troy.
Thanks for joining us on Givean Ovation.
Man, this is my home away fromhome, yeah, man.
Well, you have had such a coolcareer and you're doing some
(01:05):
really cool stuff now and you'vehad an interesting upbringing
from, obviously, hawaii.
You've been all over the worldwith restaurants and now based
in Colorado.
So I would love to just hearwhat's your philosophy when it
comes to restaurants.
How do you know when you walkin that this is going to be a
fire concept or this is going tobe a struggling concept?
(01:27):
You know?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
what?
That's a great question, and Iwish you would have called
tomorrow because we have ChefRobert Irvine.
Have you seen that guy?
Oh, yeah, of course he's alegend.
He's doing a guest chef with mehere in Denver at Garden Grace,
so he'd be the perfect guy toask.
Remember that show?
He would turn around arestaurant in two days or 48
hours.
But with me it's kind of oneword and it's vibe.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
I get a vibe.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
when I walk into a restaurant, a vibe could mean
the presence, the music, thelighting, the commotion.
It's just poetry, emotion, andyou don't even have to talk, you
just feel it right.
You feel this vibe.
So I think you can tell a lotby a restaurant and that's one
of our main lines in our vision.
(02:18):
Statement is tag is acelebration of the unexpected
and an inspiring vibe.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
So what does that mean?
When you talk about theunexpected, how does that
actually play out in real life?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
If someone wants something and it's not on the
menu, well, let's make it happen.
If someone made a mistake onour open table and we got to
figure it out, well that's theunexpected.
If someone overcooked a meat, asteak, and we got to figure it
out, that's the unexpected.
The dishwasher goes down.
That's the unexpected.
(02:53):
I used to walk years ago.
I'm an old guy now I'm 54, butI used to go to this restaurant.
As soon as I walked in, the guywalked out the back door, the
next door to the store, andbought Red Bulls, because he
knew I loved Jaeger and Red Bull, but they didn't carry it in
their restaurant.
So that's the unexpected.
(03:14):
You go above and beyond.
So TAG is a celebration of theunexpected.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
How do you train for that?
Obviously a big fan of DannyMeyer.
I have his book right behind me.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Oh yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
And there's this article going around right now
that the founder of Shake Shacksays I don't give a damn about
IQ, he looks for people who theyjust haven't already.
But how do you scale that?
How do you scale the unexpected?
Because the whole purpose ofscaling is like get your system,
get your box, be in your box,and what you're saying is you
got to be outside that boxsometimes.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, it's like a contradiction, right.
So it's like going to war and Ican't remember who I think it
was Patton but 80% of the war iswon in the trenches, meaning
the offices and where you planeverything.
20% is out there on the field.
So you got to have that and,like Danny says and everyone
else, you got to find that itfactor.
(04:07):
And I was just talking tosomeone today about I can't
remember what it was, but I'mlike dude, I can teach a monkey
how to make this steak, but Ican't teach them how to feel and
talk and really put your wholeheart out there into it.
So it's all about hospitality.
(04:29):
It's how you make people feeland it's a tough business.
It's a very, very toughbusiness.
I've been doing it, like yousaid, since 14.
I actually started when I was13, but who cares, it's been a
long time.
I didn't go to a culinaryschool.
I went from high school to ajunior college.
I worked my way through thatand it wasn't until I was 21
(04:51):
that I really had a mentor andsomeone that said get over here,
man, I can see you're good atthis, let me help you hone it,
let me be your mentor.
But a good teacher.
I didn't go to culinary schoolso I didn't have that teacher.
So Roy Yamaguchi and Roy's hewas my teacher.
(05:11):
And that's what we try to dohere.
I try to find a few people whoI know really have it in their
heart or maybe don't know whatthey have yet, but I can see it
and I said, hey, get on, get onover here.
And honestly, we've had somegreat people who have been
servers, who have gone on to begreat managers or prep cooks or
now chefs or cooks that are nowowners of restaurants.
(05:31):
Nothing makes me feel prouderto see them succeed and I'm not
saying it's all because of me,but I think I helped them get to
that path and someone helped me.
I'm just trying to pay itforward and give them some of
the lessons of life and battlesthat I've gone through.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, I love that and the whole concept of standing
on the shoulders of giants andhelping to understand what do we
need to do?
How do we get there?
And just because you open thedoor for someone doesn't mean
that they get any less creditfor walking through it.
Everyone has to do the hardwork.
But when I look at my life andthe series of people who opened
doors for me, I equally havegratitude for them, because I
(06:11):
would have probably goneknocking on a lot of doors had
they not opened up the right onefor me.
But also it's understanding oflike, yeah, I had to work really
hard to get through there andto get where I'm at and so, yeah
, likewise, how do we open doorsfor other people?
I love that concept, becausepeople I mean, you have in your
shirt, ohana, and like, rightthere, right, and it's like that
(06:31):
is this talking about vibe?
But this vibe of it's somethingless than family, more than a
team, right when we got to findthat right balance there.
And I think one of the thingsthat really gets everyone
together is going really towardsthe guest experience, because
everything we do is about theguest experience, and so I'd
love to get your understandingof, like, what do you think the
(06:53):
most important aspects of guestexperience?
And so I'd love to get yourunderstanding of, like, what do
you think the most importantaspects of guest experience?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
are nowadays.
Gosh, darn, you're asking somegreat, great questions, man.
I love it, zach.
Things change rapidly, yet theydon't if that even makes sense,
right, you still have Outback'sand Chili's and Denny's and all
these restaurants that havebeen around a long time.
But I think they're starting torealize we have to adapt, and
so they see these younger peoplecoming up, like, for instance,
(07:20):
sam Fox sold some of hisconcepts to Cheesecake Factory,
or PF Chang bought True FoodKitchen.
So these ones that have beenaround are looking for young
inspirations and differentthings all the time.
I was just talking to my wifetoday.
I'm like, okay, garden Gracehas been open 11 years now.
Like we've kept up therefreshing new paint, new chairs
(07:43):
, new menus, new, this like, butI always want to keep that.
So when Zach walks in, he'slike something different about
this place.
It feels even better than lasttime.
That's what I try to do, whetherit's a plate, a glass, a
cocktail or something.
So it's definitely like yousaid, about the experience.
These days and someone eventold me last night I'd rather go
(08:07):
to a restaurant that has a vibeand looks awesome with B or C
food, than a restaurant that's Abut it's dirty or the vibe's
not good at a, b or C.
And I think that's what peoplewant.
They're looking for theexperience, right, so they want
to go out there and have somefun.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I mean I look at it just like I'm at a runway model.
I was just on a subway in NewYork City.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
It's the best I love subways.
You can talk and meet everybody.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Oh right, and it's like you meet the, it's so
interesting.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
The best people yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And I was standing next to her.
We struck up a conversation andI was like, oh, what do you do?
She's like, oh, I'm a runwaymodel, almost so offensively.
It was like, oh my gosh, and itwas so shocking like how
(08:59):
different she looked.
But it was like it's like, howdo you make it up?
How do you do things that are alittle bit more pizzazz?
Because I went to a restaurantand the food there, if it was
presented differently, if it wasin a different environment, if
it wasn't in this like randomcheapo strip mall, if they had
(09:19):
some music playing, literally itwas dead silent.
They still had some likeconstruction up on the wall.
It just was totally off.
You could see all like the sodafountain pipes and the food
itself, independent ofeverything else, was so good.
But when you put it in thatenvironment, troy, we were like
we never want to go back here.
(09:40):
It was so weird.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, that's a bummer and I don't want to see anyone
fail because it's a hardbusiness and it takes a lot of
time and money.
But also be smart.
You know, I was driving aroundHouston the other day looking
for some firsthand spots to opensome restaurants and also some
second generations, and I justthink, like who would think to
(10:03):
put a restaurant there?
That's a lousy location or abad building.
Or why did you think of thisfurniture?
And I'll give you a perfectexample.
When I opened TAG 15 years agoit'll be actually 16 years in
May it was right after themarket crash in 08.
I opened in May 09.
Luckily, my three otherinvestors plus me, we still had
(10:24):
money and they said, okay, troy,we're going to do it.
But I bought everything usedexcept the refrigeration.
So I spent all day long onlinegoing to restaurants that were
going out of business, going toequipment places to find the
right fit for everything.
But I also hired a designer,because I'm not a designer.
(10:47):
So I said, hey, here's this redcouch, what do you think of it?
Oh, yeah, we can make this work.
Or here's this green cast no,that sucks, troy.
So I did it on a budget, but Ialso used experience, if that
makes sense.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Oh, totally, because that's the thing is like my wife
, she's a fashion designer andour house she literally will
find it in goodwill, right, butshe makes it look so good, and
so it's not about just likespending the money, but it's
about, again like you said, it'sthe vibe, it's how do you feel.
And so when you're looking at,let's say that someone's
(11:24):
listening here and they've got20, 30 restaurants and they're
trying to think what are sometactics, chef, that I can use in
my restaurant to improve theguest experience?
I mean, you talked aboutupdating the menu and the paint
and just making things seemfresh.
Any other tactics that youthink have improved the guest
experience in your brands?
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, you got it, zach.
Again, some people appreciatethe same thing every day for 20
years.
I like just something a littlebit that makes you kind of think
or recognize or just brings aoh, okay.
So someone who has 20restaurants, like you asked,
probably is doing a probably apretty good job because they
(12:07):
have 20 restaurants, butnonetheless, I think around the
seven, eight, 10 year mark,that's when the lease is up.
So you have to recognize,usually around year eight, like
hey, am I going to renew thislease, because they're usually
10 year leases.
If I'm going to renew it,that's another five years.
It's a lot more money.
That means you're probablydoing okay, but we need to
(12:30):
refresh, we need to change it up.
So, for instance, my LosChingones, which is Mexican.
I grew up in San Diego as welland I would go down to Tijuana
all the time.
This menu has changed probablytwo or three times the layout
when I first got it andliterally was like basic, just
writing, and so it's adaptedover the years to the
(12:52):
neighborhood, the people thathave come in.
The color palette has changed alittle bit.
The plateware there's stillobviously signature dishes, but
we got some new stuff on there.
We hear comment cards andfeedback and Yelp reviews, et
cetera, and we listen to whatother people say as well.
So you can't just say, well,it's my way or the highway that
(13:13):
may work, but a lot of timesit's not always going to work
that way, so you got to be opento change.
As we all say, the only thingthat's inevitable is change.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, right, exactly, and I think that's such a great
way to think about it, becauseit's easy to get stuck just
because something worked lastyear and be like, okay, let's
keep doing it.
The question we need to askourselves with everything,
regardless of what business itis, is why are we doing what
we're doing and fall in love?
Not with the solution, not withthe menu item, not with the
(13:45):
color, but fall in love with thefeeling, fall in love with the
problem you're trying to solve,fall in love with what you want
people to feel, and that is whatI found in business.
In restaurants, the thing thatpeople are really obsessed with
is they're obsessed with makingsure that the guest feels
special and that creates alifelong brand.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
From what I've seen, Yep, I think Danny said it best
Hospitality is the feeling thatthey're going to remember how
you made them feel, notnecessarily the dish or anything
like that.
So that's what I try to do.
I think I got lucky workingwith the restaurants that I did
and I always tried to work forthe best people.
(14:29):
So I worked at a restaurant orI worked at a hotel or I worked
at this catering company.
I tried to work in differentareas to get a very well-rounded
balance.
So the Marriott, the Ritz Roy'sTower in New York I was all
over the gamut.
And then I traveled and lived inAsia for eight years.
(14:50):
So then when I did get myopportunity to open hopefully I
did one day I wasn't counting onit but I wanted to.
And then the opportunity cameat 38 years old.
That's kind of old for a lot ofpeople at that time, but I felt
good and confident at that timethat I had the experience.
(15:13):
Some of these younger guys 23,24, 25, kudos to them, hats off,
probably bigger balls than Ihad when I was younger, but it's
a lot.
So I wanted to have thatexperience and know like, hey, I
can hit anything they throw atme, and that's kind of how I did
it.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
So I love that.
I think that makes a lot ofsense.
And, closing up here, I knowthat you know a lot of people
and we've got some mutualfriends.
In fact, I'm wearing the CaliBarbecue Media shirt.
Sean Walchef Shout out to him,he's just a rock star.
But who is someone that weshould be following?
If we're looking for goodinspiration for restaurants, and
either an individual or a brandthat you really respect that we
(15:51):
should all be following?
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Love the question.
I like to look at differentareas.
So we're going into Charlottesoon and I'm just now
recognizing another part of ourbeautiful US of A that has great
people and great upbringingsand great food etc.
I live in Denver for 25 yearsNow.
(16:15):
I've moved to Houston to trysomething new and different, and
I told you I lived in 10 other25 years.
Now.
I've moved to Houston to trysomething new and different, and
I told you I lived in 10 othercities my whole life.
I like checking new things out.
So I don't know if Inecessarily look at one person
or one group, but I look at howthese towns or cities or states.
They're growing, they'rechanging, but they're also
(16:37):
welcoming so many new people.
In Houston I didn't even knowit's more international than New
York or LA or Chicago.
You know what I mean.
And the food scene is off thecharts.
But yeah, I just think it'shard and challenging in every
city, but there's so manyamazing things in each city that
(16:59):
make it special so I can'treally pick one thing.
I can go to any town, any city,any state and just, I'm a guy
half full or if not fuller, andI just try to find the best in
everything.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
I love that.
Well, where can people go tofind and follow you and your
brands?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, that's awesome.
I've got an Instagram.
I don't even know what it isbecause I don't get on it very
much, but we also go to it's.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
ChefTroyGuard is your Instagram.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
I know because I'm following you.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
But I put a few things on there here and there.
But, yeah, go out and we've goteight different concepts.
We're in two different statesright now, soon to be three and
up to four and five.
So I love what I do.
We're a small company.
My wife is a sommelier, worksin the front, I work in the back
with the numbers.
We got an amazing team, over500 people.
(17:52):
But come check us out, andRobert Irvine tomorrow night if
you're in Denver.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
That's awesome, Super cool.
Well, Troy, for bringing usyour insights from the mountains
to the oceans.
Today's ovation goes to you.
Thank you for joining us onGive an Ovation.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Thanks Zach, thanks everyone.
You guys have an awesome day.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
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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