Holy Guacamole Podcast

Founder and Cheese Enthusiast, Julia Birnbaum, come on the pod to share her two year journey to opening Philly Cheese School. A place for learning about cheese, cheese tasting, and sharing these experiencing this with a friend, or getting to know other people. We dig deep into Julia's new business, and the intentional journey to create a queer-friendly, inclusive environment with the branding and messaging that matches her fun personality!

In context, Julia Birnbaum's business is a shining example of good branding, and why she was chosen to represent this part of the Six Pillar Story. She's nailed a whole new direction for food businesses — experiencing food without being a restaurant, without being a bar. Julia's visioning melded with a completely stellar new type of business, and a dynamic look is unsurpassed. It's an environment to nurture food lovers, with education that marks an eleven on the scale of geeky food knowledge. Gone is the dark wood, dark green and heavy interior design of established food markets. Bring in your creative thinking — how could "experiences" be central to your business, with low food and labor costs. This one is very creative.

This Six Pillars System is the backdrop for this and future episodes. It's a method I've leaned into with my client work, and allows for a common language and strong progress. The first pillar in the Six Pillar System is Strategy. Each topic will reflect one of the pillars with real live examples that help you put these ideas into action. As a former owner, and now host of Holy Guacamole, listener have tools to help them become stronger, more resilient and healthy business owners. Profits and a good internal culture is key to staying in business. For a business to come to life some basics need to be solved: mission and vision statement, logo design, branding.

The Six Pillars System is the backdrop for this and future episodes. Refer to Episode 90 for detailed explanation. I'm Martha Lucius, your host and restaurant strategist. Six Pillars is the method we use for client strategy work. We think it's useful to reval in Holy Guacamole's Podcast. Restaurant owners need a method to create change, Six Pillars creates the common language for change.

The first pillar in the Six Pillar System is Brand Strategy. Each episode topic reflects one of the pillars with real world examples. Helping owners put ideas into action. If you are an owner the pillars become your tools — to help you become stronger, more resilient and healthy business owners.

Branding Design studio owner Kevin Kernan of GDLoft is a branding specialist. He explains graphic and philosophical elements commonly needed to build a brand. Listen and learn — about geeky logo details (and it's many forms), font selection, black and white vs colors, a brand book and a building a brand voice to complete a brands basic strategy. It's a geeky converation, but building an identity does not happen in an hour...like a fine wine, it takes time. Simply put, going through the process of creating your brand, you will solve many unaswered questions of how your customer will (or won't) interact.

Episodes are intended to give owners a renewed perspective on their business. In this case, it's the brand strategy journey your business can take because yiour branding is built to withstand the test of time and scaling into the future.

To kick off the third year of Holy Guacamole we start with Six Pillars of Success is a method business owners use to roadmap change into their business. The Six Pillars are

• Brand Strategy
• Financial Stability
• Operations
• Product Quality
• Avenues & Distribution
• Hospitality

In this episode Six Pillars is defined. Future episodes focus on each pillar, one pillar at a time. This is the method host Martha Lucius, Restaurant Strategist uses in her client work, and reveals in weekly podcasts for 2023. This method is useful for owners of cafes, breweries, bars, food based businesses and of course restaurants.

The podcast is taking a hiatus. Those listening know that over 100 episodes have happened since Jun 2020. The new content is going to take a few weeks, but will be delightful and well worth it.

Check out episodes you havn't listened to so far.

Maintaining equipment is like maintaining good staff. You can't avoid it, and you need to keep up with it!

When you run a restaurant you are hopefully beyond the stage when you think you can do it all yourself. Maybe you are even beyond the belief that your staff should have monthly cleaning log that includes maintaining equipment. Like any good tool is remains good when you maintain it, and that may mean calling a HVAC company to set up a quarterly cleaning and maintainance plan; and a restaurant equipment company to set up a quarterly cleaning and maintainance plan. They will detect issues that will stop you from closing because a piece of equipment is down. It's an insurance policy that truly gives back.

Consider a quarterly plan. Penny wise, pound foolish as the idiom goes!

How to staff a restaurant when shorthanded? This episode identifies not only hiring, but the necessary positive culture you want to nurture, and the ways to pay staff. It's necessary to have different practices for managers than for team members.

Applicants can be interviewed in zoom screenings and at Open Call. This may be an efficient method of hiring, and interrupts the flow of business less.

What owners pay servers and kitchen team members varies widely -- base pay, fixed or tip pooling are some of the methods. Knowing the living wage in your state is important to understanding what a staff member in grappling with financially.

Whatever methods you have in place for interviewing and hiring, we hope this helps you attract more good applicants and build a better team.

Anna Kent of Tom Cat's Kitchen came on this weeks' episode to share the business she is building. She sells plant based individual meals that can be purchased at Farmers Markets and through a subscription service. She is also serving at Roots Market and Brewing Good Coffee Company. Find her at 32nd Street Farmers Market and Catonsville.

The conversation of why she serves plant based meals was filled with her discovery -- reading, living in harmony with the world, and her balanced approach that plant based does not need to be adopted by everyone. She shares that many of her clients like to have this plant based meal as a choice.

She is now a student in college, a decision made possible by the pandemic. She is studying Environmental Sciences and enjoying the process, even though both her business and her studies require her time and attention.

This episode is an outstanding example of a person who set out with a goal and very intentionally has held to her original plan. If there are listeners out there that are curious about a similar path, of plant-based business, no brick and mortar business, a subscription meal business (without all the waste of meal services!) tune in and learn how this one woman chef has found her niche and is happy creating and being her own boss.

Our interview with Owner Max Lents of Baltimore Spirits Co was filled with so much interesting information we created a second episode. Listen back if you want to hear the origin story

This episode explores the other reasons to love Baltimore Spirit Co—their Shot Tower Gin, Green to Gold Brandy, three different amaros (and what makes each unique), their whiskey tour and their cocktail room. Wherever you are in the US—as a whiskey drinker or owner of a restaurant, if you wish to purchase this line of spirits, reach out to Max Lents to learn more. Enjoy Listening....

Our interview with Owner Max Lents of Baltimore Spirits Co was filled with so much interesting information we had to turn this into two episode. Our first episode dives into the early days at Baltimore Spirits Co — finding their niche, financing a dream, and becoming the first rye distillery in the second generation of rye distilleries in the state of Maryland. Their attention to the process of distilling will delight you, as will their nerdy search for the history of rye whiskey. This led the three owners — Ian Newton, Max Lents, and Eli Breitburg-Smith -- to create Epoch Rye. Not only did it raise interest among whiskey and rye whiskey enthusiasts in Baltimore; Epoch Rye gained national attention by winning Double Gold Medal winner at San Fransisco World Spirits Competition at the time of their original release. Enjoy Listening

Designer spirits from the heart of Baltimore MD at Baltimore Spirits Co -- check out their website

So many outstanding cocktail videos and just great posts on IG

Want to order? Want to know where to buy your owns spirits or take a tour? That'll be here for spirits and here for tours.

Let's scoot back to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79. Pompeii was buried under a thick layer of ash and lava. A thick layer -- 19 feet! Pompeii is the world's oldest archaeological dig. It was a gem of a dig! Archeologists began digging Pompeii in 1748. Because of this volcanic ash blanket, scientists were able to see, literally what people were eating and drinking the moment the volcano blew. Remember your World Civ class we learned about the intact frescos and sculpture. This exploration is how "fast food" counters were held in tact…They were called thermopolia. They were for the poor and working class. The rich were fond of parties in their home--as if a series of catering events.

One quick note. Several of Holy Guacamole's listeners say the history of hospitality, laid out, is giving them perspective. Perspective on how they run their business, how they craft their menu, and how they craft the experience a guest has. Feel free to share your thoughts and reflections in a review, or email me, Martha Lucius, directly. If you need to infuse a bit of ancient history into your modern day reataurant, bar or cafe, you know I am always up for a project. Reach out. I am happy to help today's founders and established restaurant owners. You are all doing remarkable work.