Secrets To Restaurant Success With Jonas Reinholdsson of O’Learys

“When you start, you need to believe in your idea. Give it your 100% and surround yourself with good people.”

Jonas Reinholdsson, founder of O’Learys, scaled his restaurant from 1 to 130+ locations worldwide. Carl Jacobs, Apicbase’s CEO, sat down with Jonas to talk about how he built an enduring brand that lasted over three decades.

Listen and-/or watch to Episode 9 with Jonas now! 🎧

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Here’s what Jonas said about scaling a restaurant:

💡 Don’t be afraid to try something new.

If you know you have a great concept, pursue it even if you’re the first of your kind in the market. O’Leary’s was the first Irish-American sports bar concept in Sweden.

🏪 Look like a chain from Day 1.

Establish your brand by putting your logo on napkins, sugar packets, matchboxes, etc. Look professional from the beginning.

🕸️ Keep a good network of people.

It’s easier to open a new concept if you have the contacts to help you. Build a network of great staff – from managers to servers.

📒 Record processes from the beginning.

Anticipate growth by documenting your processes and creating manuals as you build the business.

🛑 Don’t be operational all the time.

Hire great managers so you can step back from the day-to-day operations and focus on growing the business

✨ Grow faster through franchising.

Trademark your name, find good partners, and start scaling your business.

👨‍💼 Hire experts and get a financial partner.

To scale rapidly, you need a great CEO and a strong investor that will give you stability as you grow.

🤝 Decide how much control you want to keep.

As you grow your business, decide if you want 10% control of 200 restaurants or 100% control of 25.

🍽️ Focus on what the customer wants.

There are no shortcuts to meeting guest expectations. Always delight your customers.

💻 Remain relevant and keep up with the times.

Learn to adapt to trends and take advantage of technology to build a brand that lasts the test of time.