Beyond the Plate: Inside the journey of J Michael’s Tavern & Grille

0:08

Welcome to Under the Brand. I’m your host, Valerie Jennings, CEO, AI strategist, and founder of Jennings Social Media & Tech.

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In each episode, we go beyond the polished logos and campaigns to explore the real stories, strategies, and creativity behind the world’s most influential brands and rising ventures. From bold founders to disruptive innovators, we uncover what drives brand identity, digital growth, and lasting impact. This is where business gets personal.

0:41

Welcome to Under the Brand. This is our very first episode: launching J. Michael’s Tavern and Grill with passion, precision, and plates. I’m so excited to welcome these two founders today, and we are weeks — maybe days — before the opening of this fantastic restaurant.

1:06

Welcome to this episode. I’m Valerie Jennings. Jeff Grath and Kurt Holden are joining me today. Jeff has launched restaurants across the country, and Kurt has also owned and operated restaurants as well as many other business ventures.

1:20

Our agency, JSM&T, is launching the brand and marketing for J. Michael’s Tavern and Grill. So let’s get started with some questions. How did you two meet, and what inspired you to open this restaurant in Stuart, Florida?

1:30

Well, one of my places down the road here, Kurt used to frequent, and we became good friends, golfing buddies. One thing led to another, and here we are.

1:49

Well, golf definitely brings people together. And Kurt, I know you also have a history in the restaurant industry, right?

1:56

That’s right.

1:58

Can you tell us a little bit about that, and what inspired you to start this restaurant with Chef?

2:05

Sure. Several years ago — I’ve been in aviation for close to 40 years now — I opened several locations in some regional airports, as delis at those restaurants, and also owned a pizza shop at one point. So that’s how I got into the restaurant business, and I understand it a little bit. But Jeff’s the real pro in the restaurant business.

2:31

Chef, can you tell us more about some of the restaurants that you’ve launched in the past? And I know it’s not just Florida, but other parts of the country as well, right?

2:39

Well, I’m originally from the tundra of Minnesota, and I had a chain of restaurants up there — bars, restaurants, blues and jazz clubs. I retired back in about 1998 and sold them all and came down to Florida.

2:55

Then I got tired of sitting around and got back into the industry. I owned a couple down here that I sold, and then I partnered up with an individual and we had four very, very successful ones down here — which I can’t name because of confidentiality agreements. And now Kurt and I decided to do this one.

3:21

That’s awesome. Congratulations to both of you. You guys have both had interesting careers — aviation, restaurants, probably many other business ventures I don’t even know about. What are some of the biggest lessons that stood out from these previous ventures that our audience can learn from?

3:42

Well, in the restaurant field, which I’ve been in since I was 14 years old, it’s the only thing I’ve ever done. The other venture I had is that I owned a chain of waterbed stores in Texas, but that was back in the ’80s. I still had my restaurants then.

3:58

Anyway, I’ve pretty much self-taught from A to Z when it comes to the operations of a hospitality environment. The most important thing is guest service. It can’t be described any better than that. It starts when they get out of their car in the parking lot, until when they leave and go back to their car.

4:22

Everything has got to be A1, as good as you can do it. And it has to be consistent. You have to be consistent in your product and consistent in your service. And if you can offer that, you can be a success.

4:34

And again, I started when I was 14 years old, dishwashing. I worked every position, worked my way up to owner. I bought my first bar when I was 18, and that’s all I’ve been doing since then. I tried to retire and that didn’t work. Can’t do it.

4:52

That’s how it goes. And in corporate aviation as well, I think it’s really important — that VVIP treatment is exactly the same thing. Even though they’re different businesses, it is all about the service, for sure.

5:07

Yeah, it’s the personalization. Jeff, you touched on something that I want to ask a follow-up question about. You started at that entry stage of learning every aspect of running a restaurant. I feel like today’s generation wants to skip to the top. What is the value in starting at square one and really learning every aspect of a business?

5:37

Well, it’s the most vital thing there is. And I thank God I’ve been able to hire people — I can name many examples. I won’t use names, but they’re still very good friends of mine, still working at places that I did own, who started as a barback and moved their way up to server.

6:01

The most important position in a restaurant is the hostess up front. They’re the face of your place. They’re the first smile the guest sees. So I started people that way, and then you move them into service, so they get the unfortunate customers along with the fantastic customers, and they learn human nature and the way things are.

6:24

Then you move them into bartending. Then you move them into a floor manager position. Then an assistant manager. Then a GM. At one of the places that I just moved on from, there’s a young man running the one in another state right now, and he learned it the way I learned it. And he thanks me for the fact that we learned it that way.

6:40

Just like any business, you can’t boss until you’ve been bossed, if you understand what I’m saying.

6:51

Yeah, that’s a really valuable lesson. Thank you for sharing that.

6:57

So building a brand 10, 15, 20 years ago is different from building a brand today, right? What are some things that stand out to you today about the importance of building a brand and standing out in maybe a more crowded ecosystem, or just launching a new restaurant?

7:21

I can speak about the restaurant. Brand recognition is so important. With the last places that I was involved in, people would come from long ways away to come down and see us, and then they kept saying, “You’ve got to open up one here. You’ve got to open up one here.” Well, we did, and we just basically moved that concept.

7:41

We kept the menus, a couple of tweaks here and there. But again, it’s also the service. I pride myself on different types of things, like holding the door open for every customer that comes in, running out to cars with umbrellas and stuff like that. It happens in this industry, but not on a consistent basis.

7:58

I had one guy at my last restaurant who was so amazed that we ran out to his car with an umbrella. He was a handicapped gentleman, so every time he pulled up in there, even if it was sunshine, we ran out with an umbrella to the guy. And he bragged about it to his friends, and we were known for that. And we were also known for a great meal and a great drink.

8:19

You talk about things that aren’t very common in the restaurant industry unless it’s an upscale restaurant, right? Like a luxury restaurant. But what you’re talking about is that you really care about your customers. You want them to have a good experience.

8:33

Jeff, this is a little bit of an off-the-cuff question for you, or Kurt. What do you say to the fact that robots might run restaurants very soon someday and greet customers? Do we get away from that personal touch with robots, or do you actually see an opportunity here?

9:01

Well, I don’t see the opportunity, and Kurt can talk about the airline industry also. A robot walking up and down the aisle of an airplane doesn’t work for me. But actually, I’ve been to some trade shows where they had the virtual bartender.

9:16

The bar business is personalities. You lose those personalities, you might as well drink at home.

9:23

That’s how we became friends. We became friends that way, and now we’re partners, through that exact comment.

9:31

And if you ever go to a bar down here that has a robot, remember, we don’t come here.

9:37

Well, it’ll be interesting to see what this looks like in the future. I read an article that said now they’re looking to replace real estate agents with robots that can give the tours instead of the agents.

9:52

So there is definitely a big disruption coming, but I think again there has to be balance. There are just certain things that the human touch can’t replace. So it’s interesting to get your perspective on that after you’ve been in the restaurant business, and Kurt, you too, in the hospitality and tourism industry.

10:15

So let’s talk about why marketing, branding, and digital presence matter more than ever. Kurt, this kind of goes to you, in working with our team. Why do you feel that this is so important in today’s marketplace?

10:33

I think you said it earlier. This is a very crowded business, right? In restaurants, you can look around just around this block and there are two, three, four restaurants just within a couple of steps of each other.

10:49

The marketing, and the consistency of that marketing, is so important to continue to be the name that people speak about, right? And if you don’t continue to market, if you don’t continue to advertise, you will lose that. And it very, very quickly can go away.

11:06

So that’s why I truly believe in consistency in this. And it doesn’t have to be over the top anymore, right? Like this interview — you’re in Kansas City and we’re in Stuart, Florida, and we’re doing this interview very easily.

11:24

Yeah, I think that tells you that the market is requiring that you be consistent.

11:34

Back in the late ’70s when I had my first place, it was newspaper.

11:39

Yes, that was it. You didn’t have magazines everywhere. You didn’t have everybody. It was newspaper, and it was word of mouth. My philosophy has always been in my life that you sell within your four walls. Everybody needs to come in here, and it’s just like Cheers — everybody knows your name, and everybody feels at home.

11:56

Then it turned into radio. Radio was the advertisement for quite a while, along with print media, and even that went by the wayside. Every ad on TV or on the radio now starts out with a jingle, so you originally know it, and then it goes into the product.

12:12

Now it is multimedia, it is internet, it is everything, and it reaches such a wide space. Even with the things that you guys have done for us — I was reading the other day, we had some lady from Australia who just said, “I come to Florida all the time. I’m going to have to stop in.” Try reaching out that far with a piece of paper or a radio ad.

12:38

Right. It is very different. And I have had the fortunate experience to transition from all the traditional media to digital. I started off as a journalist and worked in print and TV broadcast, and then transitioned into digital.

12:56

But you talk about the evolution of this business, and it’s always changing, right? Everything keeps going faster and more sophisticated with the technology.

13:05

And now when we talk about brand loyalty, even in the last few years since the pandemic, what consumers expect has really changed. They really want authenticity. And you talk about how, when they come to the restaurant, you want them, not their money. That’s really what this pivot is.

13:30

This sounds like it’s been your philosophy always, but before the pandemic there was a lot of just ad-heavy, advertising-heavy material. Now the emphasis on influencers and authentic content, and really getting to know a brand to build trust, is the cornerstone of digital marketing.

13:54

And when we look at the evolution of social media — I started in social media in 2005, so even before Facebook was around — it was authentic interviews like this one that we’re doing, and blogging, and working with bloggers who were influencers.

14:16

We evolved, and now we’re back to our roots. This more grassroots style: get to know the brand, get to know the people buying the brand, and let the consumers feel that brand and trust that brand.

14:33

Again, great business advice for anybody who is looking to launch a brand or start a business. Jeff and Kurt have both had such an amazing business story. We’re very lucky to have them.

14:41

Stay tuned for future episodes where we explore strategies and tactics from behind the scenes. I’m Valerie Jennings. Thank you for watching.

14:58

Thanks for tuning in to Under the Brand. If you loved today’s episode, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, leave a review, and follow us on social media at @jsmtech for more insights. To learn more about working with our team or getting featured on the show, visit jsm.com. Until next time, keep building boldly.