How the best restaurateurs create success
Q+A WITH LUCY WHELAN
Founder of Lone Star & Joes Garage
In a career spanning 33 years Lucy Whelan has been involved since "Ground Zero" with the Lone Star Group. She is a class act at the heart of a company that practices love, care and generosity better than any other hospitality group I know.
Easily the largest big format franchise in the country with 40 venues across the country we'll dive into how Lucy and her fellow founders took a passionate love of country music and evolved it into a hugely energetic family business that embraced extended family members and close friends to become a hospitality icon.
In growing a business from one site to forty, we will hear a lot of great war stories of the franchising game and very practical advice for anyone looking to franchise their existing businesses or grow their existing franchise.
Q+A WITH SAM GRUAR & PENELOPE JOHNSON - ARROWTOWN
Owners of La Rumbla & Slow Cuts
In the resort town and tourist mecca of Queenstown, we’ll find out how hospo owners and partners Sam Gruar and Penelope Johnson have created their own thriving niche in a very crowded market, with their Iconic La Rumbla and Slowcuts restaurants and recently opened Good day cafe.
Prior to the opening of La Rumbla and Slowcuts both have enjoyed significant hospitality careers with Sam having done his time at New Zealand institutions Saffron and The French Cafe while PJ was an integral part of The Good Group team and involved in the openings and growth of their Botswana Butchery outlets.
After a stint together in Ibiza at one of the world's largest nightclubs they returned to New Zealand and have opened three outlets in quick succession. It has been an amazing hospitality story to watch.
We’re looking forward to finding out how the couple have slotted into their own roles within the business, the difficulties they’ve faced with such rapid growth and of course how they are making change in their business to ensure success in a town that now has no international tourism.
INTERVIEW WITH MARTY MCCAIG - MELBOURNE
Group Operations Manager at Made in the Shade Group
Owner Southpress Wine Bar
Join us as we we catchup with Marty McCaig - Operations Manager for Award winning Melbourne based Made in the Shade group and owner of South Press Wine Bar in South Yarra.
Marty literally grew up with hospitality in his blood living above the pub his parents operated in rural Victoria f
He’s worked with some of the most creative operators in the industry and had phenomenal experience from large pub formats through to his own discerning South Press Wine Bar.
We’ll find out how he made the subtle move from studying immunology at Monash University, which included an honours with the World Health Organisation on Influenza Vaccines Research, (Yes we will ask him what date we can expect a Covid vaccine!) to studying wine under MS Peter Mitchell.
Covid has dealt the industry a particularly nasty hand and Marty has been in the thick of it as an owner, operations manager and patient, after contracting Covid in the past few weeks.We’re looking forward to pulling out the key threads of wisdom that Marty has amassed over a very successful career and understanding his views on the key to surviving and thriving in hospitality post Covid.
Q+A WITH ALASDAIR FRANCE - SYDNEY
Co-owner of Bondi Trattoria
Wednesday August 26th at 11am AET, 1pm NZT
We dive into the background and experience of Alasdair France, co-owner of Bondi Trattoria. We'll discuss his vast restaurant and operations roles across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and The Maldives.
Al has a unique breadth of experience across large and small enterprises. We'll take a look at what he believes single site owners and managers can learn from large groups like the Hilton and Luke Mangan Group where he held senior operations roles and the reverse of this with regards to what large groups can glean and aspire to from quality smaller operators.
We'll hear what it's like to take over an institution like "The Tratt" and how he and business partner Joe Pavlovich have remained loyal to the restaurants core DNA while evolving the business to put their own take on an icon.
Finally we'll be asking Al how his views on how the restaurant world has been affected long term by Covid-19 and how he will define success in a post Covid world.
BOOK YOUR WEBINAR SPOT
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Meet your host, Richard Mcleod
Richard is the CEO of Loaded a Hospitality software company
dedicated to helping businesses save time and increase profitability. He has 15 years
operational experience owning and growing a 13 site hospitality group.
