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Episode Summary
In this episode of Homegrown Hustle, host Matt Eickman sits down with Brent Frederick, founder of Jester Concepts, the restaurant group behind Twin Cities staples like Burrow, Parlor, Butcher & the Boar, Starling, and Rustica Bakery. Brent shares his journey from bussing tables at Joe’s Crab Shack to building a 13-location hospitality brand employing over 500 people. This PhD-level deep dive explores entrepreneurship through the lens of restaurant management—balancing creative vision with operational excellence, the economics of restaurant scaling, leadership culture, and resilience through crises like the housing crash and COVID-19. Whether you’re in hospitality or any business with a service backbone, this episode is a masterclass in systems thinking, humility, and hustle.
Key Takeaways:
- Passion Over Profit: Success stems from doing what you love, not chasing money
- Systematize Success: Processes, data, and financial systems sustain growth beyond intuition.
- Location Strategy: The “lease vs. own” debate defines long-term restaurant models.
- Resilience Through Crisis: Great restaurants thrive even during economic downturns.
- Team Culture Matters: Accountability, humility, and teachability drive staff excellence.
- Community Over Competition: Collaboration among restaurateurs fosters industry-wide strength.
- Scaling Smart: Know when to expand and when to consolidate—overhead and people matter.
- Holiday Hustle: Q4 is the “Super Bowl” of hospitality—preparation wins every time.
- Customer Experience: Success is built on feelings, not just food.
- Leadership Insight: Mistakes are growth moments; great leaders teach, not punish.
Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome and Introduction to Jester Concepts
01:20 – Brent’s Start: From Joe’s Crab Shack to Bartending
05:30 – Lessons from Small Business and Sales
07:30 – The Leap into Ownership: Launching Cowboy Slim’s
09:30 – Early Struggles: Permits, Construction, and Management
11:00 – The Real Estate vs. Lease Debate in Restaurants
15:00 – Learning from Failure: The Kudata Era
16:30 – Building an Organizational Structure for Scale
18:00 – Sales, Marketing, and the True Drivers of Restaurant Growth
19:30 – Resilience During Recession and Inflation
21:00 – Coaching Teams Through Mistakes and Reviews
23:00 – Prepping for Q4: The Restaurant “Super Bowl”
25:30 – Systems, Data, and the Science of Operations
30:00 – Continuous Improvement and Financial Control
32:00 – Future Growth: Rustica, Revival, and Suburban Expansion
34:00 – Parking Lots, Leases, and Suburban Strategy
36:00 – The Art and Chaos of a New Restaurant Opening
38:00 – Thanksgiving Promotions and Upcoming Events
39:40 – Defining Hustle and Passion in Business
41:00 – Building Community Among Restaurateurs
42:00 – Closing Thoughts and Call to Action
Guest Resources:
Website: www.jesterconcepts.com
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