773: Chad Grubbs on Creating Unique Experiences

Stitch is a hospitality concept created by husband and wife team, Chad Grubbs and Jen Semmler Grubbs, with inspiration from key team members, close friends and mentors.  Chad, former owner of Okay Yeah Co. and previously BENT on Creativity, and Jen, owner of Plant Shoppe, are best known for their resourceful approach in creating unique experiences and offerings to the Oklahoma City scene. Born and raised in Oklahoma, the couple strives to make positive, inspiring impacts in the community through various craft ventures.

Check out Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out What I Know About Running Coffee Shops by Colin Harmon as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out Homebase: Free Employee Scheduling as mentioned in today's episode.

Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!

• 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:

• "Shit'll buff out."

In today's episode with Chad Grubbs:

• Psychology
• Christianity/being a former pastor
• Working in the tech industry
• A coffee shop with a strong focus on food
• The restaurant industry is a grind that you need to love
• Making your indoor seating feel like outdoor seating
• Losing your dream location
• The pains of restaurant real estate
• Better and more polished experiences
• Confusing service with hospitality
• Social media - Instagram
• Restaurateur online/social media engagement
• Coffee subscriptions
• Cross-promotion/collaboration
• Podcasting and podcasting about coffee
• Constant self-improvment

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.

RestaurantOwner.com is an online community of independent restaurant owners and managers who want training and tools to build a better restaurant and a more profitable, successful business. Resources include hundreds of downloadable templates, training videos and online courses on topics such as recipe costing, prime cost, improving the guest experience and building a positive culture. RestaurantOwner.com also conducts regular live webinars on a variety of timely and relevant topics. Whether you’re thinking about opening a restaurant, in the planning stages, or already have multiple locations, RestaurantOwner.com has resources that can help you make better decisions, streamline operations and elevate the thinking and level of engagement of your team.

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?
   • Take punches well and dust myself off
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Clarity on choosing the best path to what you want
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Where do you want to be in 2 years?
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • minimizing goals and achieving smaller victories
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • 1% improvement, improve everyday
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Caring about people, staff will write thank you notes on to-go containers/knowing frequent customer names
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
   • Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Engaging with their staff
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Cash Wheeler - artist in OKC
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
    • Toast POS
    • Homebase: Free Employee Scheduling
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?
    • Engage with people
    • Be who you are and improve
    • Try things that are different for you

Contact info:

Instagram: @stitchokc

Stitch website

Thanks for listening!

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Huge thanks to Chad Grubbs for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

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