921: Matt Louis Chef Owner Moxy, Franklin Oyster House, and Luigi's West End Pizzeria

Chef Matt Louis is the Chef Owner of Moxy, Luigi's West End Pizza, Street, and many other restaurants. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America, working at Thomas Keller's French Laundry, and helping Thomas Keller open Per Se, Matt returned to NH where he was the executive chef at The Wentworth By The Sea. It didn't take long for NH Seacoast restaurateur, Jay McSherry, to take notice of Matt's talents. In 2014 Matt joined forces with JGroup and together opened Moxy, an American tapas restaurant. Today, in his portfolio, Matt has Moxy, The Franklin Oyster House, Street, Luigi's West End Pizzeria, and Street Exeter. Check out episode 874 with Jay McSharry as mentioned int today's episode. Check out episode 009 with Matt Louis as mentioned in today's episode. Check out RestaurantSystemsPro as mentioned in today's episode! Today's feature affiliate: Bentobox. In need of a restaurant website? Click this link to find out why so many of my guests use Bentobox! Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and get your first 30 days on me!  Connect with my past guest and a community of superfans. Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!) Favorite success quote or mantra: "Don't ask anybody to do something that you aren't willing to do yourself." In this episode with Matt Louis we will discuss: Working for Thomas Keller Opening restaurants Managing restaurants Awards culture in the restaurant industry What a James Beard nomination is actually like The current staffing struggles Where do we go from here as an industry? Today's sponsor: At Popmenu, we know that in today's world, a great hospitality experience usually begins online. Keeping the conversation with guests going beyond the meal also requires simple, powerful, fun technology capable of expression through all kinds of channels. Our team takes pride in helping restaurants put their best foot forward digitally so they can focus on what they do best. We think PDF menus are super boring, we believe 3rd party platforms have had too much say in how consumers find their next dining experience and we deeply feel that sharing your beautiful menu doesn't have to be so difficult, time-consuming and expensive. As a listener of the Restaurant Unstoppable, you'll receive $100 off your first month of Popmenu! Join the 60-day Restaurant Systems Pro FREE TRAINING. This is something that has never been done before. This 60-day event is at no cost to you, but it is not for everyone. Fred Langley, CEO of Restaurant Systems Pro, will lead a group of restaurateurs through the Restaurant Systems Pro software and set up the systems for your restaurant. During the 60 days, Fred will walk you through the Restaurant Systems Pro Process and help you crush the following goals: Recipe Costing Cards; Guidance in your books for accounting; Cash controls; Sales Forecasting(With Accuracy); Checklists; Budgeting for the entire year; Scheduling for profit; More butts in seats and more… Click Here to learn more. 7shifts is a modern labor management platform, designed by restaurateurs, for restaurateurs. Effectively labor management is more important than ever to ensure profitability and restaurant success. Trusted by over 400,000 restaurant professionals, 7shifts gives you the tools you need to streamline labor operations, communicate with your team, and retain your talent. Best of all 7shifts integrates with the POS and Payroll systems you already use and trust (like Toast!) turning labor into a competitive advantage for your business. Restaurant Unstoppable members get 3 months, absolutely free. Knowledge bombs Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success? Hard work What is your biggest weakness? Balance What's one thing you ask or look for when interviewing/growing your team? Reliability What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it? Staffing Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team. Be reliable What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff? The guest isn't always right What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner? The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM  What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations? Toast QR codes - table ordering What is one thing you feel restaurateurs don't do well enough or often enough? Being too optimistic and not realistic 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? Hard work Integrity Contribution to the community Contact: Email: [email protected] 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 Matt Louis 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!