Robin Apel, President at Barmetrics Vancouver, joins The Late Night Restaurant Podcast to reveal how restaurants are losing thousands of dollars every week without even knowing it.

Key Takeaways:

The Numbers Are Shocking

• One restaurant was losing $600/week on a single item (Kahlua in espresso martinis) due to bartenders overpouring by just a quarter ounce
• 15% of draft beer commonly goes unaccounted for - that's one in every seven kegs simply disappearing
• With proper inventory management, most of these losses are completely preventable

The Real Problems

• Post-COVID brain drain has left many restaurants with undertrained staff managing complex inventories
• Modern bars carry hundreds of SKUs compared to a handful decades ago
• Restaurants think they're doing okay because there's money in the bank, but they're leaving massive profit on the table

How Barmetrics Works

• Uses barcode scanners and digital scales to track inventory to the tenth of a gram
• Compares actual inventory against POS sales data to identify gaps
• Provides actionable insights: "Here's what left the building vs. what got rung in"
• No contracts, no obligations - prove the value in one month or walk away

Wild Stories from the Field

• Caught staff adding water to bottles to cover theft (froze bottles to test - liquor doesn't freeze, watered-down liquor does)
• Discovered a broken beer line in a wall by swapping tap positions
• One client put theft footage on screen at staff party and fired half the crew

The Bottom LineRobin's philosophy is simple: "I'm not going to change your prices, fire your staff, or switch your suppliers. I just want to get you paid for what's leaving the building." For restaurants doing any volume, the ROI is immediate and substantial.

Barmetrics operates across North America and internationally. No contracts. Just results.

Learn more: https://www.barmetrix.com/

This episode hits home. After 51 years in hospitality, Tom shares how burnout shaped his life and why he’s leading The Burnt Chef Project across North America. We talk about mental health in restaurants, leadership, loneliness, and the simple things that help like saying thank you, or texting someone, “You’re awesome.”

You’ll hear real talk about empathy, the pressure to be perfect, and how small acts change everything. Tom’s story will make you rethink how you lead your team, take care of yourself, and look at the industry you love.

Learn more... https://www.theburntchefproject.com/

This episode hits a key issue in restaurants today. Tech adoption. Jay and Dominic sit with Jordan Boesch the CEO from 7shifts to break down the four stages of tech adoption from paper and gut feel to a connected tech stack that drives profit.

You will hear
• The four stages of tech adoption and where most restaurants sit today
• Why experience and intuition are not enough anymore
• How tech links to retention, labor control, and payroll accuracy
• Real results from operators who upgraded their systems

You will leave with a clear path to level up your systems, reduce waste, and give your team a better workplace.

In this episode, I sit down with industry legend Joyce Turchetti for a real conversation about what’s broken in hospitality and how to fix it. We talk about accountability, leadership, and what it takes to build restaurants that last. Joyce shares stories from the old days of New York nightlife, lessons from decades in the business, and the simple truth about why hospitality has to get back to its roots.

If you’ve ever worked a double, run a kitchen, or tried to turn a restaurant around, this one will hit home.

In this episode of The Late Night Restaurant Show, we sit down with Daren Schwengler, President at Specialty Beverage Solutions & Food Service Equipment.

Daren shares how he built his company from a $5,000 credit card and a single espresso machine into a coast-to-coast coffee solutions business. His journey covers the tough early years, the turning point that brought momentum, and how SBS now supports restaurants, cafés, and chains across Canada with equipment, training, and service.

You’ll hear practical lessons for operators on:

• Turning coffee into a profit center instead of a giveaway

• Why specialty drinks can add $30,000 to $100,000 in annual profit

• How training and preventative maintenance keep beverage programs successful

• The future of coffee in Canadian restaurants and why the market still has huge room to grow

This episode is about resilience, growth, and practical business insight for every foodservice leader.

Learn more about Daren Schwengler and SBS here:
🌐 Website: www.sbsolutions.ca
📱 LinkedIn: Specialty Beverage Solutions

Listen now and take away strategies you can use to grow your restaurant business.

Jay and Domenic sit down late at night with Chef Michael Guerrieri for a raw, funny, and heartfelt conversation about life in the kitchen.

Chef Michael opens up about growing up in a family of bakers, why he chose cooking over baking, and how simplicity and culture shape the food he makes today.

They dive into bread traditions from Italy and Portugal, the art of olive oil, and why some old‑school methods still beat trendy shortcuts.

It’s part storytelling, part culinary masterclass, with Chef Michael sharing his morning rituals, his thoughts on menu simplicity, and how a single great product can define a concept. If you love behind‑the‑scenes chef talk, this one’s all flavour and heart.

On this episode of The Late Night Restaurant Podcast, Jay and Domenic sit down with Karisa Marra from Square to dig into how modern POS systems are changing the game for restaurants.

Karisa shares her journey from working the floor in busy dining rooms to leading Square’s Canadian sales team, and she breaks down how today’s tech can give operators back entire days of their lives.

They talk about the real challenges restaurants face right now, labour, training gaps, rising costs and how tools like Square can cut chaos, improve efficiency, and free managers to focus on what really matters... people, consistency, and better guest experiences. Along the way, there’s plenty of humor, a few quick jabs at old-school systems, and even a wild idea for a future Square feature that might blow your mind.

If you run a restaurant, work in one, or dream of opening one, this episode is packed with insights and laughs that’ll make you rethink what’s possible in your business.

https://squareup.com/ca/en/point-of-sale

This episode of The Late Night Restaurant Show is pure gold for anyone in foodservice. Jay, Dom, and Beck welcome Alton Watts, from Sysco Food Services, and the conversation swings from hilarious stories to hard‑earned lessons. Alton talks about growing up as the youngest of ten in Jamaica, learning to cook at his mother’s side, and eventually moving to Canada.

He shares how he stumbled into the kitchen world, turned a dishwasher shift into a culinary career, and worked his way through Hard Rock Café kitchens, fine‑dining restaurants, and casinos before jumping into sales and leadership at Sysco.

The crew dives into what makes a trade show really work, from live cooking demos that pull people in to setting up booths that feel inviting instead of stiff. Alton explains how to inspire operators with dishes, not just raw products, and why energy and genuine interaction on the show floor make all the difference. They swap stories about blue plate specials, juicy well‑done steaks, ginger‑packed smoothies, and even how trade shows can and should drive real sales, not just handshakes.

Between laughs about Jamaican sayings like “sleeping policemen,” jokes about head‑shiners, and Dominic getting teased for his car‑washing side hustle, there’s a ton of practical advice. Alton’s passion for helping restaurants thrive comes through in every story, and the episode closes with a challenge to vendors and operators alike: show up, stand out, and give people something unforgettable.

LIVE Reading from an article from Ashton Media, The Late Night Restaurant Podcast.

In this late-night deep dive, Jay and Beck jam on the chaos and promise of tech in the restaurant world from AI tools to SaaS fatigue to why operators are craving clarity more than ever. They get candid about social media noise, future industry trends, and share practical tips you can use tomorrow. Whether you’re running a single shop or a growing group, you’ll hear insights that hit home.

✅ 3 Key Takeaways

1. Tech is messy but full of opportunity: AI tools and SaaS can help, but avoid long-term commitments until the market settles.

2. Social media isn’t about vanity metrics: targeted sharing into groups and smart content formats (carousels on LinkedIn, reels on IG) drive engagement.

3. Independent operators have an edge: authenticity and clean menus will win as the industry shifts back to local and personal.