What if profit isn’t a plan but a consequence? We sit down with James from Anglian Country Inns to explore how a rundown coastal pub became a 10-site group by betting on one core belief: look after your team like family and the numbers will take care of themselves. From codifying “DNA” behaviours to empowering general managers within clear frameworks, James shows how culture can scale without sanding off what makes each site special.

We trace ACI’s roots in simple, brilliant food and local suppliers, then dig into the operating model that keeps standards high across very different venues. The system is refreshingly clear: measure team health with retention and eNPS, measure guests with satisfaction and revenue, and keep business controls tight. When one pillar drifts, focus there without sacrificing the others. Along the way, you’ll hear how “Be More Beyoncé” turns reflection into a habit, why the right GM matters more than the right building, and how recognition rituals like “happy checks” make going above and beyond contagious.

James also opens the playbook on leading through hard moments. During COVID, ACI backed its people early, then rebuilt around sustainable hours, four-day weeks, and smarter productivity. The results speak: stronger retention, engaged teams, lower recruitment costs, and growth that outpaces price rises. We close with why they won Best Pub Employer under 500 staff and how better comms tools like All Gravy help scale a culture that actually feels human.

If you care about hospitality, leadership, or building a values-led business that still performs, this conversation is a masterclass. Subscribe, share with a fellow operator, and leave a review telling us which idea you’ll try first.

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.

Tommy “Tech” Giraux pulls back the curtain on how Honest Burgers scaled fast, kept the vibes, survived chaos (rain-soaked 600-burger giveaways, voucher meltdowns), cooked on a billionaire’s yacht, and is now using AI to free managers to do real hospitality.

Tommy Giraux is Head of Systems at Honest Burgers. He joined 12 years ago when there were 3 sites, helped open through the boom to 45 pre-COVID (now 39), and shifted from GM/Ops to building the tech stack that powers speed and consistency. He also helped pilot Smash + Grab after Honest crowdfunded £3m.

He explains:
◼️ Why 600-burger launch days worked (until they didn’t) and what he’d change now
◼️ How an Oxford Circus voucher fiasco became a live lesson in crisis comms
◼️ Why brunch flopped three times—and how focusing on “one thing done well” saved the brand
◼️ What COVID taught them about redeploying “superstars” and running 5-person teams
◼️ How an in-house AI bot (“Pickle”) cuts admin, answers staff questions 24/7, and keeps forecasting steady
◼️ What a billionaire’s yacht service revealed about standards, improvisation, and team chemistry
◼️ How stagecraft from his pop-punk band days still shapes pre-shift and leadership

Timestamps
00:00 Intro — Tommy Tech, 39 sites (50+ now)
00:12 Abu Dhabi billionaire’s yacht: building Honest on a boat
01:28 Culture at scale: slips, fixes, and values in practice
02:50 Joining Honest (2012): training at King’s Cross, opening Site #6
05:19 Launch giveaways: 600 burgers, rain, and queues round the block
07:14 Why the big giveaways stopped
07:40 Scaling 3→45→39: COVID whiplash and moving “superstars”
08:56 Brunch attempts (x3): great beans, bad fit—lessons learned
11:07 Smash burgers + Smash & Grab; £3m crowdfund; Liverpool St pilot
12:23 “Tommy Tech” origin story
12:36 AI at Honest: killing admin, boosting manager insight; the “Pickle” bot
16:00 Forecasting, personalisation, and keeping the human touch
17:42 Managers out of the office: from coaching to laptops
19:59 Into systems during COVID: best-of-breed stack and partnerships
22:17 Tech vs culture: what tools can’t fix
24:01 Hiring, first 90 days, promoting from within
32:04 The legendary opening team
33:44 Pop-punk to hospitality: stagecraft, confidence, and service
35:33 Wrap

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.

He's spent 30 years in hospitality and led tech transformations that cut costs by £300,000 while reducing labor by 10%, now William Connors reveals what the future of restaurant technology means for profits, people, and customer experience.

William Connors is a hospitality technology expert with three decades of experience across major restaurant brands including Popeye's UK, Burger King, Wingstop, and Noble Group. He was instrumental in Popeye's first 20 UK restaurant openings and has managed operations across multiple countries including Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. In 2023, he implemented Toast POS systems that delivered significant cost savings and operational improvements.

He explains:
◼️ Why the first Popeye's UK opening was "complete chaos" with 4-hour queues and staff quitting
◼️ How flying wine on private jets to the Bahamas taught him crucial inventory lessons
◼️ Why AI in HR is making employees more honest than they are with humans
◼️ How one tech implementation saved £300,000 while making servers happier
◼️ The hidden reason scaling from 5 to 50 restaurants kills culture and quality

00:00 Intro
01:27 William's Background - 30 Years in Hospitality
02:44 Popeye's UK Opening Chaos - When HR Started Breading Chicken
05:15 Scaling Tech Solutions - US vs UK Approaches
08:34 Meta Workplace Success - Building Restaurant Communities
12:31 Growth Challenges - How Scaling Kills Culture
13:52 Toast POS Implementation - £300,000 in Savings
17:15 AI in Hospitality HR - The Best Use Cases
20:17 Restaurant Tech Evolution - From Cash Registers to AI
24:33 Tech vs People Problems - Finding the Balance
25:28 QR Code Payments Debate - Tech vs Human Touch
28:31 Caribbean Stories - Flying Wine on Private Jets
32:17 Smoothest Operators - Which Brands Get It Right
34:28 Burrito Mama - Building a 58-Second System
37:40 Speed vs Experience - Different Restaurant Strategies
38:07 Final Thoughts and All Gravy

Follow William:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/theposdoctor/
Website - https://www.williamconnors.tech/

It's All Gravy Podcast:
⬛ Subscribe - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL-hf_wQY2h00bNnVSCzuQA
⬛ Follow us - https://www.linkedin.com/company/allgravy/
⬛ Contact - https://www.allgravy.com/

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.

It's All Gravy is about making frontline work fun again. We'll talk to experts about comms, ops, learning, AI and more - to create a fun workplace.

It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.