Rebuilding Through Hospitality: Robért LeBlanc on Culture, Storytelling & Second Chances

What if a restaurant wasn’t a business—but a way to rebuild a broken city?That’s how Robért LeBlanc saw it after Hurricane Katrina. He didn’t just open a venue—he created a space to reconnect a fractured community. In this episode, we go deep on how Robért has used hospitality to heal, unite, and inspire. From the ethos behind his post-Katrina nightclub to the values driving his now 350-person company, Robért shares how storytelling, humility, and a culture of ownership have become his ultimate competitive edge. We talk about failure, course correction, and what it really takes to build a team that gives a damn.This isn’t just about restaurants. It’s about using our work to serve something bigger and why that’s never been more urgent.To learn more about his work, visit leblancandsmith.com.____________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.comFull Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars