About T&C

I founded T&C Restaurant Concepts in 2012 although the idea had been a long time in the making. I have had a passion for restaurants for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid I used to love dining out. Everything about the experience, the service, the ambiance, the food. Even at a young age I remember critiquing restaurants as a kid and young adult. My family just thought I was a constant complainer, but I knew even then that it could be so much better! 

Even though I had a passion for restaurants (although I did not know at that time that was what it was) it was not my first choice for a career. I started at 13 years old mowing lawns for a now defunct North Minneapolis pizzeria. I did such a good job that he allowed me to start cleaning the place. My family moved out of the city a couple of years later and I landed a job washing dishes. I was excited about the fast paced nature of the business. From there I began cooking at a couple fast food restaurants. Then I landed my first real cooking gig at 17. I worked at a local drive in. It was just me and the owner over the lunch hour. I worked the fryers and he worked the flat top grill. The amount of food we turned out over that hour and a half was astonishing! And we never missed a beat. 

I still wasn't convinced this was what I wanted to do. I thought I was going to be a hotshot salesman. After a couple years of struggling painfully selling this and that, I got a job tending bar to supplement my income. I quickly realized that not only was I making more money on my 3 days behind the bar than I was selling used cars, I  LOVED what I was doing!! After a few months I knew what I had to do. I moved back to the twin cities and made bartending my full time gig.  

After about 4 years tending bar and serving at several places around the city I was offered my first management gig at the now defunct Sophia on the River. After about 3 months I was offered the bar manager position. Event though this was my first management gig, I could tell right away that this place needed help. They had no systems in place for inventory management, cost tracking, or profitability analysis. I built all of these from scratch and learned a lot of things along the way. 

From here I was hired to be the General Manager at David Fhimas then 'new' restaurant LoTo in St. Paul. My mother taught me that if you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all. But what I can tell you is that I learned valuable lessons about how not to run a restaurant or treat people during this very brief stint. Again, another example of a restaurant with absolutely zero policies, procedures, or financial controls in place. 

I left there and went to work for Shelly's Woodroast in St. Louis Park. This was my first real opportunity to implement systems and track the results. Again, zero policies, procedures or financial controls. They had a profit and loss statement, but that was about it. My first month I did an audit on all of their inventory management, projections, par levels, pricing, cost analysis. I put systems in place and made tweaks where necessary. Within 3 months, I was able to decrease the cost of goods by 3.5%.

Timber Lodge was the first place that I worked for that had specific inventory and financial controls in place. This was good experience because up until then, I had no formal training on any of this. My time at Timber Lodge taught me that I WAS doing it the right way. 

Then I got the golden gig at Parasole. This experience was priceless. The best thing about my time at Parasole was the amount of freedom that they allow their managers. I was allowed free reign to test my systems, make adjustments, try new things, make mistakes and learn. As you can see by my resume, the results were very positive. Opening Pittsburgh Blue in Edina was my final exam. After launching this mammoth concept successfully without hardly raising a sweat, I knew it was time for more. So I'm ready for my next challenge!

I know I can make your restaurant more successful, because I've done it at EVERY restaurant I've ever worked!!

EXPERIENCE:

Parasole Restaurants:

              2011-2012 Pittsburgh Blue Galleria Edina, Assistant General Manager, I was involved in the opening team tasked with organizing and launching the second location of this highly successful concept.  I was given unrestricted freedom to implement beverage operations from concept to execution, including:  construction, staffing, training, new vendor relations, budgeting, contract negotiations, menu creation, area relations, regulatory compliance, etc.  The Grand Opening was operated successfully, with inventory 20% under budget.  I also achieved the first month bar cost figure of 7% under budget, and I averaged 35% gross margin and 18% ebitda monthly.

2009-2011      Pittsburgh Blue, Maple Grove, Assistant General Manager I was promoted from Chino Latino for the results and accomplishments I brought about there. At Pittsburgh Blue I was given the responsibility of overseeing the entire restaurant operations with a specific focus on beverage management in a 6 million dollar per year store with bar sales of 145k per month.  I organized inventory and count systems to stabilize an inconsistent cost number.  I also reduced overall bar costs by 4.5% within 8 months while maintaining seasonal beer, wine and cocktail lists.  I stopped a rapid decline in sales in 2010 by changes made in my department, resulting in a sales increase of 75% over the following 2 years.  I was solely responsible for the launching of the lunch meal period, including staffing, training, menu development, marketing, cost management, budgeting and forecasting.

2007-2009 Chino Latino, Minneapolis, Assistant Manager, where I was responsible for daily operations a restaurant that did 7.5 million per year.  My responsibilities included FOH staffing and supply cost management.  I was responsible for managing the schedule for 60+ people including servers, wait assistants, food runners and hosts.  I implemented a “trainer” incentive program to reward high performing staff members with the best sections on the best nights.  I was responsible for stocking and maintaining supply inventory within budget parameters.  I utilized my skills with Open Table to manage guest flow on Fridays and Saturdays with head counts excess of 1200.

Previous Employment

2005-2007 Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Bloomington, Assistant General Manager

2003-2005 Shelly’s Woodroast, St. Louis Park, General Manager

2003 David Fhima’s LoTo, St. Paul,  General Manager

2002-2003 Sophia on the River, Minneapolis, Manager

Previous experience I bring to the position:  Bartender, Server, Line Cook, Dishwasher, Cleaner