Restaurant Rockstars Podcast

Your restaurant is busy, but where’s the profit?

In Episode 506 of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, Roger Beaudoin welcomes Ami Alexander of Barrel Aged Management to discuss restaurant profitability, rising labor costs, employee retention, menu pricing, and genuine hospitality.

Drawing on her restaurant and hotel operating experience, Ami shares how thoughtful staffing, structured training, and ongoing employee development can help operators build stronger teams while maintaining service standards.

You’ll hear:

• How to align labor costs with guest volume and service expectations

• Why hiring for attitude requires a commitment to training

• How independent restaurants can give great employees reasons to stay

• Why menu costing and product mix should guide pricing decisions

• How cross-training and a welcoming arrival improve the guest experience

• How to keep your restaurant concept relevant

• Where AI could reduce administrative work and create more time for hospitality

A full dining room doesn’t automatically mean a healthy bottom line. Listen for practical perspectives on protecting restaurant margins while delivering the quality and service guests expect.

How is your restaurant doing? Get the FREE Prime Cost Score Card to calculate your prime cost and see how your restaurant measures up:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com

Explore the Profitable Restaurant Operator Academy:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

Sponsors:

Forward Financing

Restaurants always need Capital when THEY need it! Problem is you don’t have time to wait, you need the cash now! Forward Financing has funded more than $5.4 billion to over 100,000 small businesses, and 10,000 restaurants just like yours. Forward funds anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000, often with same-day FUNDING. Head to https://go.forwardfinancing.com/restaurants?utm_campaign=53259160-Restaurant%20Rockstars&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Audio

Yelp Host

In a busy restaurant missed calls mean missed sales opportunities. Yelp Host is an AI phone answering service that handles reservations, waitlists, and takeout orders 24/7. Yelp Host Speaks 17 languages, handles multiple simultaneous calls, answers questions, books tables and sends everything right to your kitchen. GO TO business.yelp.com/rockstars

Smithfield Culinary

Smithfield knows that to meat lovers, a great serving of their favorite cut is so much more than just food. It’s an experience. That’s why they’re committed to offering your restaurant the perfect protein for every dish at every daypart. When you partner with Smithfield, you will serve what you love…and your hungry, carnivorous patrons will love what you serve. For more information or to order products, visit http://smithfieldculinary.com/smithfield

Restaurant profits don't disappear in one place. They leak through labor, food cost, poor systems, weak training, and missed opportunities.

In this episode of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, Roger Beaudoin sits down with restaurant industry veteran Matt “Walls” Walls, whose career has included Domino’s, CKE Restaurants, Caribou Coffee, Roti, and Edible Brands.

Matt breaks down the operating systems he uses to build stronger restaurant teams, control labor and food costs, protect margins, and create a better guest experience.

You'll discover how to:

• Control restaurant labor hour by hour

• Find hidden labor waste between peak shifts

• Improve food cost through portion control and smarter SKUs

• Create value without constantly discounting

• Build a deeper bench of restaurant leaders

• Recruit people for careers instead of simply filling jobs

• Turn frontline employees into a source of new ideas

• Improve onboarding and employee retention

• Use AI to uncover trends and opportunities faster

• Use technology without replacing human hospitality

Matt also shares how a frontline employee's idea became a successful Roti menu item and why some of the best innovations in a restaurant can come directly from the people working in the stores.

And when it comes to AI, Matt has a clear philosophy: use technology behind the scenes to make the business smarter while keeping the guest experience authentic and human.

If you're a restaurant owner, operator, general manager, or hospitality leader looking for practical ways to run a more profitable restaurant, this episode is packed with ideas you can put to work.

Subscribe to Restaurant Rockstars for more restaurant business, leadership, marketing and profitability strategies.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Smithfield Culinary: Smithfield knows that to meat lovers, a great serving of their favorite cut is so much more than just food. It’s an experience. That’s why they’re committed to offering your restaurant the perfect protein for every dish at every daypart. When you partner with Smithfield, you will serve what you love…and your hungry, carnivorous patrons will love what you serve. For more information or to order products, visit http://smithfieldculinary.com/smithfield

Yelp Host: In a busy restaurant missed calls mean missed sales opportunities. Yelp Host is an AI phone answering service that handles reservations, waitlists, and takeout orders 24/7. Yelp Host Speaks 17 languages, handles multiple simultaneous calls, answers questions, books tables and sends everything right to your kitchen. GO TO business.yelp.com/rockstars

Forward Financing: Restaurants always need Capital when THEY need it! Problem is you don’t have time to wait, you need the cash now! Forward Financing has funded more than $5.4 billion to over 100,000 small businesses, and 10,000 restaurants just like yours. Forward funds anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000, often with same-day FUNDING. Head to https://go.forwardfinancing.com/restaurants?utm_campaign=53259160-Restaurant%20Rockstars&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Audio

What if your restaurant is losing revenue every time the phone rings?

During a busy shift, an unanswered call could mean a missed reservation, takeout order, catering inquiry, or private event opportunity.

In this episode of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, Roger Beaudoin speaks with Cliff Cate, Yelp for Restaurants, about how AI-powered restaurant tools can capture more sales while freeing employees to focus on the guests directly in front of them.

Cliff explains how Yelp Host can answer multiple calls simultaneously, provide restaurant information, manage reservations and wait-list questions, and take commission-free food orders through POS integrations. It can also support conversations in 17 languages while maintaining the voice, tone, and personality of the restaurant.

You’ll discover:

Why unanswered calls represent missed revenue

How AI is changing restaurant discovery

Why your Yelp profile, hours, menu, and restaurant details must remain current

How voice AI can manage reservations, wait lists, and takeout orders

How restaurants can customize the AI host to reflect their brand

How call transcripts, summaries, and analytics reveal what guests want

Why restaurant AI can strengthen hospitality instead of replacing it

How Yelp Guest Manager and Yelp Host work together

What operators can expect during the onboarding process

According to Cliff, approximately 70% of the restaurant calls analyzed by Yelp are connected to revenue-generating activities. Yelp has also seen some customers increase their takeout volume by more than 20%.

Learn more about Yelp Host:

https://business.yelp.com/rockstars

Learn more about The Profitable Restaurant Operator Academy:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

This episode is sponsored by:

Forward Financing

Restaurants need capital when they need it, and operators do not always have time to wait. Forward Financing has funded more than $5.4 billion to over 100,000 small businesses, including 10,000 restaurants. Forward provides funding from $5,000 to $500,000, often with same-day funding.

Learn more:

https://go.forwardfinancing.com/restaurants?utm_campaign=53259160-Restaurant%20Rockstars&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Audio

Yelp Host

In a busy restaurant, missed calls mean missed sales opportunities. Yelp Host is an AI phone-answering service that handles reservations, wait lists, and takeout orders 24/7. It speaks 17 languages, handles multiple simultaneous calls, answers questions, books tables, and sends orders directly to your kitchen.

Learn more:

https://business.yelp.com/rockstars

Smithfield Culinary

Smithfield knows that, to meat lovers, a great serving of their favorite cut is more than food. It is an experience. That is why Smithfield Culinary is committed to offering restaurants the perfect protein for every dish and every daypart. When you partner with Smithfield, you serve what you love, and your guests will love what you serve.

For more information or to order products, visit:

https://smithfieldculinary.com/smithfield

Why do great employees quit, average employees stay, and high performers suddenly stop performing?

In this episode of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, Roger Beaudoin speaks with leadership and performance expert Dre Baldwin about building stronger restaurant teams, creating accountability, and inspiring consistent performance.

Dre explains why discipline is more dependable than motivation and how structure helps employees consistently meet your restaurant’s standards. You’ll learn how to “trust but verify” without micromanaging, motivate and retain Gen Z employees, and create a workplace where people feel recognized and valued.

Roger and Dre also discuss:

How to create accountability without micromanaging

Why leaders need to understand what motivates each employee

The difference between delegation and empowerment

Why talented employees reach performance plateaus

How recognition can improve performance and retention

Why restaurant systems should not depend on one key person

How stronger systems protect the guest experience

How Dre’s Work On Your Game® philosophy applies to restaurant leadership

Dre Baldwin is the founder of Work On Your Game®, a system used by executives and organizations to install discipline, decision-making structure, and execution reliability. A 4x TEDx speaker and 43-time author, he helps leaders operate with clarity, authority, and measurable results.

Build a stronger and more profitable restaurant with The Profitable Restaurant Operator Academy:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Yelp Host helps busy restaurants answer calls, manage reservations and waitlists, answer customer questions, and take commission-free takeout orders using AI.

https://business.yelp.com/rockstars

Smithfield Culinary offers proteins for every dish and daypart, including bacon, ham, sausage, chorizo, and more.

https://smithfieldculinary.com/smithfield

Forward Financing provides eligible restaurant operators with access to business funding ranging from $5,000 to $500,000.

https://go.forwardfinancing.com/restaurants

Finding good restaurant employees is hard. Keeping them can be even harder.

In this episode of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, Roger sits down with Tom Kilby of Vanteo to talk about what it really takes to build a restaurant team that stays.

They dig into smarter recruiting strategies, better onboarding, creating a culture people want to be part of, developing employees from within, and why restaurant operators need to think beyond simply filling the next open position.

You’ll discover practical ideas for:

• Recruiting restaurant employees beyond traditional job boards

• Creating a stronger onboarding experience

• Setting expectations from day one

• Improving employee retention and workplace culture

• Developing and promoting your best people

• Building a longer-term staffing strategy

If staffing challenges are costing your restaurant time, money and momentum, this episode will give you a different way to think about building your team.

A special thank you to our sponsor, Smithfield Culinary.

Smithfield Culinary serves up perfect proteins for every dish, every daypart, like Smithfield’s new Ready to Eat Select Bacon, new Ground Chorizo, or the broadest portfolio of pork. When you partner with Smithfield, you serve what you love and your guests will love what you serve.

To order or learn more:

https://smithfieldculinary.com/smithfield

🎓 Ready to build a stronger, more profitable restaurant?

Join The Profitable Restaurant Operator Academy for proven systems, tools and training to help you improve your team, operations and bottom line:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

Subscribe to the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast for more restaurant management, leadership, operations and profitability strategies.

What if one of your greatest opportunities to improve restaurant profit has nothing to do with raising prices or cutting costs?

Greg Vojnovic of The Melt joins Roger to reveal the restaurant profit strategy many operators overlook: building a culture and operation their people can execute successfully.

In this episode, discover:

• Why financial metrics are often lagging indicators

• How operational complexity hurts execution

• Why The Melt avoids constantly adding limited-time offers

• How cross-training improves labor efficiency

• Why strong restaurant cultures retain better employees

• How The Melt develops leaders from within

• How one location grew from $1.5 million to $6.1 million in annual sales

Profitability is not created only in a spreadsheet. It begins with your people, leadership, culture and consistent daily execution.

Learn more and join the Restaurant Academy:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMelt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelt/

Website: https://www.themelt.com

It’s our 500th episode, and I’m sharing 10 proven ways to make your restaurant more profitable.

These aren’t theories. They’re strategies I used in my own restaurants to increase sales, control costs, build stronger teams and create extraordinary guest experiences.

In this episode, I cover menu costing and profit contribution, prime cost, inventory, portion control, training your team to serve and sell, creating high-profit “cash cows,” generating additional revenue, recruiting A-players and recognizing and rewarding your best people.

I’ll also share some of my favorite real-world strategies, including the mug club that grew to 1,200 members and generated $75,000 a year, plus the recognition program that helped us achieve a 96% employee retention rate.

The big takeaway? Being busy doesn't necessarily mean you're profitable. Know your numbers, train your people and give your guests an experience that keeps them coming back.

Ready to put these strategies to work in your restaurant?

👉 Join the Profitable Restaurant Operator Academy:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

Here’s to 500 episodes...and to your restaurant’s success!

Roger

Smarter operations can mean more revenue, a stronger team, and happier guests. Joe Mikulich of EDO Hospitality shares practical ideas independent restaurant operators can put to work right now.

What if running a more profitable restaurant isn’t about working harder, but operating smarter?

Roger sits down with Joe Mikulich, co-founder of EDO Hospitality, to talk about the practical moves helping his growing restaurant group drive revenue, build a stronger culture, and create happier guests.

From smarter SOPs and staff accountability to beverage profits, hiring, retention, marketing, memorable guest experiences, and AI, this episode is packed with ideas independent restaurant owners and operators can put to work right away.

Want to build a restaurant that's more profitable, runs smoother, and doesn't depend on you every minute of the day?

Join the Restaurant Rockstars Academy and learn proven systems for leadership, menu profitability, labor control, marketing, and operational excellence. 👉 https://restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

Want to find more profit hiding in your menu? Take Roger’s FREE 5-Day Menu Margin Makeover Challenge and learn how to identify your most profitable items, uncover missed opportunities, and make simple changes that can put more money on your bottom line. https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/the-5-day-menu-margin-makeover-challenge

In this episode of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, Roger sits down with Kyle Peters, co-owner of Sexy Pizza, to discuss the operational systems that help independent restaurants reduce turnover, improve profitability and build stronger teams.

From employee retention and leadership to KPIs, inventory, labor management, marketing and community engagement, Kyle shares practical strategies that operators can implement immediately. Learn why checklists create accountability, how tracking the right numbers protects margins, and why investing in your people often delivers a bigger return than constantly hiring new ones.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why retention beats constant hiring

• The restaurant KPIs every operator should track

• How checklists improve accountability and consistency

• Ways to reduce labor leakage and protect profits

• Community marketing that builds loyal guests

• Loyalty ideas that keep customers coming back

• Why strong vendor relationships improve your bottom line

Whether you operate one restaurant or multiple locations, this episode is packed with practical ideas to help you build a stronger team, improve operations and increase profitability.

🎙 Restaurant Rockstars Podcast: https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/podcasts

Helping independent restaurant owners build more profitable restaurants through better leadership, systems and operations.

⭐️ The Profitable Operator Restaurant Academy: Practical systems and operational strategies designed to help independent restaurant operators improve profitability, performance, and control. https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy

🔥 FREE 5 DAY RESTAURANT MENU MARGIN MAKEOVER CHALLENGE:

https://www.restaurantrockstars.com/the-5-day-menu-margin-makeover-challenge

Connect with our guest 👉

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sexypizza

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexypizza/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sexypizzaco?lang=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sexypizza/

https://sexy.pizza

What separates great restaurant operators from everyone else?

According to Firebirds Wood Fired Grill CEO Steve Kislow, it starts with leadership.

In this episode of Restaurant Rockstars, Steve shares the leadership principles, accountability systems, and operational disciplines that helped grow Firebirds from just three restaurants to 70 locations across 23 states.

Roger and Steve discuss hiring great leaders, creating a culture of meaningful feedback, improving employee retention, tracking the KPIs that matter most, protecting restaurant profits, using technology wisely, and delivering memorable guest experiences without losing the human side of hospitality.

Whether you own a single independent restaurant or manage multiple locations, you'll walk away with practical ideas you can implement immediately.

▶️ Watch the Episode:

https://restaurantrockstars.com/audio/497-restaurant-leadership-profits/

In this episode:

• Hiring leaders who build winning teams

• Creating accountability through feedback

• Why employee retention is a critical KPI

• Protecting profits without sacrificing hospitality

• Restaurant systems that drive consistency

• Using AI and technology the right way

• Creating value that keeps guests coming back

Connect with our guest:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-kislow/

https://firebirdsrestaurants.com

🔥 If you're serious about building a more profitable restaurant, the Restaurant Rockstars Academy is for you.

Inside, you'll learn Roger's proven systems for leadership, profitability, menu engineering, marketing, labor control, and building a restaurant that runs smoothly, even when you're not there.

Learn more at restaurantrockstars.com/joinacademy.

⭐️ Thanks to our podcast sponsor – PosterMyWall

PosterMyWall is the AI-powered marketing platform built for restaurants. Create social media posts, email campaigns, event promotions, automatic reminders, and event calendars, all from one easy-to-use platform.

With millions of professionally designed templates and built-in AI, you can create high-quality marketing in minutes, no design skills or agency required.

Visit postermywall.com and use promo code RESTAURANT30 to save 30% on a Premium subscription.