David Mizrahi is the founder of Salt Restaurant Group, the hospitality company behind five restaurants on the Jersey Shore in just five years - including the world-famous Salt Steakhouse.

David’s story is anything but traditional. He dropped out of high school, made millions in real estate as a teenager, and then shifted into hospitality, where he’s now redefining what a kosher dining experience can look like.

In this episode, we dive into his journey - from building businesses at 16, to scaling Salt into a powerhouse brand, to the sacrifices and lessons he’s learned along the way.

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• ​Yazdi Entertainment, New York's premiere event production company. [email protected] or (646) 765-5643
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(00:00) Coming up…

(02:37) Making $100k at 16 years old

(04:52) Why David worked at pizza/falafel shops

(05:30) Dropping out of high school

(07:07) If you could go back in time, would you drop out of high school?

(07:24) Making millions per year at 18 in the foreclosure business

(09:53) Why didn’t you stay in real estate?

(11:24) Selling his foreclosure company

(12:10) Has anybody ever doubted you?

(12:55) Buying his first restaurant and turning it profitable

(16:32) Yazdi Entertainment

(17:26) Uncovering hidden value

(18:35) David’s playbook for opening profitable restaurants

(19:58) Receiving a piece of devastating feedback

(21:34) Opening up a restaurant during COVID

(24:03) Why didn’t you delay the launch until after the pandemic?

(25:20) David’s arrangement with Kushner Companies

(28:16) Investing other people’s money

(29:26) 5 restaurants in 5 years: at what point are you expanding too quickly?

(30:16) Competing with yourself

(30:56) Did you ever feel like you spread yourself too thin?

(32:00) How do you manage 5 restaurants?

(33:38) Partnerships and exit strategies

(34:57) Doing business with family and friends

(35:55) Biggest failure: not seeing his wife or 1st child

(36:54) Living apart from his family when first opening Salt

(39:51) Life Vault Films

(41:08) Behind-the-scenes restaurant nightmares

(44:52) Tips to get into the restaurant business

(46:45) 1st step to take if you want to open a high-end steakhouse

(48:44) Serving as a firefighter

(50:19) Giving back through his restaurants

(51:32) What’s next for you?

(52:51) Franchising kosher restaurants

(54:31) Momentum Moment

(55:36) Life’s challenges and failures

(58:47) 3 key takeaways