We’re bringing rock ‘n roll to the Restaurant Growth Unwrapped Podcast!
In a recent episode, Brian Siemienas sits down with David Miller, COO of Pink Taco, to discuss his thrilling 25+ year career in the restaurant industry. Throughout the episode, David focuses on the most critical piece of the industry: the people. From mentors to leaders to employees to customers, the people are the foundation of this fast-paced industry.
Here are some highlights from the episode:
- A complete look at David’s 25-year career in the restaurant industry
- How mentorship and leadership have influenced David’s journey
- Challenges restaurants face in today’s environment (and how to overcome them)
- Why Sales, Marketing, and Operation teams should work closely together
- Hiring insights for restaurant managers and owners
In this blog, we’ll cover the main points of Brian’s conversation with David, but be sure to follow along and listen to the podcast here.
David Miller’s Ultimate Foodie Career Journey
David’s love for the restaurant industry runs deep. He started his career at TGI Fridays and has worked in leadership positions at Hard Rock, Joe’s Crab Shack, Virgil’s, Carmine’s, City Winery, and now Pink Taco.
“When I reflect on my career, it really started as just a love for the business. The only line of work and job that I’ve ever held is being in the restaurant industry. And it was really just out of the enjoyment, pure love that I got from being involved with it over the years.”
His position at Pink Taco is truly a full-circle moment. Pink Taco was founded by Harry Morton, Peter Morton’s son and one of the original founders of Hard Rock. The first Pink Taco was even in the former Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas!
When David was offered the job at Pink Taco, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of shaping the brand into what it is today.
“When I came into Pink Taco, we needed to get back to the basics. We needed to get back to the story of who Pink Taco is because a lot of people didn’t know about the brand. It originated on the West Coast and now we have restaurants on the East Coast. So we just basically wrote the Harry Morton and Pink Taco story and now it proudly hangs with a photo of Harry at all of our locations, restaurant support center, and my office as well. We needed to tell that story and understand why and how it started before anything else.”
Prioritize Mentorship and Learning Early On
When you start in any new role, it’s important to be a sponge and absorb all the information and teachings you can. David understood this right from the get-go.
Mentorship is one of the most powerful ways to build confidence, increase skills, and grow your career. It accelerates learning and helps young professionals thrive by providing personalized support and insight that might take years to acquire independently. Starting his career as a manager at TGI Fridays, he was able to learn from leaders in the industry hands-on with mentors like David Catalano.
No matter what restaurant he was working in—whether it be Boston, New York, or New Jersey—David paid close attention to leadership, noting characteristics such as:
- How they worked with different leaders on the team
- How they presented themselves
- How they ran their business
- How they interacted with their employee base
While these opportunities certainly shaped his career, David knows it’s critical to be your own type of leader.
“No one is perfect, so you probably won’t replicate the leadership styles of even your most respected mentors. And that’s ok! You develop these skills over years of working with many different people and across many different levels. Your goal should be to glean the great qualities from each of those folks, and then you can help utilize that to build it into your own self.”
Challenges Restaurants Face Today Post-Pandemic
The restaurant landscape is more competitive than ever. Restaurants face a laundry list of challenges, including:
- Cost pressures: Food cost inflation has significantly impacted staple ingredients such as eggs, dairy, and proteins. A digital-first world has also strained restaurants. Digital infrastructures like apps, websites, and POS systems can require significant capital.
- Changing customer behaviors: The pandemic accelerated the shift to online ordering, forcing restaurants to adapt quickly. There’s also an increased focus on value as consumers become more price-sensitive.
- Operational struggles: Delivery platforms (UberEats, DoorDash, GrubHub) come with different commission structures, tablet systems, menu management requirements, and payment schedules, which can be complex.
- Intense competition: The restaurant industry is one of the most cutthroat. Today’s restaurants have to completely rethink their business models to keep up with customer demands, trends, and rising costs.
David knows firsthand how the restaurant industry has evolved over the years:
“The margins in our industry are so small, and every dollar counts. We’ve been pretty successful climbing over the prior year, but we’re definitely seeing less traffic and lower overall spending. What’s been especially interesting recently is the decline of alcohol and beverage sales. Customers just aren’t purchasing drinks like they used to. So, while our catering and take-out sales have skyrocketed, beverage sales are declining.”
Never Underestimate The Value Of Customer Feedback
How often have you looked up a restaurant on Google before eating there? It’s the easiest and quickest way to get honest feedback about a restaurant’s quality, value, and atmosphere.
When David joined Pink Taco, one of the first things he did was dive into online guest reviews to better understand how they felt about the restaurant. And it wasn’t all positive.
The biggest takeaway that he consistently saw across all platforms and all restaurants was the food quality. People were not overly happy with the food, and from a taste standpoint, the word ‘bland’ was thrown around quite a bit. So food became priority number 1.
David pulled the restaurant support center team together to analyze the menu. The menu offerings were right, but the value, presentation, and taste of the food weren’t cutting it.
“We took it very fundamentally step by step and stripped the menu back to its bones. In the end, we took off very few items. There were a few items we added to stay in line with customer demands and trends, like wings and hamburgers. But don’t worry, we still kept the Pink Taco Mexican-inspired flair.”
Even after this major menu overhaul, David still actively reviews customer feedback.
“If any customer mentions a negative experience, it’s immediately on my radar. Our customers mean everything to us, so we must constantly challenge ourselves to take food and experiences from good to great.”
Hiring Insights and Advice for Restaurant Professionals
David takes great pride in the teams he’s built. It’s not enough to just have great managers or leadership executives; restaurants need to prioritize employees of all levels, from wait staff to dishwashers.
His approach to hiring and finding the right people for the job is unique, and it starts simply by finding people who are passionate about the job. So, during the interview process, David brings in employees from all levels of the organization to get to know the candidates.
Remember, just because a candidate is qualified, it doesn’t mean that they are the right fit:
“Sometimes you may have someone come through that has a great skill set, but they might not be a fit for your restaurant right now. When you’re in the interview process, you really have to ask yourself, is this candidate a good fit both skills and personality wise? Are they gonna fit with this team? Are they going to blend? Is it good chemistry? That’s super important. You need team members that will enhance the guest experience.”
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurant leaders must understand that many candidates won’t have years of experience. Many operations managers, wait staff, cooks, and more lost work for years due to the pandemic. That’s why David believes that restaurants need to focus on soft skills instead of technical skills.
“Now it’s all about the mindset of a potential candidate. Do they fit the brand? Do they have that hospitality gene in them? Because those are the things you can’t teach. A candidate has to be passionate enough about this business and taking care of people and wanting to create a great experience for a guest.”
The Best Is Yet To Come
David’s journey through the hospitality industry has been nothing short of exhilarating! Listen to the full podcast to learn more about David’s leadership style, how to successfully use data to inform marketing, sales, and operations, and one fun fact you probably don’t know about him. Tune in here.
If you’d like to learn more about how restaurant groups use Nift as a cost-effective, 100% trackable net-new customer acquisition channel to lower their CPA, hit ROAS targets, and grow their database with first-party data, request a demo with our team.
About the Author
Brian Siemienas is a seasoned marketing professional with over 25 years of experience in the restaurant, hospitality, and entertainment industries. As the Vice President of Restaurant Solutions at Nift, Brian is passionate about driving customer acquisition and enhancing restaurant traffic.
Before Nift, Brian’s tenure included leading marketing for brands like Darden, Margaritaville, and Hard Rock. Most recently, he was the CMO at IMCMV, overseeing 28 Margaritaville and Landshark Bar & Grill restaurants across the United States. Brian orchestrated a symphony of brand strategy, communications, partnerships, advertising, creative development, public relations, loyalty programs, and digital/social media in this role. Brian’s fingerprints are all over the success of these iconic establishments.
When Brian isn’t shaping marketing landscapes, he calls Orlando, FL, home. An avid theme park enthusiast, he explores local attractions, travels, and passionately follows college and NFL football. Brian holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunications and a Master’s in Mass Communications from the University of Florida.
