Thanks for joining me on the podcast. Once again, welcome back. Today is a chef episode and I’m speaking with chef Andy McLeod from Fleet Landing, a busy seafood restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. Very competitive restaurant town. We’re going to talk about best practices in the restaurant and in the kitchen.

We’re going to talk about rising in an organization, mentoring others. What’s important to build leadership and accountability in a team. Financial acumen, maintaining margins. Amidst inflation and labor costs that are out of control. We’re going to cover all those bases, but again, it’s mostly about best practices and team spirit and ultimately what leads to the best guest experience.

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Welcome back. This is the Restaurant Rockstars podcast. So glad you’re with us, Andy. How are you today? Welcome to the show. Hey, I’m great. Thanks. Thanks for thanks for having me. Awesome. I love chef episodes because the chefs of course are the heart of the house and you make everything happen behind the scenes.

So let’s start with your culinary journey. What were your early inspirations and how’d you get into this crazy food business? It’s definitely

crazy. So I guess I started in the front of the house. And when I was in high school, I worked for a local ice cream shop, and then when I got out on my own, I was a server and bartender for years.

And that was my introduction into the industry. And so I found cooking later on after Going on a long hike on the Appalachian Trail and meeting some fellow hikers we cooked a lot after foraging and it was through that experience that I fell in love with the idea of cooking.

So did you go to culinary school? Did you apprentice in restaurants? Tell us about how you learned your skill set.

Sure, yeah. I did go to culinary school after my hike and I, cooked a little bit before that. I’ve been in Charleston since 06 and I worked for a local restaurateur, Sermet Aslan.

He’s got a place on Daniel Island here in Charleston now. Back in the early 2000s, he had a really cool bistro on King Street. He was there for 20 years. And so that was the first exposure I had to working in a kitchen. And after taking a sabbatical and meeting some people that I really vibed with I came back to Charleston and went to culinary school.

There’s a big restaurant scene in Charleston for sure. Really dynamic restaurant town. In terms of culinary school, was your experience very positive? And would you recommend it to other aspiring chefs or people that just want to get into the kitchen and move their skill level up and rise to where you’ve gotten in the industry?

I think Culinary School is, it’s a great resource and network for sure. The school I went to in Charleston had some incredible instructors that were local to the area, chefs in town that moonlighted and taught some great full time ones too. I had a great experience. My, my experience at school was really positive.

I learned a ton. The people I met I think was the biggest benefit. You learn so much so fast in culinary school that, you don’t grab techniques and really get to spend time with them but you do, you, you get exposure to a lot of things. So it’s a good place to find out maybe what you’re interested in or determine like the direction you want to go.

I don’t think it’s necessary for a person that wants to get into culinary, Getting a job at a place that is willing to spend time and teach you and really dig into the training piece can be just as useful.

When you’re there, every culinary school has different programs, but in my personal experience I’ve employed several chefs in my restaurants over the years.

And the skill sets varied, of course. Now you can go to culinary school and just focus on your skills and on different cuisines and putting menus together. But then there’s a very important financial piece. And then some people may even want to own their own restaurant someday or work for large hotels.

Was your experience? Broad, could you take electives in restaurant finance, all that kind of stuff to learn how to cost out menus and keep track of food costs and that sort of thing? Was that part of your experience?

Yeah, for sure. The school I went to broke it up into two pieces. So the beginning was more core classes, learning technique, and then the business classes came afterwards.

So yeah, I think that’s a really big takeaway. Bye. If you’re looking to emerge from culinary school, ready to run a restaurant, run a kitchen it’s a great place to learn the business side. You it’s expensive to go to culinary school, so you can look at it that way too. You’re paying to learn.

You get a lot of that kind of, information quickly in school. So that’s a great investment for sure. But you can get paid to learn at the same time if you land a spot under a great chef or a great restaurateur.

Yeah, opportunity is where you find it. Some people might say it’s an advantage to have a culinary degree when you’re applying to a restaurant, because they might take you more seriously than someone that just says, oh, I think I want to work in the kitchen.

And, you might start out at an entry level position either way. Let’s talk about that. When you got out of culinary school and you said, did you set your sights on certain restaurants saying, that looks like a place I’d like to work? Did you know anyone at these places? Like, how did you get your first gig?

And then once you answer that question, tell us about what the key learnings were to rise up. Did you start off in prep? Did you start out on a station? Tell us about the whole thing.

So in Charleston in the 2010s is really where I was coming out of culinary school and cutting my teeth, the Indigo Road was the prominent restaurant group in Charleston.

At that time it was emergent. It was I think just four. And it’s grown to be one of the largest groups in the Southeast. Really well run group, but that’s where I wanted to be. And coming out of school, chef Jeremiah Bacon was running Oak Steakhouse and at the time the McIntosh. The McIntosh was the flagship of the restaurant group.

And he was one of the hottest chefs in town doing the coolest stuff and I was fortunate enough to get a job at Oak Steakhouse and yeah, I started on a station right off the rip on Frye. And I was there for two years, just on one station. It was a great place to see the rest of the kitchen and get my feet wet.

But have a really competitive city and there’s a lot of really great chefs and line cooks. And And just a lot of time and willingness to just jump on any grenades and just be there whenever, your name’s called was really what it takes, I think, in most kitchens.

Yeah. Peel the potatoes and pay the dues, right? Whatever it takes. Yeah, man. Yeah, you just gotta be there. And that’s a great I think a great way to see what the business is and understand what it takes to run a restaurant.

Did you always set your sights on being a chef?

Obviously, when you go to culinary school, and you really have a passion for food, that’s clearly where people want to go. Did you sue in any restaurants? Or tell us about the opportunities that kind of led your career forward. Yeah. For sure.

I think fundamentally, like my personality is more that of a doer.

I love the, I just love the process. And so that was, it’s where I started. And I think like where I really saw myself for a long time. And The opportunity to lead came later and has taught me so much. And I’m really grateful for that opportunity. But I definitely didn’t set my sights on it out of the gate, when I was in school and kind of learning about the business the sustainability piece and the kind of the way that our food ways are built and influence the community around us was really something that called to me.

As I progressed through my journey as a chef, I did see the opportunity to influence the way that our restaurant interacts with the community and purveyors and farmers and fishermen, as an inspiration to want to be a chef.

What about mentors?

Did you have anyone special either in culinary school or in restaurants that sort of saw something special in you and really gave you special attention, showed you the way, gave you inspiration, gave you great advice that really helped your career? There’ve been many,

Sir Matt Aslan, like I mentioned before, was the first to give me a shot in a kitchen.

This was before I really, I was a server. I wanted, at the time his restaurant had three servers on the floor selling crazy numbers every day. And so I wanted to be there. And he didn’t have a spot for me in the front, but he told me that I wanted to start as a line cook.

Maybe we could do it that way, but. He was the first person I saw really love cooking. I, I saw that like spark and the passion, and I guess he showed me what that looks like and has been, we’ve been close since, or, ever since. And Yeah he definitely showed me how to love it, and everybody I’ve worked with along the way at the Indigo Road has been instrumental in shaping me as well.

Fantastic. Now, you probably took that to heart, like maybe it’s automatically part of your personality, but I don’t want to answer for you. Have you mentored others in this business and seen something special in them and try to move their careers along?

I’ve, worked with a lot of people that I am fortunate enough to call my friends at this point that I’ve met along the way.

And that’s, it’s like a steel sharpened steel kind of situation, I think I’ve definitely supported a lot of people along their journey for sure. And that’s, I don’t know if something I’ve always done intentionally. It’s something that you look back on and realize that’s what that was at the time,

yeah, whether it’s your current restaurant or any of your past experiences, do, does anything stick out as a success story where you saw someone start out at the very bottom and they rose to really major responsibility just based on their approach to the job or, their passion for it? I’m sure it happens all the time.

It happened in my restaurants and I’m sure you’ve seen some things along the way. Anything stand out?

There’s so many, our, that’s one of the most, I think the most amazing things about the business that we’re in is that you can come from anywhere. And if you’re in a kitchen, if you’re on the floor, it’s like our skillsets are all we need to, we all speak the same language when we’re in, we’re in the house together.

And so I, I’ve got A lot of friends that started it, as a busboy and they’re executive chefs now. And as far as a story in particular, yeah. Yeah, I don’t even know

how to pick one.

I think you made the point. It does happen in our business all the time, and, so many people get involved in restaurants at a young point in their careers.

It’s a huge boost to our economy, of course. You can’t talk to, ten people on the street without eight of them saying, yeah, I once worked in an ice cream shop, or I was a dishwasher at a country club. Everyone has an early experience with restaurants, and some people that really stick it out, it just, it’s in their blood.

It digs deep. And like you said, it’s like you can start out no culinary degree. You just show up at the right approach, the whatever it takes attitude, willingness to learn, be a team player. These are all the key attributes. And like you said, you can become an executive chef. And I think we all have stories like that.

So it’s very inspiring. We do have an audience that aspire to be chefs. We also have owners and leaders in restaurants that are wondering, what can I do to make my kitchen and my front of house more cohesive? We’ve all seen the teamwork and respect in some restaurants. And then sometimes, Kitchens are in the heat of battle, right?

The 900 degree heat and the tickets are on the floor, and then suddenly some server approaches and she’s almost intimidated because, she can see the craziness, but yet she needs something, a recook really fast. Is there a cohesive balance in your kitchen now?

It’s something we push

for,

Daily.

And , what we Fleet Landing is a busy restaurant every day. And so the intensity is required to, to get it done, and so being, yeah, being able to channel that and knowing to, direct it. It’s, I think it’s about making sure it’s directed in the right place. I think we do a great job of that, and the relationship between our back of the house and front of the house is strong.

And it starts with our managers and leaders for sure. But yeah, it’s something that you have to be mindful of and really check in on all the time.

Yeah. Do you have direct hiring responsibility in the kitchen? Are you responsible for staffing it at all times? I am yeah. What do you look for in a young person, or anyone at all, that literally comes looking for a job?

What do you expect, at a basic minimum, that they would bring to the table in order to be successful? So that they can get up to speed quickly, provide the quality you’re looking for, the productivity, and just, contribute to the team as an asset as quickly as possible. Are there certain attributes that you look for?

What’s your hiring process look like yourself? We have, we definitely

have like a process and, I think it’s a really sound one as far as like on a personal level and just like where, I meet people. The openness and asking good questions I think is a really positive thing to see, because wherever you come from.

What we do at Fleet Landing is what we do at Fleet Landing. And so being open to, maybe learning something new or learning it in a new way is really important when you’re joining a new

team, I think. For sure. You mentioned past experience as a server and a bartender. Do you have a certain understanding of you must, because you did it, but front of house, and that word hospitality is part of the entire restaurant.

Front of house, back of house, whatever. What’s your, do you have a definition of hospitality? What does that word really mean to you? And do you impart that to your team on a daily basis or regularly? The

word comes up all the time. And I think it’s something that can get lost in the mix because you hear it so much.

And so it’s important to again, check in on what that means. And we definitely talk about it. You hear the, what’s the phrase we’re in the business of saying yes, for me, I think hospitality is, Being able to see somebody and anticipate their needs and, have that connection with them.

Because just in the business, we’re all coming from different walks of life and different parts of the world, our guests are too, and just acknowledging that they’re here to have an experience that it’s intimate is really important. And I think every situation is dynamic and organic, and you just have to be open to, the, to seeing what the guest needs are, I guess is where I would put that.

I totally agree with that approach. In terms of making the team connect and bond, is there any recognition rewards that happen restaurant wide or in your kitchen where someone gets singled out for doing something above and beyond where there might be a reward or it’s just a pat on the back great job.

Are there any programs in the restaurant or in your kitchen?

We were just fortunate enough to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our longest standing employee. No kidding.

Fleet Landing celebrating 20 years this year in November. It’s a huge accomplishment for us as a restaurant.

And Ms. B she. She just retired this year, but 20 years at Fleet Landing. An incredible woman. She’s the definition of hospitality. And I love that. It was really cool to celebrate not just her tenure, but her service and everything that she’s brought individuals and so Ms. B will eat at Fleet Landing for free for the rest of her life.

We’ve made her this really cool card. Awesome. She’s, yeah, we celebrate a lot of milestones like that frequently. And I think it’s important to acknowledge, what it takes to run a restaurant on an individual level.

Oh, that’s very bittersweet. I’m sure she’s Recognized by not only the guests, but the team, and it must be a real special thing that she’s made such an impact over such a long period of time, and that’s really what it’s about, it’s like a bunch of people coming together, doing their best, giving their best, caring about quality, caring about hospitality, and the guest experience, and all people coming together is a very powerful thing.

When a guest walks through the door, you just know if a restaurant is a cohesive team, if it’s running on all eight cylinders, and if people really enjoy what they’re doing. Because the guests can feel it. They can taste it in the food. They can see it in the experiences that they’re having. And that was a great story.

I appreciate that. Do you have regular pre shift meetings in the kitchen or, restaurant wide? And what are some of the things you talk about?

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Yeah, we do it twice daily. We’re open for lunch and dinner. We have a front of the house and we have separate front of the house and back of house lineups.

Because of, the pace, it fluctuates on exactly when every day. We do have a three 30 to five window where we do just service at the bar and don’t sneak the restaurant. So that helps us flip, flip the store and get ready. But yeah, it’s a lot of housekeeping, making sure that the messages that need to go out are getting out to everybody.

And we definitely try to find inspiration in those meetings, too, at the same time. Because everybody needs to hear that, they’re doing a good job. We have an incredible staff that’s, showing up every day, just laying it all out. And yeah, they’re quick meetings, but we do it daily, and I think it’s really important to do that.

It is for sure. Thanks for sharing. How often does the menu change at all, or there’s just staples that are on there all the time because they’re tried and true?

Fleet Landings like quintessential seafood low country seafood restaurant. And We are all about the classics, red rice, sheep crab soup our shrimp and grits are the best in South Carolina.

And so those things are here to stay, for sure. We opened a raw bar in February, and The Raw Bar has been a really cool place for us to play with daily specials and like things that are seasonal and fresh. We run specials from the hot side as well but there are a lot of really cool local products that we can get.

They’re just a flash in the pan that we can put on like a dressed oyster and do fun stuff with tartars and stuff like that from the raw bar.

Yeah, that’s tremendous. And all the seafood is it local off the docks? Is it flown in daily or week, several times a week? Where’s, where do you get the majority of your seafood?

So it’s a variety for sure. We are, in the low country of South Carolina and we have some of the best oysters in the world. So a lot of the oysters we get when they’re in season are from Charleston area. And that’s a big source of pride for us to support that. And during the warmer summer months we’ll source regionally.

We have a really cool oyster program and our raw bar manager, Lucas Hanegraaff is Like kind of a sommelier of oysters. The guy is brilliant. And so he’s got this, he’s got this really cool program where he brings it. We always have a West Coast. He tries to have a full spectrum available so that, I guess it’s really interested in learning about flavor profiles and what makes an oyster, tastes like an oyster.

That’s something that we really take pride in sourcing. And yeah, fish comes from we have a couple of local purveyors that bring it in from anywhere from, Charleston docks to up and down the East Coast.

The raw bar is like a hook, like that’s a marketing element unto itself.

And it’s something that you mentioned that now your oysters are run by a sommelier because there’s so many different varieties. And like you said, they come in from so many different places and they all have different tastes, flavor profiles, and all that kind of stuff. Do you offer any sort of tasting flights where you tell people what the nuances are of the different styles or the different where they’re sourced from?

And people can say, yeah, we want two of these and we want two of those. You get a dozen oysters, but can you pick and choose and say, I’d like to taste a bunch of them?

Yeah, we don’t limit the number of varieties that you can put on one, one tray. In fact our staff on the raw bar, it’s like their favorite thing is for somebody just to tell them to take it away and do a shucker’s choice, because then, yeah, it creates a whole experience around the story behind each oyster and it’s a great chance.

If a guest wants to learn that’s a fun way to do it.

For sure. Is there a typical day for you? Tell us about your role day to day and, what a typical day is like. And is it always the same? Is every day different? You’ve got certain responsibilities, you’re cooking, you’re influencing menus, all that kind of stuff, but tell us what your life is like in the kitchen.

It’s, it is varied. So we have a big staff, we have a we’re doing around 1400 covers a day right now. Yeah. So it’s a fast paced restaurant. We’re really fortunate in our owners structuring that really well for like work life balance. And so we have a large management team.

I have five sous chefs under me and, every day is about, Making sure communication’s happening from top to bottom. That’s our, we really focus on over communicating. There’s a lot of kind of like morning, there’s the morning check in with the AMC and then we’re making sure that our prep teams are firing on all cylinders.

Making sure everybody got to work today. And then, working service is a whirlwind for sure. We have lunch service from 11 to 3. 30, and it takes everybody in the building to execute. You’ll see our general manager busing tables. I can be behind the raw bar helping, the shuckers in the kitchen, if the fry guy needs a hand, so you’re in that window, we’re just all hands on deck and then, that’s pretty much every day we have one admin day a week, which is really nice, because who can find time to do that kind of stuff otherwise but, it’s It’s a pretty typical restaurant life, but with volume, it just makes it very exciting every day.

And especially when, the unexpected happens, because things happen. I could tell you stories when I owned restaurants about forgetting to pay. Put our propane on automatic delivery, and it’s a Saturday night, and the grill’s full of steaks, and then all of a sudden, the gas goes out.

It’s I’ve made those mistakes, and things do happen. The dishwasher breaks down, whatever it is, and the show must go on. It’s you gotta roll with it. I’m sure you could tell stories yourself about, Oh my gosh, we’re in the heat of battle and then something happened, but you can’t let the guests see behind the scenes that you’re sweating and that stuff’s going on.

It’s you just got to carry on, the power goes out and suddenly all the lights are out and you can’t cook. And it’s Oh my God. That’s the restaurant business.

Yeah. We have a really nice tilt skillet, rational tilt skillet. And we it’s hot right now. And so we’re adding supplemental AC.

It’s incredible. And so we’re adding supplemental AC in our kitchen and getting those pieces of equipment is super difficult right now. And we had the chance for a mini split to go in. And the guy was like, look, I can put this in tomorrow morning. And like of course, like when let’s just get this done.

And all of our morning guys were like waiting on this thing to get finished so we can start prep to get the day going. And the only part of the kitchen we could use was was the prep side. The range in the ovens we’re outta commission waiting on this thing to get finished.

So we’re like. Making grits in the tilt skillet. We’re like prepping everything in this one piece of equipment,

because that’s what you got to do. I think you’re speaking to efficiencies. Now, I was on your website and there’s frequently asked questions and you don’t do takeout orders because the kitchen is small.

So when that happens, you really have to have your efficiencies dialed in your systems and all that. And people need to be able to anticipate what each other are doing so that you’re not bumping into each other, just to make sure that the food comes out in a reasonable wait time, that it’s prepared properly.

Do you find many challenges with that? Or people are just so used to working that kitchen that it’s just Every day is just natural.

It’s a bit of both. Fleet’s been open for 20 years and there’s it’s a testament to ownership and just the culture in our restaurant. But we have a lot of staff members that have been here for over 10 years, a lot that have been here for over 15 years, so there’s a lot of a lot of like cohesiveness that comes with that, so some stuff is just muscle memory at this point, but.

There’s intention behind it too. And we do talk a lot about systems and a lot about the accountability and making sure we’re keeping those systems, oiled and healthy.

Would you say that the wait staff are very well knowledgeable, not only about fleet landing itself, but the menu so that Guests ask questions, they’re really well informed.

I think one of the biggest challenges right now are dietary restrictions, food allergies, gluten free, dairy free, celiac, like all these things didn’t exist decades ago and now it seems so prevalent. And I know you have a gluten free menu, but it’s like these questions come up all the time and people in the line of battle have to be able to accurately talk about your menu and how it’s prepared.

So you must play a huge part in that, right? Okay. It’s you have to have a kit for

everything, so like you have allergy kits where when we know that we have a tree nut or a shellfish allergy, it’s okay, I’m going to grab this. We have all of our clean stuff here. And it’s yeah, you have to be super aware of that.

Our front of the house managers are incredible with. The awareness and daily lineup in education, they do such a good job of being intentional about it, but then finding the, the things that we need to refresh on or reeducate on, and they give dynamic lineups every day. And so it’s That educational piece for our staff is constantly being driven by them.

And it makes such a huge difference because, even if you’ve worked at a place for 10 years, you things do become a little rudimentary. And Keeping it all fresh is important, and especially when somebody’s, life is on the line with an allergy or something like that.

That was such a key point, so I’m really glad that you brought that clear for the audience, because it’s so important today, and that is a testament to training and education and continual, adding to people’s knowledge to make the restaurant not only run better and more efficiently in terms of safety, but also in terms of the guest experience.

So super important there. Let’s talk about accountability and staffing. A lot of restaurants are complaining, Oh my God, the staffing shortage. Has that been an issue in your restaurants at all? Have you had any problems? 1400 covers a day. You need all your people on all hands on deck all the time.

Let’s talk about that. Yeah,

it was, I think the post COVID world is still a thing, right? We still say that a little and it was, I think, pretty widespread the staffing shortage coming right out of COVID and in Charleston, it is a hub for. For culinary in South Carolina and people come to Charleston for that.

Like we have a lot of people that move here to come get jobs in, in awesome restaurants. So we I wouldn’t say we have a shortage at Fleet Landing and in Charleston, there are so many new restaurants opening all the time. There’s a lot of turnover for that, people. Wanting to be at the hottest new place.

But we are really fortunate to have the owners we have and to have the, we have a really solid team and our turnover is one

of the lowest in the city. Fantastic. You have a reputation that gets around, and people know the good places to work, and where people are valued, and they have a voice, and they have, good compensation, and the ability to earn good money and have be, part of a professional team.

That’s so important. Would you say that there’s framework in place for accountability. And when I say that, it’s like when I speak to restaurants that I coach with and consult with, or even in the forums that I belong to, the expectations aren’t always met. And people are always complaining, why don’t my people show up on time?

Or why do they call in sick? And sometimes they perform, and sometimes they don’t. And I think that it’s really important to have job descriptions and performance reviews and these recognition rewards programs and make it clear what the expectations are so that when something goes sideways, it’s like you have a procedure to get somebody back on track.

Would you say that’s dialed at Fleet Landing?

 I think what the most important aspect of having those programs and whether it be training, incentivizing, is the follow through. And that’s the hardest part, right? It’s not just, Having it in place, but pushing, the team to, to make sure that we’re actually keeping it on schedule and crossing the t’s and dotting the, i’s like when it’s time to, because we’re busy all the time.

So that kind of, that’s. The piece that can, easily get put off till next week and stuff like that. And so I think it’s super important to make sure that we have it and we are doing a great job of keeping that stuff on schedule. But we have to constantly push for that.

Let’s shift gears and talk about financial responsibility.

I asked you earlier if you’ve got some financial training in culinary school, and obviously you’ve got so much experience as a chef, and if you handle this whole thing. Let’s talk about inflation and the highest labor costs we’ve ever had to pay for Kitchen people primarily. And wages are always rising, the markets are always volatile.

Inflation has been here for a long time, and margins and restaurants have shrunk. You have to have certain controls to stay on top of your margins. Let’s talk about how that works at Fleet Landing. It is,

A bigger challenge than I ever thought it could be. For sure. We have. Great utilization of our product.

Opening the raw bar has given us even more flexibility in utilizing a hundred percent of what we’re bringing in. And tuna loin that comes in now if we have a little trim that wouldn’t go into a portion before it can go into tartar now. And so we’re doing things like that to help mitigate food costs.

Great relationships with purveyors being on the scene for 20 years and Being a busy high volume place gives us a little more buying power, obviously, and that helps. But I think really cultivating relationships with purveyors and going out to find the product is it’s a challenge, but it’s a great way to help pad some of that for sure.

Labor costs is here to stay though. That’s, yeah, that’s incredible, isn’t it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I guess in my experience, menu costing has been so vitally important to just know, am I still making the same profit on my menu as I was a year ago? And that sort of thing, especially when prices are rising seemingly more than they’re falling.

Have you costed out your menu regularly? Is that part of your standard operating procedures?

Yeah. We do it, a few times a year. We’re not taking pricing, that many, we try to do it at least, once or twice a year as far as an official review of pricing. But yeah, we have to look at it constantly.

It’s more volatile than ever on the supply side. And If you’re not paying attention, it’s Oh my God, mayonnaise is what now? It’s crazy, Fried roll, mayonnaise,

avocados, chicken wings. Like in the past year and a half, it’s like all been crazy. Yeah, thanks for sharing.

What about inventory? Are you taking regular inventory? How often do you do that? Yeah we’re once a week,

And that’s a sweet

spot, right?

Yeah. Yeah. I think the biggest kickback is how that can improve or accuracy in ordering, because when you’re touching the product that often I think it really helps you dial in your orders and.

In Charleston, in Fleet Landing, but in Charleston in general, a lot of our spaces are small because it’s a historic building or historic city with a lot of historic buildings. A lot of restaurants are jammed into these really cool spaces, but they’re tiny, and Ordering is so important to make sure that, we can fit it all in there because we’re, churning through products so quickly.

But yeah, we’re once a week on inventory and I think as much as it sounds like a chore, it definitely helps us stay dialed in.

Yeah, once the system is dialed, and when you’re taking it at the end of a busy weekend, and, literally your shelves are as bare as they can be before the orders come in, it can be a simple process, and just to stay on track, I think that’s vitally important.

So I’m really glad you said you take a weekly inventory, because literally if you take a monthly inventory, you could wait 30 days to find out I’ve been losing money for the last month. And it’s if you can’t stay in your sweet spot, you’re just throwing money out the window, fill in your seats maybe, but you’re not making any money.

So that was a vital point. I’m glad. Have you ever owned a restaurant before? Had any aspirations to do will you ever wanna own a restaurant in the future?

I’ve never owned a restaurant. It’s something I fantasize about for sure. It’s such a tough market, it’s I think my dream would be like a destination spot out in a rural area.

It is. Charleston’s such an exciting place to be a part of the the restaurant scene. But it is competitive, and what are, it’s a bigger risk than ever from real estate to labor. I just don’t know. It takes a lot to stand out,

that’s a really good point. I guess that leads to, you just triggered a thought.

Do you and your leadership team shop the competition to stay on top of what they’re doing, as opposed to playing your guest’s game, just to, make sure that you guys are on top of the competition and the scene? Because like you said, it is so competitive, but it’s always good to get new ideas, fresh ideas.

What are they doing well? What are they not doing well? What are your experiences there and how does it stack up to fleet landing?

We, we definitely we all go out in Charleston as much as we can, but a lot of us have families and we’re busy. And not, so not as much locally, but this year we went to the seafood expo in Boston which is like the largest in the world.

And then, man, that was such a cool experience. That was my first time there. A fleet goes every year, but what a cool show. And we went to the NRA in Chicago. And so those were two really great chances to, to go out and have some incredible meals every night. Really lunch and dinner, but, and yeah, and to see what’s out there,

And

get inspired.

For sure. NRA, you can’t even describe if you’ve never been. It’s it’s crazy. It would take you five days just to see half of it, there’s so many places, so much new to the industry, like new ideas and new technology and new food items and you name it, it’s there. I’ve made it a point to go many years to that show, and it’s always eyeopening, like you said.

So I’m glad you shared that. Excellent. You’ve been an inspiration to our industry and I really appreciate your time on the podcast, Andy. Thanks for being with us.

Yeah, man. Thank you.

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Can’t wait to see y’all again next time. So stay tuned and stay well.

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