Letting go of the day-to-day: Tom Schmidt's journey from busser to leader | 073

The Pre-Shift Podcast is back!Tom Schmidt, co-owner of Salt + Smoke BBQ, talks with host D.J. about shifting from hands-on restaurant work to leading an eight-location, 550+ employee business, a transition he says truly began around the fourth location and felt like a “phantom limb” loss of how he measured success. He explains how delegating to partners and leaders—especially co-owner Haley, a director of operations, and later hospitality, HR, finance, and catering roles—enabled growth while preserving culture and “magic,” in part by creating advancement paths for ambitious managers and chefs.Schmidt describes systematizing communication through agenda-driven meetings and cascading updates to stores, and relying on 7shifts Manager Log Books and Shift Feedback to surface real issues and protect culture. He also discusses saying no to new concepts, using forecasting and KPI-based bonuses tied to food, liquor, and labor costs, and shares the ongoing challenge of producing signature cheddar-and-bacon popovers.Key TakeawaysThe Desk Shift Nobody Talks About: Hear Tom's candid account of what it  feels like to trade the floor for a desk — why operators retreat to what they're good at, and why that instinct can stall your growth.The 4-Location Wall: Discover why the jump from one to four restaurants demands a completely different version of you as a leader.Building a Team That Outgrows You: Learn how Tom and co-owner Haley Riley turned retention risk into a growth strategy by creating new leadership roles that gave a path to their best people.Getting Out of Your Own Head: Find out how they cascade decisions from a Wednesday corporate meeting all the way to weekend front-of-house staff — and why Tom credits structured meetings (despite hating them) with keeping eight locations aligned.The Feedback Loop That Builds Trust: Hear how 7shifts' shift feedback tool gives every one of their 550 employees a direct line to the top — and why Tom refuses to filter what comes back.Telling the Story Through Briskets: Understand how Tom connects labor and food cost numbers to something tangible — like seventeen lost briskets a week — to help managers act on the data in front of them.Resources MentionedSalt + Smoke: https://www.saltandsmokebbq.com/Send 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 a restaurant platform that helps operators and managers hire, train, schedule, pay and retain their restaurant teams. With an easy-to-use platform and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for over 55,000 restaurants.