Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates
Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast is your backstage pass to the minds of hospitality leaders, innovators, and operators who are redefining what it means to serve. Hosted by Zack Oates, founder of Ovation, each episode dives into real-world tactics and inspiring stories from restaurant pros who know how to create five-star guest experiences—both in-store and off-premise.
From fast casual to fine dining, catering to curbside, learn how to drive loyalty, empower your staff, and deliver hospitality that hits home. Whether you're a restaurant owner, operator, marketer, or tech partner, this podcast will leave you with practical insights and plenty of reasons to celebrate and Give an Ovation.
Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates
Empowering Women in Restaurants and Business with Dawn Lafreeda of Denny's
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In this episode of Give an Ovation, host Zack Oates sits down with Dawn Lafreeda, one of the most inspiring entrepreneurs and restaurant leaders in the industry. From starting as a server at Denny’s at 16 years old to becoming the largest female franchisee in the full-service restaurant industry, Dawn shares her incredible journey and the drive that fueled her success. She also discusses her passion for supporting women entrepreneurs through her documentary, Show Her the Money, which highlights the challenges women face in securing venture capital funding. Dawn opens up about her commitment to empowering her employees, promoting a positive workplace culture, and giving back to communities through initiatives like the Denny’s Mobile Relief Diner.
Tune in to hear Dawn’s insights on leadership, resilience, and making a difference both in business and beyond.
Female Entrepreneurship and Empowerment
Speaker 1Welcome to another edition of Give and Ovation , the restaurant guest experience podcast , where I talk to industry experts to get their strategies and tactics you can use to create a five-star guest experience . This podcast is sponsored by Ovation , an operations and guest recovery platform for multi-unit restaurants that gives all the answers without annoying guests with all the questions . Learn more at OvationUpcom . And today we have Dawn LaFrieda with us and she is one of the most inspirational entrepreneurs and restaurant leaders I've ever met . She is the largest franchisee of Denny's , where she started as a server at 16 . I'm excited for her to share a little bit about her story and when she isn't promoting her documentary , show her the money . She can be found supporting women and entrepreneurs or spending time with her beautiful family and Dawn . Thank you for joining us on Give an Ovation .
Speaker 2Hey , thank you so much . I'm so happy to be here . I love to get to talk about all things that I'm passionate about , and now you covered a few of my biggest ones there in your introduction , so thank you for having me .
Speaker 1Now I would love for you because , so thank you for having me Now . I would love for you because you know especially anyone in Texas knows of your story . But I would love for you to share your story briefly , about how did you go from a server to the largest franchisee at Denny's . That's wild .
Speaker 2Well , now I'm the second largest . I'm the second largest now . I'm the , I think , the largest female full service in America . In the female division I'm the second largest Denny's .
Speaker 2But I always say there's gifts in growing up poor and I think the gift I got in growing up poor was the drive and determination to make something of myself . And that's where Denny's entered the picture . My mom started with the brand as a manager , worked her way up to an area manager . So when I turned 16 , it seemed like the logical choice . I could get a job at Denny's and I didn't have a car . So my first job actually was Taco Bell because I could walk there . So I saved all my money for six months till I could afford to buy a car , which I did , which took me to Denny's .
Speaker 2And I started out as a hostess and I was a darn good hostess , I'm gonna add . I was so good they didn't wanna let me be a waitress . And I had said to my manager I saw that it was the servers making all the money and I said please , oh please , let me be a waitress . And he's like no , no , you're the best hostess we've ever had . I said I'll make a deal with you , I will work the weekends on your busiest shifts as a hostess if you let me work any other days as a waitress . And I talked him into it and of course I became an amazing waitress only because I have unusually long arms that could carry a whole lot of plates . I could cover a whole dining room by myself . Anyway , I got my wish of getting to be a waitress and I made a lot of tips and I saved those tips . I went from a poor girl to financially stable at 17 as a result of being a food server . Then we called it a waitress working at Denny's .
Speaker 1And what was that like in terms of I'm assuming you're going to school at the same time ?
Speaker 2Yes , I am going to school . I'm going to school and I'm working at Denny's . And then pretty soon I had another job on top of Denny's and school . I was motivated , I liked to work , I wanted to earn money and when opportunities came my way , I had this company . That gave me an opportunity to be kind of like an assistant to the owner of the company and I learned a lot . I got to wear a lot of different hats . Well , in that job I saw that it was the salespeople making all the money . So I begged them to let me be a salesperson . So I worked there during the week . I then worked at Denny's on the weekend . I went to college in between . I was busy .
Speaker 1How did you have time to get married and have a family in all of this ?
Speaker 2Well , technically I'm not technically married because I kind of feel like why spoil a good thing ? I've been in the same relationship for 30 years and it works and I just kind of feel like why mess with it ? If it's not broken , don't fix it . But I have a great family . I have twin sons . They're at USC . One of them's interning with me here at the office . He has , oh , for the last several years . Both boys started working at Denny's at about 12 . They work in the summer for a few weeks busing tables , seating people , rolling silverware . So it's a family affair .
Speaker 1I love that . And the other thing that I love is that you do such a good job promoting women in entrepreneurship and I can't wait to see your documentary .
Speaker 2Show her the money it was just in San Antonio this past weekend . We had a great crowd . It was a wonderful event . You think that it's 2024 , right , and that things have leveled out and women don't have to fight as hard for their way in the world . But when it comes to venture capital , there's about $250 billion with a B that goes out into the universe . Men get 98% and women only get 2% , and that's astounding to me in this day and age . So it made me realize that we're probably always going to have to fight for our fair share . It's also my job to do my part , to educate and teach and share .
Speaker 1Tell me a little bit about Show Her the Money . What's it about and why you feel so passionate about it .
Speaker 2So it's a feature film , documentary that follows four female founders on their journey to finding funding and getting their big idea out into the universe . And then it's got the angel investors who help those women on their journey , of which I'm one of the angel investors in the film . My dear friend actress Sharon Gless , is my best friend and she fits into the movie because she started in a groundbreaking show called Cagney and Lacey . That was the first show about two female cops that were women , not focused on men , and it became a movement and it showed women that they can be more than a housewife . And when she was growing up you had to have a man's signature just to get a credit card . So the story shows an evolution of 40 years of where we started and where we've come .
Investing in Women
Speaker 2So the film is educational . It tells a story in a really easy to understand and fun way . The founders are all extraordinary women . It really shares how , if we don't fund women , who are 80% of the buying power , there's so many big ideas that won't get to the planet . So women are responsible , hey , for creating beer , the air conditioner , the hairbrush , so many great inventions . So what is the world missing by not investing ? And that's what this film talks about .
Speaker 1You talked about where we came from , where we are , where are we going with that ?
Speaker 2What's the future in women . We have to educate people . A lot of men come to the film and they don't realize the disparity , they don't realize the statistics are still so bad . So without people knowing how do you create change ? So our goal is to educate and teach people that hey , we've got to invest in women as much as we have to invest in men . We don't want the whole pie , we just want our share of the pie because we have great ideas . And the interesting thing that the film talks about that I think is fascinating that if you invest in a woman she makes her money go further . So if you give a woman $10,000 , it's going to go farther than a man . And I know that to be true and I'll tell you why it's true Because we know we don't get as much . So we have to stretch that dollar .
Speaker 2We don't know where we're going to get our next bit of money , so we are very conscientious of how we deploy that .
Speaker 1That's really interesting by virtue of the fact of the way that how the system is rigged , like you have to be more careful , because I sit over here , worry about like a downturn of the economy and I realized that , being born a white male in upper middle-class society , it's like there's a lot of things that just either come naturally or for me to go up to a group of people is and start to introduce myself to talk , because a lot of other people look like me and sound like me . When I go to a networking event , it's a lot easier to get into a circle and to have like a lot of commonalities there , right ?
Speaker 2Yeah and you don't . That's how you've lived your life . You don't know any different . You don't understand what it's like on the other side . I mean , we don't know what we don't know , and that's why the film is a great tool for educating people about the diversity and the differences , not just gender , but race , sexual orientation , whatever it may be . For instance , there's a woman , one of the very few Black women in America , who have received over a million dollars in funding . It's wild to think the number is so low . The percentage of Black women that receive capital is astoundingly low , and so that's why we're trying to raise awareness . We have such a wonderful group of women that tell their story and share their experience on their journey that anybody can learn and be inspired by this movie .
Speaker 1Awesome Well , I'm so excited so Google Show Her the Money . Yeah , showherthemoneymo movie Awesome Well , I'm so excited , so Google show her the money . See where the money moviecom .
Speaker 2And the other thing I want to say about that is that for your audience , there's so many resources on our website for how to get funding educational programs , seminars . It's turned into a movement and show her the money moviecom . Lots of resources for anyone . Men who want to invest in women .
Speaker 1That is so inspiring . And when I look at my daughter and when I see the world that she's coming up in , I'm so grateful for people like you who are working to change the world , as I'm working to make sure that she knows we go over this almost every single day . I am strong , I am smart , I am kind . I am strong , I am smart , I am kind , I am thankful and I can do hard things I can do hard things .
Speaker 2I can do anything . I set my mind to when I was like 10 years old . I remember I saw the kids at school who had things I didn't have . I grew up with very little and I remember saying to my mom one day I'm going to own my own company and make a lot of money . My mom looked at me and she said of course you are . So . When the opportunity came I thought well , of course I can , so it's that constant affirmation of yes , I can .
Speaker 1Yes , and I think that that's one of the things I always try to teach my kids is something that my dad taught me is you can't do everything , but you can do anything , that's right .
Speaker 1You've got to focus on doing something . For example , if you didn't focus on increasing what you're doing at Denny's and you were doing a whole bunch of other stuff at the same time and you weren't very focused like you wouldn't have achieved the level of success or maybe you could have , but a normal , a mere mortal like us , couldn't have achieved the success that you have .
Speaker 2I think one of the things that I learned at Denny's is and I think this is a good tool for anyone is you have to be willing to ask for what you want . So I could have just had my one or two restaurants , but I had to go to Denny's and say you know what I want more ? How do I get there ? Let's get me on a path for making my dream come true . And I had a president many years ago who said to me what do you want to be when you grow up at Denny's ? And I got to thinking well , how many restaurants do I want to have ? Where do I geographically want to be situated ? What's the end goal for me in terms of growth and development ? And he made me think and ask . And I remember wanting a market so bad , and I wanted it for a lot of years . And it just took me begging and saying , hey , I want this market . When you sell it , call me . Or if a franchisee wants to exit , call me . You have to be proactive and aggressive .
Speaker 1I think that starts with before you get to that point , because I think that so many people don't ask for what they want and I think that's again maybe some of the disparity between men and women . Right , Absolutely .
Speaker 2Is there statistics about that as well ?
Speaker 1I hear about like job raises and stuff like that , that women will ask less often for raises and for promotions , and but I think it starts with knowing what you want and I think that it's really interesting that you were able to have such a clear vision of what you want . And how is that for someone who's sitting there being like , okay , I don't really know what I want . I know I'm not totally satisfied right now , but how do I define what I want ? What advice would you give that person ?
Speaker 2Well , I think you have to define what you want . I think you have to define what's important to you . So for me , growing up with no money , I wanted to be in control of my life . I didn't ever want to be dependent on anybody . I wanted to know that I could support myself and that I had enough for my life , and that was my driving force .
Speaker 2I have one child who says mom , when am I going to make my first million ? I got the next one who says you know , I don't need to make a lot of money , I just want . It's really about what your needs are . And I think when you grow up and you have all your needs met , you're not thinking about what you haven't had . You don't know . You don't know any different . You just think , oh , I'm going to have new clothes for school and I'm going to have my college education and my parents are going to help me buy a car . So you're not thinking , oh , I've got to go do this or I'm not going to survive . For me , it was just to be in the game . I had to go get a job so I could have wheels , so I could have clothing , so I could go to a movies . There's different driving factors that motivate people and , like I said , gifts and growing up poor .
Speaker 1That is so powerful . I know normally this part of the podcast will take like five minutes , but your story is just so fascinating and just so inspirational and I love that . You are just so authentically you and you know what you're passionate about and you focus on those things and I think that the world needs more Dawn in it .
Speaker 2So I just thank you . Being authentically me isn't always good because you get to an age in life and you , just you have to be you and I just put it out on the line and sometimes it's hard for people to hear . You know , there's a line I say in the movie that at every screening gets so much attention and I'm stunned by it . There's a line in the movie where I say I love money and to me it sounds a little longer in a way . Money and to me it sounds a little longer in a way . But at every screening women come up to me and they say thank you so much for saying that . I'm afraid to say it . I feel that I want to have money , but I'm too ashamed to be able to say I like money . They feel guilty .
Speaker 2Being authentic , it has its pros and its cons and some people might look at that as a terrible thing and some people might look at it as a good thing . But we do have to be authentic because there's always going to be somebody who gets something from who you are Not Don LaFrieda , just anybody in general . Right ? Yeah , I just put it out there . What you see is what you get . If you like it great . If you don't Put it out there . What you see is what you get . If you like it , great . If you don't , I'm sorry . You don't have to participate .
Speaker 1But that whole concept of I love money I know this is supposed to be the guest experience podcast and we got questions about guest experience . I don't think we're going to get to them . Because that phrase I love money is so interesting ? Because when I look at your life , I don't look at someone who you like money , because you're like what's a Scrooge McDuck who likes to go swimming in her gold coins and I don't even like money for buying things so much .
Speaker 2I like it for the control and the power and the opportunity it gives you . I like it for the freedom that it gives you , not necessarily the tangible tube of mascara I could go buy or the purse . There's bigger reasons for liking money , and money is power and it gives you the power and the control of your own life .
Speaker 1What you have done with that money , though , is like you look at all the people that you employ at Denny's I mean , how many thousands of people are getting a paycheck because of the money that you've created ? And you look at this movie . There's no way you could have been an executive producer on a movie , or angel invested in these companies , and you have a giant truck that you put together . I believe that you did this in conjunction with Denny's Corporate . Is that right ?
Speaker 2Yeah , the mobile relief diner . Yes , denny's Corporate created a restaurant on wheels and we all contribute to it , and what we do is we go into communities and we feed communities in need , whether it's fire victims , flood victims , hurricane earthquakes , whatever the community needs . I mean , we brought it to San Antonio and we fed Haven for Hope in the Summer Special Olympics . We use it to help people at a time when they need a little help , and what was really interesting in Haven for Hope in San Antonio we fed so many people , but what they said is it had been so long since they had had protein , so the bacon was like the biggest home run of feeding people . They're used to getting pasta and beans and things that are less expensive and easy to prepare for the masses , and we actually made these folks bacon and sausage , and so it was a really big deal .
Speaker 1And I love that you not only are giving back to the communities but giving back
Employee Culture and Guest Experience
Speaker 1to your people . I was able to sit in on a panel that you gave about culture and you talked about how much you do and how much you give for your people . What advice would you have ? Because guest experience I had a guest say this one time on the show is that the guest experience can never exceed the employee experience . I would love for you to kind of share a little bit about what are you doing to help improve employee culture and that employee experience and that , in turn , is helping with the guest experience .
Speaker 2In this post-pandemic kind of climate , it's been really hard to even recruit and find employees . We feel like we're constantly short-staffed . The employee everybody's a little different . Post-pandemic we're all competing for the same person . We're looking for people that are excited about giving good service , but the things that we do for them we do contests .
Speaker 2We try and keep our environment fresh and new . We look to be flexible . What is it that you need ? What is it that's important to you ? Is it a flexible schedule ? Is it weekends with your family ? What's important to you ? Not everybody likes to work the same hour . Some people like to work late nights so they can be with their family during the day . So we try and be flexible . We try and listen family during the day . So we try and be flexible . We try and listen . We try and offer a safe and fun environment where you can go to work and feel good about your boss . We make mistakes , but we offer the best environment we can in our segment . Is there room for improvement ? Always , you try and please everybody , but you can't . But people work for people and I think that it's important . The leader that's in the restaurant , that works with the team , that understands what their priorities are .
Speaker 2We look to give people opportunities for advancement . If you want to be more than a server or more than a cook , we have an opportunity for you . We have a career path . We have all kinds of tools to teach and educate , so there's a lot of systems in place for people . To look at me , I mean I went from server to franchisee . I get to live the American dream . If I can do it , anybody can do it , and we try and tell that story Every day . I went to work as a server saying this is a sales job and if I give really great service , I make really good money , which makes the guests really happy . They go hand in hand . So hopefully we have that culture . We try our hardest for sure .
Speaker 1Don't you even have like a hotline for your employees ?
Speaker 2We have all kinds of things . Yes , we have hotlines for our employees , we have hotlines for our guests , we have training tools , we have programs in place so that our guests can give feedback , so we know where to improve . We aspire to be the family best restaurant in America , and I think we're right there we're right there .
Speaker 1Amen , Love that Dawn . Obviously , you've had such a great career in the restaurant industry . Who is someone that you would give an ovation to ? Who's someone that we should be following ?
Speaker 2Well , you should definitely be following our female CEO , kelly Valade . Our brand is 70 years old and we finally got a female CEO and in her first two years she has been dealt everything Coming off the pandemic , changes in leadership , the inflationary factors in the economy , so many issues and she has really risen and built a team and is continuing to build a team and tackle the challenges . And I really do give her an ovation because I haven't seen anybody who's been hit with so much in the short span of time of coming to a company . So I give her an ovation and I stand by her and support her and I'm just thrilled we finally have a female CEO . She's the right CEO . It's not because she's female , by the way , it's because she's the right candidate .
Speaker 1Right , Absolutely . Now where can people go to learn more ? Do you post any on social media ?
Speaker 2I'm all over social media . You can find me on LinkedIn under my name , instagram , facebook . People can go to Denny'scom to see all the latest , greatest things we're doing our food offerings , where our mobile relief diner is going to be .
Speaker 1And showherthemoneymoviecom .
Speaker 2Show Her the Money has its own social media sites and lots of great information . So if you're an entrepreneur and you want resources or mentors or funding , whatever , follow Show Her the Money Movie . We're all over the place .
Speaker 1Love that . Well , dawn , for not just showing us the money but for showing us the good that money can
Celebrating Guest Feedback With Ovation
Speaker 1do . Today's Ovation goes to you . Thank you so much for joining us on Giving Ovation .
Speaker 2Thanks for inviting me . It's a pleasure to be on your show .
Speaker 1Awesome . Thanks for joining us today . If you liked this episode , leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite place to listen . We're all about feedback here . Again , this episode was sponsored by Ovation , a two-question , sms-based actionable guest feedback platform built for multi-unit restaurants . If you'd like to learn how we can help you measure and create a better guest experience , visit us at OvationUpcom .