Description:
Restaurans All Day is happy to bring you this interview with Todd Rushing from Concentrics Restaurants, you know him from Parish, Two, One Midtown Kithchen, Tap, Stats, Murphy's, Room, Trois, Lobby, Luma, and soon The Wit in Chicago.
This interview took place at Parish Food and Goods located at 240 Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA
www.parishatl.com
Tell us about your restaurant, how long you have been open, how many employees, season, % liquor food sales, % cash vs. credit card, Theme, live music. (a quick overview of you business) You don’t have to be too specific, don’t give away any secrets.
TR One Midtown Kitchen opened up 6 years ago, now we have 900 employees with 9 different concepts in Atlanta. In the spring we will open in Chicago. We do about 55% food to 45% liquor, and in all locations but 2 the wine makes up 65% of liquor sales. Concentrics has always done 90% credit vs. cash.
Where did you get the concept for your menu(s)?
TR The chefs are allowed to design their own menus; each menu should have a percentage of comfort foods such as the Venison Meatloaf at Parish and a percentage of creative and imaginative items like the Pompano at Two. Seasonality also plays a big role in menu design.
In 5 words, why do your customers visit your restaurant?
TR If I could say Hospitality five times I would, but here are 5. Hospitality, consistency, imaginative, high-energy, value.
What have your biggest challenges been in opening your restaurant, running it, and how did you overcome them?
TR In opening any restaurant, it’s the team of people that make it a success. Being able to consistently communicate concept to all of the employees from management down is a challenge. We overcome this through educating the staff about our culture, training, and passing along information.
What unexpected problems or successes have you encountered this year?
TR Everyone knows the economy is in bad shape, so I will focus on something positive here. We are fortunate that people have embraced Parish Food and Goods and we have hit on the emotional side of what people are looking for. We have been able to create great restaurant with good value and a creative menu, and a fantastic market that has been well received by the neighborhood.
In your original vision of your restaurant, what have you changed to meet your customer’s needs?
TR Change comes from a couple of places. For example, the wine list and the raw bar menu changed pretty quickly at Parish to reflect the customer’s needs. Change also takes place internally, from the reservation system to the menu; our managers are empowered to make decisions to benefit the guest’s experience.
What do you attribute your success to?
TR Success comes from our employees. It is in conveying this message; we have created a culture that is fair, where opinion counts, one where it is as democratic as possible, and where standards have to be consistently met. Once that message is understood it is easy for us to provide exceptional hospitality to our guests and strive for 100% guest satisfaction.
Who are your customers?
TR 25-50+ year old and pretty even demographics across the board.
What challenges do you see for the near future of the restaurant business and your business?
TR Controlling costs in a down economy is something that all restaurant owners and managers should be looking at. We will be revisiting fixed costs such as insurance, accounting, utilities, ect. to renegotiate these contracts.
With the economy in disarray and gas prices being unstable, do you have a plan in place for the future, if so what are you going to do to ensure your success and that of your employees?
TR We are focusing on reducing COG both in beverage and food. On the beverage side of the business we are negotiating contracts for better pricing, it is a partnership between us and the distributors. On the food side we are looking for contracts to fix pricing on proteins. COG should be coming down on some items, with the recent drop in fuel prices it is now cheaper for distributors to get their products to us.
Do you have any kind of “green” plan for your business?
TR Parish has many examples on how to reduce a restaurants environmental foot print. All of our take-out containers are a corn product so we don’t add plastics to landfills. We practice recycling on premise; plastics, glass, and paper product get separated. We also use as many local, organic products on the menu. This helps by reducing emissions from vehicles in transportation of goods, and by using organic it prevents unwanted chemicals from contaminating our ground water.
What is your turnover rate?
TR It’s about 50%, well under the national average. It speaks volumes about our culture and how we treat our employees with respect and fairness.
How do you find new employees?
TR Mostly word of mouth, our employees recommend friends when we have open positions, and we also use the internet for new store openings.
Do you have a specific training program?
TR Yes, we have a 2 week training program for a new store, and a 1 week training program for an existing location. It is pretty in-depth, we cover culture, menu, wine, standards of service, ect.
When you are not eating at your restaurant, where do you eat?
TR Kevin Rathbun’s, Jerry Klaskala of Aria, and cheap Mexican.
What is your favorite food, wine, beer, liquor?
TR Anything grilled, Pinot Nior, Ales, and Tequila.
If I knew then what I know now…..
I would____________........
TR Have utilized the power of the internet as a marketing tool sooner.
If you could do it all over again, would you?
TR YES! It is a lot of fun, if you don’t do something that you get enjoyment from, don’t do it.
