I’ve always viewed the restaurant industry as risky but Chef Sam Marvin sees no risk. He’s able to pump out hit after hit without missing a beat. From Bottega Louie to Echo & Rig, the chef has proven that success in the hospitality industry is a formula and it’s a formula we can learn. On today’s show, we’ll be discussing the formula he used to turn Bottega Louie into a 10 million dollar blockbuster.
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SHOW NOTES
Started a consulting job in LA
Met a family who dined at the consulting restaurant 89 times over 10 months
Father of the family was son of CEO of Hilton
Pitched him on the idea for Bottega Louie
Spent 2years working closely to create the restaurant
Restaurants have opened the same way fro 100years
Key pillars of focus
Shift from restaurant business to experience business
Goal to create egocentric gratification in guests
Investing in experience
Keeping average check mid-range
Goal to bring guests back 3 times per week
Industry goal is one guest to come back every 90 days
Focusing on the human psyche
Tapping into subconscious
130 metrics including the 5 key pillars
Example: $1300 leather-bound reservations book
Example: Intentional confusion whe a guest walks in because restaurant is open plan. Create opportunity for connection from hosts
Opportunities during tragedy
Bottega Louie opened during economic crash of 2009
Invested over $6million on the opening
Opportunities and tragedy move at equal pace
Inspiration from European restaurants
Laduree inspired macarons
Italian is the #1 food genre in the world
Why choose Downtown LA
Has a reputation of being homeless town
Research showed surrounding restaurants were doing well
Research on local population
Size of population
Average income
Average check amount per restaurant
Bottega Louie made $8-9million
Zero profit in year one
Investing in the future
Four points for decision-making
Good for employee
Good for investors
Good for guests
Good for community
Why Sam left Bottega Louie
Stayed for 5.5years
Wanted to control his own destiny
Gained business knowledge
Strategy to open a new restaurant
Figuring out what the community needs
Finding gap in the market
Lots of Research and Development
Echo & Rig strategy
Studying surrounding steakhouses in Las Vegas
$28 or $88 check average – nothing in between
Decided on $53 check average
Studying the weight of meat
Steakhouses serve large steak because it is the norm
Do guests really need 30z steaks?
Decided to serve best possible steak at smaller size
Is Covid going back to zero?
Everything has changed
Grand revenue numbers hide flaws
Previously needed to make over $90k a week to make a profit
Retooling to create bigger and better businesses
Feeling excited about the future
Improving delivery
Elevated packaging
Making guests feel special even outside the restaurant
