What if your dishwasher earned the same as your most tenured line cook? At bartaco, that’s not a hypothetical—it’s the reality. In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Valletta, President of bartaco, to discuss the innovative strategies fueling their nationwide growth. Anthony pulls back the curtain on their revolutionary compensation structure, where every hourly employee receives the same base wage and an equal share of tips, eliminating pay disparity between the front and back of house. He explains how this model has not only provided a true living wage but also fostered unprecedented teamwork and a self-managing labor force. We also dive into bartaco's philosophy on technology as a tool to enhance hospitality and their unique leadership academy that invests in developing the whole person, not just the employee.

Key Takeaways

• Tech as an Enabler: Learn bartaco's philosophy on using technology to handle transactional tasks, giving staff more time to engage with guests and enhance the human element of hospitality.
• A Radical Pay Structure: Discover how bartaco implemented a system where every hourly employee—FOH and BOH—earns the exact same base wage and receives an equal percentage of tips.
• The Unintended Benefits of Equal Pay: Hear how the equal-pay model has led to remarkable teamwork and a culture where the team holds each other accountable, creating a self-managing labor model.
• Developing People, Not Just Managers: Explore the "bartaco Leadership Academy," a program that provides executive-level coaching on life skills to every salaried employee, leading to profound personal and professional growth.
• Career Pathing That Works: Understand their "edible carrots" approach to career development, which provides clear, accessible, and attainable steps for advancement within the company.

Resources Mentioned

• bartaco: https://bartaco.com/

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About Us
7shifts is a scheduling, payroll, and employee retention app designed to help restaurants thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for more than 50,000 restaurants.

Do you ever wonder if your restaurant's technology is ahead of the curve, just keeping pace, or falling behind the competition? In a tough environment where 44% of restaurants are missing their labor targets, knowing where you stand is the first step to getting ahead.

In this special solo episode, host D.J. Costantino walks you through the four distinct stages of a restaurant's digital journey: from "Analog" paper-and-pen operations to a fully "Optimized" and integrated tech stack. Discover where your restaurant fits in this framework and get a clear, practical roadmap for what comes next.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How to identify your restaurant's current stage of tech maturity, from Analog to Optimized.
• Why 44% of restaurants are missing labor targets and how real-time data can give you back control.
• The direct link between modern tools, a positive employee experience, and improving your team's retention rate.
• How automating manual tasks can free up hours of your time to work on your business, not just in it.

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📲 Connect with D.J.
DJ's Email
Follow on LinkedIn

More 7shifts
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
Subscribe to Food Runner, our Monthly Restaurant Newsletter
7shifts on YouTube
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Read the 7shifts Blog

About Us
7shifts is a scheduling, payroll, and employee retention app designed to help restaurants thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for more than 50,000 restaurants.

How do you take six distinct fast-casual brands and scale them under a single, efficient operational umbrella? In this episode, we sit down with Lauriena Borstein, Chief Operating Officer, and Kyle Mark, Chief Information Officer of WOWorks—the restaurant group behind Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, and Garbanzo, among others.

They share the "One WOW Way," their philosophy for unifying operations, technology, and communication across their entire portfolio. Lauriena details how creating repeatable systems while maintaining flexibility is the key to scaling, and why franchisee profitability is their non-negotiable north star metric. Kyle explains the monumental task of consolidating disparate systems into a single tech stack and how proving the ROI—like a 30-35% increase in digital sales—is crucial for getting franchisee buy-in. This conversation is a masterclass in managing growth, the c between operations and technology, and why a strong culture is built on communication.

Key takeaways

• Building repeatable systems. Scaling any brand requires creating consistent, repeatable systems with flexibility for local execution.
• The "one WOW way" is A core philosophy for shared services like tech and supply chain, which creates efficiency across a multi-brand portfolio.
• Franchisee profitability is #1. Franchisee profitability is the primary metric for success, as no initiative is scalable if it isn't profitable.
• Unify your tech stack for growth. A single tech stack (POS, online ordering, loyalty) simplifies operations, reduces training, and unifies data analysis.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate. Build a strong culture with a consistent communication cadence, ensuring franchisees hear a unified message from all leadership.
• Don't be afraid to fail fast. Growth-minded operators must try new things and be willing to fail fast, dropping what doesn't work to move on quickly.

Resources

• Learn more about WOWorks and their family of brands:
• Connect with the guests on LinkedIn:
  • Kyle Mark
  • Lauriena Borstein

Send us a text

📲 Connect with D.J.
DJ's Email
Follow on LinkedIn

More 7shifts
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
Subscribe to Food Runner, our Monthly Restaurant Newsletter
7shifts on YouTube
Follow us on TikTok
Read the 7shifts Blog

About Us
7shifts is a scheduling, payroll, and employee retention app designed to help restaurants thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for more than 50,000 restaurants.