EP5: Building a Sustainable System of Hospitality

“Back to Basics” with Rachael Nemeth

In this episode, we sit down with Andy Hooper, restaurant industry leader and former CEO of Hart House, to talk about how people development drives long-term success in hospitality. With experience scaling mission-driven brands and advising operators across the country, Andy offers a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to build teams that deliver consistently excellent service.

Hear Andy’s take on navigating leadership transitions, the future of hospitality, and how brands can maintain consistency as they scale. He shares what curiosity reveals in emerging leaders, why training programs should be built around business metrics, and how social dining is reshaping guest expectations.

From the value of frontline development to the operational metrics L&D teams should be tracking, Andy breaks down the systems and behaviors behind sustainable hospitality leadership.

Tune in to hear why understanding your employees’ lived experience is key to building loyalty — and how investing in people leads to real, measurable results.

Chapters
00:00 Navigating Change in Leadership
02:55 The Importance of People Development
05:54 Trends and Challenges in the Restaurant Industry
08:53 The Future of Hospitality
11:53 Optimism in Social Dining
14:54 The Value of Exceptional Hospitality
20:21 The Power of Consistency in Hospitality
25:32 Training and Development Challenges in Restaurants
30:00 Linking Training Success to Business Metrics
32:10 Spotting Potential Leaders: The Role of Curiosity
38:35 Leadership Lessons and Personal Growth

About Us
Opus is the hospitality training platform purpose-built for the frontline. Train 100% of your team in 101 languages on the job to quickly get them up the productivity curve. With full visibility across your workforce, you get the frontline business intelligence needed to drive your business.

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