How to scale high-quality, high-integrity menus

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2023

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow, co-executive chefs and partners at Flour + Water Hospitality Group, a San Francisco-based operation dishing upscale pizzas and pastas across multiple concepts and even a CPG line. Their newest venture, Flour + Water Pizzeria, is a 4,000 square foot space with a full-service pizzeria, a dough production facility, and a quick-service pizza shop slinging pies through takeout and delivery — a model that the pair hope to scale through a hub-and-spoke expansion model. Thomas and Ryan joined the podcast to talk about how they’re planning to maintain quality and integrity as they scale.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

Sometimes simpler is better
Restaurants are vital to community ecosystems
Don’t be afraid to hit the reset button
You can grow your business without being a sell-out
A hub-and-spoke model is perfect for scaling scratch-made menus
Your flagship location should set the vibe and atmosphere for your brand

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News.
0:05.1	I am Sam Ocas, editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access pass
0:10.6	to the restaurant industry's most influential decision-makers.
0:14.4	This week, I'm talking with Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Polnau, the co-executive chefs and
0:20.3	partners at Flower and Water Hospitality Group,
0:23.8	a San Francisco-based operation, dishing upscale pizzas and pastas across multiple concepts,
0:30.7	and now CPG.
0:32.7	Their newest venture, Flower and Water Pizzeria, is a 4,000 square foot space with a full-service pizzeria,
0:39.7	a dough production facility, and a quick-service pizza shop slinging pies through takeout
0:45.4	and delivery. This is a model that the pair hope to expand through a hub and spoke model.
0:52.0	Thomas and Ryan joined the podcast to talk about how they're planning to
0:55.4	maintain quality and integrity as they scale, why they're turning to CPG as a new revenue
1:02.6	stream, and how they're taking tips from none other than Apple as they plan their hub
1:07.8	and spoke strategy. In this conversation, you will learn more about why you shouldn't be afraid to hit the reset button on your business plan,
1:16.9	how it's possible to scale your business without being a sellout,
1:21.2	and how your flagship location really needs to set the vibe for your brand.
1:27.0	Jumping now into my interview with Flower and Water
1:29.8	Hospitality Group partners Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Polnau. Just so you know who is who, Thomas
1:36.1	is the first voice that you will hear. Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview,
1:41.0	as I will share my six takeaways from this discussion, actionable insights
1:45.0	that you can take with you on the go. Okay, I'm here with Ryan Polnau and Thomas McNaughton, the co-chefs
1:51.7	and partners in Flower and Water, Hospitality Group, Water, be very key to what you guys are doing
	...

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