FSR October 2023

FROM SMOKERS TO SMART TECH

INSIDE THE CAULIFLOWER CRAZE

PIONEERING AN EMPIRE

MEET FB SOCIETY’S IDEA GENERATOR, JACK GIBBONS

®

CRUISING CONNOISSEURS

PACIFIC CATCH: FROM SEA TO TABLE

SPICING UP TRADITION

CHEF IMRAN ‘ALI’ MOOKHI IS CRAFTING A FRESH TAKE ON SOUTH ASIAN FARE

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CONTENTS

FB SOCIETY HAS LAUNCHED OVER 20 BRANDS, INCLUDING VELVET TACO, SIXTY VINES, WHISKEY CAKE, MEXICAN SUGAR, IDA CLAIRE, HAYWIRE, SOB SLIDERS, TWO FOOD HALLS, AND MORE.

28 Pioneering a Restaurant Empire

Meet FB Society’s idea generator: Jack Gibbons, who is on a mission to create dining experiences never imagined. e Dallas-based restaurant incubator focuses on fun, culinary-forward concepts.

36 Lessons from Hotel Chefs

Blending culinary and hospitality excellence, these F&B experts are o ering up pearls of wisdom on operating at top kitchens in the lodging industry.

CHEFS & INGREDIENTS

13 Spicing Up Tradition

Chef Imran ‘Ali’ Mookhi is crafting a fresh take on traditional South Asian fare at his California restaurant, Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen.

18

Is the Cauliflower Craze Here to Stay?

From crudités castaway to culinary star, the cruciferous veggie trend is still going strong, say operators at California Pizza Kitchen, Black Tap, Milu, and more.

LIQUID INTELLIGENCE

23 Cruising Connoisseurs

At-sea culinary adventures o er once-in-a-lifetime sips. Here’s how to curate high-end, high-seas beverage programs aboard cruise ships, with insight from F&B experts at Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Oceania Cruises.

9 The Human Touch in Hospitality

Creating elevated dining experiences requires engaging with guests, argues Steve Palmer—founder of Indigo Road Hospitality Group and Ben’s Friends, an industry support group.

10 Gen Z’s Say Vs. Eat Gap

Despite being celebrated as the “foodie generation,” 61 percent of Gen Z has felt compelled since childhood to use food choices to convey their beliefs—which often conflict with actual purchasing behavior.

BACK OF HOUSE 51 The Power of Collaboration

YOUR TAKE When Ford’s Garage and a local auto dealer joined together in a unique partnership, the results were profitable for both. Here are some lessons

learned about the potential to repeat success.

53 Pacific Catch: From Sea to Table

ON THE RISE Born out of wanderlust, the West Coast fish house continues to expand beyond its 13 locations while staying true to its eco-friendly dedication and Pacific Rim-inspired tastes.

56 From Smokers to Smart Tech

BEHIND THE SCENES Smokey Bones Bar + Fire Grill more than doubled its off-premises business since 2020. COO and newly-named president Hal Lawlor shares his plans to streamline operations with savvy tech, kick off catering, and more.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

4 Highlights from FSRmagazine.com

4 Brand Stories in Print and Online

6 Editor’s Welcome 55 Advertising Index

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FIRST WATCH DOUBLES DOWN ON ITS RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

The breakfast giant posted double-digit revenue and sales growth in the second quarter thanks to zeroing in on guests’ dine-in experience.

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ACTIVIST INVESTOR STARBOARD VALUE BUYS STAKE IN OUTBACK PARENT

The hedge fund has a reputation for initiating turnarounds, particularly at Darden Restaurants and Papa Johns.

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SOCAL LEGEND NORMS READY FOR NEXT EVOLUTION

Fogo de Chão to be Sold to Bain Capital

The 76-unit casual-dining chain is gearing up for rapid expansion around the world. FSRmagazine.com/ Bain-Buys-Fogo

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Brand Stories From FSR

16 How a Celebrated

Restaurant Group Stays Flexible as It Grows

Flour + Water Hospitality Group’s playbook begins with a commitment to food and community.

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20 Tackle the Trend: Pasta

Pasta is a classic with plenty of room for innovation.

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41 How Restaurants Tie Marketing Data to Real ROI

Acting upon customer data insights can bring direct results.

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43 Making Memories

Appetizers are surging as consumers prioritize dining out.

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Who Made It Better? Chefs Sound Off

Chefs across the U.S. compete in a challenge to create grass-fed menu items.

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How We Can All Win

IT’S A SPECIAL FEELING, witnessing hundreds of restaurant industry folks gather together and make new connections while experts share their best practices for the bene t of everyone—even their competitors. And it’s especially rewarding knowing our team helped provide that gathering place and forum; in September, over 750 people attended FSR ’s NextGen Summit and QSR Evolution in Atlanta. Panels ranged in topics from franchising and social media to hyper-focused menus and building company culture and upward mobility. On the latter panel, Steve Palmer—founder of South Carolina-based Indigo Road Hospitality Group—shared the journey of creating Ben’s Friends, an F&B support group that o ers hope, fellowship, and a path forward for professionals who struggle with substance abuse and addiction. Palmer was also recently featured on FSR ’s Restaurant Innovator podcast, and you can read a quick recap on PAGE 9

I also had the chance to sit down with Jack Gibbons, founder of FB Society, for a reside chat at the conference. One of the country’s top independent restaurant concept creators, Gibbons dishes on culture, evolution, and building a multi-brand empire in our cover story on PAGE 28.

Elsewhere across this month’s issue, you’ll nd insight on if the cauliower craze is here to stay and how it’s evolved (PAGE 18), how a West Coast sh house is expanding beyond 13 locations while staying true to its sustainability promise (PAGE 53), and how Smokey Bones Bar + Fire Grill’s COO and newly-named president Hal Lawlor is streamlining operations at the chain with savvy tech (PAGE 56). Plus, nd out how F&B executives curate high-end, high-seas beverage programs aboard cruises on PAGE 23. Turn to PAGE 36 to nd a myriad of advice on operating hotel restaurants from chefs including Fabrizio Schenardi of Four Seasons Resort Orlando, James Phillips of Fairmont Dallas, and more. And if you’re craving an inspiring story of a chef who is serving up a fresh take on South Asian fare that pays homage to his upbringing in Pakistan, ip to PAGE 13

One thing that was immediately apparent when I began reporting on this industry is how willing people are to share their tips and tricks with others, which ultimately propells the whole foodservice world forward. When one person gets a win and shares how they got there, we all can win—if we keep choosing to learn, spread knowledge, and maintain a healthy dose of competition with each other. at being said, make sure to mark your calendars for next September 4-5—we’ll be back in Atlanta for our second conference. Keep an eye out for more details in the coming months. Cheers!

Callie Evergreen EDITOR

On the Cover

This month’s cover of Jack Gibbons was shot by Kelly Williams, a Dallasbased commercial photographer specializing in lifestyle and branding shoots and media personalities. To learn more about her, visit kellywilliamsphotography.com, and follow her @KellyWPhoto on Instagram.

CORRECTIONS: “Late Night Done Right,” featured on the cover of FSR ’s July issue, as well as inside as a headline story, is a registered trademark of Fat Shack, Inc, and was mistakenly used without the company’s permission. Fat Shack is a quickservice restaurant concept created in February 2010 by Tom Armenti. The brand has 28 locations throughout the U.S. and has been featured on the Travel Channel and ABC’s Shark Tank

In the Chef’s Profile article published in the September 2023 issue of FSR, we incorrectly stated Chef Ryan Ratino hailed from a miner family. We apologize for this error.

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In addition to being founder, managing partner, and chief vision officer of Indigo Road Hospitality Group, Steve Palmer is also co-founder of Ben’s Friends, a support group for hospitality professionals who struggle with addiction.

The Human Touch in Hospitality

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

Creating elevated dining experiences means engaging with guests, says Steve Palmer.

STEVE PALMER GOT HIS START in the restaurant industry when he “randomly” ended up as a dishwasher in an Atlanta Chinese restaurant at 13 years old, making $3 an hour in cash. “I thought I was ballin'—I was on top of the world,” Palmer quips on an episode of FSR ’s "The Restaurant Innovator" pod -

cast. “I was the only English-speaking person in the kitchen, so I would get fed every night … with no real description of what I was eating, and those are some of my first food memories, because it was exotic things, and I remember very vividly, this is delicious, and I have no idea what it is.”

INDIGO ROAD HOSPITALITY GROUP

Palmer meandered his way through various positions in restaurants at a time where there was no internet, Instagram, or “Top Chef” to look to for inspiration. “I was a mediocre line cook. I tell most of our chefs they would have fired me at some point,” he jokes. “You would hear people say, ‘well, I’m just doing this until I get a real job,’ and you would hear that a lot, and I was like, I’m working 14 hours a day, this feels real to me.”

After moving to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1990, Palmer met his first mentor in the business. He recalls one Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p m., when he was standing by table 36 and the general manager approached him and said, “Steve, people go out to dinner to have an experience. If it were just about eating food, they would stay home and save the money.”

A light bulb went off in 22-year-old Palmer’s mind. “By creating joy for others, I felt a sense of satisfaction, and I could also get paid, which was even cooler,” he explains. “That set me on the course of enlightened, elevated hospitality … getting engaged with the guest, that I was serving some higher purpose other than bringing the correct order, whether it was the engagement dinner, old friends connecting, divorce dinner—whatever the occasion, that there was theater involved.”

It was Palmer’s experience falling in love with true service and hospitality that inspired him to create The Indigo Road Hospitality Group in 2009, which has since grown to more than 20 restaurants in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Washington D.C., and North Carolina. “Hospitality is an emotional experience,” Palmer says.

Additionally, Palmer co-founded Ben's Friends, a support group for members of the food and beverage industry. Founded in 2016, the mission of Ben's Friends is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction.

TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT "THE RESTAURANT INNOVATOR" ON ALL PODCAST PLATFORMS.

Gen Z’s Say vs. Eat Gap

Despite being celebrated as the "foodie generation," 61 percent of Gen Z has felt compelled since childhood to use food choices to convey their identity and beliefs, leading to anxiety and negativity. Recent research from Ketchum shows Gen Z's beliefs often conflict with behavior due to unrealistic pressures. An overwhelming majority of Gen Z says that sustainability, animal welfare, and LGBTQ rights are important factors when buying food, but they are not significant purchase drivers. Other factors like taste, value, and affordability tend to take priority.

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Chefs & Ingredients

Spicing Up Tradition

BY SAM DANLEY

Chef Imran ‘Ali’ Mookhi is making waves with a fresh take on traditional South Asian fare.

BORN AND RAISED IN PAKISTAN, Chef Imran ‘Ali’ Mookhi immigrated to Southern California when he was just 17 years old. His welcome to the U.S. wasn’t without its challenges, though. He moved to Los Angeles alone and spent his first night in the airport, then slept in storage spaces for a week until landing a job as a dishwasher at a local Indian restaurant. As luck would have it, the momand-pop business had a staff apartment that afforded him a place to stay.

at marked the rst step in a 20-year journey that would see him train under several world-class chefs before founding Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen and leading it to achieve Michelin recognition.

“Initially, it was just a job to pay the bills while I went to school,” Mookhi says. “Like every other Indian or Pakistani person, I thought I’d go into the IT eld. But as I started working my way up to line cook, prep cook, and all of that, this industry just kept my interest.”

After climbing the ladder at various restaurants, he landed at Tantra, an Indian fusion eatery in Silver Lake, California, starting as a sous chef and eventually taking on the role of executive chef. From there, he held top spots at several high-caliber concepts throughout

e Golden State, including Tamarind of London in Newport Beach, Dosa in San Francisco, and Tumbi in Santa Monica, where his contributions were highlighted in the Michelin Guide’s “25 New Discoveries for California” in 2020.

Food was an integral part of Mookhi’s culture growing up. While he was captivated by the extravagant presentation of other international cuisines in the U.S., he

noticed traditional Pakistani food wasn’t displayed in the same manner.

“I started thinking about how there was a need for high-end, upscale Pakistani food,” he says. “Being in the restaurant industry, I’d always have chefs asking me to take them to a Pakistani restaurant. ere are a few hole-in-thewall mom-and-pop restaurants in the Los Angeles area that I’d take them to. While the food was really good, the presentation was very traditional. e decor wasn’t there. e service wasn’t there. You’d get in and get out but it wasn’t really an experience.”

Mookhi opened Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen in Fullerton, California, in February of 2020. Breaking away from the con nes of a single country’s culinary boundaries, he drew inspiration from the rich tapestry of Desi cuisine found throughout South Asia. e farm-to-table restaurant o ers a culmination of dishes from Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan with a modern and elevated twist, served in an eclectic and elegant atmosphere.

e menu features familiar choices like Classic Chicken Curry and Smoked Beef Kabob, plus signature recipes inspired by traditional dishes that are

less familiar to Western audiences.

“Growing up back home, I’d eat these items that are available on every corner of every street in every town,” Mookhi says. “When you go to a Pakistani or Indian restaurant, you don’t see those items on the menu. Every restaurant highlights kabobs or biryanis or butter chicken. Nobody is paying attention to the street food. So, our idea was to take that street food and make our own version of it.”

That updated take on South Asian street fare comes in the form of dishes like Pomegranate Bhel Puri, featuring crackers, rice pu , peanuts, vermicelli, mint, tamarind, chili, garlic, and chutney. A standout item is Sloppy Kahn, made with chopped and spiced keema wagyu beef laid on gun-powder toasted pav bread. The dish is presented on a wagon with working wheels in a nod to the street carts from Mookhi’s childhood. e restaurant is 100 percent halal, meaning the menu abides by Islamic law and may be consumed by practicing Mulsims. at’s a key point of di erentiation for the steak menu in particular, which includes Australian wagyu beef bone-in tomahawk steaks and 24-ounce boneless ribeyes.

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FAVORITE DISH AT KHAN SAAB: Sloppy Khan

GO-TO COOKING UTENSIL: Fry pan

CHEF YOU’D WANT TO SHARE A MEAL WITH: Anthony Bourdain

BEST MUSICAL ARTIST TO COOK TO: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

CHEF IMRAN ‘ALI’ MOOKHI

DEMAND FOR THE ELEVATED DESI CUISINE HAS BEEN SO STRONG THAT MOOKHI IS GEARING UP TO OPEN ANOTHER RESTAURANT CENTERED AROUND HALAL OFFERINGS.

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How a Celebrated Restaurant Group Stays Flexible as It Grows

For anyone familiar with San Francisco dining, Flour + Water is an institution. Since its opening in 2009 in the Mission District, Flour + Water has established itself as a premier spot for inspired Italian cuisine with California-sourced, ethically-produced ingredients.

When the restaurant first opened, the goal was to create a low-key neighborhood place for the San Francisco restaurant industry and other inthe-know locals. Word quickly spread, however, and Flour + Water found itself becoming a trendsetter. Cochefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow have a well-defined approach to Italian cooking that continues to resonate strongly with diners.

“We want to highlight and educate ourselves surrounding everything in the Italian cooking tradition, and then apply that to what surrounds us here in Northern California and the Bay Area,” Pollnow says. “We place a heavy emphasis on classical pastas and pizza cooking techniques from Italy, but put our Flour + Water spin on it through our relationships with small purveyors. We celebrate the bounty that is the Bay Area as a food and agricultural center.”

Since the early days, the restaurant has grown into Flour + Water Hospitality Group with several complementary concepts that share the same commitment to community, culture, and sustainability. The group was a founding member of Zero Foodprint, a nonprofit dedicated to helping farmers implement regenerative practices. The thoughtful approach that Flour + Water

perfected carries through at their more casual regional Italian restaurant Penny Roma; their new flagship Flour + Water Pizzeria in North Beach; and their Flour + Water Pasta Shop that functions as a pasta production hub, neighborhood lunch spot, and ancillary dining room for Penny Roma.

At the new Flour + Water Pizzeria, the group expects off-premise ordering to be a valuable service experience, so in addition to a 75-seat dining room that operates as the Pizzeria, Pollnow and McNaughton created Flour + Water Pizza Shop. The space has a separate entrance and separate infrastructure to serve thirdparty delivery orders and guest pickups. “We wanted a quick outlet for to-go in addition to an uninterrupted dining experience for all of our guests, whether they reserved through [restaurant reservation service] Resy or tried their luck as a walk-in,” Pollnow says. “We created a space that has inhouse restaurant table service in the

traditional format, and then also what we call Flour + Water Pizza Shop in the back for to-go operations.”

Preserving the company culture during this growth phase has been a critical priority. “With the opening of Flour + Water Pizzeria in North Beach, we’re expanding our team by 60–70 people,” Pollnow says. “Whenever there’s growth like that, we want to ensure we are extending the same company culture that’s existed with us for so long into this new neighborhood.”

Flour + Water Hospitality Group chose to spearhead the team’s expansion by promoting junior management. Many of the people on the Flour + Water Pizzeria management team have been with the company for years. “We look at it as a very welcome opportunity to grow our team members’ careers,” says Pollnow.

McNaughton and Pollnow have built their values into the business, and they credit these philosophies with the successes they’ve amassed

Flour + Water Hospitality Group’s playbook begins with a commitment to food and community.

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over the years—from creating Flour + Water Hospitality Group to building rock-solid teams to becoming a go-to destination for global travelers visiting San Francisco.

“Our restaurant group, as a whole, shares the same ethos surrounding what we want to achieve,”

expression of who they are, and that brings another layer of confidence and control to the environment.”

As Flour + Water Hospitality Group set about hiring dozens of new employees to kick off the Flour + Water Pizzeria and Pizza Shop, the long-timers on the management team helped champion the company culture to new employees. The controlled chaos of the opening weekend proved how effective investing in culture can be.

“It’s humbling when we hear from our community that Flour + Water is an awesome place to work,” McNaughton says. “We don’t take that lightly and want to ensure that we are retaining that supportive environment as we grow.”

Word of mouth also helped cement Flour + Water’s reputation as a landmark restaurant. “We’re thankful for its success and recognize we are very fortunate to have such a loyal following,” Pollnow says. “It has become a destination restaurant for a lot of San Francisco travelers. We love having that mix of neighborhood regulars, locals, folks who have been coming to our restaurant for 14 years, and people who maybe heard about us through a TV show or other media outlet that piqued their curiosity to see what we’re doing on our little corner of Harrison Street.”

for private events, the majority of which are corporate in nature. Mac Malone, director of events and marketing at the Flour + Water Hospitality Group, says most corporate event clients pay with American Express.

Accepting American Express has also helped Flour + Water learn about its guests through detailed data insights. “It’s super helpful for us as a business to know where people are coming from,” Malone says. “We’ve learned there’s a ton of people coming from New York, for example. Each year, we take a look at the data just to see what’s changed and what’s stayed consistent.”

As for other tools in its tool belt, Flour + Water has used the platform Resy for the last few years to manage reservations and provide other valuable analytics. “It’s an incredibly intuitive reservation system that provides so much more,” Pollnow says. “In restaurants, where the margins are slim and the bottom line is important, we need that data to stay in business. Capturing as many reservations and walk-in opportunities as possible is so important, and Resy makes that not just doable but easy.”

Pollnow says. “It has to do with how people feel when they enter our properties, whether they’re our guests, our staff, or purveyors. It’s all about hospitality for us, and it starts with the internal team. We aspire to keep the environment as supportive as possible.”

“We were a little bit ahead of the curve in writing a culture book for our employees,” says McNaughton. “It became this amazing tool. We value our employees showing up as the individual that they are, and the

With the high percentage of diners who are travelers, especially those visiting from other countries, it’s important for Flour + Water and the group as a whole to accept a wide variety of payments. Flour + Water Hospitality Group has accepted American Express since the very beginning, when the original Flour + Water opened its doors in 2009.

Today, Flour + Water Hospitality Group also thrives as a host

Flour + Water Hospitality Group continues to find new opportunities to expand. The new pizzeria and pizza shop opened to rave reviews, and last year, the group introduced Flour + Water Foods, a line of dried pasta that brings the craftsmanship behind their restaurant experiences to the home table.

“We can dial in systems and have plans for whatever is going to happen in our properties, but restaurants are an ever-changing environment,” Pollnow says. “It’s exciting for us to take challenges and turn them into memorable hospitality moments.”

BY KARA PHELPS

CHEFS THOMAS & RYAN

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3. Nilson Report #1,235, February 2023. Transaction Size derived from U.S. year-end purchase volume divided by year-end purchase transactions, not from individual consumer-level data. Average Non-American Express transaction size includes Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and charge cards and excludes debit and prepaid volume and transactions.

“You can go to a couple of places that might have a couple of halal steaks, but there’s no high-restaurant that really focuses on that,” Mookhi says. “People really appreciate that we’re providing something that’s not available at other restaurants.”

In line with halal tradition, Khan Saab offers an alcohol-free mocktail bar. The program is led by mixologists Craig Nemeth and Ahmad Hosseini and features creative drinks like the Mango Mojito made with mango nectar, the Naswari made with caramel and spiced orange ale, and the Tower of Peshawar made with elderflower tonic–all crafted using Seedlip NonAlcoholic Spirits. Those options are available alongside more traditional beverages like lassi, a dahi-based drink made with a blend of yogurt, water, spices, and fruit.

“We didn’t know it until we opened, but I think we were the fourth one in the nation and the first one in California to start doing a bar with no alcohol at all,” Mookhi says. “We serve things like wine, champagne, beer, tequila, gin, and

whiskey, but they’re all non-alcoholic.”

Khan Saab was forced to shut down just a few weeks after it opened in February of 2020 due to COVID restrictions. The restaurant wasn’t set up for takeout or third-party delivery. That made navigating the early days of the pandemic a challenge. Mookhi says the business found its footing as dining limitations gradually relaxed. In 2021, it earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand Award, which recognizes the best value-for-money restaurants offering a three-course meal at a reasonable price.

Demand for the elevated Desi cuisine has been so strong that Mookhi is now gearing up to open another restaurant centered around upscale halal offerings. The project, called Shor Bazaar, has been under construction for almost a year and is slated to open later this fall in Hawaiian Gardens, near Cerritos, California.

“We’ve been nominated three times for the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand Award at Khan Saab, but the target of this new restaurant is to go for a star,”

Mookhi says. “Our focus over there is to bring halal food into an even more upscale, high-end concept. The menu is completely different. There are a couple of dishes from Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but it isn’t a Middle Eastern restaurant. It’s just a halal restaurant.”

For all the success and recognition he’s garnered since he first came to the U.S. over two decades ago, the chef is still influenced by his early days in the back of the kitchen washing dishes. Those humble origins provided a unique perspective that shaped his approach to leadership.

“I remember the owners, chefs, managers, and all of these people coming in and out of the kitchen, and nobody talking to you or even saying hi to you,” Mookhi says. “That was a big learning lesson for me. Now, the first thing that I do when I walk into the kitchen is go up to my dishwasher and talk to them. Starting from the bottom made me realize that every position is important, and you should be talking to them and acknowledging their hard work.”

AT KHAN SAAB DEBI CRAFT KITCHEN IN FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, CHEF IMRAN 'ALI' MOOKHI SEEKS TO CREATE ELEVATED SOUTH ASIAN STREET FARE THAT PAYS HOMAGE TO HIS UPBRINGING IN PAKISTAN.

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Inside the Cauliflower Craze

BY SAM DANLEY

From crudités castaway to culinary star, the cruciferous veggie trend is still going strong.

CAULIFLOWER HAS BEEN making its way to the center of the plate for nearly a decade, gaining star billing as a lowcarb and gluten-free alternative for everything from pizza crust and pasta to beer-battered Buffalo wings.

The novelty has largely worn off as the trend moved from niche to mainstream status, but when it first started gaining traction around 2015, traditionalists raised eyebrows at the idea of replacing beloved comfort foods with a cruciferous vegetable known more for

being overlooked on crudités platters. The notion of turning cauliflower into a substitute for familiar favorites seemed audacious and even laughable to some.

Paul Pszybylski, senior director of culinary development at California Pizza Kitchen, saw that dynamic unfold when the company became the first national restaurant brand to introduce a cauliflower pizza crust five years ago.

“When we first introduced cauliflower crust in the LA market, a local news channel covered the story,” he says.

“The reporter’s initial reaction was rather skeptical, but the following day, we delivered 25 cauliflower crust pizzas to the news station so the team could experience it firsthand. After trying it, the reporter tweeted a retraction of his initial doubts and urged everyone to visit California Pizza Kitchen and try it for themselves.”

The momentum only picked up from there, and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Spicy Cauliflower Buffalo has become one of the chain’s most

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN

CAULIFLOWER CRUST ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 15 PERCENT OF PIZZA SALES AT CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN'S TOP RESTAURANTS.

popular appetizers, and cauli ower crust accounts for about 15 percent of pizza sales at some of the chain’s top restaurants.

“Other crust options like chickpea, zucchini, and broccolini have a bit of a stronger taste, but cauli ower works well with everything,” Pszybylski says. “ at is why the product has performed so well and why we continue to make it a top priority for our marketing team…. We believe it will continue to climb in overall sales mix as more guests have the opportunity to try it.”

Menu innovation at gourmet burger chain Black Tap is guided by corporate executive chef Stephen Parker, who aims to “throw a nod back to old-school New York City luncheonettes” while “making everything interesting” and “sticking with the times.” To that end, the NextGen Casual chain last year introduced a Crispy Cauli ower Burger as an alternative to both conventional burgers as well as highly processed meat analogs.

“Everyone’s doing these fake, processed, soy-based burgers,” Parker says. “I’m not really about that. I wanted to come up with something we made ourselves—a real plant-based item that came as a burger and didn’t have all of these llers and engineered ingredients.”

e burger starts with a combination of cauli ower and corn that is tossed in Old Bay seasoning and seared on the griddle, then combined with powdered potato chips, serrano chiles, and potato starch. e mix is cut into six-ounce patties that are trudged in big-sized potato chips, fried, and served with corn salsa, pickled onions, cilantro, and avocado jalapeño crema.

Parker says cauli ower has several attributes that make it an ideal canvas for burgers and other creative uses. Along with the neutral avor and health halo, it gets a good caramelization on the surface when it’s cooked raw, and it doesn’t become mush immediately when it’s fried.

“I’m always looking for texture and crunches, whether that’s a salad, a burger, or a chicken sandwich,” Parker says. “ at’s one of the things cauli ower

really brings to the table.”

Black Tap debuted the item at its stores in Switzerland last year before bringing it stateside. It’s sold in Las Vegas, Dallas, and Nashville, Tennessee, and will launch at the agship store in New York later this year. So far, the company has sold more of the vegan burger in Nashville than anywhere else.

“That’s pretty interesting, because you’re in a town that’s known for hot chicken, smoked turkey, and dry rub wings,” Parker says. “We don’t look for these type of things to be blockbusters, but we’re happy enough that in a market like Nashville this cauli ower burger is really competing with a chicken option and with smaller burger options, and it’s not in the bottom of the barrel when you’re referring to velocity and sales mix.”

Connie Chung experimented with several vegetables when developing the menu at Milu, a casual Chinese restaurant that recently opened its second location in New York. e co-founder and chef tested an eggplant dish before landing on Sichuan Spiced Cauli ower for the restaurant’s vegetarian entree.

“ e execution of the eggplant was dicey,” Chung says. “It’s a slightly less forgiving vegetable in a large scale sense. Not only was the cauli ower more forgiving, but I also think it’s more mass appealing. It lends itself to being heartier and meatier. It retains its texture as it cooks in a way that a lot of other vegetables don’t.”

While Sichuan Spiced Cauliflower sells well for a vegetarian item, Milu is seeing even greater demand for other dishes starring cruciferous vegetables, with both the Charred Broccoli and Watercress Cilantro Salad ranking among the restaurant’s most popular items.

A surprise standout is the meat-free wonton made with broccoli and cremini mushroom. Chung says a vegetarian option typically sells about a quarter of what a meat option sells, but at Milu, the vegetarian wonton sells at approximately three-quarters the rate of the pork wonton.

“ at’s pretty impressive for the vegetarian version to be selling almost as much as the meat version,” she says. “It makes me think about when I was younger and I’d see a vegetarian option and say, ‘I’m not going to order that because I know it’s not going to be as good.’ Nowadays, it’s not a turno like that for people anymore. If anything, it’s a nice perk.”

CAULIFLOWER'S NEUTRAL FLAVOR AND ABILITY TO CARAMELIZE WELL MAKES IT AN IDEAL CANVAS FOR INNOVATION.

ZOBI NAQSHBAND / EVAN SUNG

TACKLE THE TREND:

PASTA

that uses a custom blend of the highest quality semolina. Its textured surface, formed by bronze die micro-engravings, also grips sauce for a full-bodied, consistent taste.

Although Chicken Pasta Rossa has been missing from Nordstrom restaurant menus for years, its reappearance is part of Chef Boyer’s tradition of serving dishes each month that spotlight the brand’s core supply partners. The choice for October is intentional, featuring Barilla in an effort to show the diverse possibilities of the iconic pasta brand.

“It’s about telling the story,” says Chef Boyer. “Whether it’s shared company values or products, quality benefits to the community, or nutritional benefits. Those are really all the core pillars in terms of the story that we try to tell with every guest interaction, and our supply partners have been really great about helping us share that story.”

Pasta is a classic with plenty of room for innovation.

IN A COUNTRY where Statista reports nearly six billion pounds of pasta are consumed each year, National Pasta Month is a serious cause for celebration each October. Whether as a staple comfort food, traditional family-style recipe, or canvas for innovation, the countless varieties and creative possibilities for pasta make it a culinary mainstay.

Diners and chefs alike love pasta for its familiarity and ability to become a conduit for various fresh ingredients and flavor profiles, both near and far from its Italian origin. With 96 percent of operators reporting delays in supply in the last year, according to the National Restaurant Association, many chefs are turning to classic ingredients like pasta that are widely available and perennial crowd-pleasers.

For Michael Boyer, food and beverage development chef for Nordstrom Restaurant Group, there’s a reason he recently brought back a pasta dish that was once a beloved favorite among guests of the brand.

“Pasta is definitely a comfort food; it’s recognizable,” Boyer says. “Whether it’s a bolognese or a cacio e pepe, there’s that immediate recognition where the customer knows exactly what they’re going to get, and they’re immediately satisfied when it hits the table.”

This October, Nordstrom Cafes and in-store restaurants across the country are featuring Chicken Pasta Rossa, a smoked bacon, chicken, and mushroom-infused dish that highlights a key ingredient: Barilla® Al BronzoTM Fusilli pasta. Al Bronzo is a premium pasta

The restaurant group’s core suppliers have been especially important the past few years, when many restaurants struggled to count on even the most basic supply deliveries. A partnership with Barilla allowed Chef Boyer to continue serving customer favorites without sacrificing quality or creativity.

This consistency has inspired the restaurant group’s chefs to try out innovative recipes with traditional ingredients, like using Barilla’s Classic Spaghetti to create a sweet and spicy soy mushroom noodle dish. Launching alongside the Chicken Pasta Rossa, the cold noodle salad features a seasoned rice vinegar and ginger tamari vinaigrette with soy-roasted mushrooms, pickled carrots, and peanuts.

“There’s always a lot to consider any time we innovate new dishes,” Chef Boyer says. “The best thing about pasta is the recognition, and really just how it makes you feel at the end of the day.”

BY ELIJAH LARSON

LASAGNE

Chef Michael Slavin VP Culinary & Menu Innovation

TRENDS

AND CREATIVE APPROACHES TO SPIRITS, WINE, AND BEER.

MENTIONED IN THIS STORY PRINCESS CRUISES

SIXTHMAN

Cruising Connoisseurs

Liquid Intelligence

TO SATISFY A VARIETY OF PALATES, OCEANIA CRUISES’ NEW WINES INCLUDE SUPER TUSCANS AND BORDEAUXS ALONGSIDE KOSHER AND FRENCH NONALCOHOLIC OPTIONS.

BY MANDY ELLIS

An insider’s guide to curating high-end, high-seas beverage programs on cruises.

AT-SEA CULINARY ADVENTURES offer once-in-a-lifetime sips and one-onone connections only found in cruising, since they set sail with specific selections of wine, spirits, beer, and champagne on board. Curated collec-

tions for multi-day experiences showcase bottles from the world’s best vineyards and spirit producers as well as meet-and-greets with makers and celebrity chefs. This immersion into high-end yet approachable beverage

OCEANIA CRUISES

programs increases revenue, ROI, brand awareness, and sustainability.

“We now have more educated guests who are very knowledgeable about new and upcoming spirits, beers, and wines, and when they’re on vacation, they like to taste things that aren’t available in their supermarket, wine and liquor store, or local restaurants,” says Sami Kohen, vice president of food and beverage at Princess Cruises. “Beverage is an exciting program we have for engagement with guests on board so they feel they’re on a unique vacation.”

Selecting top-shelf wines, spirits, beer, and champagne happens “at a grassroots level,” says Wes Cort, vice president of food and beverage operations at Norwegian Cruise Line. This means “having a finger on the pulse” of what’s happening daily in the industry

to elevate and innovate onboard experiences, like Norwegian Cruise’s sustainably-produced and biodynamic wines, rare vintages, and zero-waste cocktails.

“What we do is have those authentic relationships and collaborations with people on the ground,” Cort says, and that includes wine and craft beverage makers plus restaurant and bar owners of all sizes in different communities. These relationships present phenomenal opportunities to understand beverage insights that make sense for each ship, guests, and up-and-coming trends in the industry, he says.

Daniela Oancea, corporate beverage manager at Oceania Cruises, says the company looked through its sales data to determine what its customer base was looking for. “What’s appealing to well-traveled clientele, their demo -

graphic, nationalities, and preferences, and everything had to be realistic and catered to their needs,” she explains.

“Guests always remember what they ate and drank,” Oancea adds. “Our clientele has to feel comfortable, and wine lists and bar menus have to be approachable, and that’s what we accomplished launching the new bar menus in addition to the 75 new labels in the wine list.”

Oceania’s data across seven luxury ships showed the United States, Italy, France, and South America were top for “upper premium range” wines, so to satisfy a variety of palates, the brand’s 75 new premium wines include Super Tuscans and Bordeauxs alongside Kosher and French non-alcoholic. Oancea’s team also dipped into excellence in producers of gin, whisky, bourbon, vodkas, and premium cocktails from housemade recipes.

“Already in the first half year since we launched the new wine list, sales are sky high, guests are interested in the new wines, and we’ve seen sommelier enthusiasm to present and showcase the new wine selection,” says Oancea. “Our sales have gone up close to 30 percent, the selection is more versatile, and satisfies a wider range of guests.”

Refreshing its beverage mix every quarter is how Princess Cruises identifies exclusive wine, beer, spirits, and champagnes. It’s building from already sophisticated products, plus the company’s sommelier trainings and WSET certifications, and bringing wine and spirit makers aboard that lends to tying premium beverage to gastronomic experiences at sea.

“And then we move into our itineraries. We have 15 ships … we look at destinations as well as local availabilities,” Kohen explains. “When we’re in Alaska, we create a great Alaskan vodka spirit and beer tasting by teaming up with local suppliers not only giving an exciting opportunity for guests, but also helping local communities we visit.”

Close itinerary research shows the specific ports and countries “to help pick the best available white, red, and rosé wines that fit our menu as well as climates we sail,” says Kohen. “We bring

PRINCESS CRUISES

THE CURATED BEVERAGE AND GASTRONOMY—IN ADDITION TO COLLABORATIONS WITH TOP-LEVEL CHEFS THAT GUESTS CAN’T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE—ALLOW CRUISES TO LEVERAGE THE MINI-CITY ENVIRONMENT FOR UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES

these experiences while ships are sailing [around the world] for guests to encounter something they’ll never be able to at home.” is includes their 100 days around the world with 50 cocktails paired to 45 cities’ cuisines to increase engagement onboard.

Princess Cruises’ 360 Experience took 18 months of development for a Mediterranean-focused, local ingredient-forward, five senses tour through Santorini, the Amal Coast, Barcelona, and Provence. e team spoke to growers and reviewed characteristics of wine, spirit, beer, and champagne to solidify beverage selections rst, then menu pairings.

It’s depth of knowledge into guest pro les, needs, and locations that shows the path to scalability as well. “It’s not only a success to create a great cocktail or add a great wine. We have to make sure it’s price compatible, affordable, and people enjoy it,” Kohen explains, “because if you create something successful, you need to look for scalability.”

nd anywhere else—allow cruises to leverage the mini-city environment for unforgettable experiences, says Jeff Cuellar, vice president of events, marketing, community, and branding at Sixthman who partners with EBG and A21 for at-sea food and beverage experiences.

“What drives us to innovate is making sure our guests come onboard and take

partner with Sixthman for several-day festivals and feasts o ering intimate beverage and food pairings with celebrity chefs like Marcus Samuelson, Michael Simon, Robert Irvine, and Anne Burrell.

“It’s not just eating. It’s seeing, smelling, touching; it’s all of it together,” Cuellar says, “We’ve learned over the years people want these experiences and want

That scalability and innovation involves 365 days of product availability for consistency in addition to securing beverages several months ahead. It also means looking into volume purchase pricing, guest consumption stats, and space and cellar temperature considerations, say experts.

The curated beverage and gastronomy—in addition to collaborations with top-level chefs that guests can’t

home an experience they can share and say, ‘It was amazing. I was in Bermuda and couldn’t believe the Gosling family was onboard to share their story and tell us about their rums as we experience them,’” Cort says.

Norwegian selections curate connections and one-on-one meetings with makers like Mondavi, Gosling, Torres, Hidalgo, Ferragamo, Bottega, Johnnie Walker, and Dom Pérignon. ey also

to be more than a speck in the crowd. ey want to be part of it, and they’re willing to invest their hard-earned dollars because they know they’re not going to be 40 rows up looking at a jumbotron to experience it … this is going to be much, much deeper.”

It’s understanding the focused threeto- ve-night nature of the cruise venue while creating zeroed-in superior beverages and pairing perfectly with cuisine that matches the immersive, purposeful vacation experiences guests only nd aboard ships, explains Cuellar.

“You’re living the experience over multiple days,” says Cuellar. “As soon as you step foot on the ship, all the baggage and cares are gone, and now you can immerse yourself in what puts the biggest smile on your face.”

“Be open. Be adventurous,” he adds. “And think about it as leaving space for the unexpected, because sometimes you can’t plan special moments.”

“Our clientele has to feel comfortable, and wine lists and bar menus have to be approachable.”

SINCE LAUNCHING NEW BAR MENUS IN ADDITION TO 75 NEW PREMIUM WINE LABELS, OCEANIA CRUISES’ SALES HAVE SKYROCKETED CLOSE TO 30 PERCENT.

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WITH OVER 20 BRANDS LAUNCHED, FB SOCIETY CEO JACK GIBBONS IS LEADING THE RESTAURANT INCUBATOR'S MISSION TO REDEFINE THE CULINARY LANDSCAPE WITH FUN, UNIQUE CONCEPTS.

Restaurant EMPIRE PIONEERING A

FB SOCIETY IS ON A MISSION TO CREATE AND EXECUTE DINING EXPERIENCES NEVER IMAGINED

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

Jack Gibbons

is akin to the Taylor Swift of the restaurant industry; he can’t help but keep envisioning new restaurant concepts with fun twists, and has surrounded himself with a team of eatery enthusiasts who help bring his unique ideas to life. Yet unlike the Queen of Pop, Gibbons has managed to fly somewhat under the radar when it comes to the “big names” of the restaurant world—and he’s mostly preferred it that way.

The concept creator started off in the foodservice industry as a server at Pappasito’s Cantina, which is part of Pappas Restaurants, while he was attending the University of Houston. He ended up rising through the ranks to chief operations officer of Pappadeaux, the group’s largest concept—a Cajunstyle seafood restaurant serving pastas and comfort fare since the first Pappas restaurant opened in 1976. It was at Pappadeaux where Gibbons developed his leadership style and growth mindset; he successfully grew the restaurant from one to 33 locations across the U.S.

“While I worked there, I was kind of a maverick inside of an organization,” Gibbons says. “So early, I realized I had a lot of entrepreneurial skills, but I was doing it all within an organization. And when I left and started actually creating brands myself, I realized that I had a knack for working with teams in collaboration and finding good partners and really dreaming [of] what could be, instead of doing it for somebody else.” N

It was during that time period when Gibbons met Randy DeWitt, who would become his business partner at FB Society (formerly Front Burner Restaurants). DeWitt had developed a concept called Rockfish Seafood in 1998 with Chili’s parent Brinker International in 2001, which has grown to about 14 restaurants. Brinker was on the hunt for a president to run the brand, but Gibbons wasn’t interested. After chatting more with DeWitt, the duo realized they had to find a way to work together—which led to Gibbons leaving Pappas in 2008.

“What we saw was this opportunity of new brands and new exciting things to do that was really lacking in the environment at the time … sort of that aspirational brand that had better food and better design and better management that gave the customers a more experiential vibe in the restaurant, and let them actually like relax and enjoy themselves,” he says.

DeWitt co-founded Twin Peaks in 2005, a mountain lodge-themed sports bar which has rapidly expanded to more than 100 locations and counting, and is referenced by some as a competitor of Hooters. “So that was our first growth vehicle, and at the time, we had about four of them,” Gibbons said.

That’s how Gibbons went from running 34 restaurants with average unit volumes of $10 million per year, to operating two to three restaurants and entering into creation mode.

“There were no direct reports. There was no safety net, there was no HR, there was no marketing,” Gibbons recalls. “It was just really a couple of creators just trying to birth a restaurant brand to life.”

Gibbons and DeWitt focused their attention on improving Twin Peaks’ food quality, the overall operation, and the facility. “And next thing we know, that brand really started taking off, and then we started franchising it,” he recalls.

At the same time, the business partners began developing a restaurant concept called The Ranch at Las Colinas, Texas, which opened in 2008. But their first venture together wasn’t without its challenges. They originally called it

Cadillac Ranch, and ended up getting sued by another operator who owned a restaurant called Cadillac Bar.

“We learned the hard way that we have to come up with better, more creative names for our brands to get a clearer trademark,” he says. “So that's how we really started our whole naming strategy, and you can tell our names got a lot better from there.”

The duo called their next concept Whiskey Cake, which they felt was distinctive and paired together two things to draw a wider consumer base. The first location in Plano, Texas, opened in 2010, and has since grown to 10 locations around Texas as well as Oklahoma City and Tampa, Florida. The farm-to-table menu features whiskey cocktails and flights, of course, as well as mains like pork ribs and chicken and waffles, plus its namesake Whiskey Cake—sticky toffee cake with bourbon anglaise, spiced pecans, and topped with house made vanilla whipped cream.

Then came Velvet Taco, which was

originally going to be Taco Libre, but they couldn’t get a clear trademark on the name. The mission was to create a better, upscale experience with tacos in a fast-casual format, so Gibbons and DeWitt went with a name “a little bit more esoteric,” he says. “And brands tend to grow into themselves.”

“When we create a brand, we actually put together on paper why it should actually exist. And we create a whole document—it's kind of like the constitution of the brand,” he says. That document outlines the special DNA of the concept, what type of cuisine will be served, and who the customer should be. “By putting this all on paper in the very beginning, before you actually open the restaurant, you're able to teach off it and train everybody, and everybody really understands what the purpose is.”

Gibbons has served as co-founder, president, board member, and chief creative officer of FB Society since May 2008. Then in April 2020, Gibbons replaced DeWitt in the top position of CEO, while

DeWitt now serves as chairman.

ough di erentiated, all FB Society brands are culinary-focused, chef led, and uniquely designed.

Whiskey Cake, for example, features a smoky aroma when walking in—which could also have something to do with the brand’s proprietary candles. Picture over 200 whiskey labels and wooden accents.

Meanwhile, Ida Claire—created in 2015—has pull handle toilets from Russia, which Gibbons decided were a must-

have feature after knocking back a few vodkas at Café Pushkin years back. Velvet Taco is inspired by his visits through China, Germany, and the U.K., and has international dishes like Tikka Masala wrapped up in a tortilla. en there’s Mexican Sugar, which redefines traditional Mexican food with inspiration from South and Cen-

tral America and beyond. Its second location in Texas in Las Colinas—which opened in summer of 2020—draws its design inspiration from Spanish Colonial Revival, with crisp white stucco and dramatic brick archways. e layout includes multiple adjoining rooms, patios and courtyards, and was designed to accommodate private events of all kinds.

“

What we saw was this opportunity of new brands and new exciting things to do that was really lacking in the environment at the time.”

MEXICAN

SUGAR'S ROBUST AGAVE LIBRARY COMPLEMENTS ITS ARRAY OF PAN-ROASTED FILLETS OF BASS, BONE-IN PORK CHOPS, AND MORE.

Guests are meant to feel as if they’re stepping into a beautiful old home full of art, bold colors, and varied styles as they move from room to room. Popular main courses at Mexican Sugar include Adobo Grilled Carne Asada Fajitas, Brasas Chicken Tacos, Mesquite Grilled Steak, and Bone-In Pork Chop.

“I think when you create a brand, you want to have depth and tapestry to it. You want to have layers that are not always apparent at rst,” Gibbons says. “It could be the way the food is done. It could be something unique about the uniform—like at Mexican Sugar, the waiters all wear red shoelaces. It could be very unique like at Ida Claire, where the plates actually have a hidden fly-

see; Orlando and Boca Raton in Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Chefprocured accouterments feature farm aged ham and French-style salame with cracked pepper, plus a wide variety of seasonal salads, pizzas, pastas, and mains like rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon, wood-grilled bavette steak, and desserts.

Haywire is an evolution of e Ranch, which has locations in Dallas and Plano,

accompanied by white cheddar havarti mac and cheese and buttered cornbread. Design is also a key focus of Haywire, which features trendy, bohemianinspired indoor tents customers can reserve. The tents were implemented three years ago, after the restaurant had already opened, because Gibbons likes to continue adding new fun features to his restaurants. “We always reinvest back

Vines has since grown to eight locations around Texas, plus Nashville, Tennes-

with peppered bourbon butter to “Texas Plates” like Texas Whiskey BBQ Ribs,

into the restaurants to keep them interesting,” Gibbons notes.

“I think that's one of the reasons that they have a long life. e rst restaurant that Randy and I created was e Ranch at Las Colinas. at's coming up on 15 years old, and it's got a higher average unit volume than it ever had the whole time since it opened, and it just keeps getting better and better … that restaurant will do between $13-15 million this year.”

In 2017, FB Society’s Food Hall Company opened Legacy Food Hall in Plano, Texas, which consists of three sto-

FB SOCIETY (3)

FROM BUTCHER BOARDS TO SMOKED OLD FASHIONEDS, WHISKEY CAKE IS CURATING WOODSY AND SMOKY VIBES ACROSS TEXAS AND BEYOND.

FB Society Brands: A

The Ranch

CREATED: 2008

LOCATION: TX

Whiskey Cake

CREATED: 2010

LOCATIONS: TX (5), OK, FL

Mexican Sugar

CREATED: 2013

LOCATIONS: TX (2)

Ida Claire

CREATED: 2015

LOCATIONS: TX (2), FL

Sixty Vines

CREATED: 2016

LOCATIONS: TX (3), TN, NC, FL (2)

Haywire

CREATED: 2017

LOCATIONS: TX (2)

Legacy Food Hall

CREATED: 2017

LOCATION: TX

Son of a Butcher Slider Bar

CREATED: 2020

LOCATIONS: TX (3)

Assembly Hall

CREATED: 2021

LOCATION: TN

Twin Peaks

CREATED: 2005

LOCATIONS: ~100

SOLD: 2020

Velvet Taco

CREATED: 2011

LOCATIONS: 42

SOLD: 2021

ries and more than 55,000 square feet of space, enough to house more than 20 food stalls and ve full-service bars. One of those stalls was Son of a Butcher Slider Bar, which opened its rst brick-and-mortar store in Dallas in 2020 during the pandemic, which saw the rise of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Wagyu, chicken, and veggie sliders are complemented by waffles fries, hand-breaded onion rings, and handmade boozy shakes at the upscale fast-casual restaurant.

en in 2021, Gibbons and his team opened Assembly Food Hall in Nashville, Tennessee, which has approximately 115,000 square feet of room with nearly 30 stalls, plus a Sixty Vines on the roof and a roofed live music stage.

“Everybody has ideas. And the hardest thing about the ideas is actually creating a collaborative team of people that can cover each other's strengths and weaknesses,” Gibbons notes. “A lot of times, if it's just a chef trying to open a restaurant, the food is gonna be really good when he's making it. e problem is, if he's not making it, the service and the whole brand experience may not actually match up to the food. And it takes a team to actually pull that all together.”

Selling your babies

FB Society is as much an incubator for restaurant concepts as it is a birth place. e end goal, Gibbons says, is to grow certain brands enough to attract private equity or strategic acquisitions, while still retaining a signi cant minority ownership stake in each business.

In November 2021, Velvet Taco was sold for $300 million to Leonard Green & Partners, the private equity rm that helped Shake Shack go public— though Gibbons and DeWitt originally sold the brand to PE rm L. Catterton in 2016. e business partners are still involved and have board seats, but aren’t focused on running the brands day to day.

Twin Peaks fetched the same price when it was recently sold in 2020 to Johnny Rockets parent company FAT Brands, led by Andy Wiederhorn, who has recently talked about potentially taking

the brand public.

“We were getting close to a billion dollars for brands that we had created and sold twice. And so it was kind of cool to just watch,” Gibbons says. “We created national brands like Twin Peaks, and Velvet Taco is moving in that direction.”

Gibbons believes Sixty Vines, Whiskey Cake, Mexican Sugar, and Haywire will all be national brands, and some of those have broken out of the Texas market already.

“ e throughline is really, FB Society runs the brand,” Gibbons explains. “And once we feel like it’s ready to get into growth mode—it might be one, might be four units—then we start bringing in executives and a professional team to help scale the brand.”

“We’re starters, not nishers,” he adds. “ ere’s not a lot of people that actually create brands and turn them into national brands … I think we've learned enough to know that there's another skill level in helping it to grow outside, where it's infrastructure, it's higher levels of training, it's a whole other skill set to grow them.”

Je Carcara—a veteran of Del Frisco, Barteca Restaurant Group, Darden Restaurants, and Hillstone Restaurant Group— leads Whiskey Cake, Sixty Vines, and Mexican Sugar as CEO. Tim Timbs is senior vice president of operations for SOB Slider Bar. “And as it’s growing, we put more resources behind him to help him be successful.” Behind Haywire and e Ranch is Judd Fruia, who is working to grow from three to six units in the near future.

“While other friends in the industry seem to be trying to gure out growth, we have an incredibly strong pipeline,” Gibbons adds. FB Society is opening restaurants in Washington, DC; Charlotte, North Carolina; Reston, Virginia; Orlando, Florida; and more. “We’re in a great position that we’ve attracted a lot of good people.”

FB Society’s Food Hall Company has its own infrastructure, with CEO Michael Morris at the helm. “They’re putting together deals for the next couple of food halls that we’ll grow to,” he says.

As for the future, “we always have a couple brands that we’re working on in the back burner,” Gibbons adds.

MAKE SURE TO KEEP TABS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND REVIEW PLATFORMS, AND RESPOND IMMEDIATELY TO PROBLEMS BY REACHING OUT TO GUESTS PERSONALLY, ADVISES JAMES PHILLIPS, EXECUTIVE CHEF AT FAIRMONT DALLAS.

Lessons from

Hotel Chefs

With fingers in many pots, these professionals need to be organized, on top of trends, and work with guests and employees.

BY AMANDA BALTAZAR

RETENTION AND RECRUITING

To keep your sta around, treat them like family, says Rodriguez. “I try to connect with them and remember they’re not only there to produce, but they matter.” He also solicits them for ideas so they feel they’re contributing. “I let them lead. It gives them pride and a sense of ownership and that they matter.”

“In this business everyone is always looking [for jobs], so you have to create a platform where there is true growth and development,” says Phillips. He ensures all his staff have a good lifework balance.

He trains his staff so they feel valued and feel they’re always learning. He o ers weekly classes anyone can attend, such as learning about pork belly lechon and hollandaise sauce.

Phillips also encourages employees to pursue training at other restaurants, such as Alinea in Chicago. “We need the next generation able to carry on and bring back great ideas and energy.”

To nd new employees, chef Andrew Chadwick attends career fairs at the Culinary Institute of America, where he nds graduate and undergraduate workers. He also partners with visa companies like CIEE to hire workers from around the world.

KEEP NETWORKING

Phillips has lived in Dallas for six years and has built up a network with chef friends “that I’m constantly in touch with and bouncing ideas off of.” They

FIND INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE

Chef Manuel Rodriguez looks for new trends everywhere he goes, both at conventions and when he travels, but he turns to social media frequently to follow specific chefs and other people— maybe mixologists making cocktails or even watching what kids are making on “MasterChef Junior.”

But what inspires him the most is old-fashioned cookbooks, especially, he

says, “ nding old recipes and turning them into something new.”

Chef James Phillips largely turns to streaming TV shows like “Chef’s Table.”

“I spend countless hours watching these,” he says.

Chef Fabrizio Schenardi likes talking to non-professionals, especially those who love to cook, and when he travels.

“I stop in small towns and eat with local people. You can see, smell, and taste food cooked with love and passion.”

THE PLATES OF HOTEL CHEFS ARE STACKED HIGH. These busy professionals typically deal with multiple restaurants, strong banqueting business, and a clientele that’s aware of local and international trends. We’ve gleaned their best tips for operating at the top of your potential.

WHILE IT’S IMPORTANT TO CHAT WITH GUESTS, DON’T LET IT DERAIL YOUR DAY. KEEP CONVERSATIONS TO A COUPLE OF MINUTES, AND KEEP RELATIONSHIPS RESPECTFUL.

other and talk trends, what they’re cooking and eating, or help each other find ingredients. “People are your best resource,” he says.

With social media it’s also easier to stay in touch, he says. “I have friends I worked with 14 years ago and we still see each other because we share food and recipes.”

Chadwick finds the American Culinary Federation is a great resource to stay connected, network and gain inspiration.

COMMUNICATE WITH GUESTS

Having good relationships with staff is important, but so is communicating with hotel guests.

“You have to know who you’re feeding,” says Phillips, “so you get out with the guests.” Having these relationships is vital, he says. “If you build a relationship with your guest they’ll let you know how things are.”

And he makes sure he looks at social media and review platforms and if there’s a problem, he writes back immediately. “If someone has a bad experience I take it personally. I want to reach out and invite them back and make sure they get the experience we set out to provide.”

Chef Schenardi chats a lot with guests, but keeps it to a couple of minutes so his day isn’t completely derailed. “I keep the relationships simple, respectful, and if they want something they can call me and ask me to stop by.”

PURCHASE LOCALLY

Most hotel chefs try to buy locally as much as possible. Rodriguez procures his seafood from local fishermen and takes a lot of pride in it. “I don’t want to be a place with food from Sysco,” he explains. He works with around seven local fisherman and typically becomes their top client because he buys so much. And for produce, he works directly with local farms.

“I’ll buy the whole watermelon crop for the summer.”

Meanwhile, Chadwick picks fresh produce from Chatham Bars Inn’s own eight-acre farm. “We produce about 100,000 pounds of vegetables per year and it’s unreal.” In the winter, Chadwick

and his sous chef spend time with the farmer, planning what they’d like to see and he visits the farm at least three days a week. “We set how much we think we’ll use and how much he can grow.”

He tries to celebrate the farm broadly through his dishes and the farmer provides him with projection sheets of what he’s harvesting over the next three to five days “so we have an idea of what’s coming.”

KEEP KIDS HAPPY

Since Schenardi works at a Disney resort, he’s no stranger to children and serves over 100,000 kids a year.

Each of the six restaurants at the resort has a different kids’ menu and each features basics like chicken fingers. But he wants to challenge kids’ taste buds, keep them healthy, and keep their parents happy. So he often offers adult food in smaller portions. He offers something for every age group and during very busy times he offers a buffet for kids— a mixture of healthy food “and the food kids like to eat.”

KEEP ORGANIZED AND ON TASK

Schenardi arrives at work every day at around 9 a.m. and leaves at around 9 p.m., and his days are full. This involves talking with every chef, testing recipes, meeting with guests, working with purchasing, and spending time on the cookline.

To keep on task, he’s old school. He keeps a small diary in his pocket and details every hour. “I know exactly where I need to go and I don’t like these alarms that go off if you use technology,” he says. “Then if people talk to me I tell them ‘let’s connect in an hour because I only have two minutes and need to be somewhere.’” And, he adds, “sometimes you just have to say no. Because if not, if you keep saying yes to everybody and you’re not doing your job.”

And to avoid getting distracted by the constant pings of his phone, he does a quick look at texts to make sure they’re not urgent, then sets aside time in the early morning and late afternoon to go through anything that’s come in.

JAMES PHILLIPS Executive chef, Fairmont Dallas

FABRIZIO SCHENARDI

Executive chef, Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, Fla.

ANDREW CHADWICK Executive chef, Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham, Mass.

MANUEL RODRIGUEZ Corporate director of food and beverage, Innisfree Hotels

How Restaurants Tie Marketing and Data to Real ROI

OPERATORS CAN SEE DIRECT RESULTS WHEN THEY PUT CUSTOMER DATA INSIGHTS INTO ACTION.

THE WAYS THAT DINERS DISCOVER RESTAURANTS ARE EVOLVING.

Today’s operators are evolving too, creating new strategies to reach their guests, understand their wants and needs, and using that information to get them to come back to their restaurants.

Restaurants now have to stay on top of more data than ever, and guest experience platforms like SevenRooms aim to help. FSR sat down with SevenRooms CMO Josh Todd to learn more.

HOW CAN RESTAURANTS ENSURE THEIR MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING DRIVES RESULTS?

Consumers are discovering restaurants in many different ways today—and operators need to develop omnichannel marketing strategies that ensure they are showing up where their customers are. It is not enough to rely on third-party reservation apps alone to drive covers. Restaurants must take control, which means prioritizing where and how they show up. For example, 33 percent of consumers are discovering restaurants on Google and another 29 percent on social media, so ensuring Reserve buttons are set up is a great first step. Once you’re across these channels, the key is leveraging a platform that makes it easy to capture data, automatically tying it back into proven marketing channels, like email.

At SevenRooms, we help restaurants bring in new diners while also helping them make more money from those dining experiences through more effective marketing and improved upsell opportunities throughout the customer journey. A diversified strategy puts them in control of their business and brand, while helping them understand which levers to pull to generate real ROI.

HOW CAN RESTAURANT OPERATORS SET THEMSELVES UP FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS?

Direct relationships are critical, as they enable operators to collect first-party data, like the number of guest visits, spend or order history, to create targeted campaigns. By leveraging automated email marketing tied into the guest database

the restaurant can set up campaigns to send messages that automatically generate revenue while operators focus on providing incredible customer experiences.

Let’s say somebody comes in, and the restaurant learns they love Barolo. Using that information, a restaurant can create audiences of similar diners to set up a relevant marketing campaign promoting a future wine-tasting event. With SevenRooms, restaurants can use email marketing to not only communicate their offerings to guests, but as a proven revenue-driving acquisition channel. So they can know how many of their wine spenders are buying tickets to the tasting event or visiting to purchase a bottle of wine again.

WHAT SETS SEVENROOMS APART FROM OTHER AVAILABLE TOOLS?

From May to August 2023, our customers generated $1.3M by leveraging our email marketing product. These are dollars they wouldn’t have made or been able to easily tie back to direct ROI in the past.

We also just released a restaurant revenue management solution. It assesses a restaurant’s data to help optimize availability, increase table utilization, and generate more covers and revenue. Operators can make more money from the same seats, use data to validate trends, and save time with ready-to-use actions.

We’re in the business of helping restaurants make money so they can do what they do best—create amazing guest experiences. u

Trending on the Menu

Making Memories

OCTOBER 2023 // Appetizers

CONSUMER PREFERENCES ARE SHIFTING TOWARD EATING SHAREABLES AND APPETIZERS AS SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF THE MEAL.

Appetizers are surging as consumers prioritize dining out.

BY KARA PHELPS

STORY // 44

Unforgettable Flavors

DATA // 48

By the Numbers

Crafting Memorable Flavors and Experiences

Restaurant operators can generate menu excitement with minimal labor.

As the restaurant industry bounces back from a chaotic few years, consumers are prioritizing the experience of dining out. They’re looking to make memories with their loved ones in unique environments with unforgettable flavors—and shareable menu items and appetizers play a key role.

“Consumers are eager to get back to

their favorite foodservice experience, like shareable bites and global flavors,” says Michael Castagna, vice president of foodservice marketing for Ajinomoto Foods North America . “The appetizer menu is a great place for innovation, to drive consumer traffic, and also menu differentiation.”

The popularity of appetizers is on the

rise, especially among younger generations. “Consumer preferences are really skewing more toward appetizers and shareables as the meal, or as a significant portion of the meal, versus individual entrees for everyone in the group,” Castagna says. According to Toast, 23 percent of Gen Z enjoys eating appetizers, shareables, and snacks as meals.

“Global flavors and comfort foods both have really strong growth trajectories in the shareable appetizer space.”

Chef-Inspired Appetizers & bites

Crazy good bites from Revel Eats®—crafted with gastropubstyle ingredients! Easy to prep and serve for dine-in, takeout, or delivery, our premium appetizers include Queso Loaded Tots, Creamy Mango Habanero Bites, Guacamole Bites, and NEW Horchata Bites, a cinnamon-vanilla sensation offering bite-size bliss with a Latin twist.

Crispy, craveable, and trend-forward, these bites offer irresistible flavor that will redefine menus. The Next Generation of Apps & Bites Has Arrived.

AjinomotoFoodservice.com

Queso Loaded Tots

Creamy Mango Habanero Bites

Guacamole Bites

Horchata Bites Scan

Consumers enjoy the social aspect of appetizers and shareables, as well as the chance to sample trending avors in a low-stakes way. If they’re curious about trying something new, these items o er smaller, often bite-sized portions and a lower barrier to entry.

In terms of flavor, consumers are ready to explore, but they also enjoy nostalgia. “Global avors and comfort foods both have really strong growth trajec-

have a longer shelf life than fresh ingredients, and can be easily scaled to meet the demands of each week or each night. “Pre-prepared options provide consistency and quality control and ensure a reliable dining experience time after time. ey also provide menu exibility and cater to a diverse set of tastes without necessarily investing in a large pantry of ingredients,” says Paul Bulman, director of category marketing at Ajino-

sic dish,” Bulman says. “What makes this special is our proprietary tempurainspired batter for a big, pita chip-like crunch and long hold times.”

According to an independent research firm, taquitos and rolled tacos have increased in sales volume by 30 percent over the past year. The Spinach Artichoke Crunchero represents a lowlabor way for operators to capitalize on that trend with a new appetizer, snack, or breakfast item.

Posada Latin Rice from Ajinomoto also allows restaurants to offer Latininspired flavor—a major overarching trend—while minimizing back-of-house preparation. Long-grain white rice is seasoned with tomato paste, chicken bouillon, and spices, and blended with fire-roasted red bell peppers, roasted poblano peppers, and roasted corn. Most often paired with a protein, Latin rice also appears as a side with burritos and tacos.

tories in the shareable appetizer space,” Castagna says. A recent Datassential report found that about one-third of U.S. consumers are interested in trying new global avors and cuisines. Fortytwo percent of respondents to a survey from e Food Group said they ate more comfort food over the last two years— and 33 percent planned to eat more comfort food in the coming year.

Ajinomoto Foods North America has created several new products to help restaurant operators meet these trends. “We understand the labor challenges that today’s operators face,” Castagna says. “We want to make it easy for operators to deliver menu innovation and global avors without the back-of-house labor.”

Frozen, pre-prepared options can be quickly cooked, allowing for prompt service during busy periods. ey also

moto Foods North America.

For example, Ajinomoto recently introduced Revel Eats Horchata Bites— indulgent Latin-inspired sweet bites made with cream cheese and traditional horchata avors like cinnamon, vanilla, and rice flour, all placed into a crispy oat breading. “ ese delicious bites o er ways for operators to enhance their menus with craveable avor,” Bulman says. “ ey can be used as an appetizer, a side, or a specialty dessert.”

Ajinomoto’s Spinach Artichoke Crunchero o ers a classic take on spinach artichoke dip—a mainstay on casual menus for the last several years—in a portable format. It’s a rolled tortilla lled with cream cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, artichokes, and green chiles, dipped in batter to deliver a crispy, crunchy bite. “It’s a new take on a clas-

Of course, spicy avors and Asian-inspired avors are also in high demand, and Ajinomoto’s Golden Tiger Spicy Vegetable Spring Roll delivers on both fronts. A crepe-like wrapper holds fresh shredded vegetables, vermicelli, and umami spices. Chili akes and cayenne pepper bring the heat, enhanced with sesame oil.

Independent research has found that the sales volume for spring rolls has increased more than 60 percent over last year. “ e Golden Tiger Spicy Vegetable Spring Roll is a convenient handheld, so it’s great for takeout, delivery, or a happy hour,” Bulman says.

As operators look for menu winners to play double and triple duty, Ajinomoto is focused on serving these needs with crowd-pleasing trends. “Our goal is to bring together consumer favorites and emerging avor trends from across the world to help operators deliver an exciting foodservice experience,” Castagna says.

AJINOMOTO FOODS NORTH AMERICA SMALLER, OFTEN BITESIZED PORTIONS OFFER A LOWER BARRIER FOR CONSUMERS TO SAMPLE NEW TRENDS.

Appetizer Trends

A FEW KEY INSIGHTS FROM DATASSENTIAL ON APPETIZERS

• Global flavors and comfort foods are seeing strong growth on appetizer menus.

• Wings are ubiquitous, appearing on 43 percent of U.S. menus— and are still trending upward.

• Fried Brussels sprouts are gaining traction. Their menu penetration has increased by 40 percent over the last four years.

• Salads and soups still dominate appetizer choices in the U.S., appearing on 74 percent and 53 percent of U.S. menus, respectively.

• Fried cheese appears on 18 percent of U.S. menus.

APPETIZER TRENDS TO WATCH & UNDERSTAND // COURTESY OF DATASSENTIAL

FRIED CHEESE Cheese, usually mozzarella, that has been breaded and fried and is paired with dipping sauce.

CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE:

Mozzarella Sticks: Deep-fried cheese sticks served with a side of marinara sauce.

Olympia Pizza & Spaghetti House MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, WA

LOADED TOTS Tater tots loaded with bacon bits, ranch sauce, cheese, and green onions.

CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE:

Carolina Loaded Tots: Melted cheddar and mozzarella, pulled pork, barbecue sauce, scallions, chipotle ranch. Carolina Ale House // MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, NC

ELOTE Elote translates to “corn cob” from Spanish. Elote are grilled corn cobs, usually paired with a mayo cream sauce, cheese, chili powder, and lime.

CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE:

Elote: Roasted corn, mexican butter, mayo, cotija cheese, and chili spice. Posados Cafe

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, TX AND LA

MENU ADOPTION CYCLE: APPETIZERS

INCEPTION Trends start here. Found in mostly fine-dining and ethnic independents, inception-stage trends exemplify originality in flavor, preparation, and presentation.

BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER A vegetarian alternative to buffalo chicken wings, buffalo cauliflower combines buffalo sauce with roasted or fried cauliflower. CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE: Charred Buffalo Cauliflower Platter: Roasted cauliflower, all-natural buffalo sauce, and green onions served with carrot sticks, celery sticks, and vegan ranch. Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, CA

ADOPTION Found at fast-casual and casual independent restaurants, adoption-stage trends grow their base via lower price points and simpler prep methods. Still differentiated, these trends often feature premium and generally authentic ingredients.

PROLIFERATION Proliferation-stage trends show up at casual and quick-service restaurants. They are adjusted for mainstream appeal. Often combined with popular applications (burgers, pastas, etc.), these trends have become familiar to many.

4. UBIQUITY Ubiquity-stage trends are found everywhere—these trends have reached maturity and can be found across all sectors of the food industry. Though often diluted by this point, their inception-stage roots are still recognizable.

1. Baba Ganoush

2. Lumpia

1. Seaweed Salad

2. Satay

1. Crab Cake

2. Flatbread

1. Guacamole

2. Egg Roll

3. Papaya Salad

4. Pakora

3. Pierogi

4. Salumi

3. Brussels Sprouts

4. Edamame

3. Loaded Fries

4. Spinach Artichoke Dip

FLATBREAD

The Power of Collaboration

When Ford’s Garage and a local auto dealer joined together in a unique partnership, the results were profitable for both. Here are some lessons learned about the potential to repeat success.

WHEN TWO SUCCESSFUL companies come together over common identities, it’s a match made in profit heaven: a powerful combination that can drive sales, build brand awareness, and engage customers on a whole new level. If you carefully engage the right partner and manage that, both sides can reap significant rewards.

At Ford’s Garage, we’ve engaged the power of collaboration through our partnership with the Bozard Ford auto dealership in St. Augustine, Florida. At Ford’s Garage restaurant we serve craft beer, gourmet burgers, and other American comfort food in a setting designed like a 1920s service station, with details like mechanic shirts as server uniforms, napkins composed of blue shop towels, and restroom sinks made from tires. Founded in 2012, the original Ford’s Garage opened in Fort Myers, Florida, less than a mile from Henry Ford’s winter home. Today, as the only restaurant concept that’s an official licensee of the Ford Motor Company, we pay tribute to America’s most iconic automobile brand by offering a truly historic dining experience.

Bozard Ford is one of Ford Motor

Company’s top dealerships and has been a fixture in the local community for generations. Since we connected a Ford’s Garage on the dealership site, car sales have been through the roof, and the restaurant’s average annual unit volume is above our company-wide average. After almost four years, we’re looking to replicate that great success. We’ve learned a lot that we’ll apply to similar deals, which can benefit any restaurant seeking to build a profitable relationship with a complementary brand.

1. Look for shared identities.

When Bozard Ford was opening their new location, they were trying to secure an on-site food/beverage dealer that offered more than just a snack area like many dealers traditionally offer. People love the fact that while they’re having their car serviced, they can enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner with us and also enjoy our unique Ford memorabilia. Of course, it’s not absolutely essential that there be as direct a tie-in as that, but there should be some sort of commonality that creates natural interaction. For example, your cuisine style or other themes could provide the link that connects you. We were fortunate that our shared connection enabled a smooth transition into an exciting partnership.

2. Ensure it’s a culture match. Your shared identity should go beyond

FORD’S GARAGE SERVES GOURMET BURGERS, CRAFT BEER, AND OTHER AMERICAN COMFORT FOOD IN A 1920S-ESQUE SERVICE STATION SETTING.

“This is critical. Crosspromotion is great, but your guests should never feel obliged to do business with your partner.”

cuisine and theme. Look at each other’s company culture. Do your values match, especially when it comes to guest service? Bozard Ford has a culture that’s very similar to ours; we’re both successful because of our people. e dealership has a strong family culture and their people have worked for them for a long period of time, so it’s a fantastic organization that we’ve loved partnering with.

3. Be creative.

One size doesn’t have to t all. You don’t have to set up your restaurant on your partner’s site; we’re not necessarily doing that in future partnerships. Sometimes it will make sense if the location is ideal, and sometimes it will be more suitable to just have the partner invest, like a franchisee, and become part owner but still keep the properties separate.

4. Help prospective partners get to know you.

Once you’ve chosen your partner, visit and observe each other’s operations— more than once or twice—to see if you’re a good t and where you can capitalize on your shared identities. Our team at Ford’s Garage went to St. Augustine and spent a lot of time with the dealership team. We had them visit our restaurants to see how we could support each other. It helped them to see the benefits of having an established name like Ford’s Garage on their property.

5. Look for opportunities to crosspromote.

Can you o er incentives to each other’s customers or co-host events around your theme? For example, Bozard Ford gives Ford’s Garage gift cards to customers who purchase a car, and we’ve hosted car

shows that bring in classic Ford automobiles. That’s something the dealer loves to be involved in because it makes sense for both of us and drives tra c for all. Take the opportunity to brainstorm together. You never know what creative ideas you’ll come up with.

6. Build a strong community presence.

is is one of the strongest factors in the success of our collaboration. e Bozard Ford family has had that dealership for a couple of generations and are likely to be there for a few more generations. ey have an established and respected name, and their community knows them, which builds strong customer support and awareness. When they built their new location and included us on the property, it created a lot of excitement and interest. Now, between the restaurant and dealership, we’re attracting thousands of guests every week.

7. Stay in your lane. is is critical. Cross-promotion is great, but your guests should never feel obliged to do business with your partner. Ford’s Garage is a restaurant rst and last, and Bozard Ford is a car dealership. Period. You can enjoy a meal and go home in the car you drove in with or have it serviced without buying so much as a cup of coffee from us.

Establishing a partnership with another business doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, planning and patience. But when you discover a collaboration that works for both parties, it can be a bene cial experience for your company and most importantly, your guests.

Steve Shlemon is President of Ford’s Garage, a 1920s garage-themed burger and craft beer restaurant franchise with 24 locations across six states and an ocial licensee of the Ford Motor Company. He has more than 30 years in the restaurant industry elevating the guest experience through innovative menus, excellent customer service and unique dining atmospheres.

“Once you’ve chosen your partner, visit and observe each other’s operations— more than once or twice—to see if you’re a good fit and where you can capitalize on your shared identities.”

LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO CO-HOST EVENTS WITH PARTNERS AND OFFER INCENTIVES TO EACH OTHER’S CUSTOMER BASE.

STEVE SHLEMON

On the Rise

BY SATYNE DONER

Pacific Catch: From Sea to Table

California’s ocean-friendly fish house is riding the wave of sustainability.

PACIFIC CATCH was born out of a yearning for adventure. Founders Keith Cox and Aaron Noveshen explored a myriad of taste profiles as they traveled around the Pacific Rim, finding that their passion had grown far beyond ordering off a menu. In 2003, Cox and Noveshen combined their experiences and spearheaded Pacific Catch, a Bay Area-based fish house concept which reflects their love of the Pacific Ocean and commitment to sustainable fishing practices. Then, the unexpected happened in 2007: Apple inquired about featuring Pacific Catch in a commercial for their new product at the time: the iPhone. The ad showed how to find a local seafood restaurant using the maps feature on the new smartphone. (Hitting marketing gold is an understatement.)

ESTABLISHED: 2003

COFOUNDERS: Keith Cox, Aaron Noveshen HQ: San Francisco

CATEGORY: Seafood

UNITS: 13

After the “Calamari” commercial aired, Cox, who serves as CEO, said business was never the same. Pacific Catch attracted a $4 million investment from Pacific Community Ventures three years later, and used the financing to open more stores.

In 2017, Cox led a brand revitalization, pushing for an evolution of the menu, modernization of the interior design, and plenty of technological integration to put the brand on Apple maps for good. With its lively beverage

program and everevolving menu with dishes consisting of Ahi Poke Bombs and Pacific Yellowfish Sushi Tacos, Pacific Catch has become a staple in the Bay Area. With 13 locations and growing, the brand is moving forward with the “Aloha Spirit” in mind.

“[Pacific Catch] certainly has Hawaiian inspiration,” Cox says. “We’ve always said we have a bit of the ‘Aloha Spirit’: a breezy, caring, respectful, inclusive brand which hasn’t been done before.”

It manifests in other ways, too— from the design of the interior space to the dedication to sustainability and overall loving hospitality of the staff, Cox sees Pacific Catch as one big family with a purpose. The experience of the

guest, according to Cox, should resemble a breezy island. He wants guests to feel as if they were in Southeast Asia, Hawaii, Tahiti, or California, and he does this by creating a brand with hints of each culture.

May 10 saw the opening of Pacific Catch’s latest location in Tustin, California. With the inspiration of the Pacific Rim and “Aloha Spirit,” the space was designed in collaboration with Hatch Design Group and seats 210 guests between its indoor and outdoor areas. It reflects elements of California’s Baja culture and overseas influences alike, with ratan light fixtures and mosaic tiles.

This location marks the beginning of a Southern Californian growth spurt for the brand, and while both the Tustin and

OCEAN-FRIENDLINESS IS A CENTRAL PILLAR OF THE BRAND’S CORE VALUES AND INCLUDES PARTICIPATING IN BEACH CLEANUPS, FUNDRAISING, AND UTILIZING COMPOSTABLE UTENSILS.

nearby La Jolla locations have been wellreceived by guests, Cox is not taking the decision to go south lightly.

“We’ve been a Northern California concept for 20 years now, so we want to make sure as we’re coming in, we’re thinking about the community and the needs of that market,” Cox says. “So far, we’re getting great reviews and our sales are strong. We’re feeling bullish on Southern California.”

e growing sh house is also entering partnerships with local chapters of the Surfrider Foundation and the James Beard Smart Catch program. Additionally, Paci c Catch is a member of Seafood Watch, ensuring the concept only sources in an environmentally responsible way.

e restaurant serves a purpose larger than its menu. Cox makes ocean-friendliness a central pillar of the brand’s core values, including participating in beach

cleanups, fundraising, and utilizing compostable utensils. Furthermore, Paci c Catch recycles its fryer oil into biofuel and composts all its food waste, echoing the values of its partnered organizations.

“We partnered with [the Surfrider Foundation] because we believe in their mission, and we want to establish an ocean-friendly restaurant in our particular industry,” Cox says.

Additionally, being a member of Seafood Watch means Paci c Catch adheres to speci c standards around responsible fishing—like no red fish on the menu, and ensuring the brand is sourcing ingredients from environmentallyfriendly farms.

Cox believes sticking to these standards attracts like-minded guests, with survey results yielding that 75 percent of customers think eco-friendliness is important to the brand.

“We believe in responsibly-raised seafood as a solution to keep the wild stocks more vital, which is needed,” Cox says. “We’re very speci c about what wild sh we’ll bring into our restaurant.”

e menu rotates seasonally, with sh certi ed by Seafood Watch. For example, when Mahi became over shed, Paci c Catch experienced a hit to their menu by not serving it; however, the concept bounced back with Kampachi, served fresh or in a poke format. It has no trace-

able mercury, and the feed model is ecologically sound.

“ is is one of the items people are loving right now because of its beautiful, fresh color,” Cox says. “But it is also sustainable. And this is important to our guests … we have made it not only important to us, but to them.”

Paci c Catch continues to sign leases throughout various regions in Southern California. e Santa Monica location will open early 2024, a block o the beach. In the future, Cox has his eyes set on moving beyond California. He calls it “a West Coast sh house moving outside of the West Coast.”

While there is no timeline set for expanding outside of the state, Cox asserts the viability of the brand as hitting various avor pro le trends head on—namely, Latin and other tastes of the Paci c Rim.

Cox’s focus is ensuring Paci c Catch’s growth opportunities extend to his longterm sta , continuing to move within the “Aloha Spirit” and treat others as if they were family; he wants his sta to be able to grow with the company.

Maintaining ethical sourcing without sacri cing quality as Paci c Catch expands is one of Cox’s biggest hurdles— but he sees it as an opportunity to continue delivering a “wow” experience in a way that is low-impact on the environment. “[What we are doing] is a package deal. It is a big opportunity for us,” Cox says.

“I founded Paci c Catch 20 years ago, and it’s exciting to see us be able to bring it to numerous other markets and step up growth,” he adds.

PACIFIC CATCH (2)

“We’ve been a Northern California concept for 20 years now, so we want to make sure as we’re coming in, we’re thinking about the community and the needs of that market.

BORN OUT OF WANDERLUST, THE WEST COAST FISH HOUSE CONTINUES TO EXPAND WHILE STAYING TRUE TO ITS ECOFRIENDLY DEDICATION AND PACIFIC RIM-INSPIRED TASTES.

HAL LAWLOR

ROLE: President/COO

BRAND: Smokey Bones

JOINED: 2019

UNIT COUNT: 62

Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill has more than doubled its offpremises business since 2020, added four virtual brands, and added its first drive-thru in 2022. Now, the emerging NextGen Casual brand is focused on staying true to its meat-forward menu with unique options at a casual-dining price point. In an interview with FSR, Smokey Bones COO and newly-named president Hal Lawlor gives readers a behind-thescenes look into his plans to streamline operations with savvy tech, kick off catering, and more.

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

From Smokers to Smart Tech

How have you seen the brand evolve since 2019?

In the last four years, we honed in on our core values; we really did some great work around positioning who we are in terms of what do we want to represent as a restaurant company. We’ve got these amazing smokers we can do such creative things [with]. We really embraced meat is what we do, and we can do it in ways that others can’t, and so that’s our unique space.

What new tech has been implemented recently?

One of the things that we brought in this past year was a platform to help us with reservations, with dining room management, and frankly, bringing real order to the dining room. We’ve also brought in some labor management and forecasting tools to equip managers to more effectively deploy labor, and looking ahead at their business, we brought in additional resources in the back of house as well as around kitchen displays, and really focusing in on takeout execution.

Any other changes to come?

We operate four additional virtual brands out of every restaurant; we’ve got the Wing Experience, Burger Experience, Bowl Market, and Tender Box. We’re trying to appeal to a broad segment, especially as we launch catering. We are standing up a pretty significant catering platform. Currently, catering is not a huge portion of our business, but in the barbecue space, it’s a very significant catering option, so that’s really some untapped territory for us. And by offering some virtual brands, we can appeal to some clients and consumers on the catering side.

What does the brand’s growth plan look like?

Our immediate focus is streamlining the executional component and focusing in on hospitality and service, and growth is absolutely in our future. We opened two restaurants last year, and we’ve remodeled a couple, and now we took a pause to focus in on executional improvements and some opportunities that we’ve identified, and then we will revisit the growth strategy in probably mid-2024.