Wil welcomes guest Ken Stemke, owner of Main Street Social in Libertyville, IL, an upscale Italian-American restaurant with its own wine label. Ken traces his hospitality spark to bussing tables in high school, then a 35-year career in banking that armed him with the financial discipline many restaurants lack. He shares how a seasoned team, empowerment, and a recent, internally driven menu refresh (60+ dishes tested) improved culture and guest experience. The convo dives into COVID cash-flow planning, POS frustrations, the importance of listening to staff and guests, policy headwinds like tip-credit changes, rising costs/tariffs, tech overreach, and why independent restaurants—and local coalitions—are essential to community life.

Key Takeaways

1. Banking → hospitality advantage: Ken’s finance/accounting background gave him crucial cash-flow and planning skills most operators need but often lack.
   
   
2. Seasoned staff pays off: With servers averaging ~40 in age and long tenures, May Street Social avoids much of the turnover drama.
   
   
3. Empowerment drives innovation: Shifting decision-making to loyal team members led to a broad menu refresh without outside consultants.
   
   
4. Manufacturing mindset: Treat each dish like a mini job—know costs, margins, and process control just as in production.
   
   
5. Plan for storms: During COVID, Ken worked off daily cash-flows and prebuilt “Plan A/B/C” responses to policy changes.
   
   
6. Policy ripple effects: Eliminating the tip credit (e.g., in Chicago) raises labor costs significantly and can hurt independents more than chains.
   
   
7. Tariffs & uncertainty pinch demand: Cost shocks (produce, glass, wine) and scary headlines can temporarily depress traffic.
   
   
8. Right-sized tech: Restaurants should resist feature bloat; deploy only tools that simplify ops (Ken is doubling down on using Schedulefly fully).
   
   
9. POS matters: Weak reporting and lack of integrations create friction; handhelds and better data can smooth service pacing.
   
   
10. Community is the moat: Independent restaurants anchor local identity; forming downtown/indie coalitions amplifies marketing and advocacy.
    
    

Wil sits down with Emily Williams Knight, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA), which represents 58,000 restaurants, 1.4M employees, and nearly $137B in annual sales. Emily explains how the TRA protects a pro-business regulatory environment so operators can focus on guests and teams, not red tape. She shares a pandemic origin story: brand-new in the role, she built a “war room,” forged bipartisan relationships, helped shape PPP/RRF fixes, and pushed for one of the earliest statewide re-opens, becoming a nightly “north star” for Texas restaurants.

Today’s headwinds: uncertainty across demand patterns, labor/immigration constraints disrupting the full “plant-it to plate-it” chain, protein inflation (beef unlikely to ease until ~2028 due to shrunken herds, import frictions, and disease risk), and looming seafood import tightening. Emily flags swipe fees (3–4%+), opaque delivery chargebacks/penalties, and rising insurance/rent/cleaning costs that small operators can’t keep passing to guests. TRA’s approach: advocate first by collaboration (then legislate if needed), and deliver practical operator wins—e.g., a $9/mo Teladoc program (including mental health) for employees/families, childcare policy via an Employers for Child Care task force (8 of 9 bills passed), and exploring lower-cost payments (e.g., stablecoin rails) to challenge card duopolies.

Throughout, Emily underscores that independents are community infrastructure - first to show up in disasters, central to local identity - and urges owners to engage with their state associations for advocacy, education, and scaled benefits. Her north star: be courageous and pragmatic - simple solutions to complex problems - so small restaurants can survive the current squeeze and keep delivering hospitality.

1. TRA at scale: 58k restaurants, 1.4M employees, ~$137B sales—largest private-sector employer in Texas.
   
   
2. Advocacy matters: TRA blocked well-intended but risky mandates (e.g., restaurant staff administering Narcan) by educating lawmakers.
   
   
3. Bipartisan playbook: Results come from working both sides of the aisle and building trust before crises hit.
   
   
4. Pandemic “war room”: Early reopen, nightly updates, and PPP/RRF fixes made TRA a lifeline for operators.
   
   
5. Core problem = uncertainty: Demand patterns, costs, and supply reliability are too volatile for 4–6% margin businesses.
   
   
6. Labor/immigration shock: Shortages ripple from farm to kitchen; near-term ask is work permits for long-time, law-abiding workers.
   
   
7. Protein pressure: Beef relief unlikely until ~2028 due to herd rebuild cycles, import constraints, and disease risks; seafood supply faces stricter import rules.
   
   
8. Cost traps: Swipe fees (often 3–4%+) and delivery chargebacks/penalties are eroding margins; TRA is pushing transparency and policy fixes.
   
   
9. Practical benefits: TRA offers a $9/mo Teladoc (incl. mental health) for employees/families and is advancing childcare solutions to improve retention.
   
   
10. Independents = community infrastructure: They fuel local identity and disaster response—consumer support and association engagement are vital.
    
    

Wil sits down with Chris Moran, owner of Bullet Grill House in Point Blank, Texas—an hour north of Houston by Lake Livingston. Chris traces a winding path from teenage shifts at Big Boy to Pizza Hut GM postings across the Midwest, a pivot into automotive/oil & gas, and a “nights-and-weekends” stint at Ted’s Montana Grill that rekindled his hospitality bug. In 2019, he and his wife built Bullet Grill House from raw land—doing much of the interior themselves, debt-light by cashing out savings. After a strong first summer, COVID hit; they pivoted fast to curbside, takeout, and discounted beer/wine to-go—ironically exceeding February sales in April 2020. Since opening, they’ve posted year-over-year growth.

Chris walks through lessons learned: keep operations simple and reliable (including moving back to Schedulefly), obsess over service consistency, and keep a close eye on vendor pricing. He’s grown the space with “McBullets,” a hidden-door Irish-style speakeasy room, and leverages their 4.4-acre lot to host the East Texas Showdown bikepacking event that brings 200+ riders each spring. While expansion is tempting, he’s focused on protecting the “mothership,” staffing depth, and community hospitality that turn first-timers into regulars.

1. Nonlinear path pays off: Early chain experience + manufacturing “lean” mindset shaped Bullet’s processes.
   
   
2. Built, not bought: They acquired raw land and did much of the buildout themselves, staying (initially) debt-light to survive the early years.
   
   
3. COVID pivot that stuck: Curbside + discounted beer/wine to-go drove April 2020 sales above pre-shutdown February and introduced future dine-in guests.
   
   
4. Simple > shiny: Switching away from Schedulefly for “bells & whistles” backfired; they returned to what’s stable and staff-friendly.
   
   
5. Watch your vendors: Distributor pricing can drift—tight, ongoing monitoring protects food cost.
   
   
6. Staff for service, not just cost: Slight overstaffing can be a strategic advantage in remote markets and for guest experience.
   
   
7. Grow inside your four acres: Added a speakeasy-style back room (“McBullets”) and use back acreage for events/camping/overflow instead of opening a second unit.
   
   
8. Anchor community events: Hosting the East Texas Showdown (180–380 mile routes) fills the lot, sells serious calories, and cements local relevance.
   
   
9. Brand clarity matters: Shifting perception from “biker bar next door” to full-service family restaurant took intentional service, menu, and messaging.
   
   
10. Cautious about expansion: Protecting the core location and culture outweighs the allure of a second unit right now.