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
Inside The Great Greek’s Rapid Growth with Bob Andersen
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Bob Andersen, President of The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, joins Zack Oates live at RLC to share how the brand delivers full-service hospitality in a fast-casual setting. Bob discusses the art of preserving authentic experiences while scaling rapidly, the role of franchisee relationships in sustainable growth, and why Mediterranean cuisine hits the sweet spot for today’s diners. He also dives into the huge opportunity catering presents for restaurants who are ready to do it right.
Zack and Bob discuss:
- How The Great Greek creates an elevated fast-casual dining experience
- Building franchisee relationships based on shared values
- Why Mediterranean cuisine is perfectly positioned for modern customers
- How to scale catering while maintaining quality and brand identity
- Tactics for improving off-premise guest experience
- Why timeless hospitality principles still win in a tech-driven world
Thanks, Bob!
Links:
https://www.thegreatgreekgrill.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobanderseneatgreek/
Introducing Bob Anderson of The Great Greek
Speaker 1Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation , the in-person RLC edition . I am here with Bob Anderson , president of the Great Greek , really excited . For those of you who don't know , I'm your host , zach Goetz , and this is Give an Ovation , where we talk to industry experts to get their strategies and tactics you can use to create a five-star guest experience . And , as always , this podcast is powered by Ovation , an operations and guest recovery platform for multi-unit restaurants that gives you all the answers without annoying guests with all the questions . Learn more at OvationUpcom . Bob , we've known each other now for a few years . Yep , you've been on the podcast before , I have , but not the 3D version . Right , you were on the virtual version . Talk to us about the Great Greek . What is the vibe of the Great Greek ? What can people know if they haven't eaten there before ?
Speaker 2Yeah well , first of all , thanks for having me , zach . I appreciate it . Great Greek is just a phenomenal brand and we just give an amazing experience to our guests . And the experience is twofold . It's a great food experience . Our food's made fresh in the location , it's cooked to order , it's customized If you are getting a steak skewer and you want it well done or medium rare , we can is going to be great . It's the closest thing to a full service restaurant experience and a limited service restaurant that we can provide Real plate , real fork , real knife . If you had a salad , we give it to you . First there's soup or an appetizer , then your entree , followed by your dessert . So you get a true dining experience in a limited , casual environment .
Speaker 2It's like the elevated
The Great Greek Experience Explained
Speaker 2fast casual , 100% and without breaking the bank right yeah , Still got very affordable prices and driving a big value to our guests , which we know is really important , right yeah ?
Speaker 1And I think that's amazing . I go to the Great Greek very often . I'm so happy when you finally came to Utah . What's so funny is I knew about the Great Greek before we even met , because my mother is a huge fan of the great greek , because it's one of these things where it's a better for you food . You go in there , it's very clean , very bright , it's got a great vibe to it and it's something that my mother she's actually texted me before we were even working with you about the great greek and then when I , when she found out that we started working together , she was so excited , awesome . But now I even have people where one of my investors texted me being like I just had this great restaurant . Have you had the great Greek before ? And I'm like , yeah , man , I love it .
Speaker 2Have you checked our website and seen all our customers ? Yeah , we hear it a lot . I mean , it's just and it's a really it's a true compliment . When people really are resonating and enjoying the brand and the food and the health aspect of it , it's a great place to work . It's a great place if you're a customer . It's a really special brand in that way .
Speaker 1And before this , because the Great Greek isn't your first foray into the hospitality . So what was before the Great Greek feel ?
Speaker 2I was the CEO of a brand out in Northern California called Jimboy Tacos . It was an iconic 60-year-old brand that was really looking to be refreshed and revigorated . So we did that . We refreshed the brand , brought a different look and served the same great tacos that they always served , and it was just put a different spin on the experience . We told the history and the story in a much more relevant way and brought it to a place where people were feeling really comfortable . Some of those customers were on maybe fourth generation , the 60 year old . Yeah , so it was . Yeah , it was an interesting period , it was a fun time and it was a great brand .
Speaker 1As you're thinking about that , how
From Jimboy Tacos to Mediterranean Cuisine
Speaker 1do you maintain your base while expanding ? I mean , I just talked to someone today who was with Perkins right and talking about that transformation . How do you do that ? How do you like not betray the people who that first generation but still cater to the needs of that fourth generation ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , there's some principles that never go out of style , right ? A big smile and a welcome hello that's what we call true hospitality never goes out of style , so that's how you connect . The current generation loves the story , so being able to tell stories in the most relevant way today , yeah , it's really important , especially when you have a legacy brand , something that's got a lot of history at great greek . We're creating the story today , which you also have like a timeless brand when you go into a great greek .
Speaker 1It's almost like you don't know how old the brand is , because we're creating the story today . You also have like a timeless brand . When you go into a great Greek . It's almost like you don't know how old the brand is , because it feels like it's been around for a while , but it also feels very fresh .
Speaker 2Yeah , the style of food is timeless .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2Right . I mean , the Mediterranean cuisine is a timeless food . It comes from the cradle of civilization , so those same things are again . We're presenting it in a very current , approachable way , in an atmosphere that's very welcoming to the customers , and we're delivering a food that is really healthy for people . Right , the medical community has been telling us for years now Mediterranean diet's the most healthiest diet , and so people have learned that I can still eat healthy and not sacrifice great flavor . That's what the Mediterranean style of food is bringing into play is people want great flavor , and so you don't have to go to highly fatty , sweet , sugar-laden foods to get great flavor .
Speaker 2If you do simple ingredients , you prepare them correctly . Foods to get great flavor If you do simple ingredients , you prepare them correctly and you have the best ingredients . You put them together in a simple way and it's just amazing cuisine , and our operators are committed to that . Conversations with people in our brand always starts with food how great the food is , planting on that flag to make sure that they continuously do those same things over and over , to create that experience .
Speaker 1Now with your experience with the brand . It's not just about the guest , it's not just about the employee , but I know a lot of what's really important to the great Greek , especially being a part of UFG , which is United Franchise Group , is the franchisee
Building Successful Franchisee Relationships
Speaker 1. How do you look at your relationship and the franchisee experience with the brand being ?
Speaker 2part of a group like United Franchise Group has been around for 37 years . We have 11 brands and five of them are leaders in their category around the world . We have a tremendous amount of experience in developing those relationships . In fact , our mission is if our franchisees aren't doing the way they go , we go If they're doing good . That is the mission for us is making sure that they're having a great experience . So it's just working with them and collaborating them , getting to know them at different levels , not just the business level , but also the personal level , but also bringing them great businesses that have great value for their investment . And that's how we look at it , and we look at them as true partners . And it all starts at the beginning to make sure that our values and principles are alive .
Speaker 1So what do you look for ? As you're looking for franchisees , what's like the telltale signs of this is going to be a great franchisee .
Speaker 2Yeah , you know , we all know that when you invest in anything , especially in a business , that making money is important . But when people come in and they're just talking about the money making part , we feel like many times that kind of person is missing it , when that's the most important thing . When we come in and we try to determine if there's a good fit with you know , do we value the same things ? Do we value the quality of having great food ? Do we value being an employer of choice or a great employer ? Do we value being a great steward in our communities ? Right , those are the places that it starts for us and then it leads to executing and operating . We can teach them how to run a restaurant business , but we can't always teach them how to align on values . Either we are or not . So when we go through our process , that's the most important thing to us .
Speaker 1So powerful because to align on that , like the foundation of what you're doing , is just so key and to make sure that , just like get into a business relationship . I would never get into a business relationship with someone where we value totally separate things . And yes , at the end of the day , we have to make money and grow and create that value , but the money follows the value Correct , right ? And I think a lot of times when people put that money first as opposed to talking about the value , I know for me there's going to be misalignment , because I may do something that isn't going to bring ROI this month , but it's the right thing to do for the business and for our customers , right ?
Speaker 2100% . The making money is a result of the principles and values in the system that we have created , so for us it's not jumping to the result . Obviously , everyone wants a great result in making money and value , but that doesn't happen if you're not aligned on the principles in our system or not following the system . And that's not just for us , it's any brand . Everyone has different principles and values , and so you have to align those with the people and their principles . And when we do that , it's a powerful thing , because whether someone's run a restaurant before or not , it's not always the most telling tale . I know people in this business that would want running the business , and there are people who come to us who've never run a restaurant before but have amazing instincts in building teams and delivering hospitality . And at the end of the day , that's what we do we build teams that deliver a great experience . If you can do that , whether you come from the IT business or you were in the military or you ran a restaurant- you're likely going to get the same results .
Speaker 1I love that because I love how Stephen Covey puts it is begin with the end in mind Correct , and the real end is at value Correct , and I think that's beautiful . So , but as we're thinking about , like value for the guest experience , right ? What is your philosophy on guest experience ?
Philosophy on Guest Experience
Speaker 1How do we think about some of the most important aspects of guest experience ?
Speaker 2on guest experience . How do we think about some of the most important aspects of guest experience ? Yeah , the guest experience for me is old school , I mean , it's tried and true , especially in the dining part of the restaurant . The guest experience is about connecting with them , making people feel comfortable . Bring them that hospitality , a big smile , hello , as I said earlier , there's nothing replaces that A check-in with someone to ask them how their meal was . Or how about just reading body language ? If I'm at a restaurant and I'm waiting over eight minutes , I'm this guy and we have to teach our employees to read people's body language , because if you look at the restaurant , you should be able to say , okay , something's not right here . Let's at least go check it in . Yeah , oh , yeah , I've been waiting for eight minutes , let me check on your order , sir . Like that is hospitality that just never goes away . So I think it's still that personal touch to the person and the more that goes away , the more it becomes really powerful for our brand . Yeah , and so just create a differentiator to care A hundred percent .
Speaker 2And some people don't want to have a conversation we get that , but they do want their food on time . They want it right If they don't have a fork . It's nice if we bring them a fork , whether they want to talk to us or not . So it's not always just a conversation . The Gen Z is a little bit different . Maybe they don't want to have a conversation .
Speaker 2Yeah , and that's okay too , but we can still deliver hospitality right . We can still deliver that to them , and that's what our team members have to do , and you do it by observing in the restaurant . The other piece of the experience is what's happening outside of the restaurant , or what's happening when someone just picks up their food . That's a great opportunity to connect with someone when they're taking it to go . So making sure we have the right packaging , making sure their orders are correct those types of things are really going to enhance the experience off-premise . So you hear it over and over there's an omni-channel business now like never before , and so each one of those channels has a different set of what the experience is with the food or what it might be with a team member or a third party delivery company , whatever it might be , and I love that regardless of what the channel is , the guest has their expectations Correct and you got to meet them where they're at and you got to make sure that you're meeting that expectation and setting the proper expectation right .
Speaker 2A hundred percent , a hundred percent And% , and our team members and our managers need to be attuned to that right . So you think about this On premise . The most important thing is how fast they get the food right . Nobody wants to wait forever . So for us some of our entrees might take nine , 10 minutes , 11 minutes to prepare . So bring them their salad , bring them their appetizer right . That immediately changes that .
Speaker 2If you forget something in a dining exhibition , you can easily recover that . Now flip that to say a third-party order . If I miss something in that order , if I miss someone's extra tzatziki sauce on their gyro that they paid for , that they couldn't wait to have this evening and they waited 45 minutes for their order to arrive , which the time period is acceptable in that environment . It would never be acceptable in the restaurant . But now they cannot immediately correct not having that item . So we have to make you know double check , triple check , to make sure everything that was required in that order goes out in that order . It was prepared . It was also packaged correctly . So as operators we have to pay attention to all those details . Catering now brings a different set of circumstance . I need it there at a certain time . Are you on time ? Is it set up ? Does it look good ? Did we bring napkins ? Did we do all those kind of things ? So that's all part of creating that experience that operators just have to understand what that value chain is .
Speaker 1And Toast put out a study recently that the average restaurant has increased catering by 25% in the last year . And catering is something that is blowing up right now because , now that people are totally comfortable getting back together , totally comfortable sharing food I mean , like you think about April of 2020 , about sharing a tzatziki bowl , everybody dipping pita in there I mean it was like unfathomable in April 2020 . Here we are five years later , April 2025 . And it's like we're sharing spoons again . So catering is back baby . It's just a matter of how to prepare for that and how to do it . And you've got such a great cuisine that travels super well . When we do our events in Utah , our company-wide events , we get the great Greek catered because it traveled . It's so
Catering Growth and Strategies
Speaker 1good , it works well . What advice do you have for people who are thinking about catering ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean if you're thinking about catering , you've got to jump right into it .
Speaker 2Unless you're a Mediterranean concept near the great Greek , and then like yeah , no , that's okay too , we're okay with competition , but it's the greatest opportunity in our business . But you said the word . You have to think about it . Yeah , there's a lot of planning and thought that goes into executing catering . It's not just making the food . You have to make sure the food gets there . It gets there at a certain time , it's set up in a certain way if that's required . But it's a great channel to grow your business .
Speaker 2Our goal at the Great Greek has been for last year was to double our business , which we did . This year we're looking to double it again . Some of our operators who've really taken it to another level have even tripled and quadrupled their catering business over a previous year . And , yes , customers do want to get together and have communal food . So the opportunities are there . People are going back to the office , as we all keep hearing . So those opportunities are happening more and more and you , just as an operator and a brand leader , you have to be prepared to take advantage of those opportunities .
Speaker 2At the Great Greek , we've certainly have done that , we continue to do that . We have a long way to go in even getting our catering program better . We're just starting , but we do have the advantage of . We have a food that's healthy . It serves people who want to have meat , people who are gluten-free or they're vegetarians . So we get to check some boxes where there's a little bit of an advantage , for especially in such a diverse workforce where people need multiple types of choices , the days of just getting pizza in are not a little bit difficult , I think sometimes for some employers we enjoy doing it , but it's something that we continuously train and work at with our operators . There's a lot of execution involved in taking an order from catering to getting it to that customer's mouth . But there's no better advertising than serving 50 people at a catering event who , maybe 30 or 40 of them , have never been to a Great Greek .
Speaker 1And do you have custom branded packaging for your catering or do you have signage that you put out or like when you're doing a 50 person catering , how do you inform people that it's the great Greek ? Yeah ?
Speaker 2it's a great question and that's where we are with our program right now is putting the packaging to our catering . So right now we use more generic packaging that has some labeling on it that has represents the great Greek . We always deliver it with menus , things that identify that the food's coming from us . We are now moving into the phase where we're starting to evaluate and procure packaging for our catering packages and programs .
Speaker 1Because I think there's some incredible packaging . I don't know Kelly Grogan over at Crumbs . She does some amazing consulting if anyone's interested in catering optimization , but the packaging that they've designed for other companies that kind of folds down , it's almost like a retail display , right and really brand forward . And these are things that help people understand . How do you get them from eating your food at a catering event to coming in and spending money with you the next week ?
Speaker 2There's really no better opportunity to market your food than bring it into a catering event . Yeah , if we're not identifying who's providing that food , then it's a really hugely lost opportunity . So there's a science behind that packaging , though . Absolutely , so we're in it right now . We're trying to figure out what's the best way for us to do it but , at the same time , be really cost effective . Yeah , exactly .
Speaker 1Because it's one thing to use catering as like a marketing initiative . It's another thing to blow the profits of a $1,500 catering order on packaging . Yeah , but that's why one of the things that we launched this year is our whole catering program , and basically what it is is . It's similar to like a third party conversion that we've done with you all , where you put a flyer in like a DoorDash order and it says hey , how was everything ? Answer two questions to get $5 off your next order . Similar to that , but you do that with catering . You set up a little placard and it says you know , how do you enjoy the catering provided by the great Greek ? Answer two questions , they get $5 off your next order and now they have a reason to come in . And the magic about a $5 off coupon is that typically we find that people will spend around $12 more with a $5 coupon because they feel like they're getting something , so you're actually able to increase the revenue on that guest 100% .
Speaker 2It's a really smart way to approach that because , again , like I said , whether it's a 20 person catering or 50 , 100 , we've done 300 , 500 , that it's the best opportunity to promote your business because they're eating your food . All right , mission accomplished it's a ball sample that you're getting paid for . So the question becomes now how do I take that experience and that opportunity and create it to a visit to our restaurant in the next 30 days ? Yes , right , and that's how you elevate your overall sales through your catering program . It's a very powerful way to grow the business . It's something that we're to grow the business . It's something that we're highly focused
Closing Thoughts and Finding The Great Greek
Speaker 2on .
Speaker 1Love that Well , bob , who is someone that deserves an ovation , who's someone that we should be following in the restaurant industry .
Speaker 2I mean , listen , I'm biased , but I love what we're doing . That's a great , great guy , I hate to say . We have some great people on our team . We just promoted a new operations director , mark Monopoli . He's doing a phenomenal job and I would say he deserves an ovation for really jumping in on our team and just getting after it and just bringing our brand to another level . So it's really fun to see him develop and be part of that .
Speaker 2And as your team goes , our brand goes . You know you have great teammates , great team members . You know this through your team and it's part of growing is adding people . So I'm going to give a selfish ovation to Mark and the Great Creek . I just I love what we're doing . We're rapidly growing . We'll open 25 , 30 restaurants this year . We're again be one of the fastest growing brands and I say the country better wound up being in the world . It's something we're proud of . There's a lot of work that goes into it . There's a lot of people behind the scenes that goes into it . But the reward is when someone tells you it's the best food . Or someone says we order it for our catering all the time at the Great Greek , or it's a franchisee saying I feel so blessed to be part of this system , and so that's where we get our adulation and satisfaction from that type of recognition .
Speaker 1That's because you build value man right .
Speaker 2Start with the end .
Speaker 1Well , how do people find the Great Greek and maybe follow you ? You post on LinkedIn every now and again . I've been a little off the last few months .
Speaker 2But yeah , you can find me on LinkedIn Bob Anderson , a-n-z-e-r-s-e-n , but the Great Greek , if you just go search us . That's why I usually tell people not to go to our site . But if you go search the Great Greek , you just pull up some great things about the brand , whether it's a location near you or it's a story about one of our franchisees , or it's a TV clip of one of our franchisees presenting our food on TV or something they've done in the community . Those are the things that we're proud of . So there's so many stories behind the Great Creek . Of course , you can go to our website . You'll see our locations and our menu , but if you really want the whole Great Creek experience , just Google it and you'll see some really cool things about the brand and some of the special things that we're doing .
Speaker 1Well , and we're obviously part of the partnership . As you can see , Right behind me is the Great Greek logo , right there . Well , Bob , appreciate all that you do . Appreciate you coming on the podcast and for not just being a good Greek , but for being the Great Greek . Today's ovation goes to you . Thank you for joining us . I enjoyed being here .
Speaker 3Thanks for the opportunity . 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 .