804: Kevin Boehm Co-CEO and Co-Founder of BOKA Restaurant Group

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest, CO-CEO and CO-Founder of BOKA Restaurant GroupKevin Boehm. After opening 30 restaurants over the last 27 years, James Beard-winning restaurateur Kevin Boehm has become one of the nations foremost visionaries in the field of hospitality. Kevin, along with his partner Rob Katz have built BOKA Restaurant Group on great chefs, inspired design, and enlightened hospitality.Kevin grew up in Springfield, Illinois, and knew at a young age that he wanted to be in the restaurant business. After working in the industry for just a few years, he saved enough money to open a 6 table restaurant in 1993 called the Lazy Daze Café in Seaside, Florida. Restaurants in Blue Mountain Beach, Florida, Springfield, Illinois, and Nashville, Tennessee would follow, and Boehm got his education opening and selling 4 restaurants all before the age of 30. In 2002, Boehm would partner with Rob Katz, and the two would open 26 places together in less than 16 years.

We reference Kevin's first episode often, so check it out here.

Check out Restaurant That Work: Case Studies Of The Best In The Industry by Martin E. Dorf as suggested in today's episode!

https://youtu.be/mA20fwXcISo

Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and 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:

• "Continue to be a student of the game."
• Last time Kevin was on the show, he said: "The key is not the will to win, it's the will to prepare to win."

In today's episode with Kevin Boehm we will discuss:

• Mentors
• Communication
• Major business advice for a FIRST restaurant
• Track EVERYTHING
• Early mistakes
• Choosing the right city to start your career as a restaurateur
• Learning from failure
• Navigating partnerships

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.

Bbot is the leading contactless order and pay solution for the hospitality industry.  With Bbot, guests can use their smartphones to order what they want, when they want at bars, restaurants, hotels, food halls, and more.  They can also order from home with extensive takeout, delivery, and catering services, commission-free.  Bbot also creates branded interactive menus and table signage, ensuring the best customer experience. By increasing check size and turn times, Bbot can boost revenues over 30%, while enabling your staff to cover twice as many tables.

Ecolab: Streamline your clean with Ecolab’s new EPA-registered 2-in-1 solution, Sink & Surface Cleaner Sanitizer. It will help reduce risk, simplify your procedures and help ensure compliance. This solution cleans and sanitizes hard non-porous surfaces with a single product, eliminates the rinse step and equips your staff to clean more efficiently. Clean simplified, confidence delivered.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Doer
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Say Yes too much
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Emotion
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Finding staff
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • People here like taking care of people
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Black card system
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Sri Rahula
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. Name one service you've hired.
   • People Matters for HR
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
   • Craftable
10. 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?
    • Kindness reciprocates
    • Nothing is more important than true relationships
    • Your own mental health is the true definition of success

Contact info:

Instagram: @kevinboehmboka

Email: jobs@bokagrp.com

Email: kevin@bokagrp.com

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!

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Huge thanks to Kevin Boehm 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!