Inside the powerhouse Midwest restaurant group you’ve never heard of

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mike Cunningham, founder and CEO of Cunningham Restaurant Group. This group is based in Indianapolis and has 42 locations across Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, making it one of the top 10 biggest independent restaurant groups in the country. Mike joined the podcast to talk about how his knack for creativity drove him to scaling across so many different concepts and how he’s designing an infrastructure that ensures consistency across the group.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

Your first step toward growth is surrounding yourself with people who can help
How much you like airplanes may determine your growth strategy
The joy of discovery shouldn’t be underestimated in your marketing efforts
Simple loyalty programs are not dead
Bedroom communities often offer more stable business than city centers
Your growth strategy should allow for some flexibility around unique opportunities

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
0:10.1	pass to the restaurant industry's most influential decision-makers.
0:14.0	This week, I'm talking with Mike Cunningham.
0:16.4	Mike is the founder and CEO of Cunningham Restaurant Group.
0:21.0	This group is based in Indianapolis and it has 42 locations across Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky,
0:28.4	making it one of the top 10 biggest independent restaurant groups in the country.
0:33.9	Mike started Cunningham back in 1997 and has been slowly growing it into a powerhouse ever since.
0:41.6	Today, Cunningham Restaurant Group has 18 concepts in its portfolio, including the 15-unit brew burger bar.
0:50.1	And Mike joined the podcast to talk about how his knack for creativity drove him to scaling across so many different concepts and how he's designing an infrastructure that ensures consistency across the group.
1:03.9	In this conversation, you will learn more about why your attitude toward airplanes may determine your growth strategy, why the joy of
1:12.6	discovery shouldn't be underestimated in your marketing efforts, and why your growth strategy
1:18.3	should allow for some flexibility for unique opportunities. Jumping now into my interview
1:25.0	with Cunningham Restaurant Group, CEO and founder, Mike Cunningham.
1:29.8	Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview, as I will share my six takeaways from this discussion, actionable insights that you can take with you on the go.
1:40.5	Okay, sitting here with Mike Cunningham, the founder and CEO of Cunningham Restaurant Group based in Indianapolis.
1:46.9	Mike, thanks for joining the podcast today.
1:49.2	Sam, glad to be here.
1:50.4	So we're going to talk all about Cunningham.
1:52.2	And as I just said right before we hit record, it's like people just don't, a lot of people on the coast just don't know about Cunningham because you're in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky.
2:00.6	Really rude to here in the Midwest. I amham because you're in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, really
2:01.1	Rudy here in the Midwest.
	...

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