Episode 673: 3 Things I Learned From Amy Wester of Biscuit Head

Episode notes

Every episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked runs about an hour. This is the short version, and it's a new thing we're trying. After each conversation, I'm posting a quick episode with the specific, actionable, repeatable things you can take from that owner and use in your restaurant right now. First up is Amy Wester, managing partner at Biscuit Head in Asheville, NC. Amy and her team have four locations, thirteen years in business, and a stretch behind them that included COVID and then Hurricane Helene, which took out their cannery and left the city without running water for 52 days. Here's what I learned from her. Text your whole staff your personal cell number and tell them if something isn't getting heard, call you directly. Say "I messed that up" out loud in front of your team this week and name a real decision that cost money. Amy's leadership team does this on purpose, because employees who are afraid to admit mistakes will bury them until they get expensive. Ask one long-tenured employee what you should change. Amy's team took an idea from an employee thirteen years in and immediately wondered how they had never thought of it themselves.

• Episode 674: "Let's Just Choose Optimism": Dan Simons on Failure, Fear, and Finding a Way Forward88 / 100
• Episode 669: I Was a Top Food Salesman, Then I Opened a Restaurant and Realized I Knew Nothing - Christian Williams, Sugo Italian Restaurant72 / 100
• Episode 672: COVID, Then Helene, Then Their Best Year with Amy Wester of Biscuit Head
• Episode 671: The Apple Store of Yogurt: How Easy Breezy Built a Premium Brand One Shop at a Time
• Episode 670: From Bartender to Multi-Concept Restaurant and Bar Owner: A 21-Year-Old's Bet That Paid Off