For the first of the Series, I spoke to Nathan Hosley, owner of the restaurants Sauce on Gough Street and Belden Place, and the hotels Sleep Over Sauce, San Francisco and Hoss’s Corner, Long Lake, New York.
He was in hotel school with me 20 years back. I was happy to hear that he, along with his brother and two partners have done a phenomenal job with their businesses.
They started with opening a nightclub and then went on to open their first restaurant, Sauce on Gough Street in San Francisco. As everyone’s lifestyles began to change, they took a decision to shut the nightclub because it didn’t work with their family structure and lives. They went on to open another Sauce and a hotel called Sleep Over Sauce, an urban guesthouse. Nathan kept investing back into his business, and it was interesting to talk about how he grew his business organically.
Also, it was fun listening to how they came up with the name of their first restaurant. That was a good process, and you can hear about it in the interview on how they brought in some fun during a stressful time of putting up a new restaurant. {08:32 min}
But what I really want to point out are two things.
The first is how Nathan valued his employees because he understood that taking care of his employees is the way to creating a better business. So Nathan’s use of specific incentives that showed care for his employees and their lives helped him retain his employees in a competitive environment like San Francisco. {22:16min}
He also understood it from a cost-benefit point of view. That it’s better to find ways to keep your guys on board and not let them run to the competition for a few bucks more since it’s ultimately more expensive to rehire. And that it’s damn tiring and frustrating to train, train and re-train them over and over again.
It’s clear that he runs his business well because he understands the crux of it. It’s all about how well you get and keep the right team, and he’s figured that out.
The second thing to point out from the interview is the structure of Nathan’s business. In my business, it took me years to arrive at a particular system where I could triple my revenues and perform way above the competition. And I saw similar structures and bones in place with Nathan’s business.
This interview confirmed my belief that regardless of whether you are running a nightclub, a restaurant or a hotel in any geographic location, these particular systems, disciplines, and habits if applied by any entrepreneur in the F & B industry, guarantees a lot more money.
Nathan also found his work-life balance. He’s married and has two kids, and he’s figured that his systems have not only contributed to the success of his business but have given him the time he needs with his family.
So I recommend you listen to the interview because there are a lot of tips I haven’t spoken about that you can apply to your business.
1. #1 Secret to making your restaurant business profitable {37:50 min}
2. How to make your passion contagious within your team {16:00min}
3. How to deal with trained labor shortage {29:45 min}
4. How to deal with government’s regulations that are against making money {25:25 min}
5. Advice for new restaurant owners {46:45 min}
6. What does it take to keep making money in the restaurant business {42:00 min}
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