The Pre-Shift Podcast

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

Alex Canter is a fourth generation restaurateur at Canter’s, the famous Los Angeles deli. And he was very early on the delivery and virtual restaurant game. Now, he’s a leader in the space at Nextbite, creating virtual brands with celebrities and helping small restaurants maximize revenue in the process. We chat about:

• The early days of food delivery in LA
• The growing pains of adding delivery to a decades-old brand
• Alex’s first virtual brand, Grilled Cheese Heaven
• The creation of Ordermark, and later Nextbite
• How to build a brand from nothing
• Fax machines
• And more!

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Meet Alex Canter

Alex is a restaurant industry innovator, in-demand speaker, and passionate advocate for restaurant operators and workers. He was raised in the kitchen of the world-famous Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles, where he and his team started work on what would become Nextbite. A fourth-generation restaurateur, the restaurant business has been in Alex’s blood for over 90 years. In addition to being the visionary and leader of Nextbite, Alex is active with the Techstars network and enjoys mentoring other restaurant technology entrepreneurs and occasional angel investing. He is a 2019 recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30, Fast Casual Executive’s Top 25 and a recipient of Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2022 Top 50 Power List. Alex previously led several technology ventures and most recently, Nextbite announced the close of its $120M Series C funding round led by Softbank.

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Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

Ghost kitchens are hot. But that doesn’t mean they’re for every operator.

Kristen Barnett joins us on this episode of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. Kristen knows ghost kitchens well—and after a stint at Zuul, she went to found her own ghost kitchen, Hungry House. We get into:

• Ghost kitchen myths
• When the ghost kitchen model is a good idea for an operator
• What you need to know to be successful with this restaurant model
• Why Hungry House is called an “anti” ghost kitchen
• And more!

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Meet Kristen Barnett
Kristen Barnett is the founder & CEO of Hungry House, a NYC-based startup that partners with digitally-native chefs to bring their culinary ideas into reality through the Hungry House platform. 

Kristen started her career in the New York City office of The Boston Consulting Group. She unfortunately soon began to struggle with her health after contracting Chronic Lyme disease and she became seriously ill. Desperate to feel better, she turned to dietary change to feel better and she had miraculous results. Determined to make a bigger impact, she left consulting to pursue a career in the food industry. Since then, she’s worked at DIG (formerly Dig Inn) where she was Director of Strategic Operations and led supply chain strategy, menu development and their food delivery and ghost kitchen business. Kristen then went on to join Zuul, a ghost kitchen tech startup where she served as Chief Operating Officer and led product strategy to develop a proprietary tech platform and multiple virtual brands. After Zuul was acquired by ghost kitchen competitor, Kitchen United in summer 2021, she went on to found Hungry House. Having borne witness to the explosive growth in the ghost kitchen industry, mainly with a commoditized and unhealthy product offering, she decided to found Hungry House in summer 2021 to create the first direct-to-consumer ghost kitchen company focusing on sustainability, diversity, quality & transparency.

Kristen graduated from Cornell University magna cum laude and is passionate about plant-based eating and supporting other women in the food industry through a semiregular women-in-food dinner series.

About 7shifts
Since 2014, 7shifts has helped restaurant managers schedule, evaluate, and communicate with their workforce. Our team is comprised of people who live and breathe restaurant culture and strive to help our customers simplify team manage

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
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Google Podcasts
YouTube
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7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

Customer loyalty has come a long way from the paper punch card. Now it seems like every restaurant has their own app, their own loyalty programs, and their own way to reward customers and keep them coming back.

We’re joined on this episode by Phil Crawford, the chief technology officer of CKE brands, better known as the parent of Carl's Jr. & Hardees. And we’re talking all things customer loyalty tech. We get into:

• Why digital loyalty programs are so essential right now
• What type of rewards programs are driving guest satisfaction
• How to use tech to enhance the customer experience—without replacing the human element
• The tech that will be common for restaurants in 2032

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
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Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
YouTube
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7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

How do you stay on the pulse of what customers want? By paying close attention. 

Mijo Alanis has found success in his career by staying ahead of the curve—opening a juice and smoothie shop long before they were as ubiquitous as they are now. Mijo tells the story of Beyond Juicery from the way beginning of his career, how they’ve grown through franchising, and the “bus tub” moments that have helped him give the people what they want.

In this episode, we cover:

• The moment that Mijo Alanis and his wife, Pam Vivio, decided to start a juice bar
• Beyond Juciery + Eatery’s early days
• Expansion through franchising
• How to step away from the day to day as you grow
• The “bus tub” moments that give you customer insights

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

About 7shifts

Since 2014, 7shifts has helped restaurant managers schedule, evaluate, and communicate with their workforce. Our team is comprised of people who live and breathe restaurant culture and strive to help our customers simplify team management, every single day.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
YouTube
TikTok
7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

As editor at Food News Media, Danny Klein has a 30,000-foot view of everything that's going on in our industry. So from curbside pickup to QR codes, to the labor shortage to loyalty, Danny has a ton of thoughts to share. It's an episode that's just packed with breakdowns, some hot takes, and knowledge bombs that you can take back to your teams.

In this episode, we cover:

• The different challenges facing both major brands and independents after the pandemic
• What advantages that independents have right now
• Emerging trends like the “next-gen casual” restaurant 
• Pandemic trends that will last—and what won’t (hint: QR codes)

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Meet Danny Klein

Danny Klein is the Editorial Director at Food News Media, publisher of QSR and FSR magazines. A graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, Danny spent more than a decade covering high school, college, and professional sports throughout Florida before joining Food News Media as the associate editor of FSR magazine in 2015. 

Big Ideas 

There is a ton of opportunity for independent diners to leverage loyalty programs

“How can you create a community of loyal diners, who you're giving them a reason to come back. And for independents, that opportunity is as big, or if not greater than it is for quick service, because you tend to have really loyal, guests, you have people who I've talked to, people who go to the same local place three or four times a week and have been doing it for years. It's generational and they've passed it down.

Maybe it's a texting program, maybe it's an email program, but just what are ways that you can offer that person something to join where you're constantly communicating with them, letting them know what's happening, giving them options to support you. And so I think there's a there's a lot of white space there.”

“Next-gen Casual” restaurants are an emerging trend

“So what this essentially is, is a combination of those two worlds, because you have a section of chains, basically in the full service space.

They operate in and live the world of being an independent restaurant and how they look inside the type of food that they offer yet. They are mid-size and they're growing. So they kind of are able to handle what's happening yet at the same time. Give the consumer what they want, and also deliver on some convenience and tech things that are out of reach for a lot of independence from a financial standpoint.”

Examples o

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Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

Brandon Poole spent his career building national restaurant brands at restaurants like Pita Pit, and now he’s using what he’s learned to help businesses do this same with his new venture, BrandGabs. In this episode, Brandon and DJ chat about the value in creating a brand that drives decisions, how to use it to create competitive advantage, and how to foster what Brandon calls “grounded certainty” in your business. 

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
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7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

The hospitality industry doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to work-life balance. Monte Silva wants to change that. After a successful run as GM from Wolfgang Puck led to burnout, Silva is determined to figure out how to run profitable restaurants without sacrificing himself. Now, he teaches what he learned to restaurant owners through his coaching business, #Restauranteur. Monte joined us on the podcast to tell us his story and offer listeners tips on how to work “on” their business, not “in” their business.

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
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Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
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7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

This episode of the Restaurant Growth Podcast features David Scott Peters. He's a restaurant coach and speaker who teaches restaurant operators how to cut costs and increase profits with his restaurant prosperity formula.  We break down what a prosperous restaurant does. How to find and train managers that compliment you and go through new ways to tackle a few familiar labor cost scenarios.

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is hosted by Dominick, “DJ” Costantino

About 7shifts
Since 2014, 7shifts has helped restaurant managers schedule, evaluate, and communicate with their workforce. Our team is comprised of people who live and breathe restaurant culture and strive to help our customers simplify team management, every single day.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
YouTube
TikTok
7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

The conventional methods of measuring restaurant labor cost—as a percentage of sales—are no longer enough to ensure success. One way to find success is to start measuring labor productivity—the number of customers your team can serve. We chat with Jim Taylor, founder of BenchmarkSixty, about why restaurants should be tracking labor productivity, the data you need how to do that and the huge impact it can have on your restaurant success.

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is hosted by Dominick, “DJ” Costantino

About Jim Taylor
Before going into business for himself, Jim had a long and successful career with Cactus Club Cafe restaurants. Operating in multiple roles and several markets, Jim took a lead role in both the growth and financial strategies that helped make Cactus restaurants a household name in Canada.

Jim is the creator of Benchmark Sixty - A one-of-a-kind restaurant financial optimization strategy designed for restaurateurs to dramatically increase their profit margins by understanding data, implementing benchmarks, and using metrics to improve productivity. This signature platform has helped hundreds of restaurants start on the right foot, land on their feet, or position for solid growth moving forward. It has also been battle-tested during the challenging Covid-19 restrictions.

Using a proprietary strategy, Jim and his team work with restaurant operators to navigate the new normal of the restaurant industry where everything from wage structure to menu pricing and cost management have changed.       

Jim's business goals are focused primarily on doing what he can to improve the overall state of the restaurant industry. Having grown up in it and witnessing firsthand the challenges it and the people working in its face, he aspires to make it better for the next generation of restaurateurs.

Ultimately Jim aims to "Change the way the entire restaurant industry looks at labor costs in order to protect profit AND employee experience."

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
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7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

Restaurant growth is the sum of getting a lot of things right: company culture, real estate, SOPs, and more. Lauren Fernandez has done it as a franchisee at Chicken Salad Chick, and now at Full Course, where she and her team invest in and help single-unit restaurateurs grow their brands at scale. 

In this episode, we chat about:

• making the right real estate decisions
• systematizing as you scale your brand
• offering the right benefits in a changing labor market

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by Dominick “D.J.” Costantino.

About Lauren Fernandez
Lauren Fernandez is the CEO and founder of Full Course, a non-traditional restaurant investment and development firm created for operators by operators that is changing the way new businesses grow their brands. The company partners with restaurants in the early stages of development to optimize existing operations, develop strategies for sustainable growth and bring the right investors or franchise partners to the table. Fernandez is a restaurant industry veteran with two decades of experience. She previously served as General Counsel and Head of Franchise Administration for FOCUS Brands and was Co-Founder, President and Operating Partner for multi-unit franchise developer Origin Development Group, acting as a strategic growth partner for brands such as Chicken Salad Chick.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
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7shifts Blog

Credits
Host & Executive Producer: D.J. Costantino
Editor: Fina Charleston
Producer: Samantha Fung
Designer: Jake Sinclair