35: Restaurant Lessons: Mark McDonnell on 27+ Years Building His Business

Jaime Oikle from RunningRestaurants.com talks with Mark McDonnell of LaSalle Grill in South Bend, IN about his 27+ years running various restaurant businesses. Even though Mark and his restaurant is a Four Diamond Award winner 22 years in a row now we talk about what it takes to keep pushing the business forward after all these years. Including: 1) How Mark got started in the business and how LaSalle came to be 2) Today vs. yesteryears and how things keep changing 3) The appeal of local products on the menu 4) The power of a restaurant being effectively involved in the community 5) How commitments and standards can get everyone on the same page 6) How to stay dedicated to your pre-shift as an important knowledge & sales builder 7) Why linking out to TripAdvisor & Yelp can be good for business 8) Why & how a catering division can fatten the bottom line and take the pressure off & a whole lot more... Find more about RR at https://www.runningrestaurants.com and LaSalle Grill at https://www.lasallegrill.com/