856: Gary Kim formerly of Anju Noodle Bar and Mr. Kim's

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest, Chef Gary Kim. Chef Kim was Born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the United States when he was 5 years old. Eventually he and his family found themselves in Portsmouth, NH, where Gary attended high school. Gary had always been drawn to the kitchen, but it wasn't until he was with the Black Birch that he started taking his career seriously. While at Black Birch, Gary was encouraged to start his own kimchi and fermentation business, which eventually evolved into Anju Noodle Bar. After a couple years at Anju, Gary sold his share of Anju, and spent the next few years traveling doing pop-ups and generally traveling in LA, Seattle, Denver, The Virgin Islands, U.K., Italy, Spain, and Boston. In May of 2018 Gary partnered with JGroup to open Mr. Kim's.

Check out Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies On Top by Bo Burlingham as recommended in today's episode

Check out Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman as mentioned in today's episode

Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and get your first 30 days on me!  Connect with my past guest and a community of superfans.
• Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
• Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
• Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)

Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "Positive vibes only."

In today's episode with Gary Kim we will discuss:

• Work/life balance
• Efficiency of motion
• Closing a restaurant
• Exit strategy
• Ramen and Kimchi
• Popups
• Proof off concepts
• New business models for restaurants

Today's sponsor:

7shifts is a modern labor management platform, designed by restaurateurs, for restaurateurs. Effectively labor management is more important than ever to ensure profitability and restaurant success. Trusted by over 400,000 restaurant professionals, 7shifts gives you the tools you need to streamline labor operations, communicate with your team, and retain your talent. Best of all 7shifts integrates with the POS and Payroll systems you already use and trust (like Toast!) turning labor into a competitive advantage for your business. Restaurant Unstoppable members get 3 months, absolutely free.

Talk To The Manager - Nowadays, most guests don't want to call you on the phone or give you their feedback face-to-face.
With TalkToTheManager, guests can avoid making a scene by sending you comments and questions anonymously by text message, allowing you to respond and handle issues in real-time. It's easy to set up and simple to use for both staff and visitors. No software integration. No downloads, and no apps to install.

Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Positivity
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Ruminating
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • How do you deal with a challenging or difficult situation
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Sitting still
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Sense of urgency and efficiency of motion
   • The team environment
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Pre-shift motivation
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Mindset Mentor - podcast
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What is one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Find a way to show your staff that you are grateful for them
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Ramen noodles from Sun Noodle
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
    • Slack: Where Work Happens
11. If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
    • Be kind
    • Be grateful
    • Have fun

Contact info:

Instagram: @chefgarykim

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.

Huge thanks to Gary Kim for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!