770: Will Myska on Winning Amongst Ourselves

At 19 years old William Myska moved from Texas to New England and enrolled in the Atlantic Culinary Academy at McIntosh College. While in school he worked with Chef Evan Hennessey at The Dunaway Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH, and followed Hennessey to Stages at One Washington in Dover, NH. Next, he worked at Portsmouth’s popular Ristorante Massimo before joining Vida Cantina where, under the stewardship of Chef/Owner David Vargas, learned how to run a kitchen. His and Vargas' partnership flourished and together they opened Ore Nell’s Barbecue in Kitty, ME, with restaurateur Jay McSharry.

Check out episode 748 with Evan Hennessey as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out episode 755 with David Vargas as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out the book The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham 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:

• “If you show me a good loser, I’ll show you a loser.”

In today's episode with Will Myska we will discuss:

• Being competitive
• Play to win
• Friendly competition
• The value of a dollar
• Passion for food
• Theft
• Making mistakes when you’re young
• Reality checks
• Moving from Texas to New Hampshire
• Punctuality matters
• Head down, hard work
• Attention to detail
• Maintaining standards
• Catering
• Popups
• Treat it like you own it
• Different management styles for different people
• When you have to manage people older than you are
• Food cost/the numbers/keep it lean
• Maintain the right ENERGY in the kitchen
• Avoid passive aggressive behavior in the kitchen
• Loyalty/who has your back?
• Intricacies of Bar-b-que (especially in New England)
• Getting you name out when you’re a new restaurant
• Instagram
• Email blasting
• Collaboration
• Holiday packages or food
• No excuses

Today's sponsor:

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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.

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.

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Let loose and have fun
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Unable to let go and step away
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • What are you goals in life?
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • COVID-19, best ways to promote and pivot
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Punctuality, good attitude
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Three hellos, three goodbyes
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
     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?
   • Social media
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Maine Meat Butcher Shop in Kittery ME
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
    • Toast POS
    • Seacoast Eats Facebook group
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?
    • Life's not a dress rehearsal
    • Play to win
    • Live, laugh, love

Contact info:

Instagram: @orenellsbbq

Ore Nell's website

Thanks for listening!

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Huge thanks to Will Myska 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!