REWIND OLYMPICS EDITION — Flipping Success: CEO Chronicles With GJ Hart | Season 10, Vol. 3

Well, you know what? I'm an immigrant. I'm from the Netherlands. My parents came here in 1963. I was 5 years old, so there you go. And my mom was a prisoner of war survivor. My dad ran the Dutch underground to stay alive during World War II. Anyway, they came to America for freedom, and it gave me an opportunity. My dad ended up being a cop. My mother worked as a keypunch operator. And anyway, long story short, I ended up getting my first job in the restaurant business as a dishwasher, busboy, short order cook at none other than Howard Johnson's. Yeah, man, about those fried clams, baby, I put on hot dog buns. Yeah, so I did that and ended up going into the, because you know, I had to work. So while I was trying to go to college, I had to pay my way through school, and I ended up going into the pure business. I was in the pure business for a good long time, and then got back into the restaurant business. And I ended up going down to New Orleans and working for a guy by the name of Copeland. You heard that name before. He founded Popeyes. So I ran his businesses, and that was great experience.

Jingle? No, don't know that one. But anyway, so then I ended up meeting the founder and we became partners at Texas Roadhouse and was there for a long time. We took it public. You know, obviously the story's well known at this point. And then I decided if I was any freaking good, I'd have to go do something without a partner. And I went to do the turnaround at California Pizza Kitchen. And then sort of got done with that project and then went on to Torchy's. And I actually retired for a week or two. And I really didn't mean it quite that way that time. But anyway, I went to Torchy's and had a lot of fun at Torchy's. Great concept, phenomenal concept. And we did a great, you know, we did some fundraising there and had a lot of success. And then candidly, I decided, well, okay, I'm going to hang it up. And nine months of retirement, that wasn't for me. You know, sitting on boards is cool, but you don't operate a business. So anyway, you're a restaurant guy, man. You can't. Then ended up at Red Robin. And why did I go to Red Robin? Well, because you know, Red Robin, 50-year-old iconic brand. And if you think about the epitome of what casual dining was doing back in the day, Red Robin was the poster child. Anyway, so I had a lot of respect. We were tiny at Roadhouse. So always had that admiration for the brand. And when I had that opportunity, I was like, you know, there's not too much I'd want to come back and do, but I thought, hey, if I can make a difference, let me try it. So that's how I got.

Okay, so first of all, it's the North Star Comeback Plan. And the reason it's comeback is to your point, it's about... Yeah, I know he gets his stars all mixed up. But you know, you're dead right. When you think about iconic brands, Red Robin's 50 plus years. And you know, Red Robin did it incredibly well. It was about kids, family, fun, great food, reasonable price, and great hospitality. So you got a lot to work with. And so when I came in, you know, the company had, you know, every company goes through ebbs and flows and had gone through a pretty tough lean period. And so my whole idea was, let's learn. So I became a historian about Red Robin. I've interviewed more people that have been with the company, left the company, in the company to learn so I could really understand. And when you think about the niche that Red Robin filled in casual dining, no one's really taken the place of that. And so I felt like, to get back to relevance, if we could move that forward, bring the fun back, and bring back quality and hospitality, you got so... So the North Star plan was really taking a look at the brand, learning, and deciding it was five points in the plan that we did. And it's pretty simple, and I'm happy to take you through it. But it's been, so far, in September I'll celebrate one year, and we've made a lot of progress. And you know, it's not always easy to do this kind of work, and a comeback in a public environment that's not always easy. So yeah, I will say the team is amazing. I've got incredibly good tenured people, new people as well, and I'm having a heck of a lot of fun. I love it.

Yeah, well, it's a great question. You know, look, the first thing that comes to mind is be genuine. You know, show that you care about people and that you really mean it, and do what you say you're going to do. So I think first and foremost is being real. And I think that is something that, you know, fortunately I'm able to attract people to join me, and it's helped me be successful. So if you start and end with people and you truly mean it and you live it and breathe it, then I think you can have great success. How do you inspire people? Getting them, first of all, giving them a voice, making sure they understand why they matter. And when you do that, it's amazing what can happen. Because our brains, like if we put our three brains, well maybe not you two, but put three brains together versus one, you're going to do better. I'm kidding, by the way.

No, I will tell you, the genuine caring, I think that all it's, it's actually not that complicated, but it is something you have to commit to, be intentional about, and build the trust and confidence from the people around you.

I think at the end of the day, two years from today, I don't think we're going to get away from, at the end of the day, it's about the food, stupid. And it's about the food. And I think that's what's going to happen. Yeah, we'll still be talking about technology enabling the guest experience for sure, but at the end of the day, it's tried and true. It's about the food.

Actually, I will tell you that when we lean in heavily on tech, tech is always a supporting actor. It's made to help and support the lead actor, and that is the food. So it's interesting you guys say that, because I have five pillars that support the North Star plan, and technology is not one of them. Technology is underneath all of them. It's an enabler to our business to achieve those five pillars. Absolutely.

Well, I think what is changing is the ability to be very specifically targeted to a consumer that you want to address. So it becomes a one-on-one relationship. We're getting better and better at that. And I think at the end of the day, to win in this business long term from a technology enablement perspective, I think if you can direct, like if I knew exactly about you, personalization, all that, if it's that, and we're going to get there, and then that's going to help you. Personalization, customization. Don't put Instagram things about a steak to a guy who eats like my daughter in kindergarten. Meet the guest where they're at. How about that? Meet them where they're at.

All right, so am I asking both of you? You can ask us. You can ask. I'm going to ask you both the same question. What's the one thing that I should know about you that I don't? Jimmy, you go. You're so good at this. Look at that. You making him so good at it. Jimmy, I got him stumped. No, no, no. Actually, look, I mean, Jimmy not speaking. This is a miracle. This is a Christmas miracle. Here it is. You talk about team and you talk about relationships. And I've known Shatzy for over three and a half decades through our other partner who I met in the eighth grade. And then Shatzy went on, my friend and our partner Dean went on to go to college with Shatzy. So by the community of property, you know, Dean was friends with Shatzy, Dean's friends with me, so Shatzy and I had to be friends. Which you didn't know is I never liked the guy. No, you didn't know that. Also, I will tell you that in terms of a partnership and a business that we've built, I think one of the unique commitments is that at this point, after being together so long, no one's taking their ball and going home. We have healthy tension, we have some friction, we have different ways of approaching things, but there's been a commitment about this business that we're building and the enjoyment. And I'm going to know you for the rest of my life, my friend. Something you didn't know. Wow, there you go. Something you didn't know. Top that.

Uh, it's going to be either Blue Stone or Blue Bottle.

I mean, it never happens. Like, you know, we love Blue Stone. They're good folks. Good people. And Phil's got great stuff. PJ's, I saw balls here. Now you're loving everybody. I love it. I don't really know Blue Bottle Coffee people, so we do, we do. I know everybody on this list. I love them all. They're all fabulous people.

Whiskey ribeye barbecue sauce.

Italian.

My favorite food city? New York.

Favorite place to travel? Europe.

You.

You bet.