How to Build a $10 Million Restaurant: Chef Sam Marvin, founder of Bottega Louie

I've always viewed the restaurant industry as risky but Chef Sam Marvin sees no risk. He's able to pump out hit after hit without missing a beat. From Bottega Louie to Echo & Rig, the chef has proven that success in the hospitality industry is a formula and it's a formula we can learn. On today's show, we'll be discussing the formula he used to turn Bottega Louie into a 10 million dollar blockbuster. Click to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Click here to book time on my personal calendar. Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide. Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business. SHOW NOTES Started a consulting job in LA Met a family who dined at the consulting restaurant 89 times over 10 months Father of the family was son of CEO of Hilton Pitched him on the idea for Bottega Louie Spent 2years working closely to create the restaurant Restaurants have opened the same way fro 100years Key pillars of focus Shift from restaurant business to experience business Goal to create egocentric gratification in guests Investing in experience Keeping average check mid-range Goal to bring guests back 3 times per week Industry goal is one guest to come back every 90 days Focusing on the human psyche Tapping into subconscious 130 metrics including the 5 key pillars Example: $1300 leather-bound reservations book Example: Intentional confusion whe a guest walks in because restaurant is open plan. Create opportunity for connection from hosts Opportunities during tragedy Bottega Louie opened during economic crash of 2009 Invested over $6million on the opening Opportunities and tragedy move at equal pace Inspiration from European restaurants Laduree inspired macarons Italian is the #1 food genre in the world Why choose Downtown LA Has a reputation of being homeless town Research showed surrounding restaurants were doing well Research on local population Size of population Average income Average check amount per restaurant Bottega Louie made $8-9million Zero profit in year one Investing in the future Four points for decision-making Good for employee Good for investors Good for guests Good for community Why Sam left Bottega Louie Stayed for 5.5years Wanted to control his own destiny Gained business knowledge Strategy to open a new restaurant Figuring out what the community needs Finding gap in the market Lots of Research and Development Echo & Rig strategy Studying surrounding steakhouses in Las Vegas $28 or $88 check average - nothing in between Decided on $53 check average Studying the weight of meat Steakhouses serve large steak because it is the norm Do guests really need 30z steaks? Decided to serve best possible steak at smaller size Is Covid going back to zero? Everything has changed Grand revenue numbers hide flaws Previously needed to make over $90k a week to make a profit Retooling to create bigger and better businesses Feeling excited about the future Improving delivery Elevated packaging Making guests feel special even outside the restaurant