Tom Boucher: From Server to CEO, 40 Years of NH Restaurants | Ep. 49

Tom Boucher turned down a full scholarship to Villanova to wait tables. He never looked back. In this episode, Carol Erickson sits down with Tom Boucher -- CEO and majority owner of Great NH Restaurants, the family behind T-BONES, Copper Door, and Cactus Jack's. Forty years. Nine restaurants. Over $1.5 million donated back to New Hampshire communities through FEEDNH.org. And on this episode -- a brand new concept he's never talked about publicly. We get into: • The Villanova scholarship he turned down to stay in restaurants • How the Copper Door got its name -- drawn on a cocktail napkin at Shorties in Bedford • March 13, 2020 -- the day Governor Sununu called and Tom furloughed 600 people • Losing his business partner Mark Fenske after 40 years together • FEEDNH.org -- $1.5 million given back to NH nonprofits and counting • The I-95 Granite Counter bid and the Plump Tomato -- a concept revealed here first CONNECT WITH TOM & GREAT NH RESTAURANTS Website: GreatNHRestaurants.com FEEDNH: feednh.org Instagram: @tbonesnh | @copperdoornh | @cactusjacksnh Tom personal: @tombouchernh SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW BEYOND THE PLATE Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@beyondtheplatewithcarol Follow on Instagram: @beyondtheplatenh Follow on Facebook: beyondtheplatenh Find us everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Follow Carol: @carolsew24 New episodes every Tuesday. Like, comment, share -- every one helps us keep bringing you conversations like this. 🔔 --- SPONSORED BY --- This episode is sponsored by Red Arrow Diner. 4 NH locations: Manchester, Concord, Londonderry, and Nashua -- open 24/7. redarrowdiner.com | Instagram: @redarrow24diner | Facebook: Red Arrow Diner --- ABOUT BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL --- Carol Erickson, owner of Red Arrow Diner since 1987, sits down with the people behind New Hampshire's food and hospitality scene. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. Follow Beyond the Plate -- find us everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Follow Carol: Instagram @carolsew24 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro 0:41 - "Did you say Boucher?" 😂 1:07 - Great NH Restaurants overview 1:31 - Turned down Villanova for restaurants 2:58 - Server to GM -- how fast it happened 4:05 - Getting bit by the hospitality bug 4:38 - "Everything is figureoutable" 4:58 - Been on Carol's old radio show -- why come back 6:38 - Buying out the founders New Year's Eve 2007 7:32 - Borrowed $3M, economy tanked in 2008 7:54 - The Copper Door concept is born 9:09 - New Hudson T-Bones up 75% year-over-year 9:33 - The formula: big restaurants on highway exits 11:32 - The cocktail napkin that became Copper Door 12:59 - "Pull with passion" and the original napkin 13:33 - Building Copper Door -- the design story 15:56 - Opening T-Bones Concord during COVID 16:04 - March 13, 2020 -- the call from the governor 17:45 - Testifying before the state legislature 19:10 - Building T-Bones Concord with the steel up 20:18 - Ribbon cutting with photoshopped politicians 😂 21:15 - Losing Mark Fenske 22:24 - Buy-sell agreements -- a lesson for small business owners 23:26 - Introducing FEEDNH.org 24:53 - $1.5 million given back to NH nonprofits 25:26 - How FEEDNH vets nonprofits 26:23 - What drives the commitment to give back 27:18 - Carol: proud as a fellow NH business owner 28:35 - Emma Fraser: hostess to running FEEDNH 29:22 - "Made from scratch" -- the people too 30:29 - Chef Nicole: made from scratch 30:53 - Inside the Great NH Restaurants home office 32:42 - How decisions flow across three different brands 33:17 - The three-legged stool (borrowed from Disney) 34:32 - Closing for holidays -- giving managers their lives back 37:23 - "I'm 61... your dad is 85 and ain't going nowhere" 😂 38:38 - The Granite Counter -- the I-95 bid reveal 40:06 - Copper Door Nashua: LOI in the pipeline 40:33 - Reinvesting in mature brands 41:48 - Lightning Round 42:17 - The CBC: $4.95 since 1986 😂 44:28 - Best advice: tell the harsh truth, not harshly 45:17 - At the Red Arrow -- what are you ordering? 45:36 - One word: made from scratch 47:44 - Unreasonable Hospitality book recommendation 48:00 - "The people of NH have trusted T-Bones for 40 years" 48:27 - Outro