Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to another edition of Give an 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. Today I am so excited because we don't only have someone who is a phenomenal operator, but someone who just has such an engaging social media presence and someone who you meet and you just cannot help but love. She's the CEO and founder of Prima Apre and a mutual pizza lover oh my gosh, of course, yeah. And a mutual pizza lover oh my gosh, of course, yeah. And if you hit up her Instagram, you will find she's got a whole series of highlights just dedicated to pizza, as I do. But, abney, so great to have you on the podcast. How are you?

Speaker 2: 0:57

Oh my gosh, zach, I'm so happy to be here. I'm great, I'm so happy to see you.

Speaker 1: 1:03

Likewise, there may be some people who don't know about your restaurant, so do you want to kind of give us a little tour of what's it like, what's the experience like and what are you doing over there?

Speaker 2: 1:14

Well, thank you. So my husband, james, and I co-founded a brand called Prima Pre, and it's a pasta and a pavlova concept, and just on its face it seems sort of like an odd combination, but the story behind it is so, for me, interesting, a part of like our past and my growth as a chef and a restaurateur, and so what it is is. I started in the restaurant business with I had not just a restaurant, but I had fashion and home retail, and so I would go to Milan and Paris on buying trips to buy for the fashion. And when I was in Paris, I kept seeing all of these meringue clouds and I was like they're nowhere in the United States. And so I came home. I had a couple of fine dining restaurants in Georgia and I started making these meringue clouds, these pavlovas, and they took off in my restaurant and so they became my best-selling dessert. Well, so then I had all these residual, leftover, residual egg yolks and I'm like, well, what do I do with them? And so I was making souffles and some custards and things like that, and then I started making fresh pasta with the egg yolks. So, in my fine dining background, pasta with the egg yolks. So in my fine dining background. I had a very small, curated menu that changed monthly. So I always had a pasta and I would just use sort of traditional sauces, but those became my best-selling entrees.

Speaker 2: 2:36

And so when COVID hit and we closed my fine dining restaurants, then I was sort of in a massive identity crisis because I didn't know what to do with myself after that, and so I really was struggling with what to do next. And my husband, who knows and loves you so much he's a restaurant growth guy and does scale and through franchising and corporate growth and he was like why don't we take some of this and like figure out a way to do something with what you did in your fine dining restaurant? Because I was burned out, I was tired, I didn't want to operate a restaurant like a one unit restaurant anymore. So we came up with this concept and like we just literally like held up in our apartment and like created the business plan for it and we have a chef-driven scratch kitchen where we produce fresh pastas and sauces. We buy wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano and Empor Prosciutto and we use those as the toppings for our pastas and then we make pavlovas on the other side.

Speaker 2: 3:42

So it's a counter service, quick service concept where you come in and what was a $40 entree and a fine dining concept, that was because of all the overhead that is associated. I mean, it was a linen, full service, beautiful space, and now what was $40 is a $15 pasta dish and it's the same offering. That was fine dining but in a quick service concept.

Speaker 1: 4:07

And the packaging, by the way, is so interesting.

Speaker 2: 4:11

Oh, thank you. So I love it. I think there's something really sophisticated about those origami white takeout containers and I sort of love an Asian and love sort of when French meets Asian, and so I love the use of the chopsticks and all of that, and so that's kind of all went into the design. So I love interior design and I love fashion, so I tried to incorporate a lot of that into this brand right. So when you come in, you kind of it's a quick service and you just walk in and you can take your pasta to go, you can take your pavlova to go, but I want people to want to sit and to want to stay. So operationally it's so very, very simple.

Speaker 2: 4:51

But the spaces that we have two locations and the spaces I've worked really hard to create beautiful spaces that make you want to linger. We have wine and that kind of thing. So it's a really unusual concept and people don't really understand it. So there's like an educational component to it, to when they're like pasta and pavlova, that doesn't really make sense. But I think it's really special and I love it. It's a really beautiful concept to me.

Speaker 1: 5:17

Yeah, and, as I said, I think you do such a good job of telling the story on your social media and showing how you put it together and how you layer it and the passes and the sauces, and I've actually I've even watched different user generated content around people who have tried it out and just their experiences there. That it's just. It's a really unique, fun experience, and I think that that's really what I want to get to. Is, what do you think is the most important aspect of guest experience nowadays? Creating such a unique one yourself.

Speaker 2: 5:48

Well, I feel like guests these days want something new and original and thoughtful, and so what we did in trying to implement that to sort of meet that guest need, is we actually don't use egg yolk in our pasta, even though that's sort of how the concept came originally to be. We use semolina, flour and water and we buy the bronze dyes, which the bronze dyes are the like. They're very expensive but they make a real for a really delicious pasta. So they create a rough surface area so the pasta, the sauce, really clings to the pasta and so people don't really understand why it tastes better. But it tastes better because A the quality of the flour and there's no preservatives or additives to it. But also we use that bronze dye that makes our delicious sauces cling to it, and so we bought dyes that were unconventional I mean, not in Italy, but to us.

Speaker 2: 6:43

I wanted to do pastas that you couldn't buy in a grocery store. We do have spaghetti, but even the spaghetti we bought a little bit of a different size and it's just delicious and we cut the strands long. So I feel like giving guests something that they can't have at home but that's still approachable and still easy for them to do without having to go and have a whole sit down experience.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Well, and I think that these little details that you're talking about are so critical because, as I was actually just reading an article about Star Wars and here's, the thing about Star Wars is like there are certain camera shots that you're not allowed to do. Like Lucasfilm will send people to set of any show or any movie that they're doing about Star Wars, and like there's certain camera shots that they can't do because it doesn't have the Star Wars feel. There are no buttons allowed on any costumes in Star Wars. There's no paper allowed in the background on any Star Wars. Like you can't have like a stack of paper on a desk, like in the Star Wars universe. There are no buttons, there is no paper, the camera angles are certain things.

Speaker 1: 7:55

Now, when you watch a Star Wars show, you're not like, oh my gosh, look at that Velcro, that's amazing Velcro, but it's like there's something about it that's different than other shows. And I's like there's something about it that's different than other shows and I think that what you're talking about with your pasta, it's like when you focus in on those details to care about the guest experience, not everyone is going to say, oh, wow, the texture of this pasta really allows the sauce to cling to it. But they'll say, man, this is so much better than going to that restaurant or than buying this in the grocery store and making it at home, even though I'm doing the same exact thing quote unquote it's different and I think that that attention to detail really comes out. Even if people can't articulate it, they can feel it right.

Speaker 2: 8:42

I love that, I absolutely love that. It's like the whole you know French je ne sais quoi thing right, like when you hear it you just can't put into words. But you know there's something so brilliant behind the creativity of it and I love that that you say about Star Wars and that's what I love about the creative process when people don't just they love something, but they just can't quite put their finger on what they love about it, that's how much you know you've done something special.

Speaker 1: 9:11

When you woke up this morning, abney, I bet you were like. I bet you I'm going to talk about Star Wars with someone today. You seem like a Star Wars kind of nerd to me, right.

Speaker 2: 9:23

No, I'm not, but I have mad appreciation for what you've just shared.

Speaker 1: 9:28

And I think that's the beauty of it. I don't really get Star Wars either, but I appreciate the little things and I always tell people Abby, in my opinion, the little things matter because they're the little things I can fake the big things matter because they're the little things I can fake the big things. I could fake the big apology. Let's go on a trip because I was really rude to you and so I'm going to buy you this trip. But when I asked my wife one time, how do you know that I love you? She said because you fill up my water bottle at night. And I was like wait a second. I could have saved how much money. A trip, a piece of jewelry, but those things are somewhat less sincere because they are the big things. The little things matter so much. And so, with that in mind, what are some tactics I know we're talking about kind of like the details?

Speaker 2: 10:18

That's so sweet. It reminds me there's a book I read I can't remember the name of it it was oh, I wish I could remember. I'm going to think of it and I'm going to text you, but it was that same story. It was a friend of CS Lewis's who wrote the book and I'm going to remember it at some point. But he said that he and his wife. It was about their love story. And he said my wife and I have this thing where if somebody asks for a glass of water in the middle of the night, we always get it, because it was the privileges. Is that she asked me to get it, you know, and I think that's so true and so sweet.

Speaker 1: 10:53

So I love that. Well good tactic for marriage. What about a tactic for restaurants Like what are some things that you've done to improve the guest experience?

Speaker 2: 11:01

Oh wow, what are some things that you've done to improve the guest experience?

Speaker 2: 11:05

Oh, wow, well, I hope that what I've done to improve the guest experience is just exactly what we've been talking about, right, like, I hope that I have focused on every little detail, and, to me, those are the things that I love about the restaurant space. Right, it's like I love the design of spaces and I love the food and I love the ambiance, and so I think that, for me, I measure seat heights of the benches that I had built. You know, I measure the table heights to make sure that they hit just where they should hit. I source glasses that, like, feel good in the hand and are nice to sip from. We try to edit the wines that we offer, just so you even though it's, you know, you're buying a pasta in a takeaway container, you still want to sit and have a glass of wine while you eat it, and so those are the things and those are the details that I hope that, tactically, I feel like we have given to the guests to enhance their experience.

Speaker 1: 12:00

And any strategies that you give to people around like. I'm sitting here in my restaurant and I'm like man, I'm running a pizza joint, and hopefully one that you'll come visit sometime, abney, and so I'm running this 10 location pizza joint. Hypothetically, I don't actually run a 10 location pizza joint, and-.

Speaker 2: 12:17

You would do a tremendous job. If you did, it would be the best pizza ever.

Speaker 1: 12:22

I dream about that sometimes and I have nightmares about it other times. But let's say that you know I'm running this pizza joint and I'm like I get it abney, but I don't have this fancy idea around my brand. How do I still improve the guest experience? Like? What should I be looking at, thinking about?

Speaker 2: 12:39

I think your offering is exceedingly important.

Speaker 2: 12:42

Right, like always, using the highest quality ingredients that you can afford and still make the margins work is the most important thing.

Speaker 2: 12:51

I think anything that you can do to make a guest comfortable from an ambiance standpoint, you know, as far as like hospitality and greeting and enhancing their experience, I think anything you can do to make a guest feel special when they walk in the door, that when they walk out they felt like, wow, I love that. You know, it's really about the human connection and the restaurant experience and I feel like that's what gets lost, and so I think that the quality of the offering and the kindness and the hospitality that's shared with the guest is absolutely the most important thing. I was talking to somebody yesterday and he was saying I come for the food, I come for the ambiance, he said, and I care the most about how I'm treated when I walk in the door. I think that's what we are. We're in the hospitality business and that's absolutely the most important thing. And, as a Southerner who was raised on Southern hospitality, it's really about warmth and greeting and making everybody comfortable and greeting them at the door and walking them out the door and making them feel special.

Speaker 1: 13:59

Amen. I mean I had Will Guder on recently and this podcast and talking to him about hospitality and helping people feel seen and the way that I define hospitality is proving to the guests that you care. But I love the way you just boil it down to like kindness, right, Just that human nature of interacting with someone on a bus or interacting with someone across the counter. It's like how can you be kind, how could you help them smile a little bit?

Speaker 2: 14:33

And the thing is that if you really notice, when you're operating a business and you're interacting with guests, they say things all the time that give you an opportunity to get to know them a little bit better, to make them feel a little more special. You know, I'm picking up pasta for my kids oh my gosh, how many kids do you have, you know. And it leads this whole conversation and then the guest leaves feeling appreciated to your point, heard and understood, and they'll want to come back.

Speaker 1: 14:58

Amen. I love that, abney. I love the direction of, like the detail and the authenticity that we're talking about here, because you're someone where, yes, you use technology and, yes, you're all about and talking to you about using the technology and having that data. I think is so important, but it's about the human connection and we always say don't let the tech get in the way of the hospitality Right.

Speaker 2: 15:20

I mean, I really believe at the end of the day, I think it's important that the food tastes good, I think the spaces are pretty and that you're really kind to everybody that walks in the door.

Speaker 1: 15:30

Amen, bam. There we go. There's the title of the next book by Abney Harper. Okay, so who's someone that deserves an ovation in the restaurant industry? Who's someone that we should be following?

Speaker 2: 15:40

I'm going to give my sincerest shout out to my husband, james Petrano, which you already had on here, but I got to give him the props for Sucre and what he has done for that brand. I mean, it's just it's an amazing brand and the future is so bright and it's just been a real pleasure and an honor to be a part of the journey with him on that. So I just kind of watch out world that brand's coming and I'm so happy for him and all he's done.

Speaker 1: 16:08

And such a cool vibe too. I actually went there and I didn't even know that it was his, but I went there and I was like this is so cool. And then, as I was walking out, I was like, oh my gosh, this is Sucre.

Speaker 2: 16:25

It was. It was really cool. Well, and you know, the thing that's to me so amazing about Sucre is is that, like I remember, when it was founded and I was in New Orleans and I was driving, I saw it and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so beautiful, I have to go in there. I want to be a part of this and then flash forward this many years later and Sucre has, like, sustained and weathered bad business decisions, the Me Too movement, lawsuits, bankruptcy, multiple ownerships, and it's like it's this brand that transcends ownership. But what I am so amazed by with James is is he sees what it is, he sees what it can be and he's created this vision for how it can grow and how it's a brand that deserves to be shared with everyone, and he's got a vision for it and he's executing on it. And it's just a really special thing James and I did.

Speaker 2: 17:16

We were introduced to Dave Query. He has the Post, his chicken in Colorado, yeah, yeah, and he has some other restaurants and I love the guy. And the reason I love the guy is because I feel like he embodies so much of everything we've just talked about on this podcast. He lives in Colorado, but he loves to have a place in New Orleans. He has a massive appreciation for the food culture in New Orleans. But he went to CIA and he is a tremendous chef, like he's so talented. But oftentimes when you find a chef that's that talented who's also a great restaurateur, it's tough Like I'm a terrible operator. I am so bad, I'm the worst. That's what James is like. Stay at Lane, abney, I'll take over operations. I'm so because I don't ever want to do the same thing twice. I want to do it differently every time and that's terrible for operations. But Dave has.

Speaker 2: 18:19

You know, when we met him, he's done just what I feel like is important, right, he has basically a fine dining offering with fried chicken, right, but it's absolutely a fine dining offering. By that I mean the attention to detail with the ingredients. They have a gluten-free chicken sandwich where they use, I think, almond flour might be having. I don't know exactly which flour they use, but they do the waffles with a pumpkin seed butter, maple syrup and I actually haven't been to the post, but I've just learned about it through him and then have, like, studied it online because it looks so good. But they have multiple locations. But then he has a seafood restaurant in downtown Denver that we went this summer called Jack's, and it was incredible. Like the wine list was wonderful, the food was beautiful and as delicious as it was beautiful and it had such a vibe. It was sort of that thing where you just wanted to sit and linger and not leave, and that's sort of what I like, truly value, and I think he's really talented and I think that he's doing some great things.

Speaker 1: 19:22

Oh, that's awesome. Love those shout outs. And now, how can people find and follow you, abney and Prima at Prey?

Speaker 2: 19:30

So we're on Instagram and TikTok and it's at PrimaPreycom. Our website is Prima. I'm sorry we're at PrimaPrey on Instagram and Facebook and TikTok and then our website's PrimaPreycom.

Speaker 1: 19:44

Awesome. Well, abney, for bringing us from the data cloud all the way down to the moraine cloud. Today's ovation goes to you. Thank you for joining us on Give an Ovation Always fun to hang out.

Speaker 2: 19:54

Thank you so much, Zach.

Speaker 1: 19:57

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.