Restaurant Punk

Peter Karapanagiotis aka The Y.B. makes his debut on Restaurant Punk, reflecting on the fact that Kara Restaurant Group has never hired formal managers. Looking ahead to the opening of a few new BYOBs in 2023, Peter asks Nikos and Liz to share their thoughts on managers in restaurants. Are managers a good thing – a bad thing – a necessary evil? What determines whether a restaurant needs a hierarchy or if the team can manage itself? Are managers more effective if they are feared or respected? Do you

When dining out, it may seem like ‘no big deal’ when you ask your server to split the check 2-3-10 different ways, but what are the actual impacts on the business? Yes, it’s a pain in the a**, but it also comes with added fees for the business owner, added time and work for the server, increased turn-time for the table, and more. On the other hand, sometimes there are customers who won’t patronize your business at all if they can’t split the check. Do the cons outweigh the pros? Are the b*tch fits

They say that how you do anything is how you do everything in life.Careless Colleagues  When there’s a lot going on in life – or when you just got too high before your shift – it’s easy to become careless when it comes to the finer details at work. So, what are your limits when it comes to a colleague or employee being careless, slow, or just plain lazy? Does it make a difference if they’re consistently inconsistent or if it’s only an occasional occurrence?Creepy CustomersWhat about your boundaries

Yianni and Nikos are back from a trip to the motherland (Greece), where they enjoyed classic preparations of traditional Greek dishes. So, how does the food there compare to the Americanized version? Take gyros, for example – in Greece, you won’t find a shred of iceberg lettuce anywhere near your plate. Nikos, Yianni, and Liz explore related questions, including: How do our food expectations influence our experience while eating them? What’s more, are our mothers setting us up to fail in preparing