- 44 minutes ago
Steven Droulis, co-owner of Vivaldi Restaurant in Montreal, has grown a YouTube audience of 1 million subscribers by documenting life in his kitchen. As a chef, operator, and content creator, he’s turned a neighborhood restaurant into a destination.
Watch now to learn how a restaurant owner built 1 million YouTube subscribers, turned content into real customers, and transformed a local spot into a global destination.
Sponsored by:
• TOAST - All-In-1 Restaurant POS: https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc
Watch now to learn how a restaurant owner built 1 million YouTube subscribers, turned content into real customers, and transformed a local spot into a global destination.
Sponsored by:
• TOAST - All-In-1 Restaurant POS: https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:001 million subscribers on YouTube, 220,000 subscribers on TikTok, 251,000 on Instagram.
00:09What's the ROI? What's the return on investment?
00:26Welcome to Restaurant Influencers presented by Entrepreneur. I'm your host, Sean Walcheff.
00:31This is a Cali BBQ Media production. We believe that this entire industry is ready for a big shakeup.
00:40We started this show back in 2022. This is actually our second podcast. It's called Restaurant Influencers.
00:49And our goal with this show was to teach restauranteurs, hospitality professionals all over the globe, the power of storytelling
00:56in life, in the restaurant business, and in the new creator economy.
01:01We learn through lessons and stories. Today's guest is Stephen Drulis.
01:06He has almost 1 million subscribers on YouTube.
01:12He has 220,000 subscribers on TikTok and 251,000 on Instagram at the time of this recording.
01:22He is the co-owner of Vivaldi Restaurant in West Island of Montreal.
01:29Stephen, I am so happy that Zach Oates from Ovation told me about you.
01:34You are the reason we started this show because we believe, as much as we love our restaurants, we have
01:40three restaurants here in San Diego.
01:41We've been operating them for 18 years. We believe that this industry is so much bigger.
01:46We believe that we have technology in our pockets that allows us to reach a global audience.
01:51We don't have to pay YouTube. We don't have to pay Spotify.
01:54We don't have to pay TikTok or Instagram.
01:56We can just be us. We can be us.
01:59And by being us, we can create other business opportunities.
02:03Running a restaurant is very hard.
02:05It is.
02:06Being a content creator is very hard.
02:08Anyways, I'm happy that you're here.
02:11Thank you for being here.
02:12We'll start with my favorite random question, which is,
02:15where in the world is your favorite stadium, stage, or venue?
02:21Uh, man, I haven't traveled that much, but, uh, uh, I'd love to, I'd love to check out that dome
02:31in Vegas for a show.
02:32Okay.
02:32As a venue.
02:34Let's do it.
02:34Yeah.
02:35Let's go.
02:36Yeah.
02:36All right.
02:37Let's go to the sphere.
02:38We're going to go to the sphere.
02:39I'll talk to entrepreneur.
02:40I'll talk to toast.
02:41Toast is the primary sponsor of the show.
02:44They believed in us when no one else did.
02:46Um, they invest in our technology that run our restaurants, but I'll talk to toast.
02:50I'll talk to entrepreneurs, some other sponsors.
02:51I'm going to bring you in the sphere.
02:53We're going to sell it out full of hospitality storytellers.
02:56And I'm going to give you the mic and I'm going to say, Steven, tell us the story of when
03:01you decided to become a YouTuber.
03:05Wow.
03:05So, uh, go back just about two years now.
03:10Yeah.
03:10Yeah.
03:11We've been running a restaurant for, uh, we're about to start our 28th year.
03:14Uh, probably, what's the date today?
03:16Yeah.
03:17Next week we're hitting our 28 year anniversary.
03:19Amazing.
03:19Congratulations.
03:21So we were just running your basic, uh, Facebook and Instagram posts.
03:24Uh, we're coming out of COVID.
03:28COVID, I started using the social media a bit more because we have to pivot on everything.
03:32Right.
03:32So when you're rebranding yourself and, uh, you know, we all went to take out and take away and, uh,
03:37we were shut down.
03:38So we started using the socials a lot more to promote the restaurant.
03:42When we came back, the restaurant was just jammed, uh, busier than ever.
03:47And I actually like, I didn't even talk to my social media guys for a year.
03:50We were recycling old pictures and, uh, doing each, you know, I was transferring them a payment.
03:55And I, whereas during COVID, I was speaking to them daily.
03:59Uh, a year later, I hadn't spoken to them in like six months.
04:02I called them up and says, listen, I'm tired of these pictures.
04:07I know the way to go was reels.
04:11However, I was, I'm no genius here because I was fairly certain I was going to lose money on this
04:15deal.
04:16Cause I, I don't do any of the editing or any of the filming.
04:18So, you know, I come up with the content, the recipes we develop, but then they film, they edit.
04:23I don't even, I don't even know what video they're dropping until they drop it, you know?
04:26So, uh, and I chose to put myself in front of the camera, which was very new in Montreal.
04:31Uh, I don't think there was anyone doing it before me, uh, for, for the simple reasons.
04:37I told my brother, this is, listen, we're going to be losing money on this.
04:41So I go, maybe instead of just building up the brand of the food, we build myself as the brand.
04:46And we're able to do that because, um, you know, I own the restaurant.
04:49I'm not just a corporate chef.
04:51Uh, and people, if they enjoy the videos, they'll find a restaurant, you know?
04:55And, uh, and again, we were fairly busy before, so I wasn't desperate or I wasn't trying to,
05:00uh, I was just trying to remind everybody I was there once a week.
05:03And, uh, I told the guys, open me a TikTok account because, you know, maybe it'll help me attract some
05:07younger cooks.
05:09And the honest to God truth is I didn't even know he, uh, Ty is the guy who does all
05:13the filming and editing.
05:14Uh, I didn't even know Ty had started me a YouTube channel until he had put the first video out.
05:20Uh, and when we, uh, and, but our stuff, like we filmed two days and probably filmed, uh, two Mondays
05:27in a row where we, I did probably like 30, 40 videos in those two days.
05:32Uh, again, thinking, you know, 20, 30,000 people in my area, we're going to see those videos, right?
05:38Very loose, very relaxed.
05:39I was cooking stuff right off my menu that I've been cooking for 30 years.
05:42Uh, and second video, I mean, it really starts like ticking, you know, like, uh, and I'm, uh, by the
05:50end, uh, by the end of the, you know, midway through a couple of days after the second video came
05:53out, I turn around and I sent them a message.
05:56I says, Hey, can you let me know?
05:57Uh, I think, I think all these videos, like on all the platforms combined at the time, I just thought
06:02it was Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
06:04I go, I go, can you let me know if we hit a million combined views, uh, it might be
06:08something to celebrate.
06:09And the next day he sends me a message.
06:11He goes, Oh yeah, by the way, I started you a YouTube channel and I'll let you know when we
06:15get to 2 million, because the first video he put on YouTube was already at 1.3 million views.
06:20Unbelievable.
06:21Yeah.
06:21And then, so we, and that's how I found out I had a YouTube channel.
06:27Uh, and you're really going to think I'm a dingbag by the end of this, uh, by the end of
06:30this video.
06:30Like I'm working hard now, but, uh, I was really inexperienced in this.
06:36Right.
06:36Uh, so we start the YouTube channel and then like, Oh, everything just starts blowing up.
06:41The Insta blows up.
06:42The, uh, Facebook blows up.
06:44Uh, we get the first hundred thousand YouTube subscribers probably in like 20 days.
06:48That's crazy.
06:50Yeah.
06:51And, uh, you know, our, our third, our second video on, uh, on YouTube.
06:57I mean, uh, it was like, it was already at like 20 million views within like a month, you know,
07:04like, uh, so yeah, I was, I was like, but it didn't, you know, hadn't resonated as to what that
07:11meant yet.
07:11I didn't understand.
07:13I didn't understand.
07:14Like, what does that mean for the business?
07:15What does that mean for this?
07:16I mean, I had no clue.
07:18So I go, I'll tell you, I'll tell you this.
07:19I go, I didn't even know YouTube had shorts.
07:23Okay.
07:24Awesome.
07:24I, my idea of YouTube was, I want to see a Whitney Houston performance from a 1992 of the Grammys.
07:30I type it in the search bar and I watched the performance.
07:33I used to watch those, uh, mukbang videos, you know, where they're shoving food down their faces.
07:38And I'm like, I tell my wife, this is a babe, why do they do this to themselves?
07:42I didn't understand why I didn't know they were getting paid for that.
07:45You know, like, uh, so anyways, uh, you know, uh, we, we keep releasing videos and, uh, they keep trending
07:51upwards.
07:52And then within about two months, we have to sit down again and say, okay, well, am I just doing
07:56reels from my restaurant or am I going to become a content creator now?
08:00Uh, and then I started like giving myself a very fast education as to what was, what that was going
08:06to entail.
08:07And, uh, and here we are.
08:09I mean, I'm up, uh, I mean, uh, we've probably released 300 videos.
08:12Uh, I'm, I'm sure I've got, I filmed over 350 probably by now.
08:16Like we always got some in the bank and, uh, now we're just trying to pivot or react, uh, to,
08:22uh, discovering what happens when you get that many views, because I mean, you're in the U S right.
08:28Uh, I'll tell you, you know, I love Canada, but when it comes to business, I, things are just a
08:34lot easier.
08:35Everything in the U S you know, uh, you know, uh, I mean, like we don't even monetize Tik TOK
08:40in, uh, in Canada.
08:41Right.
08:42So like we do all that for almost, well, pretty much for free.
08:45Right.
08:45So, uh, uh, and, uh, I had no one ask, you know, something I told Zach, right.
08:52Uh, I, I says, you know, like when I have questions, there isn't anybody like, I can't find another, like
08:58working restaurant owner chef in Canada that I can call up and say, you know, this guy called me up
09:03and he offered me this, uh, would you do it?
09:05Would you not do it?
09:06Uh, you know, when they started coming in with the offers, these weird people were calling me and I didn't
09:11know that, you know, they were, they were going through like, uh, you know, they're all brokers, I guess at
09:14this point.
09:15And, uh, you know, uh, and so we're learning all this as we go, but we're very, we're taking our
09:20time and we're very, uh, tentative as to what we do.
09:22So, yeah, but that was it, man.
09:24Like, uh, now, now, now I work hard.
09:26I mean, uh, like it's people have no idea how much work goes into it, you know, like, uh, yeah,
09:31I'm on, it's, it's my day off today.
09:33Uh, it's, uh, you know, four, uh, you know, almost 5.00 PM Eastern time.
09:37Uh, you know, so what, and I've been here since, uh, you know, seven o'clock in the morning, you
09:41know, so that's amazing.
09:43Did you know that Toast powers over 140,000 restaurants across the United States, Canada, and UK?
09:51It's an incredible company.
09:52I'm on the Toast customer advisory board.
09:54They are proud sponsors of this show, Restaurant Influencers.
09:57We couldn't do it without their support.
09:59They power our barbecue restaurants in San Diego.
10:02If you have questions about Toast, if you're thinking about bringing Toast on to be your primary technology partner at
10:08your restaurants, please reach out to me.
10:10I'm happy to get a local Toast representative to take care of you.
10:14You can reach me at Sean P. Welch on Instagram.
10:18Once again, thank you to Toast for believing in the power of technology, the power of storytelling, the power of
10:24hospitality.
10:25Back to the show.
10:26Um, I, I love the story.
10:29You're literally living the thesis that we believe in.
10:32Um, we know how hard it is to run restaurants.
10:35We love running restaurants.
10:36Uh, we love taking care of our community.
10:38We love putting out great food, great barbecue, great Italian food.
10:42Um, but we also know there's a story behind it.
10:45And I think what resonates so much with your story is that you're not creating overly produced videos.
10:54You have a team that's sharing, like you've said, dishes that you've been cooking for decades.
11:02These are family recipes that you've been cooking for decades.
11:05And this is your point of view.
11:07And you're just sharing that point of view with the world, which, you know, thanks to YouTube and TikTok and
11:13Instagram, it can, you can build a community all over the globe.
11:16So, yeah, it was very much that at the beginning.
11:19Now, uh, we're, I'm obviously like everybody else looking for content.
11:24Yeah.
11:25Uh, and, but I'm, I'm really sticking to my jar.
11:27Like I'm not going to do any, I'm not doing comedy.
11:29I'm not doing sketches.
11:30Uh, so what I like to do, what I really enjoy doing, because I'm really, a lot of the stuff
11:35I do now is not even, it's not even on my menu.
11:37You know, most of the stuff I film, I like doing like family style recipes and I like to
11:41do, I like to try and find approachable recipes that the average Joe is going to be able to
11:47attempt.
11:48Like I always like to use the beef Wellington example, you know, like, uh, I don't, I don't
11:52know how the beef prices are in your neck of the woods.
11:53I'm sure you buy a hell of a lot of it.
11:55Yep.
11:55Uh, but I mean, you know, if you're going to buy a center cut of filet mignon to do a
11:59Wellington
11:59in Canada, it's going to run you about 200 bucks now.
12:02And, uh, who's trying that at home for the first time with that kind of cut of beef.
12:06So I try to stay away from those videos now.
12:10And I try to do something that people can like really crack into, you know, uh, so
12:14it's, uh, and I enjoy doing that, but it's, it's also great for the, it's also great for
12:19the restaurant.
12:20Right.
12:20So like, uh, you know, uh, people really are getting to know me and, uh, they, uh, I guess
12:26you're in my boat too, right?
12:27If they, they, they, they have, there's a chance that they might see you.
12:31I mean, you've got three restaurants and you're traveling a lot, but I'm pretty much here
12:33all the time.
12:34So we get a lot of, we got a lot of American tourists now, you know, I had, uh, so
12:38what they
12:39know, it's, you know, like one guy I like as far as a chef cook, uh, who does content
12:44is, uh, Andy Herdman, Andy cooks in Australia, but he doesn't have like, you're like, he
12:50doesn't have a restaurant.
12:51Right.
12:51So like, if you go to Australia, you're probably, probably not going to find Andy, but around
12:56here, like I had someone who came in, uh, for a Lady Gaga concert from Rochester, New
13:00York.
13:00They came to Montreal for the concert.
13:02This is actually tonight, the concert.
13:04Uh, so they say, you know, we're going to Montreal.
13:07Let's go, let's go see it.
13:08Let's go to Reservalde place and see if we can see Steve, you know, and, uh, and sure
13:12enough.
13:12Yeah.
13:13Great.
13:14That's been a lot of fun.
13:15Can you, can you talk to the restaurant owner that's listening to this, that's watching
13:19this video?
13:20Um, one of the biggest pushbacks with social media storytelling, all the, the thesises that
13:25we have is what's the ROI, what's the return on investment.
13:29If I make, if I make a commitment to looking stupid, sounding stupid, because that's in
13:34the beginning, I know why restaurant owners don't do it.
13:37It's not, it's not an ROI argument.
13:39It's just, they don't want to look stupid in front of their friends, their family, and
13:43their community.
13:44And they don't think that they're an influencer.
13:46Can you talk directly to them and tell them, you know, not just in your own words, but your,
13:51your story.
13:53Well, so look, it's scary, right?
13:57You know, like, uh, you got, you have like different kinds of restaurants.
14:02You got the new restaurant that's looking to put the word out.
14:05I mean, the social media and the reels is there's no better way.
14:09Okay.
14:10You got the restaurant that might be struggling.
14:12It's got a lot of room to grow.
14:14And again, the social media stuff done properly.
14:18Uh, you are going to say, I mean, everyone, there's been a lot of people in Montreal follow
14:23my footsteps now.
14:25And I know a lot of them and they've all seen their, their, no one's regretting what
14:29they're spending.
14:30Let's put it that way.
14:31Everyone's seeing a return on investment.
14:32Uh, but it's not only just a dollar amount that, you know, I say like the Tik TOK account
14:37doesn't bring me, uh, you know, like I've monetized YouTube and Facebook, which is great.
14:43You know, it helps pay for the show, but although the Tik TOK doesn't bring me anything financially,
14:48it brings me a lot of younger customers.
14:50You know, we're at a very big boomer clientele, they're getting older and now I'm seeing younger
14:55faces in the restaurant.
14:56So that's a lot of fun.
14:57And now you've got the restaurant owner who's already flying, right?
15:00He's already busy.
15:01He's thinking, well, what, I mean, I'm already packed every night and what's the point, you
15:06know?
15:08Well, I still think there's a return on investment there as well, because I didn't think I could
15:13get busier.
15:13I did.
15:15And then there's different opportunities that present themselves.
15:17You got to have an open heart for that, right?
15:19You know, you gotta, you gotta keep an open mind and an open heart and you'll meet people,
15:24have meetings, have conversations, but at the same time, you're going to get a, a different
15:29kind of clientele.
15:30You're going to get fresh faces, but also I think the, the real thing is, is like, it
15:37doesn't always have to be like, I'm putting out three, four shorts a week and different
15:41recipes that I got to constantly be working on.
15:44There's a, there's a different bag, a different formula.
15:48There's different ways to approach this.
15:49And that's where you probably need a good team or a good plan.
15:52You know, you don't, you don't always have to be the face in front of the camera, but
15:55is it, you know, people want to get, you know, when people get to know you, they feel more
16:00connected to the restaurant and it's like, don't get me wrong.
16:03I'm still, I'm sure you're trying just as hard to make sure your food is always top tier.
16:07I'm always trying hard, but it's almost as if like, man, I feel like I can do wrong.
16:11Sometimes it's like, like they're, they're so excited to come in.
16:14It's like, uh, you know, the, the, their experience is heightened, you know?
16:20So, I mean, there's, for me, it's nothing but good.
16:22You just got to be, you got to have a good plan and a good idea to what you want
16:29to do.
16:29And I didn't, you know, like I told you, my story is remind people I'm here a couple
16:33of times a week and now I'm a content creator.
16:34Right.
16:35Uh, but I'm, you know, but that was, I'm very, I'm like, people tell me I'm unique because
16:41of the speed it happened that right.
16:42Uh, so, but when I counsel, some of my friends have started after me, other friends of restaurants,
16:47they've all started putting out their own content.
16:49I said, look, it's a mixed bag.
16:51You can, you know, put out a video of us, uh, stuff on your menu once a week, put out
16:55some pictures, uh, get to know the staff, uh, you know, like there's, there's so much
16:59stuff you can do, or some guys want to get into like the trends and doing all the comedy
17:02stuff.
17:03But at the end of the day, man, it's, uh, you know, like, I mean, Sean, I don't know how
17:08old you are.
17:09Mind if I ask?
17:10I'm 44 years old.
17:11I'm a fringe mom.
17:11Okay.
17:12So we're ballpark.
17:12I'm 47.
17:13Okay.
17:14Yeah.
17:14I mean, so I've been doing this twice.
17:16I mean, I mean, when we opened this restaurant, no Facebook, there was, uh, no iPhones.
17:23There was no nothing.
17:23So we were putting out expensive, uh, expensive newspaper ads that had no return on investment.
17:31Yep.
17:31It took forever to get anyone to try your restaurant.
17:34I, you know, to start the restaurant is going to cost you a lot more money.
17:37Everything's more expensive, but I can almost guarantee that you'll have butts in chairs
17:40on the first day.
17:41If you do a bit of social media and if you have the experience.
17:44To keep them and to hang on to your clients, it's, I mean, you're, you're never going
17:48to find a cheaper form of advertising, you know, I don't care how much you spend, you
17:52know, cause those newspaper ads 20 years ago in a lousy paper over here, you know, a bottom
17:57of a little banner at the bottom of the page, uh, it was a thousand bucks, you know, I mean,
18:01you know what I could do with a thousand bucks on an iPhone.
18:05So, so I think one of the, one of the things, at least from watching your channel and seeing
18:10your content that I think, uh, restaurant owners need to take into consideration is my mentor
18:17teaches me the truth vibrates the fastest, meaning the toughest things that we talk about
18:23are always what resonates with the audience.
18:27The most recently, you put out a video about meal prepping, about letting your weight get
18:33a little bit out of control.
18:35Um, most people wouldn't make that video and that's why most people aren't succeeding the
18:41way that you are succeeding because of your relatability and your honesty with the audience,
18:46with yourself, with the fact that you're cooking these meals with your wife.
18:51I'm in a place where I'm trying to eat healthier and I'm thinking about meal prep and immediately
18:56the video resonated with me.
18:57So can you talk about having the courage to make those types of videos?
19:05Uh, yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, it's look, everything's better with a story, right?
19:12You know, like, uh, and, and like you said, the truth, the truth is always best.
19:18And that's how you connect with people, right?
19:19You know, I mean, uh, if when restaurant guys get together and trade battle stories, uh, there's
19:25always one thing we always say is like, you don't know until you're in the owner's shoes.
19:30Okay.
19:30You, you, you think you do, you know, you could like, you could be the best friend of a restaurant
19:35owner.
19:35You could be his general manager.
19:37You could be everything.
19:38But the sheer fact that the owner can never walk away and has to deal with every, and there's
19:45things people won't even think about, you know, like, I mean, uh, and it can be nothing
19:52to do with the realm of restaurant business at all.
19:53You know, you'll have an employee that comes to you and says, you know, like, uh, I got
19:58a drug problem and I don't know what to do.
19:59Yeah.
20:00Or, uh, they walk into your office and say, uh, I'm being evicted.
20:05I don't know what to do.
20:06You know?
20:06And it's like, and it piles and it piles and piles and you work closely with these
20:11people and you're empathetic and, you know, it's these little things.
20:14And then nevermind, like, you know, I've had a car drive through my restaurant.
20:16I've dealt with power routers where I've been close for a week, you know?
20:20So like, and, uh, so, but at the same time, that's what happens when, when we get together,
20:26that's the main thing until you've been in the owner's shoes.
20:28So when you tell those stories, people do resonate with them, you know?
20:32Like, uh, when, when I'm doing a video that some people might think is simplistic, like
20:37I've done some videos where like, uh, they've done great in views and, but I read the comments
20:42of, I mean, don't get me wrong.
20:43Most of the comments are always fantastic, but then they'll be like, well, you know,
20:48that's just like minced meat, uh, onions and, uh, macaroni.
20:52I said, yeah, but when I started the video, I told you like, this is something that my,
20:56my kids and my, my brother's kids and my friends, like, it's a recipe that all kids tend to
21:00like.
21:01And that's why I put out the video, you know?
21:02And, uh, and when people hear that, you know, like, and someone who's got a lot, you
21:06know, a fussy kid trying to find a meal and they're looking for an idea, you know, the,
21:10the, the stories do, uh, whenever you've got a good story behind a video, especially
21:15an honest one, it does tend to do a lot better.
21:17So, you know, I'm basically agreeing with what you said at the start of the, at the
21:21question.
21:22It's, uh, it's, uh, it's great.
21:25You know, I mean, I'm not a thousand percent courageous to do everything I want to do.
21:28Like the one thing they've always been asking me to do is they want me to do a live feed
21:31on a Saturday night.
21:33Uh, and I'm like, I, I, I, I don't know about that one.
21:40You know, I've, I think I've scratched my nose like three times in this video.
21:43And I'm like, uh, I think, I think you'd be great on a live feed.
21:47Yeah.
21:48I think you would be great on a live feed.
21:50Um, 100%.
21:52Um, do you remember the, Oh shit moment where it was like, you started to get the views
21:57obviously, but when I go and I talk to restaurant owners and why we created this show was they
22:02want to know, well, how is it going to get, how is it going to translate to someone coming
22:05into my restaurant and having done content for as long as I have, I don't have nearly
22:10as many views as you do.
22:11We do more B2B content.
22:13So we're looking more at like restaurant owners following our stuff, but I have restaurant
22:18owners that come to San Diego.
22:19And instead of going to La Jolla or gas lamp, they drive all the way out to spring Valley.
22:24We're off the beaten path and they come to see our restaurant and they send me a DM.
22:27Hey Sean, I'm in town.
22:28I brought my family.
22:29I want to try some barbecues.
22:30It's like, for me, those are the Oh shit moments where somebody from another side of
22:35the world is coming to our restaurant specifically because of storytelling.
22:39Yeah.
22:40I mean, there's been so many, I mean, there's been so many, like, I'm like, I'm in the
22:44suburbs.
22:45So we're, where we are.
22:46We're about 40 minutes from the, well, no traffic.
22:50We're about 30 minutes from downtown Montreal.
22:52Yeah.
22:53All right.
22:53Uh, I mean, uh, Keith Urban's band was in town, uh, for a concert on a Friday night last
22:58summer.
22:59Yeah.
23:00Uh, I wasn't worried.
23:00It was Thursday.
23:01It was the night before the concert Thursday night.
23:03I wasn't working.
23:04My brother calls me up.
23:04He says, Hey Steve, you got time for, uh, for a FaceTime.
23:07I go, yeah, what's up?
23:09He goes, Keith Urban's band is here.
23:11You know, they follow you on YouTube and they had you circled on the calendar.
23:15Stop it.
23:16So these 20 year old rock stars and Montreal's a really happening city, like great nightlife,
23:22right?
23:23These guys are in Montreal Thursday night before the concert and they're driving out to the suburbs.
23:27I love it.
23:28You know, you know, like, uh, so like, and you know, and then I, when I traveled for
23:32the first time, uh, I went to Nashville, uh, last fall with my wife and when I started
23:39to get, I was recognized as much in Nashville as I do, as I do get in Montreal.
23:43So like, it's still, it's still humbling.
23:46Like it's, uh, you know, but, uh, and in the summer I would say I had at least, uh, every
23:54night, at least five, six different tables, uh, from all over the world, but more often
23:59than not from the U S you know, they don't always directly come from me, but it's like
24:03one of those things, like, it's like when people go to New York or they get near New
24:06York and they want to go to cat's deli.
24:07Uh, they're, uh, in town for like, well, so we have a grand Prix in Montreal, right?
24:14F one.
24:14Yep.
24:1627 years.
24:17I've never had one customer come to my restaurant because of the grand Prix, right?
24:21We've, we've already got, I don't know how many bookings for that week of Americans,
24:25uh, that are coming in for the race and they're going to leave the downtown core, take an Uber
24:30probably all the way up here.
24:32And, uh, so yeah, it's, uh, it was that the first time I got recognized in the street, first
24:37time someone asked me for a picture, uh, I go home and tell my wife, she's almost laughing
24:42at me, you know?
24:43Um, then she finally came out with me.
24:45Uh, and now it's like, I mean, it's, it's, there probably isn't a day that doesn't go
24:50by where I'm stopped multiple times a day and, uh, and I get to meet some new people.
24:56So it's great, you know, like, uh, but yeah, I mean, yeah, that was, uh, that was, I mean,
25:02the first time I had a tourist from out of country at the restaurant, I think it was a
25:07guy he had flown in.
25:09He was one of the first ones who came from far.
25:12He was from Tampa, Florida.
25:15He was on his way to a business trip in Calgary.
25:18He changed his lawyer over from Toronto to Montreal, drove from, took an Uber from the
25:26airport, came to eat, went back to the airport, caught his connection to go back to Calgary.
25:31And I was like, holy moly.
25:33Wow.
25:34You know, like, uh, you know, I got great food.
25:37I put my heart into it, but I'm not a Michelin star restaurant.
25:39You know, like, uh, it's, uh, we're, we're doing like, you know, hearty, wholesome, good
25:47cooking.
25:47I don't take shortcuts, but I'm not, I'm not a tweezer chef by any means, you know, like,
25:51uh, you know, so I was, uh, that was like, okay.
25:55But now there's so many stories like that.
25:57I mean, it was like Fordham on the past Saturday.
26:00We had, uh, a gentleman from, uh, Philadelphia, same kind of deal coming back from a cruise.
26:06They took a layover in Montreal, one from Rochester, New York, one, a Gaga concert and, uh, someone
26:11from Platsburg, New York.
26:12Well, that's not too far from here.
26:13So yeah, it was, uh, yeah, my, I, I, I, I, I still can't believe it to be honest.
26:18I really can't, you know, like, uh, it's still shocking.
26:21I'm going to ask you a hard question that I really can't ask many people on this earth.
26:25I believe there will be more people like you and me that have media companies and have
26:30restaurants.
26:31Um, are you planning on growing your media more or your restaurants more in the future?
26:39It's tough to answer that one now.
26:41Uh, it really depends on the person.
26:44Like, so like take my situation, uh, the restaurant's still my bread and butter.
26:48Yep.
26:49Okay.
26:50Uh, I couldn't retire off the media stuff, like not as it stands right now.
26:54Yep.
26:54Um, uh, but I'm excited about it.
26:57Okay.
26:58Right now, my plan would, when I talk about it, my brother and even my social media guys,
27:04cause, uh, is that we're, we're, we're exploring all options and taking our time with it.
27:10Yep.
27:10Uh, we're trying to put out steady, consistent work, even through slow weeks and, uh, and,
27:16and, uh, bad, slow weeks and great weeks.
27:18Yep.
27:18Um, but it's also like, my kids are really young, you know, like I got an 11 and a nine
27:22year
27:22old girl.
27:23So it's like, do I really want to rock the boat right now?
27:26Because I've had a lot of offers to go here, to go there, to open another store.
27:31And I'm like, do I really have the time right now?
27:34Yeah.
27:34You know, like, do I really want to right now?
27:36Cause I, I don't want to be gone that much with my kids young.
27:40I also don't want to miss out on what could be a good opportunity.
27:42Yep.
27:43Uh, so I'm exploring all options, but I mean, yeah, down the line, you know, the, the, the
27:48restaurant stuff is very physical.
27:49It's very demanding.
27:50Yep.
27:51Uh, and you know, if you figure out how to do the media stuff properly, there could be
27:56some fun traveling, some fun experiences.
27:57I mean, what's more fun for restaurant guys meeting other, meeting other restaurant people,
28:02trying different restaurants, try going to different cities, talk and shop.
28:05I mean, that's what we live for, you know, like, uh, and that's, I don't care if you're
28:09in Canada, U S Greece, Turkey.
28:11I mean, this is what we do, you know?
28:12So yeah, the, the media aspect of it, uh, again, it's just not as, it's not as obvious
28:18over here in Canada, you know, like, uh, I, uh, you know, I'm, I'm always trying to reach
28:23out to other creators, just ask for advice and stuff like that.
28:26Uh, because, uh, I'm very, like, I'm probably not aware of all the operators that could be out
28:32there.
28:33I could, I could be chasing more of them maybe.
28:35But right now, like I said, because of time issues, I'm like, okay, like, let's see what
28:41comes to me and if we want to do it or not, you know, uh, but down the line, yeah,
28:46I might,
28:46you know, we'll might start hustling a bit more and see, uh, see, see what comes of it.
28:52But I, I, I'm still not fully aware of the opportunities that are out there, you know,
28:55like, uh, like I I'm, I'm really not, you know, like, uh, people talk about brand deals
29:01and they talk about this and they talk about that.
29:02And I'm like, yeah, I mean, I've had a few, they didn't seem, didn't really seem like
29:08something I want to attach my name to, you know, uh, you know, uh, I think I've done
29:12one brand deal and I think I did it more as of, uh, I wanted to see the process.
29:17Yeah.
29:18You know, and that's how I found out that there was a, like, you know, a broker between
29:21me and the brand and, uh, how it worked and where they wanted us to put the ad in and
29:28how
29:28we also, we did it as kind of like a, as a test run.
29:31We haven't done one since I'm kind of like, I remember I tell the story quite a bit, but,
29:36uh, I remember seeing that movie with about Facebook, the Mark Zuckerberg, so the social
29:40something, whether when the Facebook came out, when the venture capitalists, yeah, when
29:45the venture capitalists were, uh, were after Mark Zuckerberg to start monetizing, uh, the
29:51page and he was fighting them tooth and nail.
29:53And in the movie, I don't know if, I don't know if it's a true story or not, but it
29:56wasn't
29:56a movie.
29:57He goes, once we start, uh, charging, we're not cool anymore.
30:03Yep.
30:04You know, so I didn't want, I don't want to attach myself to too many little brands that
30:10I don't really have a connection to.
30:12Yep.
30:12I'd rather wait out.
30:13I'd rather wait and see that if there was a good brand deal that feels right, you know,
30:19uh, and do it once in a while.
30:22Cause I don't want my, my channel to be a walk in commercial either, you know, like, cause
30:26I think viewers will be turned off by that.
30:29And, uh, so, but I could be right.
30:32I could be wrong.
30:32I really don't know.
30:33You know, like, uh, like I said, I'm very tentative when I'm not sure what to do.
30:37I kind of like, I kind of pump the brakes a bit and, you know, I'd rather maybe it's
30:43the wrong attitude, but sometimes I'd rather not do anything to make the wrong decision.
30:46No, I couldn't.
30:47So I will, I will give you some free advice for you and for the audience, at least from
30:51our own experience, what we've learned that's that right now, what I would consider the creator
30:57economy is a next wave is business creators.
31:01So most creators that are big on YouTube, big on Tik TOK, big podcasters, they don't
31:07also own businesses.
31:09They have the storytelling platform first, and then they try to build a business on top
31:13of it.
31:14What you and I are doing.
31:15And so many of the guests that I've had on the show is that we are business owners first,
31:20and then we learn how to tell a story.
31:23And because we learn how to tell a story, another business emerges, which is the media
31:27business on top of our original business.
31:30We say, be the show, not the commercial.
31:34You know, I have a six-year-old girl.
31:36I have an eight-year-old boy.
31:37The first button that they learned how to hit digitally was skip because they didn't want
31:43their cartoon interrupted.
31:45So back to your point, if you don't believe in the product, if you don't believe in the
31:49ad, doing a one-off deal doesn't make any sense.
31:53But this goes to you and any other business owner out there that's listening, look at
31:58the things that you're already spending money on because you believe in the product.
32:02So look at your expenses, anything that you have equipment in your restaurant, any knives
32:07that you use, any poultry that like wherever you're buying things, we pick that for a reason.
32:13We believe in that thing.
32:15Have you or your team reach out to those people and say, Hey, all of these companies, all of
32:22those companies, they need to sell to more restaurant owners and who can tell a story
32:26better than you can.
32:27You can obviously tell an amazing story.
32:30You've built a phenomenal platform.
32:33Look for those to be your brand deals that on it.
32:35And to be honest with you, anybody that's watching this, listening to this, I believed
32:39in toast.
32:39I told toast that I'm a storyteller.
32:41I made content about toast.
32:43I made technology content, all of our tech partners.
32:46That's how we got our brand deals is that we just believe in it.
32:49If we believe in it, I have no problem talking about it because I use it.
32:52So if you use it in your restaurants, it's not forced.
32:57I'm not pretending, I'm not pretending to use something that I don't believe in because
33:00then my, then my word goes, goes nowhere, right?
33:03People don't trust me.
33:05Yeah.
33:06Completely agree.
33:07Yeah.
33:08Um, let's see, let's go to my favorite part of the interview, which is your personal tech
33:16stack.
33:17So I need to know, are you an Android or an iPhone user?
33:21iPhone.
33:22Which version?
33:25Man, I'd have to, uh, it's about two years old.
33:29So it's two or three years old.
33:31Yeah.
33:31Uh, which carrier do you use?
33:33Uh, over here, it's called, uh, Rogers.
33:35Is it good?
33:37It's one of the best.
33:38Yeah.
33:38It's one of the best.
33:39Okay.
33:39Um, do you prefer phone calls or text messages?
33:43Me, uh, phone calls on a personal level, text often for work.
33:51Cause I like to have a record.
33:52Okay.
33:53Um, do you leave voicemails?
33:58Not as much anymore.
34:00Not as much.
34:01Sometimes I just find people don't really check them.
34:04So, yeah.
34:05Do you listen to voicemails when people leave them for you?
34:09I still do, but I don't get a lot anymore to be growing up.
34:12Like there's not a lot.
34:13How many emails do you get a day?
34:16Uh, in the hundred or so.
34:21Yeah.
34:21How many of those do you enjoy reading?
34:275%.
34:28Do you like taking photos or videos more?
34:32Uh, me, like me being in front of the camera or me actually taking it?
34:39You actually taking it.
34:40Me actually taking it.
34:42Uh, I prefer, I think, uh, photos.
34:47Yeah.
34:47Photos.
34:48Okay.
34:48Um, I'm really bad at it.
34:51That's why.
34:51Apple maps or Google maps?
34:54Uh, Google maps.
34:57Teams.
34:58Zoom or Google meets.
35:01I've been using Google meets more lately, but again, this is all very new to me.
35:07This might be my, uh, fourth or fifth, uh, zoom call probably my life or not, not, not
35:13telecom, not zoom call, but yeah, this is a different app.
35:16Yeah.
35:17Riverside.
35:18Yeah.
35:18All good.
35:18Riverside.
35:18Um, let's see, uh, chat GPT, Claude, Gemini or perplexity.
35:28I haven't even touched one of those yet.
35:30Not yet.
35:31No, I'm actually, uh, I'm actually looking for a recipe app that's got, uh, AI and I'm
35:37researching that right now.
35:38Okay.
35:38Uh, and, uh, that'll be my first foray into, uh, and the AI, uh, for work purposes.
35:45Okay.
35:46Yeah.
35:47Yeah.
35:47Fair enough.
35:47Yeah.
35:48I would, I would 100% check out chat GPT or Gemini, um, or Claude actually all three of
35:54them.
35:54Um, yeah, they, they, they'll, they'll do a phenomenal job.
35:58It'll, it'll be more helpful if you have, what, do you have an inventory tech tech that
36:03you use for your restaurants?
36:05Uh, or is it on, you know what, where, where are you, where are you keeping your recipes?
36:10Uh, bro, you're going to laugh at me now.
36:13And, uh, it's a scruffy notebook.
36:15Hey, scruffy notebook.
36:16You've got to start somewhere.
36:17Scruffy notebook.
36:18It's a scruffy notebook.
36:19Yeah.
36:20Scruffy notebook.
36:21You can take pictures of the scruffy notebook and have one of those AI tools, turn it in to
36:27an, turn it into all of those things digitally.
36:30It'll do it for you.
36:31Yeah.
36:32I'm so, I know all this too.
36:34Right.
36:34And I'm just like, uh, it's just been a whole time thing to sit down and teach myself this,
36:38you know?
36:39I totally, I totally get it.
36:40Um, but, uh, how do you listen to music?
36:44Uh, I use a lot of Spotify.
36:48Spotify.
36:49And, uh, and, but I actually do, uh, I do more listening to podcasts and books while I'm
36:53working.
36:54Awesome.
36:55Yeah.
36:55Um, when we come to visit your restaurant, what do we have to order?
37:02Uh, fried zucchinis, grilled octopus, uh, after that, uh, yucky, plate, uh, plate of
37:14yucky.
37:15I don't want to tell any American to come try a steak cause you guys are like, you know,
37:19I've got some of the, you know, I got a pretty good steak, but I'm not a steakhouse.
37:23Uh, you know, if you haven't had a Montreal style pizza, got to try pizza too.
37:28Okay.
37:28If you're from out of town.
37:29So yeah.
37:29Uh, are you, is your team posting on LinkedIn for you?
37:34Not yet.
37:35LinkedIn.
37:36No, we're not done.
37:37We're not on LinkedIn.
37:37Not yet.
37:39Not yet.
37:39Soon to be.
37:41I, I, uh, I feel like you're a tech guru.
37:47A year ago, I used to call it, uh, LinkedIn.
37:54LinkedIn.
37:55I didn't, didn't realize what the, I didn't really know what it was for.
38:01Yeah.
38:01I've been, I've been working for myself for 27 years.
38:03Yeah.
38:04You know, and I never, you know, don't get me wrong.
38:07My restaurant recipes, I have all on computer, you know, the, the, uh, I have them backed
38:12up.
38:13Uh, you know, the, the recipes I have in the, in the notebook or stuff I work on for social
38:17media, uh, and I'm getting tired of those notebooks.
38:20That's what I'm looking for to clean them up.
38:22Uh, but, uh, yeah, man, I've been, uh, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a university grad too, but
38:28at the same time, you know, I graduated an economics major in 2002, you know?
38:35Yeah.
38:36Concord.
38:36And, uh, we just, I was not taught any of this stuff and, uh, and you know what, another
38:41thing you'd be very surprised, Montreal is very slow.
38:45Uh, we have, we still have a lot of mom and cop, mom and pop purveyor companies.
38:51And most of these guys are not online.
38:54We were still phoning in orders with a lot of them or their ordering software is pretty
38:58like slow.
38:59Uh, I mean, uh, I'm way ahead of them, you know, like, uh, you know, so, uh, I mean,
39:05I don't like dealing with Cisco.
39:06I probably, well, I don't, I'm going to tell the truth.
39:08I don't, uh, they, they weren't big companies.
39:12Uh, they weren't great companies for us over here compared to the guys I was dealing with.
39:17I mean, I had the phone numbers of the owners of all the companies and I'm getting better
39:21prices and better products and everything else.
39:23And, you know, you know, if they mess up, like, you know, a company like Cisco, they
39:27would forget something in your order and, uh, tell you, yeah, well, we're not coming
39:31back till Thursday.
39:32Yeah.
39:33I ain't the one who forgot it.
39:34I even emailed you the order and tower or whatever.
39:37And, and they just didn't care.
39:39Whereas when I was dealing with the mom and pop companies, if I really needed it, I'm
39:42going to make, I will make them go out of the way.
39:43But if I wasn't a pickle, yeah, they're going to get in there, they're going to get in
39:46their car and drive it over, you know, and, uh, and, uh, or their truck or
39:51whatever, you know, depending if it needs to be a refrigerator or not, but, and
39:54that's why we're, we're, we, you know, we're not, I mean, um, we have great
39:58reservation softwares.
39:59I mean, we use open table, the restaurant, uh, there's a lot of, uh, a lot of
40:03great techs out here, but as far as how we put together our orders and stuff like
40:07that, I find we're still a bit behind the eight ball over here, uh, compared to
40:11probably you guys in the States.
40:12There is a recipe software.
40:14It's called MEEZ, M-E-E-Z, uh, Joshua Sharkey.
40:19He's the CEO.
40:20He also has a podcast.
40:21I'm going to make an intro to Josh, uh, cause you'd be a phenomenal guest on his
40:25show, but, uh, I would definitely check out MEEZ and that's anybody looking for
40:29recipe costing, um, software, uh, Steven, this has been an absolute pleasure.
40:35Um, seriously, uh, you're, you're, you're the thesis.
40:39You're the reason why we started this show.
40:40I believe deeply that you're connecting with amazing people all over the globe.
40:45Um, I believe this is just the beginning of your journey.
40:47Congrats to you, congrats to your team, to your brother, to your wife, to your family.
40:51Um, it's super, really super cool to have you on the show.
40:54Um, that's a lot of fun.
40:55I love talking about this stuff.
40:56So honestly, and then, uh, if you guys are watching, if you're listening, uh, you're the
41:01reason that we do this show.
41:02So please subscribe to the show.
41:04Please share Steve's episode.
41:05Please go and visit Steve.
41:07Please, please follow him on YouTube.
41:08TikTok Instagram.
41:09We'll put links there in the bio.
41:11You can connect with me.
41:12I'm at Sean P.
41:14Walchef on Instagram is the fastest.
41:16So give me a follow there.
41:17I'll follow you back.
41:18I'll follow your restaurant back.
41:20Uh, we believe a rising tide lifts all ships.
41:22We know how hard it is to run restaurants.
41:24We love running restaurants, but we also love telling stories.
41:27So wherever you are, wherever you're listening, we appreciate you.
41:30We're grateful to you as always stay curious, get involved, and don't be afraid to ask for
41:35help.
41:35We'll catch you guys next episode.
41:37Thanks, Steve.
41:38Thank you so much.
41:43Thank you for listening.
41:44If you've made it this long, you are part of the community.
41:47You're part of the tribe.
41:48We can't do this alone.
41:49We started, no one was listening.
41:51Now we have a community of digital hospitality leaders all over the globe.
41:55Please check out our new series called Restaurant Technology Substack.
41:59It's a Substack newsletter.
42:01It's free.
42:01It's some of our deep work on the best technology for restaurants.
42:05Also go to YouTube and subscribe to Cali BBQ Media.
42:09Cali BBQ Media on YouTube.
42:10We've been putting out a lot of new original content.
42:13Hopefully you guys like that content.
42:15If you want to work with us, go to etheshow.media.
42:18We show up all over the United States, some international countries.
42:21We would love to work with you and your growing brand on digital storytelling.
42:25You can reach out to me anytime at Sean P. Welchef on Instagram.
42:29I'm weirdly available.
42:30Stay curious, get involved, and don't be afraid to ask for help.
42:33We'll catch you next episode.
42:34We'll catch you next time.
42:34We'll catch you next time.
42:34We'll catch you next time.
42:34We'll catch you next time.
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