Cloning. I might be into that.

Owning a restaurant is a seven day a week job. Today's consumer expects you to be open when they are hungry, whether that is morning, noon or night. They expect quick service and a delicious meal.

What they also expect is consistency. Whether you are the owner of a fine dining restaurant, a sushi hut or a burger joint, they want it to taste the same on Tuesday as it did on Friday.

That's why I think as restauranteurs we ought to support cloning. Yeah, not for food but for staff. If you find good employees, you should clone them. Clone them as quickly as possible and keep extras in dry storage.

Muhahaha.

Working seven days a week makes you think things like that! It's crazy.  You go crazy. Of course, I'm going to tell you I'm just kidding, but secretly, my inside voice is still thinking.... "cloning, that might be a good idea after all."

Good staff are a treasure. Reliable, hard working and honest are of course qualities you look for, but when you can also find employees with a sense of compassion, empathy, and those that understand how to cope under pressure, well... those are the ones you should "clone." And until science finds a way to do that, and our ethics find a way to accept it, we will continue to "clone" in the old fashioned way. We will TRAIN our employees and we will lead by example. Don't ask someone to mop the floor unless you are willing to do it yourself. Don't ask someone to stay later or pick up a shift unless you are willing to do it yourself. Lead by example.

Owning a restaurant is hard. And you certainly can not do it alone.