April 28, 2025 • 37 mins
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Every restaurant faces the challenge of slow nights—but what separates the average from the exceptional is how leaders respond. In this powerful coaching conversation, we sit down with Andrew Roy, General Manager at Mahogany Prime Steakhouse in Omaha, to explore how he turned traditionally low-performing Sundays and Mondays into opportunities for growth and team connection.
Like many operators, Andrew’s restaurant sees strong weekend traffic, pulling in $25K–$30K, while early weekdays dip closer to $10K. That kind of inconsistency can create staffing issues, missed revenue, and cultural drag. But instead of accepting the pattern, Andrew uses vulnerability, reflection, and smart strategy to shift the approach.
At the top tier of the industry, many successful leaders surround themselves with tools and partners that help streamline operations and mitigate risk—from rethinking labor strategies to operational efficiency. Companies like Restaurant Technologies play a key role in supporting restaurants at this level, helping them run smarter so teams can focus on growth, consistency, and exceptional guest experiences.
In this episode, we dive into:
- How to reframe slow shifts as growth opportunities
- Re-engaging teams during off-peak periods
- Leveraging underutilized spaces like private dining rooms
- Moving from discounting to value-driven guest experiences
If you’re a restaurant leader looking to motivate your team, fill your weeknights, and rethink what's possible during your slowest shifts—this episode delivers clarity, inspiration, and practical takeaways you can apply right away.
Resources:
P.S. Ready to take your restaurant to the next level? Here are 3 ways I can support you:
- One-on-One Coaching - Work directly with me to tackle your biggest leadership challenges and scale your operations with confidence. Learn more at christinmarvin.com
- Multi-Unit Mastery Book - Get the complete Independent Restaurant Framework that's helped countless owners build thriving multi-location brands. Grab your copy at https://www.IRFbook.com
- Group Coaching & Leadership Workshops - Join other passionate restaurant leaders in transformative group sessions designed to elevate your entire team. Details at christinmarvin.com
Podcast Production: https://www.lconnorvoice.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Today I'm joined by Andrew Roy, who is the general
manager at Mahogany PrimeSteakhouse in Omaha, nebraska.
Andrew has 20 years ofexperience working his way up
through multiple positionswithin the restaurant business
and today we're going to focuson what his biggest issue is.
Current problem Again he'sfocusing on similar to last week
(00:30):
driving sales.
Take a different approach thistime and really start to dive
into who he is as a leader, whathe knows about his business,
and you're going to see him gofrom being in this vulnerable
place an honest place of reallynot knowing how he can drive
sales on Sundays and Mondays tous brainstorming many things
(00:52):
that have worked for him in thepast and specifically what areas
of the restaurant he wants togrow business, and then having
him come out on the other sideunderstanding that where the
real opportunity is is providingvalue even more value to the
guests.
They've got a very successfulrestaurant.
They're doing really reallywell.
It's a very successfulrestaurant group, but he's just
(01:14):
looking at how they can continueto grow and get better, because
growth and consistency aretheir core values that are
really really important to him.
So again, as you're listeningto this, think about some
clarity and focus that you cangain in your own restaurant and
some things that you can takeaway from Andrew and I's
conversation.
Welcome to the RestaurantLeadership Podcast, the show
(01:37):
where restaurant leaders learntools, tactics and habits from
the world's greatest operators.
I'm your host, kristen Marvin,with Solutions by Kristen.
I've spent the last two decadesin the restaurant industry and
now partner with restaurantowners to develop their leaders
and scale their businessesthrough powerful one-on-one
(01:58):
coaching, group coaching andleadership workshops.
This show is complete withepisodes around coaching,
leadership development andinterviews with powerful
industry leaders.
You can now engage with me onthe show and share topics you'd
like to hear about, leadershiplessons you want to learn and
(02:20):
any feedback you have.
Simply click the link at thetop of the show notes and I will
give you a shout out on afuture episode.
Thanks so much for listeningand I look forward to connecting
.
Running an independentrestaurant is no joke.
You're doing it all Managingyour team, maintaining quality,
(02:43):
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(03:03):
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Thousands of independentsacross the country are already
(03:25):
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If you're curious about thisand want to learn more about how
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Again, that's gorti-inccomslash restaurant leadership
(03:51):
podcast.
Andrew, thanks for joining mefor a coaching session today on
the podcast.
Really really appreciate it.
How can I make this anextraordinary conversation for
you today?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well, so I was just interested.
I wanted to see if you couldhelp me with my current problem,
and we can probably talk alittle bit about the restaurant
and just get into some of thedetails, but I definitely could
use a little advice with onething I'm facing.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Okay, what's your biggest challenge right now?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So at the moment, you know, sales are decent, but we
are struggling.
Sunday, monday Both days, youknow, I work in a steakhouse, so
neither of those days aretypical.
Go out and celebrate, have bigmeal days.
Days are typical, go out andcelebrate, have big meal days.
(04:48):
Uh, sunday, obviously it'susually more of a family day and
Monday just started the weekwe're just.
You know, if we can fill thosedays a little more, I think our
just whole business and ourwhole outlook for the future
really does dramatically change.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Have Sunday and Monday sales always been down.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Usually, yeah, so typical.
And you know we we grow in somedays or more or less, but
typical mid weekdays are between15, 20,000.
Weekends 25 to 30, but SundayMonday it's always about 10.
Weekends 25 to 30, but SundayMonday it's always about 10.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And then you know, it really hurts sometimes when
it's like, yeah, and and what isit about this moment right now
that is showing you, orpresenting a challenge, that
Sunday and Monday sales are anissue for you at this moment?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, they've always been less than the rest of the
week, I guess.
To give some of the background,mahogany Prime Steakhouse,
where I work, we recently movedlocations directly across the
street and it was just a newerand kind of improved building
(06:02):
and that first year since wemoved there was excitement with
the new building.
So rising tides, all ships arelifted, so we saw a lift even in
those sort of edge days.
But now that it's been almostexactly a year things are
starting to level out to wherewe kind of assume they will be
(06:22):
for the future.
And with that pullback you'relooking at every penny you can
here and there.
So all of a sudden, if you takea few thousand off each day,
monday and Sunday, look like theprime targets you know.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, yeah.
So they're kind of rearingtheir ugly head a little bit of,
as here's the biggestopportunity for us to make an
impact in the business.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Okay, the biggest opportunity for us to make an
impact in the business.
Okay, the people that work insome of our strongest employees,
because they're slow, they'retrying not to work those.
So you have this vicious cycleof less people work them, and if
you have less staff you cantake less reservations, and it
just kind of spirals down fromthere.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
And I would assume that because the volume is down,
that you're probably notgetting your key people saying I
want to work those shifts toincrease that check average.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, so you've been in the business for 20 years.
You started as a dishwasher,worked your way up to GM, right.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I have.
I just wanted to make sure itwas said not with the same
restaurant.
Sure, sure, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
but you've been in the industry for a long time.
You've seen a lot, you've beenthrough a lot.
You've overcome some prettycrazy challenges.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I'm I was at a place called Smokin' Joe's Bar and
Grill when I was a kid and I wasthe dishwasher, the cook and
the waiter when I worked onthose slow Monday, tuesday
shifts.
Give you an idea of how smallthe space was.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Long way from there.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
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What's one of the biggestchallenges that you've overcome
over the last 20 years as aleader?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Ooh, this challenge.
You know, I honestly thinkduring COVID I was the kitchen
manager at the same concept,just a different location, and
that was probably one of thecraziest things I've ever
experienced.
Say more yeah, you know justthe uncertainty of the entirety
(09:51):
of the whole experience.
It, you know, from day to day.
We didn't know if we were goingto close at first and then it
became clear we were going toclose, and you know the
inability to give clear and youknow complete information,
because we didn't have it eitherwas definitely a challenge.
So balancing that act of beingupfront and communicating with
(10:14):
our team was also just theuncertainty of I don't know if
I'll have a job in a month.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, how did you navigate that uncertainty as a
leader, as the KM, knowing thatyou were responsible for, for
everybody?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, I think the first word that came to mind was
vulnerability.
I mean, I I'm not one who isafraid to say I don't know, and
I definitely had to say thatseveral times.
Know, and I definitely had tosay that several times.
And then, just being honest,you know, if I was telling
(10:50):
people, you know I can'tguarantee that we'll come back,
but I know that if we do that,you're coming back with us and
we'll have a position for youalways, as long as we do survive
this challenge.
I don't know if that was a veryclear answer.
No, that's great.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
No, it's beautiful.
So you chose to show upvulnerably and you were honest
with your team and in love thatyou said.
You're not afraid to say Idon't know.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, that's a very powerful leadership trait.
You know, we look back fiveyears ago.
None of us knew yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
How did that vulnerability impact your role
as a leader?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Hmm, well, I definitely think that there, you
know, there is a sense peoplecan tell when you're not being
upfront and honest with them.
So I think I did get a lot ofrespect from the different
people on the line going throughthat.
Um, I think there are a lot ofpeople who won't say I don't
(12:02):
know.
And if you can't, I don't know.
And if you can't say I don'tknow, how can you trust any of
the things you're saying?
You have to be willing to admitthe gray areas, especially when
it's very obvious that thingsare uncertain in the atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
How did you see your staff react when you started
leading by example in that wayand just showing up vulnerably
and honestly?
I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I mean it was the time we were all living through
a little bit of fear.
But then I think that there wasalso this acceptance that
things were happening and youknow, no one can guarantee but
there was a future, there waskind of a way out of it and if,
(12:49):
if things did come back, thatthey've come back and come back
better.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah, yeah.
What don't you know right now,with your current situation of
sales being down on Sundays andMondays?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
What don't I know how to fix it.
Yeah, yeah, I know that's asilly answer, but that's the
first thing I thought of.
Yeah Was there a direction youwere thinking about with that?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
No no, just kind of dive in deep.
It's what we do.
What else don't you know?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
What else don't you know?
What else don't I know?
Yeah, I'm drawing a blank there.
I don't know if there's anavenue you're asking about,
sorry.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
No, that's okay, Don't apologize.
Yeah, there's a lot ofuncertainty right now.
There's a lot of fear right nowin the economy, in the
restaurant scene and industries,everywhere.
You said you struggled with nothaving clear information during
(13:57):
the pandemic to help you guideyour decision-making.
How can you use and gain clearinformation right now to help
you figure out what you don'tknow?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I think I kind of see what you're saying, so let me
see if I can say it back.
So essentially, I'm facing asimilar situation to one I faced
five years ago, but it's justkind of a micro example of that
where things have pulled back.
We're a little uncertain on thefinancial markets.
(14:32):
As a steakhouse that's a bigpart of our clientele how can I
look around the restaurant inour current scene and see in
what?
How can I look around therestaurant in our current scene
and see, you know, in what wayscan I deal with this situation?
That near how I dealt withCOVID?
Is that that kind of whereyou're getting at?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, how can you use facts right now and data to
replace the fear and uncertaintyof what's happening?
Sure to replace the fear anduncertainty of what's happening.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Sure, so I guess if I could show up with my staff and
say, like you know, we do apre-shift meeting every day at
445.
You know, as we go through theopen table reservations, say
something along the lines oflike you know, I know this isn't
Saturday, on Sunday, you knowwe don't have 200 covers, we
(15:27):
have 40 or 50.
But you know, well, I'm sorry,I'm trying to think through that
.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
No, take your time.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I think we can.
There's also a value in lookingaround at the other restaurants
in town.
You know, I'm sure that thereare places that they're doing 20
to 30 covers that night.
So, you know, even though it'spulled back from what we kind of
got used to over the last year,I always think there's a value
(16:00):
in saying it's not as bad as itcould be.
You know, we still do havethese people coming in, we still
do have awesome food and thisawesome service.
And, you know, let's controlthe things we can control within
our own four walls and justmake sure and focus on getting
(16:20):
hot food to the guests and letthe macro environment of the
outside world sort of take careof itself.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, who are those people that come in on Sundays
and Mondays?
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You know it's a mix.
Most nights it is about 40% to50% the people we see every day
and then travelers, so we have abunch of people being right in
the middle of the country.
A lot of people fly throughOmaha and come through here on
their way to other places.
So we see a lot of our regulars,especially at the bar top.
(16:53):
A lot of the people that wehave that we consider our
regulars come in during the weekfor business meals and so we
get a lot more of their familyand sort of light dining on
those Sundays and then on daysthat you should stop in for a
quick drink on the way home youknow Monday.
(17:14):
After the weekend, usuallypeople are a little more
stressed and a little more rundown than the rest of the week.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I mean, it sounds like you've got a really great
mix of regulars and first-timediners.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah, yeah, that is a nice part about working in a
steakhouse, where people landand search where's a great steak
.
We also have an ad at theairport, so that helps, yeah
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
What are your regulars looking for, from an
experience standpoint, when theycome into Mahogany?
What are your regulars lookingfor?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
from an experience standpoint, when they come into
Mahogany, you know one of thethings that we really focus on.
I think one of our competitiveadvantages is consistency.
That's one of our core values.
So our motto is to consistentlyexceed our desk expectations.
So we're always looking forways to make sure you know,
(18:05):
every time you come in, you knowwhen you're getting that eight
ounce filet it's going to beprepared perfectly, seasoned,
perfectly, and it doesn't matterif it's Tuesday or Sunday, five
o'clock or 930,.
You'll get the same thing inthe same way, with same high
quality service.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Yeah, and what are the first time guests looking
for?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
First time guests looking for Usually celebration.
We a lot of them come to us.
We get a lot of our first timeguests on anniversary birthdays
and then business travel, so Ithink a lot of them are looking
for just out of the park state.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Yeah, what do you know about business travelers
when they dine?
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but
usually by themselves, usuallylooking for a decent cut of meat
, usually looking for a good,strong whiskey cocktail.
That's kind of our bread andbutter.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, yeah.
Business travelers tend tospend a significant amount of
more money when they come in todine because they're not.
They're usually not using theirown money right, that's true.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
That is true.
There's a pro and a con to that.
The pro is we stay busy whenthey're in town, and the con is
we have to send out a lot ofreceipts to get reconciled I
love that.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
That's a good problem to have, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah, yeah, no, I take worse problems.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
You mentioned consistency being one of your
core values.
What are your other core values?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
So consistency is the main one when it comes to our
service and our guests,internally with our staff.
One of the big ones is growth.
So we do aim to you know aboutgrowth.
So we do aim to you know aboutsay it usually works out to
about 30, 40% across all of ourconcepts of promoting from
(20:10):
within.
So for my, my store, forinstance, our current private
dining coordinator started as ahost at another, mahargami.
Our bar manager was a bartenderback in the day.
Actually, I got hired back inthe day as a server when I moved
to oklahoma.
They're always looking to letpeople grow and learn new things
(20:31):
and try new things love it.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Where would you rate consistency right now on a scale
of one to ten?
If ten was it was showing upevery single day in the
restaurant in the experience inthe food with the staff, and one
was it's it's not showing upvery well day in the restaurant
in the experience in the foodwith the staff, and one was it's
not showing up very well at all, how would you rate that?
Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know, I would say if it is between the hours of
530 and 9, 8.
I say it that way because oneof the things that I always fear
and I see like to five 30,right at the beginning, when
it's slow, or, you know, late atnight, right at the end I give
it like a six and it's whenthings start slowing down that
(21:12):
we notice the mistakes starthappening.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, it's always been that way, hasn't it Every
restaurant I've worked in?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
but it's not too bad.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
It's not.
It's not too bad.
It's not, it's not bad.
What would a nine look like foryou in the restaurant?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
You know, I think we're on track to get it up to a
nine.
Last year in around October,maybe September our head kitchen
manager actually we actuallyleft to go back to Oklahoma.
He has some family down thereso we promoted from within
another gentleman who's beendoing a really fantastic job.
(21:50):
It's the first time he's run afull-on head of kitchen so it
was a pretty steep learningcurve over the holiday season
but he's definitely starting toget a handle on a lot of those
systems down there.
And then my head of training isall of our managers.
We cross train them in thekitchen and so he's been back
there for the last few months sohe'll be coming out soon.
(22:12):
He's a very passionate guy.
Came to us from California.
His attention to detail andservice really elevates things,
so we've missed having him onthe floor but, we do like to
have every manager cross-trainedin the kitchen, because it
helps.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Wonderful.
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Now let's get back to the show.
How would you rate growth rightnow on a scale of one to 10?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Cool.
This might be a longer answer,but I feel like I have to
explain this here.
I feel like I have to explainthis here.
One to ten, I'm going to giveit a six.
So if I were looking at likethree to five-year outlook, I'd
probably say eight If I'mlooking just at this week,
(23:38):
versus last year, like three.
So the move across the dodge towhere we are now, that
definitely did increase thingsand improve things greatly.
We expanded space, definitelystreamlined how many people we
could serve at one time,expanded the kitchen, expanded
our capacity, so that first yearwe did see pretty much month
(24:05):
over month, always 10% to 20%growth, if not more.
Now, with everything happeningin the economy and with the
stock market plus, this is likewe're right in the middle of the
week.
When we opened last year, itjust looks rough when, if you
(24:27):
look two years ago, we'regrowing but like, oh, this, this
hurts, yeah, but where we move?
We move because it's a new areathat's being developed.
It used to be farmland andactually putting different
stores.
Uh, in the summer they'reopening up some apartments and
then they'll have some housesopening over the course of the
year hotel opening.
So I think three to five years.
I mean it's going to be jamming, but yeah, that's three to five
(24:48):
years from now so yeah, soyou're at a six right now what
would it look like for you to beat an eight?
you know, I think, for us to beat an eight during the week, I'd
want to see the bar more full,and for monday, tuesday, we have
(25:09):
a side room that we call thegrand room.
It holds nine tables.
We book it out for privateevents and most sundays, mondays
, we don't have enough business,we end up closing that room,
and so I think getting that roomopen or just having the
capacity to where we could fill,that would that's where I'd
(25:30):
want to be.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Okay, so you've started, we've started this
conversation with.
Sales are down Sunday, monday,not sure where to go, what to do
, and now you've been able todistill it down to say you want
more business in the bar and youwant more business in private
dining.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Yeah, I think that's fair to say.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Does your staff know that you have these growth goals
?
Speaker 2 (25:57):
I would say I mean yes and no.
Do they know, in an abstractsense, that I want us to grow
and make more money and makethem more money?
Yes, do they know specifically,I want Monday and Sunday to be
better and the bar to be fullduring the week Actually, the
bartenders do know that that'smy goal.
But the Sunday, monday, theside rooms.
(26:17):
I don't think I've ever saidthat part out loud explicitly.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
How can you empower them to help drive those sales?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I think and this may not be exactly what you're
looking for, but I think I mightactually approach this in the
way of, instead of empoweringthem there, so it might be more
of a painting the picture of thefuture that I see and just
making sure not to give up onthese days before we get to that
(26:55):
future.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Yeah, yeah, creating a vision for them, and then
they'll follow if I have thismany servers who are able to
work on Sundays, Mondays, we cantake more reservations, which
also allows you to make moremoney and kind of feeds into
(27:18):
itself.
But if everyone wants off, thenwe kind of have to make sure we
don't overtake reservations.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, what impact would that have on the rest, on
the business, or could it haveon the business?
Speaker 2 (27:32):
oh man.
Well, if you think about I meaneven simple numbers, let's say
an extra 5 000 a week, I mean ina month that's 20 grand.
That's that's money, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
How many guests is that per shift?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
We usually will, and it's kind of a back of napkin
math.
I figured that most peoplespend about a hundred bucks and
that allows for, you know, thebusiness dinners where it's more
extravagant, versus bar gueststoo.
Sometimes it is just like anappetizer and one drink, so it
is about 50 people comingthrough per week.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Is there opportunity to also create those sales from
existing guests?
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Oh, sure, sure, there is something we have talked
about.
We kind of played around withthe idea of doing a discounted
wine day on Sunday, monday, justto see if people might be
interested and see if that mightbe something that we interested
in.
Uh, we're thinking about like10 or 20% off all bottles on the
(28:45):
list.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, do you have an email list?
Speaker 2 (28:50):
We do have an email list.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, have you used that before to drive events and
and do promotions and thingslike that?
Speaker 2 (28:56):
we do, we, we don't, we don't try.
You know, we want to respectpeople's inboxes, so, uh, we
send out an email, usually aboutonce every two months.
Nothing, nothing crazy, andit's usually for special events
around holidays.
Uh, we have during covid it wasa little more frequent because
we had a lot of to-go features,um, but now it's usually like,
(29:19):
you know, not doing anything formother's day, poke your table,
now that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Does it work?
It does yeah yeah, okay, youseem a little unsure well,
there's always that has.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
You know, I'm a big believer in keeping my inbox
very clean, so yeah I don't like, uh I I am subscribed to a lot
of the local restaurants, and sothere are definitely some
restaurants that handle it verywell, and there are definitely
some restaurants that have endedup in my junk folder, so, yeah,
(29:56):
what if those guests were justwaiting for an invitation from
you to come in and have anexperience?
yeah, yeah, um, I mean we, wehave also talked about the
possibility of doing winedinners too, getting a rep or
you know, winemaker, wine owner,and selling tickets.
Along that way.
I feel like I'm trying to thinkof how to articulate.
(30:22):
You know, we've always we'vealways wanted to be a, a value
added place.
So we always want to go aboveand beyond, but not just
discount or not just ask for thereservation, but also like,
have something to get back Ifthat makes sense.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, create that experience.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Think about the lifetime value of the of the
guest Love that.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
So how?
How is a what's an example ofsomething that you could add
value to?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
is uh, what's an example of something that you
could add value to?
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Uh, I may need clarification, but I mean, yeah,
like when you're talking aboutthese wine dinners, private
events how could you add value?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Um well, I think yeah .
Let me say the first thing thatI'm thinking, and maybe I'm
just misunderstanding andrew,I'm just going to interrupt you
for a second.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
I'm never looking for anything.
I'm just helping ask you somereally powerful questions to get
you thinking differently aboutyour business.
That's what we do, so don'tfeel any pressure that I'm
trying to lead you somewhere.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I'm just asking no yeah Well, I would say even just
having the wine dinners wouldbe offering value.
At the moment we just have.
I mean I say just have, butit's a really fantastic steak
meal but that's all we areoffering.
So having something that's moreof an experience as dinner too
(31:50):
kind of an option.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Yeah, there's more to those wine dinners than just
the wine and the food right.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah, yeah, there's also the experience of getting
to meet someone in connectionwith the winery that you may
either love or may not know, butare getting to know.
But one of the reasons that I'mvery interested in doing it
it's an.
You know we would sell thetickets to our guests that come
in the regulars that we see andlove all the time.
So it's an opportunity for mymanagers and me to get to
(32:21):
interact with our guestportfolio and get to know them
and see what they're interestedin.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yeah, there's also an educational component to those
too, right, and there's acommunity aspect that's built by
getting a group of peopletogether that love wine and love
learning about wine.
Right, you're a little likewine club.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, no, that's a good point.
And if you say, hey, I went tothis wine dinner at Mahogany,
that's kind of a cool sound yeah, that's kind of cool stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Absolutely does your staff every single person on
your staff know how to talkabout private events, what you
do, how someone would go aboutbooking who to talk to in the
restaurant?
Speaker 2 (33:04):
uh, oh, yeah, absolutely yeah.
Um, we, because we have such abuilt-out private events system,
uh, we have one main likedirector of private dining and
she handles everything.
She has some assistants.
We have a training packet, it's, it's a whole thing, because on
(33:26):
, you know, in april maybe we'llhave for the whole month 40, 50
events.
We have four different roomsfor private dining, but in
December we have every roombooked out.
I looked yesterday about halfthe rooms are booked out already
and some of them will bookearly and late, so you only get
(33:47):
two hour time slot, but that wayyou don't have to pay the full
minimum room rental fee andeverything.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
So awesome.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Yeah, with that.
We kind of they have to knowyeah.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Yeah, no, that's fantastic, and so if you booked
a wine event, do you feel likeyour team would be really
excited about it and be helpingyou sell it to the guests that
are coming in the restaurant?
Speaker 2 (34:09):
I do think so yeah, awesome, awesome, we're going to
give it a shot.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
There's a friend of mine on LinkedIn posted a couple
of days ago this is pretty,pretty timely to what we're
talking about, but it wastalking about the importance of
booking private events and saidthat a guest had come into his
friend's restaurant, asked theserver about private events.
They weren't sure what to sayor how to talk about their
offerings or the menu or connectthem with the manager or
(34:38):
somebody that could come over tothe table and be a little bit
more well-versed, and they endedup going across the street and
booking a private event to thetune of $50,000.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Yeah, you only get one chance yeah, what are you?
Speaker 1 (34:55):
what's?
What's one action item thatyou'd like to take away from
this conversation today?
You know?
Speaker 2 (35:05):
I do think when, when I'm going through and trying to
put together our next winedinner because we haven't done
one of this new location wehaven't done one since I moved
up here I do think that and thisisn't really you know, this
isn't an action item but whatyou said about providing value,
(35:27):
I think I am going to hold on tothat because I thought that was
a nice frame to look at thisthrough, but that's just a state
of mind Action item.
I do think that when we weretalking about how we can get the
staff on board and how they canhelp grow, sunday-monday, I do
(35:49):
think in pre-shift, we do needto discuss keeping the faith and
making sure they know we seethat it's slow, but we think
they can grow and we want tomake sure that everyone kind of
stays on board and knows we'retrying to look out for them and
we have a vision of the future.
So, yeah, I'll stay with that.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
How can you take away love, that, by the way, that
state of mind of alwaysproviding value to your guests?
Can you bring that intopre-shift?
Can you help your entire teamget on the same page with that
mindset?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Oh yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
What impact could that have to your restaurant?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
I mean just to be transparent.
I have a pretty good crew, so Ithink they all do a really,
really dynamite job of takingcare of our guests.
But I would say, probablyanything you can do to elevate
that is going to help.
There's never too much of agood thing, right?
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Yeah, yeah, love it.
Andrew, thank you so much forjoining me.
I really, really appreciatedthe conversation.
Thanks for letting me kind ofpoke and prod a little bit and
just giving us a bunch ofinsight into so many different
aspects of your business.
For sure, it's incredible tosee the success that you've had
over 20 years in the industry,the challenges that you've been
(37:16):
through pandemic recession herewe go again, potentially right
again, just just coming into atime of fear and uncertainty,
and I hope that this kind ofprovided some some clarity and
focus for you as you go intoyour next shift.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yeah, thank you.
It's tonight, so I'll see whatI can bring in today.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
I love it.
Well, let me know.
I'd love to hear how it goes,and let's stay connected for
sure.
So thank you so much for yourtime.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Yeah, thank you again you bet.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
All right, everybody that's gonna do it for us this
week.
Please share this episode withanybody that you know that could
benefit, and we will talk toyou next week.
Today I'm joined by Andrew Roy, who is the general
manager at Mahogany PrimeSteakhouse in Omaha, nebraska.
Andrew has 20 years ofexperience working his way up
through multiple positionswithin the restaurant business
and today we're going to focuson what his biggest issue is.
Current problem Again he'sfocusing on similar to last week
(00:30):
driving sales.
Take a different approach thistime and really start to dive
into who he is as a leader, whathe knows about his business,
and you're going to see him gofrom being in this vulnerable
place an honest place of reallynot knowing how he can drive
sales on Sundays and Mondays tous brainstorming many things
(00:52):
that have worked for him in thepast and specifically what areas
of the restaurant he wants togrow business, and then having
him come out on the other sideunderstanding that where the
real opportunity is is providingvalue even more value to the
guests.
They've got a very successfulrestaurant.
They're doing really reallywell.
It's a very successfulrestaurant group, but he's just
(01:14):
looking at how they can continueto grow and get better, because
growth and consistency aretheir core values that are
really really important to him.
So again, as you're listeningto this, think about some
clarity and focus that you cangain in your own restaurant and
some things that you can takeaway from Andrew and I's
conversation.
Welcome to the RestaurantLeadership Podcast, the show
(01:37):
where restaurant leaders learntools, tactics and habits from
the world's greatest operators.
I'm your host, kristen Marvin,with Solutions by Kristen.
I've spent the last two decadesin the restaurant industry and
now partner with restaurantowners to develop their leaders
and scale their businessesthrough powerful one-on-one
(01:58):
coaching, group coaching andleadership workshops.
This show is complete withepisodes around coaching,
leadership development andinterviews with powerful
industry leaders.
You can now engage with me onthe show and share topics you'd
like to hear about, leadershiplessons you want to learn and
(02:20):
any feedback you have.
Simply click the link at thetop of the show notes and I will
give you a shout out on afuture episode.
Thanks so much for listeningand I look forward to connecting
.
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podcast.
Andrew, thanks for joining mefor a coaching session today on
the podcast.
Really really appreciate it.
How can I make this anextraordinary conversation for
you today?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well, so I was just interested.
I wanted to see if you couldhelp me with my current problem,
and we can probably talk alittle bit about the restaurant
and just get into some of thedetails, but I definitely could
use a little advice with onething I'm facing.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Okay, what's your biggest challenge right now?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So at the moment, you know, sales are decent, but we
are struggling.
Sunday, monday Both days, youknow, I work in a steakhouse, so
neither of those days aretypical.
Go out and celebrate, have bigmeal days.
Days are typical, go out andcelebrate, have big meal days.
(04:48):
Uh, sunday, obviously it'susually more of a family day and
Monday just started the weekwe're just.
You know, if we can fill thosedays a little more, I think our
just whole business and ourwhole outlook for the future
really does dramatically change.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Have Sunday and Monday sales always been down.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Usually, yeah, so typical.
And you know we we grow in somedays or more or less, but
typical mid weekdays are between15, 20,000.
Weekends 25 to 30, but SundayMonday it's always about 10.
Weekends 25 to 30, but SundayMonday it's always about 10.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And then you know, it really hurts sometimes when
it's like, yeah, and and what isit about this moment right now
that is showing you, orpresenting a challenge, that
Sunday and Monday sales are anissue for you at this moment?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, they've always been less than the rest of the
week, I guess.
To give some of the background,mahogany Prime Steakhouse,
where I work, we recently movedlocations directly across the
street and it was just a newerand kind of improved building
(06:02):
and that first year since wemoved there was excitement with
the new building.
So rising tides, all ships arelifted, so we saw a lift even in
those sort of edge days.
But now that it's been almostexactly a year things are
starting to level out to wherewe kind of assume they will be
(06:22):
for the future.
And with that pullback you'relooking at every penny you can
here and there.
So all of a sudden, if you takea few thousand off each day,
monday and Sunday, look like theprime targets you know.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, yeah.
So they're kind of rearingtheir ugly head a little bit of,
as here's the biggestopportunity for us to make an
impact in the business.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Okay, the biggest opportunity for us to make an
impact in the business.
Okay, the people that work insome of our strongest employees,
because they're slow, they'retrying not to work those.
So you have this vicious cycleof less people work them, and if
you have less staff you cantake less reservations, and it
just kind of spirals down fromthere.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
And I would assume that because the volume is down,
that you're probably notgetting your key people saying I
want to work those shifts toincrease that check average.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, so you've been in the business for 20 years.
You started as a dishwasher,worked your way up to GM, right.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I have.
I just wanted to make sure itwas said not with the same
restaurant.
Sure, sure, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
but you've been in the industry for a long time.
You've seen a lot, you've beenthrough a lot.
You've overcome some prettycrazy challenges.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I'm I was at a place called Smokin' Joe's Bar and
Grill when I was a kid and I wasthe dishwasher, the cook and
the waiter when I worked onthose slow Monday, tuesday
shifts.
Give you an idea of how smallthe space was.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Long way from there.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
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What's one of the biggestchallenges that you've overcome
over the last 20 years as aleader?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Ooh, this challenge.
You know, I honestly thinkduring COVID I was the kitchen
manager at the same concept,just a different location, and
that was probably one of thecraziest things I've ever
experienced.
Say more yeah, you know justthe uncertainty of the entirety
(09:51):
of the whole experience.
It, you know, from day to day.
We didn't know if we were goingto close at first and then it
became clear we were going toclose, and you know the
inability to give clear and youknow complete information,
because we didn't have it eitherwas definitely a challenge.
So balancing that act of beingupfront and communicating with
(10:14):
our team was also just theuncertainty of I don't know if
I'll have a job in a month.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, how did you navigate that uncertainty as a
leader, as the KM, knowing thatyou were responsible for, for
everybody?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, I think the first word that came to mind was
vulnerability.
I mean, I I'm not one who isafraid to say I don't know, and
I definitely had to say thatseveral times.
Know, and I definitely had tosay that several times.
And then, just being honest,you know, if I was telling
(10:50):
people, you know I can'tguarantee that we'll come back,
but I know that if we do that,you're coming back with us and
we'll have a position for youalways, as long as we do survive
this challenge.
I don't know if that was a veryclear answer.
No, that's great.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
No, it's beautiful.
So you chose to show upvulnerably and you were honest
with your team and in love thatyou said.
You're not afraid to say Idon't know.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, that's a very powerful leadership trait.
You know, we look back fiveyears ago.
None of us knew yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
How did that vulnerability impact your role
as a leader?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Hmm, well, I definitely think that there, you
know, there is a sense peoplecan tell when you're not being
upfront and honest with them.
So I think I did get a lot ofrespect from the different
people on the line going throughthat.
Um, I think there are a lot ofpeople who won't say I don't
(12:02):
know.
And if you can't, I don't know.
And if you can't say I don'tknow, how can you trust any of
the things you're saying?
You have to be willing to admitthe gray areas, especially when
it's very obvious that thingsare uncertain in the atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
How did you see your staff react when you started
leading by example in that wayand just showing up vulnerably
and honestly?
I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I mean it was the time we were all living through
a little bit of fear.
But then I think that there wasalso this acceptance that
things were happening and youknow, no one can guarantee but
there was a future, there waskind of a way out of it and if,
(12:49):
if things did come back, thatthey've come back and come back
better.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah, yeah.
What don't you know right now,with your current situation of
sales being down on Sundays andMondays?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
What don't I know how to fix it.
Yeah, yeah, I know that's asilly answer, but that's the
first thing I thought of.
Yeah Was there a direction youwere thinking about with that?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
No no, just kind of dive in deep.
It's what we do.
What else don't you know?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
What else don't you know?
What else don't I know?
Yeah, I'm drawing a blank there.
I don't know if there's anavenue you're asking about,
sorry.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
No, that's okay, Don't apologize.
Yeah, there's a lot ofuncertainty right now.
There's a lot of fear right nowin the economy, in the
restaurant scene and industries,everywhere.
You said you struggled with nothaving clear information during
(13:57):
the pandemic to help you guideyour decision-making.
How can you use and gain clearinformation right now to help
you figure out what you don'tknow?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I think I kind of see what you're saying, so let me
see if I can say it back.
So essentially, I'm facing asimilar situation to one I faced
five years ago, but it's justkind of a micro example of that
where things have pulled back.
We're a little uncertain on thefinancial markets.
(14:32):
As a steakhouse that's a bigpart of our clientele how can I
look around the restaurant inour current scene and see in
what?
How can I look around therestaurant in our current scene
and see, you know, in what wayscan I deal with this situation?
That near how I dealt withCOVID?
Is that that kind of whereyou're getting at?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, how can you use facts right now and data to
replace the fear and uncertaintyof what's happening?
Sure to replace the fear anduncertainty of what's happening.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Sure, so I guess if I could show up with my staff and
say, like you know, we do apre-shift meeting every day at
445.
You know, as we go through theopen table reservations, say
something along the lines oflike you know, I know this isn't
Saturday, on Sunday, you knowwe don't have 200 covers, we
(15:27):
have 40 or 50.
But you know, well, I'm sorry,I'm trying to think through that
.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
No, take your time.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I think we can.
There's also a value in lookingaround at the other restaurants
in town.
You know, I'm sure that thereare places that they're doing 20
to 30 covers that night.
So, you know, even though it'spulled back from what we kind of
got used to over the last year,I always think there's a value
(16:00):
in saying it's not as bad as itcould be.
You know, we still do havethese people coming in, we still
do have awesome food and thisawesome service.
And, you know, let's controlthe things we can control within
our own four walls and justmake sure and focus on getting
(16:20):
hot food to the guests and letthe macro environment of the
outside world sort of take careof itself.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, who are those people that come in on Sundays
and Mondays?
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You know it's a mix.
Most nights it is about 40% to50% the people we see every day
and then travelers, so we have abunch of people being right in
the middle of the country.
A lot of people fly throughOmaha and come through here on
their way to other places.
So we see a lot of our regulars,especially at the bar top.
(16:53):
A lot of the people that wehave that we consider our
regulars come in during the weekfor business meals and so we
get a lot more of their familyand sort of light dining on
those Sundays and then on daysthat you should stop in for a
quick drink on the way home youknow Monday.
(17:14):
After the weekend, usuallypeople are a little more
stressed and a little more rundown than the rest of the week.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I mean, it sounds like you've got a really great
mix of regulars and first-timediners.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah, yeah, that is a nice part about working in a
steakhouse, where people landand search where's a great steak
.
We also have an ad at theairport, so that helps, yeah
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
What are your regulars looking for, from an
experience standpoint, when theycome into Mahogany?
What are your regulars lookingfor?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
from an experience standpoint, when they come into
Mahogany, you know one of thethings that we really focus on.
I think one of our competitiveadvantages is consistency.
That's one of our core values.
So our motto is to consistentlyexceed our desk expectations.
So we're always looking forways to make sure you know,
(18:05):
every time you come in, you knowwhen you're getting that eight
ounce filet it's going to beprepared perfectly, seasoned,
perfectly, and it doesn't matterif it's Tuesday or Sunday, five
o'clock or 930,.
You'll get the same thing inthe same way, with same high
quality service.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Yeah, and what are the first time guests looking
for?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
First time guests looking for Usually celebration.
We a lot of them come to us.
We get a lot of our first timeguests on anniversary birthdays
and then business travel, so Ithink a lot of them are looking
for just out of the park state.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Yeah, what do you know about business travelers
when they dine?
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but
usually by themselves, usuallylooking for a decent cut of meat
, usually looking for a good,strong whiskey cocktail.
That's kind of our bread andbutter.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, yeah.
Business travelers tend tospend a significant amount of
more money when they come in todine because they're not.
They're usually not using theirown money right, that's true.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
That is true.
There's a pro and a con to that.
The pro is we stay busy whenthey're in town, and the con is
we have to send out a lot ofreceipts to get reconciled I
love that.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
That's a good problem to have, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah, yeah, no, I take worse problems.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
You mentioned consistency being one of your
core values.
What are your other core values?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
So consistency is the main one when it comes to our
service and our guests,internally with our staff.
One of the big ones is growth.
So we do aim to you know aboutgrowth.
So we do aim to you know aboutsay it usually works out to
about 30, 40% across all of ourconcepts of promoting from
(20:10):
within.
So for my, my store, forinstance, our current private
dining coordinator started as ahost at another, mahargami.
Our bar manager was a bartenderback in the day.
Actually, I got hired back inthe day as a server when I moved
to oklahoma.
They're always looking to letpeople grow and learn new things
(20:31):
and try new things love it.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Where would you rate consistency right now on a scale
of one to ten?
If ten was it was showing upevery single day in the
restaurant in the experience inthe food with the staff, and one
was it's it's not showing upvery well day in the restaurant
in the experience in the foodwith the staff, and one was it's
not showing up very well at all, how would you rate that?
Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know, I would say if it is between the hours of
530 and 9, 8.
I say it that way because oneof the things that I always fear
and I see like to five 30,right at the beginning, when
it's slow, or, you know, late atnight, right at the end I give
it like a six and it's whenthings start slowing down that
(21:12):
we notice the mistakes starthappening.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, it's always been that way, hasn't it Every
restaurant I've worked in?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
but it's not too bad.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
It's not.
It's not too bad.
It's not, it's not bad.
What would a nine look like foryou in the restaurant?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
You know, I think we're on track to get it up to a
nine.
Last year in around October,maybe September our head kitchen
manager actually we actuallyleft to go back to Oklahoma.
He has some family down thereso we promoted from within
another gentleman who's beendoing a really fantastic job.
(21:50):
It's the first time he's run afull-on head of kitchen so it
was a pretty steep learningcurve over the holiday season
but he's definitely starting toget a handle on a lot of those
systems down there.
And then my head of training isall of our managers.
We cross train them in thekitchen and so he's been back
there for the last few months sohe'll be coming out soon.
(22:12):
He's a very passionate guy.
Came to us from California.
His attention to detail andservice really elevates things,
so we've missed having him onthe floor but, we do like to
have every manager cross-trainedin the kitchen, because it
helps.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Wonderful.
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(22:52):
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Now let's get back to the show.
How would you rate growth rightnow on a scale of one to 10?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Cool.
This might be a longer answer,but I feel like I have to
explain this here.
I feel like I have to explainthis here.
One to ten, I'm going to giveit a six.
So if I were looking at likethree to five-year outlook, I'd
probably say eight If I'mlooking just at this week,
(23:38):
versus last year, like three.
So the move across the dodge towhere we are now, that
definitely did increase thingsand improve things greatly.
We expanded space, definitelystreamlined how many people we
could serve at one time,expanded the kitchen, expanded
our capacity, so that first yearwe did see pretty much month
(24:05):
over month, always 10% to 20%growth, if not more.
Now, with everything happeningin the economy and with the
stock market plus, this is likewe're right in the middle of the
week.
When we opened last year, itjust looks rough when, if you
(24:27):
look two years ago, we'regrowing but like, oh, this, this
hurts, yeah, but where we move?
We move because it's a new areathat's being developed.
It used to be farmland andactually putting different
stores.
Uh, in the summer they'reopening up some apartments and
then they'll have some housesopening over the course of the
year hotel opening.
So I think three to five years.
I mean it's going to be jamming, but yeah, that's three to five
(24:48):
years from now so yeah, soyou're at a six right now what
would it look like for you to beat an eight?
you know, I think, for us to beat an eight during the week, I'd
want to see the bar more full,and for monday, tuesday, we have
(25:09):
a side room that we call thegrand room.
It holds nine tables.
We book it out for privateevents and most sundays, mondays
, we don't have enough business,we end up closing that room,
and so I think getting that roomopen or just having the
capacity to where we could fill,that would that's where I'd
(25:30):
want to be.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Okay, so you've started, we've started this
conversation with.
Sales are down Sunday, monday,not sure where to go, what to do
, and now you've been able todistill it down to say you want
more business in the bar and youwant more business in private
dining.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Yeah, I think that's fair to say.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Does your staff know that you have these growth goals
?
Speaker 2 (25:57):
I would say I mean yes and no.
Do they know, in an abstractsense, that I want us to grow
and make more money and makethem more money?
Yes, do they know specifically,I want Monday and Sunday to be
better and the bar to be fullduring the week Actually, the
bartenders do know that that'smy goal.
But the Sunday, monday, theside rooms.
(26:17):
I don't think I've ever saidthat part out loud explicitly.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
How can you empower them to help drive those sales?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I think and this may not be exactly what you're
looking for, but I think I mightactually approach this in the
way of, instead of empoweringthem there, so it might be more
of a painting the picture of thefuture that I see and just
making sure not to give up onthese days before we get to that
(26:55):
future.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Yeah, yeah, creating a vision for them, and then
they'll follow if I have thismany servers who are able to
work on Sundays, Mondays, we cantake more reservations, which
also allows you to make moremoney and kind of feeds into
(27:18):
itself.
But if everyone wants off, thenwe kind of have to make sure we
don't overtake reservations.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, what impact would that have on the rest, on
the business, or could it haveon the business?
Speaker 2 (27:32):
oh man.
Well, if you think about I meaneven simple numbers, let's say
an extra 5 000 a week, I mean ina month that's 20 grand.
That's that's money, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
How many guests is that per shift?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
We usually will, and it's kind of a back of napkin
math.
I figured that most peoplespend about a hundred bucks and
that allows for, you know, thebusiness dinners where it's more
extravagant, versus bar gueststoo.
Sometimes it is just like anappetizer and one drink, so it
is about 50 people comingthrough per week.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Is there opportunity to also create those sales from
existing guests?
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Oh, sure, sure, there is something we have talked
about.
We kind of played around withthe idea of doing a discounted
wine day on Sunday, monday, justto see if people might be
interested and see if that mightbe something that we interested
in.
Uh, we're thinking about like10 or 20% off all bottles on the
(28:45):
list.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, do you have an email list?
Speaker 2 (28:50):
We do have an email list.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, have you used that before to drive events and
and do promotions and thingslike that?
Speaker 2 (28:56):
we do, we, we don't, we don't try.
You know, we want to respectpeople's inboxes, so, uh, we
send out an email, usually aboutonce every two months.
Nothing, nothing crazy, andit's usually for special events
around holidays.
Uh, we have during covid it wasa little more frequent because
we had a lot of to-go features,um, but now it's usually like,
(29:19):
you know, not doing anything formother's day, poke your table,
now that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Does it work?
It does yeah yeah, okay, youseem a little unsure well,
there's always that has.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
You know, I'm a big believer in keeping my inbox
very clean, so yeah I don't like, uh I I am subscribed to a lot
of the local restaurants, and sothere are definitely some
restaurants that handle it verywell, and there are definitely
some restaurants that have endedup in my junk folder, so, yeah,
(29:56):
what if those guests were justwaiting for an invitation from
you to come in and have anexperience?
yeah, yeah, um, I mean we, wehave also talked about the
possibility of doing winedinners too, getting a rep or
you know, winemaker, wine owner,and selling tickets.
Along that way.
I feel like I'm trying to thinkof how to articulate.
(30:22):
You know, we've always we'vealways wanted to be a, a value
added place.
So we always want to go aboveand beyond, but not just
discount or not just ask for thereservation, but also like,
have something to get back Ifthat makes sense.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, create that experience.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Think about the lifetime value of the of the
guest Love that.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
So how?
How is a what's an example ofsomething that you could add
value to?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
is uh, what's an example of something that you
could add value to?
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Uh, I may need clarification, but I mean, yeah,
like when you're talking aboutthese wine dinners, private
events how could you add value?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Um well, I think yeah .
Let me say the first thing thatI'm thinking, and maybe I'm
just misunderstanding andrew,I'm just going to interrupt you
for a second.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
I'm never looking for anything.
I'm just helping ask you somereally powerful questions to get
you thinking differently aboutyour business.
That's what we do, so don'tfeel any pressure that I'm
trying to lead you somewhere.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I'm just asking no yeah Well, I would say even just
having the wine dinners wouldbe offering value.
At the moment we just have.
I mean I say just have, butit's a really fantastic steak
meal but that's all we areoffering.
So having something that's moreof an experience as dinner too
(31:50):
kind of an option.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Yeah, there's more to those wine dinners than just
the wine and the food right.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah, yeah, there's also the experience of getting
to meet someone in connectionwith the winery that you may
either love or may not know, butare getting to know.
But one of the reasons that I'mvery interested in doing it
it's an.
You know we would sell thetickets to our guests that come
in the regulars that we see andlove all the time.
So it's an opportunity for mymanagers and me to get to
(32:21):
interact with our guestportfolio and get to know them
and see what they're interestedin.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yeah, there's also an educational component to those
too, right, and there's acommunity aspect that's built by
getting a group of peopletogether that love wine and love
learning about wine.
Right, you're a little likewine club.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, no, that's a good point.
And if you say, hey, I went tothis wine dinner at Mahogany,
that's kind of a cool sound yeah, that's kind of cool stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Absolutely does your staff every single person on
your staff know how to talkabout private events, what you
do, how someone would go aboutbooking who to talk to in the
restaurant?
Speaker 2 (33:04):
uh, oh, yeah, absolutely yeah.
Um, we, because we have such abuilt-out private events system,
uh, we have one main likedirector of private dining and
she handles everything.
She has some assistants.
We have a training packet, it's, it's a whole thing, because on
(33:26):
, you know, in april maybe we'llhave for the whole month 40, 50
events.
We have four different roomsfor private dining, but in
December we have every roombooked out.
I looked yesterday about halfthe rooms are booked out already
and some of them will bookearly and late, so you only get
(33:47):
two hour time slot, but that wayyou don't have to pay the full
minimum room rental fee andeverything.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
So awesome.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Yeah, with that.
We kind of they have to knowyeah.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Yeah, no, that's fantastic, and so if you booked
a wine event, do you feel likeyour team would be really
excited about it and be helpingyou sell it to the guests that
are coming in the restaurant?
Speaker 2 (34:09):
I do think so yeah, awesome, awesome, we're going to
give it a shot.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
There's a friend of mine on LinkedIn posted a couple
of days ago this is pretty,pretty timely to what we're
talking about, but it wastalking about the importance of
booking private events and saidthat a guest had come into his
friend's restaurant, asked theserver about private events.
They weren't sure what to sayor how to talk about their
offerings or the menu or connectthem with the manager or
(34:38):
somebody that could come over tothe table and be a little bit
more well-versed, and they endedup going across the street and
booking a private event to thetune of $50,000.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Yeah, you only get one chance yeah, what are you?
Speaker 1 (34:55):
what's?
What's one action item thatyou'd like to take away from
this conversation today?
You know?
Speaker 2 (35:05):
I do think when, when I'm going through and trying to
put together our next winedinner because we haven't done
one of this new location wehaven't done one since I moved
up here I do think that and thisisn't really you know, this
isn't an action item but whatyou said about providing value,
(35:27):
I think I am going to hold on tothat because I thought that was
a nice frame to look at thisthrough, but that's just a state
of mind Action item.
I do think that when we weretalking about how we can get the
staff on board and how they canhelp grow, sunday-monday, I do
(35:49):
think in pre-shift, we do needto discuss keeping the faith and
making sure they know we seethat it's slow, but we think
they can grow and we want tomake sure that everyone kind of
stays on board and knows we'retrying to look out for them and
we have a vision of the future.
So, yeah, I'll stay with that.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
How can you take away love, that, by the way, that
state of mind of alwaysproviding value to your guests?
Can you bring that intopre-shift?
Can you help your entire teamget on the same page with that
mindset?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Oh yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
What impact could that have to your restaurant?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
I mean just to be transparent.
I have a pretty good crew, so Ithink they all do a really,
really dynamite job of takingcare of our guests.
But I would say, probablyanything you can do to elevate
that is going to help.
There's never too much of agood thing, right?
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Yeah, yeah, love it.
Andrew, thank you so much forjoining me.
I really, really appreciatedthe conversation.
Thanks for letting me kind ofpoke and prod a little bit and
just giving us a bunch ofinsight into so many different
aspects of your business.
For sure, it's incredible tosee the success that you've had
over 20 years in the industry,the challenges that you've been
(37:16):
through pandemic recession herewe go again, potentially right
again, just just coming into atime of fear and uncertainty,
and I hope that this kind ofprovided some some clarity and
focus for you as you go intoyour next shift.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yeah, thank you.
It's tonight, so I'll see whatI can bring in today.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
I love it.
Well, let me know.
I'd love to hear how it goes,and let's stay connected for
sure.
So thank you so much for yourtime.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Yeah, thank you again you bet.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
All right, everybody that's gonna do it for us this
week.
Please share this episode withanybody that you know that could
benefit, and we will talk toyou next week.
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