511: Smart Growth with Keith Richards

After a life changing trip to Greece, Keith Richards and his wife Amy founded Taziki's Cafe in 1998. Over the proceeding 30 years they have since "smartly" grow this "fresh-casual" franchise to 85 locations in 17 states. Richards also heads the company's signature charity, the Hope Program, helping children with special needs. Show notes… Favorite Success Quote or Mantra. "Combine extraordinary food with meaningful connection." In this conversation with Keith Richards, we discuss: The power of human connection and treating your guest like family. Failure, not being an option. Putting others first. Why you should always donate food instead of money to charitable causes. Donate food is better marketing. Leveraging technology to tighten systems. How technology can weed out the dishonest employees. The story and heart behind the branding and the impact it has. Providing purpose for special needs individuals. Connecting with other restaurateurs in your community to share knowledge and support. Today's Sponsor Soundtrackyourbrand.com Soundtrack Business lets you play 250 music channels guaranteed to fit any type of business. An easy-to-use dashboard lets you find great music, control all your locations and schedule your sound. BarRestaurantSuccess.com Discover How To Get New Customers In Your DoorsAt A Profit In 48 Hours Or Less, Without Spending A Penny On Advertising Using The "VOP" Strategy! For a limited time receive a 15 minute case study video that reveals how 4 different bar and restaurant owners from around the country brought in between $5,213 to nearly $15,000 in sales using the all new "VOP" strategy! Best part is, this takes zero marketing dollars Knowledge bombs Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success? Being kind to others. What is your biggest weakness? Focus. Living off a list has helped with this challenge What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview? Are you coordinated? Are you a team player? What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it? Maintaining the same culture while scaling the Tazikis brand. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team. Respect others. Work together. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff? Greet people at the door. Pre clearing , even in a fast-casual setting. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner? GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM  Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business  Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable about Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business Share an online resource or tool. QSR Magazine What's one piece of technology you've adopted in your restaurant and how has it influence operations? Square POS Fresh Hospitality   If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be? Take care of others. Show that your faith will make you successful. Be a great father. Contact Info TazikisCafe.com @Tazikis   Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Keith Richards for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!   Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!