737: Jennifer Weishaupt on Engineering Ideal Operations

Trained engineers, Erich and Jennifer Weishaupt had no plans to own a restaurant. That all changed when a friend purchased a property in their community and asked them to run a breakfast restaurant there. They took the challenge head-on and leveraged their years of experience with critical thinking and project management to revitalize the Mid-City New Orleans neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 12 years later, they've scaled The Ruby Slipper to 18 locations throughout the Gulf Coast under the brand of Ruby Slipper and Ruby Sunshine.

In addition, Jennifer has served on the Board of Directors of Liberty’s Kitchen. The Ruby Slipper has been named one of Forbes Magazine’s Inner City 100 for three years. It was also named a Breakout Brand by Nation’s Restaurant News in 2017.

Check out episode 730 with Dennis Bagneris, CEO of Liberty's Kitchen as mentioned in today's episode!

Check out RestaurantOwner.com as mentioned in today's episode!

Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!

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• Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)

Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "If you focus on your people and put your people first, they'll put your gusts first, and ultimately you're going to be successful."

In today's episode with Jennifer Weishaupt we will discuss:

• Autonomy
• Building a restaurant in response to Hurricane Katrina
• Going from engineer to restauranteur
• What can you learn from 2 years at McDonald's? The answer: A LOT!
• Multiple channels of revenue
• Opening a successful restaurant with a full-time job
• Sharing your numbers with your team
• Importance of team meetings
• An efficient staff meeting

Today's sponsor:

Toast - A POS built for restaurants by restaurant people Adapt fast with Toast's cloud-based restaurant POS system that updates to evolve your POS along with changing industry trends and guest expectations. Toast is built exclusively for restaurants of all shapes and sizes, with over 2/3 of our employees having restaurant experience to serve you better. Online Ordering - Let guests easily order directly from your restaurant for pickup or contactless delivery to keep revenue flowing during these uncertain times. Toast Delivery Services Dispatch local drivers through an on-demand network to keep your community fed and revenue coming in.

 

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • World-class sleeper
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Opinionated
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Adaptability, great attitude
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Hiring great people
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Gracious
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • A little something extra
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   •  Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
   • Untamed by Glennon Doyle
   • 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?
   • Talk to their staff and know what it's like on the front line
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Steritech - cleaning auditor
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations?
    • NoWait - reservation system
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?
    • It's always and only about the people
    • The early bird DOES catch the worm
    • Keep the balance

Contact info:

Instagram: @rubyslippercafe | @rubysunshinebrunch

www.rubysunshine.com

Thanks for listening!

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Huge thanks to Jennifer Weishaupt for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

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