Leadership lessons from Felipe's Taqueria | Pike Howard, CEO | 047

Great teams make great restaurants. On The Pre-Shift, restaurant operators and industry experts dive into what it takes to build great restaurant teams. We explore their stories, the strategies they use, and valuable lessons on running restaurant teams. Hosted by D. J. Costantino. Presented by 7shifts.In this episode, Pike Howard, co-owner and finance and development director of Felipe's Taqueria, shares the history of the restaurant chain founded in 2006, inspired by Felipe Herrera. Pike emphasizes the significance of having a strong foundational playbook for growth, the importance of transparency and profit-sharing with leadership teams, and the role of consistent execution in a high inflationary environment. He cites influences like Danny Meyer’s book, Setting the Table, and Chick-fil-A’s operational focus. Howard stresses the need for non-defensiveness regarding feedback and aims to exceed profitability expectations.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Pike Howard and Felipe's Taqueria00:09 Founding Story of Felipe's Taqueria00:23 Growth Strategy and Operational Philosophy01:11 Leadership and Transparency01:16 Profit Sharing and Employee Engagement01:42 Consistency and Adaptation in Operations02:20 Commitment to Quality and Inspiration02:49 Operational Excellence and FeedbackSend us Fan Mail📲 Connect with usEmail usFollow on LinkedInMore 7shiftsSpotify | Apple Podcasts | Google PodcastsSubscribe to Food Runner, our Monthly Restaurant Newsletter7shifts on YouTubeFollow us on TikTokRead the 7shifts BlogAbout Us7shifts is the restaurant HR platform helping operators hire, train, schedule, pay, and retain their team in one place. With an easy-to-use platform and built-for-restaurant workflows, 7shifts replaces disconnected systems for 55,000 restaurants.