Restaurant Growth Isn’t Just About More Locations — Aaron Lyons Says the Numbers Have to Make Sense

Aaron Lyons, founder of Five 12 Restaurant Concepts, joins Shawn Walchef at the CREATE Conference to share how he grew from one restaurant to seven locations across two concepts. Lyons explains why the jump from one location to two was the hardest, how building strong teams has helped the company scale, and why technology can create hospitality through convenience. This episode explores restaurant growth, digital hospitality, leadership, technology, and building restaurant concepts around what customers actually want. The Jump From One Restaurant to Two Can Be the Hardest – Aaron Lyons signed the lease for his second location before the first Dish Society was cash-flow positive. Despite the risk, he saw an opportunity that was too good to pass up and learned what it takes to begin building beyond one restaurant. Great Restaurant Growth Starts With Great People – Lyons believes one of his biggest strengths is building strong teams. Today, Five 12 Restaurant Concepts has seven locations across two concepts, with a focus on understanding what customers want and building teams that can deliver it. Technology Can Create Hospitality Through Convenience – Digital hospitality can feel transactional, but Lyons believes technology becomes hospitality when it makes a guest’s life easier. He points to curbside ordering as an example of using digital tools to solve a real problem for busy families. Episode Links Aaron Lyons on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronlyons/ Aaron Lyons on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aslyons/ Dish Society: https://dishsociety.com/ Where to find Cali BBQ MediaVisit our WebsiteFollow Restaurant Technology SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on LinkedInLearn About our Media Services