DL-BTM-Podcast-Blog-Pepperjax

Beyond the Menu: PepperJax Grill

Welcome to Beyond the Menu, a podcast that takes a deep dive into the inner workings of the restaurant industry. Tune into each episode to hear from top tier restaurant operators and innovators who are shaping the industry, spearheading trends, and leading the way for the future.

In Episode 3, listen to Mandi Wooledge, Decision Logic’s President and COO, talk to Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill.

Episode Highlights

On the Support Partners Provide When It Really Matters:

Mandi Wooledge, President and COO of Decision Logic

Can you tell me a little bit about the things that you really noticed about the partners you work with, whether they were technology related or not, when they stepped up during the time that you really needed support?

Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill

I would say the whole pandemic pretty much solidified if you had the right partners or not. The camaraderie, compassion, and support that all the entities had really showed that they understood what everybody was dealing with. I feel like people jumped in where they could. They either gave us some leniency on something owed, maybe some free stuff, or when we had to shrink down and lose people, everyone still had to do something. So all of a sudden, it became more with less. Decision Logic, and all of our partners, kind of helped us shine and we could lean on those people.

I was just proud, and you guys have been an awesome partner. I was going back through my notes and it’s crazy to think that we have had Decision Logic since 2013. Where our brand was at that day, and even where Decision Logic was as a brand, it’s cool that we’ve kind of evolved in tandem and grew. Partners like that satisfy the basic need, the basic level, but then find ways to elevate who they’re working with. In a way, it’s selfishly made me look probably way better as a person than I really am! Because you have people that can help you reach further with less. Being lean and mean in the heart of a pandemic allowed us to keep a lot more of people employed and our teams intact than we probably would have been capable of otherwise.

On Choosing the Right Technology:

Mandi Wooledge, President and COO of Decision Logic

So Erin, as the industry continues to move towards digital strategies and technology becomes more of a standard practice, talk to us a little bit about what you do to choose your technology.

Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill

There is a plethora of options in almost every category. For technology, from low end to high end, we really focus on, “what do we need to achieve and what is going to benefit us the most?” That’s kind of our starting point. Then we look for the companies who are evolving, who are not just saying, “here’s the cookie cutter. You’re thrown in the pond with the rest of the people. Enjoy it!” We want to see the innovation. We want people that are challenging us or challenging the industry to keep elevating us. So for all of our partners, we’ve been really fortunate to find they’re doing exactly that.

My little Decision Logic story is that Mandi met me when we were doing Excel-based inventory. We would manually enter those numbers, scan the pages, email the pages, wait forever for a P&L, and have no idea what was happening to food costs. It was just a lot of time spent. When we got Decision Logic, inventory was cut in half, food costs reduced by I think 2%, and the administration time reduced to the point we didn’t need to bring on extra people to just do data entry.

I think embracing technology has to happen. If you’re trying to resist, you’re going to be left behind. It’s great that somebody might have everything you could possibly think of to offer with their technology, but if it’s not impactful, not going to be used, or if it’s not easy for the users to use, it’s of no value. We are very focused on keeping our people where the money is. And that’s with guests, productivity, and operations. We choose all of our partners around what is going to help us keep people on the floor and out of offices.

On Being an Employer of Choice During the Staffing Crisis:

Mandi Wooledge, President and COO of Decision Logic

In addition to finding the right partners, I feel like you take special pride in making sure that things align with your culture of taking care of your people. Do you feel like that helps you to be an employer of choice?

Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill

Yes, I do. You know, we are about people. And if we cut that off anywhere, then it’s just white noise. You have to literally live what you believe you are. So I do find that even outside of my department, everybody has somebody that they can talk to. I don’t want to just be sent a link that says, “look at this” if I really need help. Having people in technology that shows the people behind it that have availability and start relationships is really valuable. That’s when networking and amazing things are achieved.

I love seeing what you guys have coming down the line because it helps us look ahead and say, “where are we at now? How does that fit in?” I think some of the things or the challenges we’ve had have helped kind of spearhead the partner to maybe change or help them look into something differently. When you have that mutual feedback, you’re going to be far more successful.

Mandi Wooledge, President and COO of Decision Logic

Absolutely! Making sure that you are offering people the tools necessary to do their job helps you be a better employer choice. Talk to us a little bit about how you’re handling the staffing crisis. Nebraska and Kansas has quite a bit lower unemployment rate than most of the other states that are been faced with this pandemic, but I still know that you guys, as many others, are struggling for staffing. How has choosing the right partners kind of helped with that?

Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill

It is incredibly tough right now. Whether it’s wages in competing with the national level when you’re not, or what kind of things can you offer your staff that helps them feel like what they’re doing is great since they want to grow. We’ve thrown in some benefits to our staff like free meals that are extended for family members, flexible scheduling, and hero pay for sticking around during the pandemic as we really appreciate that. We need that sort of thing. Then it’s really word of mouth, because it’s kind of dog-eat-dog. There’s a lot of opportunities in the industry of where people can go, and so we really try to sell the story that we’re growing. There’s opportunities for advancement happening and we try to be very respectful for the different needs that people have, find things that fit for them, and keep people pumped up.

There’s going to be days where it’s hard or attendance is rough. People have to leave and you’re stuck just switching channels, maybe stepping into something you weren’t expecting to help cover. It’s rough, and we’re not necessarily sure it’s going to lift. A lot of the things that we’re seeing in the trends is that people might have moved into retail. They might be at a grocery store doing delivery now, because third party delivery is crazy with everybody getting stuff delivered. So it’s kind of just trying to figure out what people are drawn to and then asking what we can do, as a company, to adapt so that we are the employer of choice. We try to take that family mentality, like you’re joining a family. You’re more than just your body on the floor, because I think the experience for team members, especially in the industry, to feel like they belong to something more than just output is super important.

On Partners Going Above and Beyond

Mandi Wooledge, President and COO of Decision Logic

Talk to me a little bit about some of the things that you feel other partners have done to really understand a problem that you’re trying to solve while helping you be innovative.

Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill

Our POS is a great one. We switched and we joined Toast. We have quite a bit of units, but they were able to help us get it going fast. I think from the time we decided to go with this POS company to the time it was in all of our locations was 90 days, and that’s a really fast turnaround. I’ve had technology partners say, “we can we map this for you and can take that off your hands, or I can do this for you.” Even with the app company, the fact that we’re 30+ locations means I don’t have time to necessarily update something 30 times.

Seeing when they know we need it, but someone’s behind, I’ve had a lot of instances where they have reached out to ask how they can help. And that’s the coolest thing ever to get when you just feel like you’re struggling. It’s awesome to have people behind you the whole way. I think that’s why I’m probably still so enamored with the industry. Although it’s food, it’s really people.

Meet the Guest

Erin Palladino, Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services

Erin Palladino is the Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services at PepperJax Grill. She has been in the restaurant industry and at PepperJax Grill for over 15 years.

As Vice President of Marketing & Ops Services, she is focused on innovation around improving the customer experience using technology and strategic partnerships that provide incremental value.

Erin has a storied tenure with the brand, having worked her way from in-store and on the floor through the ranks to her current role in Operations.

“I think embracing technology has to happen. If you’re trying to resist, you’re going to be left behind.”

Hear more of Erin’s insights into what’s next for PepperJax Grill by listening to the latest episode of Beyond the Menu.

Listen to the full episode above, on your favorite streaming platform, or watch our companion video for the episode here.

PepperJax Grill opened its first location in Omaha, Neb. in 2002 and has been grilling up flavorful meats ever since, bringing guests mouthwatering PepperJax Phillies, Philly Bowls, Salads, Loaded Fries and more!

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