Eggs Up Grill, Hot Palette Holdings, Jeff’s Bagel Run execs talk leadership skills
Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit
Leaders from Eggs Up Grill, Jeff’s Bagel Run and Hot Palette Holdings discussed leadership skills at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last month.
Kat Claypool, director of sales for Wisetail, leads a session with Jeff Perera, Stacey Kane, Troy Hooper and Wesley Epstein. Photo: Willie Lawless/ Networld Media Group
April 11, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Managing Editor, Networld Media Group
Amidst the buzz of innovation and franchising strategies at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit, one session — “Building Authentic Connections with Your Restaurant Team” — emphasized the foundational truth that the restaurant industry thrives on its people. The panel focused on the crucial human element of building a successful team, delving into authentic leadership, fostering belonging, mentorship, celebrating individuality and cultivating a strong sense of community among restaurant staff.
Panelists for the session included Wesley Epstein, director of training for Eggs Up Grill, Troy Hooper, CEO of Hot Palette Holdings, Stacey Kane, a fractional CMO for multiple brands and Jeff Perera, co-founder of Jeff’s Bagel Run. Kat Claypool, director of sales for panel sponsor Wisetail, moderated the event.
The Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit is produced by Networld Media Group, which operates Fastcasual.com, QSRweb.com, PizzaMarketplace.com and several other business-to-business websites.
The power of authentic leadership
Kane said she works with several brands, including Zunzie’s + Zunzibar in Savannah, Georgia, which has a charismatic leader, Chris Smith. “Operational excellence trumps everything,” she said, “and to have that you have to have a team that feels connected.”
Through an app called Community, team members have direct access to Smith at any time, all the way down to the cashier level. “If you text him, he texts you back,” Kane said.
Perera, who heads up 12 bagel shops, said as a leader, being vulnerable is important to make sure that authenticity comes through.
“The team still looks at me as just the guy who came in and makes bagels,” Perera said. “Whether you’re a founder, some kind of executive title, a general manager or a franchisee, your team is looking up to you, and if you can shed some of that aura that’s around you and be vulnerable with them and share your experiences, understand where they’re coming from like walk that line in their shoes, it just makes it some much easier.”
To scale culture, Hooper said, you must look at people who have done it successfully. Creating “raving fans” within your employees as well as your customers is crucial to success. Employees serve as cultural ambassadors for brands.
“The guest experience can never outweigh the team member experience,” Epstein said, “so making sure that you concentrate on their training, their execution, their competence and confidence within the brand, that will create raving employees.”
Fostering a sense of belonging
Claypool asked the panelists about strategies that can help new hires feel welcomed and included.
Epstein said the first day of employment is important to show new employees that brand leaders are invested in their training and their success. He likes to have a sit-down breakfast that first day which fosters a sense of belonging. He also likes to introduce everyone on the team.
“Sitting down and breaking bread is just a special moment you can have with a new hire,” he said.
Hooper said brands have to have a system and a process, and what he does is create an environment that is scalable.
“If you have less than 50 employees, you as the leader should have the opportunity to one-on-one with them as least once a month,” he said. “Anything over that and you can have your managers do it and then you meet with your managers.”
Making that time a safe space is imperative, as is having an authentic conversation.
Kane has a French bakery client that is open 24 hours a day and said the brand struggled when employees were working overnight hours and the c-suite wasn’t working at that time. The brand has made a monthly cheer session where new employees dine with leadership and take a tour of the commissary bakery if they don’t already work there.
Perera said new hires are often nervous about starting a new job and making them feel welcome and appreciated is important to their success as an employee. During the interview process, Perera starts introducing potential new hires to the team that they will be working with and that helps foster good relationships once they’re hired and starting their job.
“Everyone wants to come in and be successful at what they do,” he said, “whether it’s a dishwasher or a general manager. It doesn’t matter. They want to be successful.”
Maintaining that connection and brand culture
Epstein said maintaining that connection to the brand beyond day one comes down to its culture. Brands leaders should take accountability for the training and onboarding process and then encourage team members to carry though that new-job enthusiasm.
Hooper said to be certain that a brand’s values are actional statements. “Everyday you’re giving them values and then giving them examples of how to live that value.”
There’s a suggestion box in the employee lounge where any employee can recognize another employee for living a value.
Mentorship and growth
Epstein said mentorship starts with a clear vision and a look at the end goal.
“We want them to be part of our family,” Epstein said. “We want them to train to be part of our family for x amount of years. We don’t want to be another stop on your career belt. The investment in training and the investment in follow-ups throughout that training, even after they’re on the floor after they’re training to be a server, are you following up with them? Are you making sure they have all the tools to succeed?”
His brand uses 7Shifts, a labor and development platform, to learn how a shift went after an employee finishes it.
Perera said brands must have a system in place to mentor employees or it won’t get done.
“If someone comes to you or someone on your team shows potential, you have to understand first and foremost what they really want,” Perera said. Once that is determined, managers can start to build and establish what kind of visual training they need and if they need experience.
“Everyone in your organization, and I can speak as a franchisee and as a franchisor, wants to achieve something or wants to do more and you just have to figure out what that is,” he said.
The next Networld Media Group event is the Pizza Leadership Virtual Summit on July 30. It is followed by the Fast Casual Executive Summit taking place October 5-7.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
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Jeff’s Bagel Run
Jeff’s Bagel Run is a scratch bakery with a simple and delicious menu of bagels, spreads and a full coffee program. The shops are open daily from 6:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., allowing operators to schedule on a single-shift model. The simple menu enables the brand to keep excellent and consistent products while maximizing revenue.
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