For some operators, the restaurant business can be a family business, passed down willingly or unwillingly to the next generation.

Joining Rob today to discuss their experience in the family restaurant business is Amanda Signorelli and Nick McMillan who are co-owners of Golden Steer Steakhouse, the oldest restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip (established in 1958). In March 2019, Nick and Amanda took over the reins of the Golden Steer Steakhouse from Amanda’s father.

Amanda and Nick had extensive backgrounds as technologists and not restauranteurs. So stepping in to run a high volume, iconic restaurant was not what they ever expected to be in their future. Taking their understanding of tech and applying them to their new environment, expectations, and learnings; staff acceptance is extremely important when rolling out any new operational or tech initiatives. “Old school in the front, new school in the back” is the vision that the pair keeps in mind as they make changes. Digitizing accounting for increased security and bringing in increased internal communication via slack are simple changes that don’t interrupt the way the staff works but make work more efficient.

E-commerce is a big area that Nick and Amanda explored when COVID hit in 2020. The unique setting of their steakhouse, having “80% of the customer base being visitors” to Las Vegas, allowed them to create products for their out-of-state customers to be able to bring the experience of The Golden Steer Steakhouse right in their own homes. At the same time, given the large footprint of Las Vegas, delivery was never an option as they would never be able to maintain high food quality which would negatively impact the customer experience.

To gain some insight into what it’s like to take over a restaurant from a family member or want to hear about the tech initiatives of a tech-savvy independent operator going into 2024 - check out this episode of Accelerate.

Guests:
Amanda Signorelli
eCommerce | Startups | Restaurants | Media | McKinsey

Nick McMillan
Chief Technology Officer | Director Product Management | SaaS | Fintech | Cybersecurity | Mission Critical Solutions