{"id":50209,"date":"2019-06-17T14:58:48","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T18:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=50209"},"modified":"2020-03-30T16:43:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T20:43:42","slug":"how-to-thrive-in-todays-fast-casual-restaurant-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/business-solutions\/how-to-thrive-in-todays-fast-casual-restaurant-industry","title":{"rendered":"How to thrive in today’s fast-casual restaurant industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Countless entrepreneurs start new food businesses every year. Many fail. While it\u2019s impossible to follow someone else\u2019s recipe for success measure by measure, there\u2019s much to be learned from the people behind fast-casual restaurants that have flourished, like San Francisco-style taqueria Dos Toros, Brooklyn-bred ice cream company Ample Hills Creamery, vegetable-forward N.Y.C. eatery Mulberry & Vine, and salad startup Chopt. Recently, the founders of these industry leaders gathered to discuss how they grew their businesses in a panel led by Dos Toros cofounder Leo Kremer and held at WeWork Now<\/a> in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From starting small to following your passion (within reason), here\u2019s <\/strong>their advice on how to make a modern food business succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prioritize quality ingredients<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The more local and seasonal ingredients are, the better the product is. That\u2019s just science. And the simpler your menu is, the more important it is to source high-quality ingredients. For Dos Toros, which offers only a few menu items at a time, this is key, says cofounder Oliver Kremer. \u201cIt\u2019s just about nailing each recipe as much as we possibly can,\u201d he said. \u201cIt comes down to sourcing incredibly high-quality ingredients and just not compromising when it comes to flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ample Hills Creamery founder Brian Smith also preaches the gospel of superior ingredients at his scoop shops. \u201cAt the end of the day, you want good quality\u2014the milk, the cream, the sugar, and the eggs,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s critical that that\u2019s good.\u201d But what his growing franchise really nails is making all the cookie dough, peanut butter cups, and cake pieces that go into the ice cream flavors from scratch. \u201cWe\u2019re as much a bakery and candy shop as we are an ice cream shop,\u201d he said. \u201cThat part of the job actually takes a lot more effort and a lot more work than to make the ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let company culture evolve over time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ice cream legend Ben & Jerry\u2019s didn\u2019t develop its mission statement until the business had already been around for eight years. Knowing that bit of trivia inspired Smith when he and his wife opened Ample Hills. \u201cWe didn\u2019t think about culture at the beginning,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was only three to four years in, after we\u2019d opened the third or fourth shop, that we started to step back from the day to day to codify what was important to us. That piece really takes effort.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After spending time, energy, and money to figure out what her employees actually wanted, Michelle Gauthier of Mulberry & Vine developed a litmus test for making decisions: \u201c\u2018Is it fun, and is it easy?\u2019 We have to say yes to both of those if we are going to make a change,\u201d she said. \u201cNow we have a great culture.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremer\u2019s approach to creating and maintaining a healthy Dos Toros company culture revolves around a favorite quote: \u201cThe guest experience will never rise above the team experience.\u201d He says, \u201cWe try to take that to heart, ultimately simplifying processes in the jobs of crew members so they can delight our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead by example<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kremer tries to spend time in a Dos Toros location three to five days out of every week on the line, rolling burritos himself. \u201cIt sets the tone that we \u2018exist to roll burritos,\u2019 and it sends that message to our guests,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chopt CEO Nick Marsh leads with two guiding principles: freedom and accountability. \u201cI give you the opportunity to stretch your wings,\u201d he says. \u201cTo do more than you expected and to have the freedom to grow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure your passion is profitable<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The road to financial ruin is paved with passionate entrepreneurs who put their whole hearts into their businesses and still fail. The real talk, according to Smith, is doing your homework first, to make sure your passion is going to get other people excited, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I told you I was passionate about asparagus ice cream and opened a shop with 18 varieties of asparagus ice cream\u2014that would be a bad idea,\u201d he said by way of example. \u201cYou hear people coming up, and they have a lot of passion for xyz, but are other people gonna share that passion?\u201d He cites the nearly two years he spent sampling ice cream at shops all over New York City before opening Ample Hills. He did his homework and made certain his passions were in the right place before going all-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WeWork offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n