It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

Preston Lee

It’s Not You, It’s Your Hospitality is for independent restaurant owners, operators, and leaders who want to build thriving businesses without burning out their teams or losing sight of what hospitality really means. Hosted by Preston Lee, founder of The 30% Rule, this podcast dives into the systems, leadership strategies, and culture shifts that separate the struggling 90% of restaurants from the top 10% that thrive. With over 20 years in the industry and a decade spent helping major brands grow sales, Preston shares raw stories, proven tools, and hard lessons learned from the front lines. If you’re tired of high turnover, inconsistent guest experiences, and the endless cycle of training without transformation—this podcast will dive deep into the world of Hospitality and show you how to fix it once and for all. Because at the end of the day, it’s not you—it’s your hospitality.

  1. 1D AGO

    I Found the #1 Mistake Killing Restaurants in 2026 and How to Fix it

    Running a restaurant has NEVER been harder.  Since 2020, the cost of operating a restaurant has increased by 35%… while margins were already razor thin. At the same time, competition is rising, staff expectations are changing, and consistency is harder than ever to maintain.  So how do the top 10% of restaurants still win?  In this video, I break down the real problem holding restaurants back and why most owners, operators, and managers are focusing on the WRONG things.  👉 It’s not more complexity.  👉 It’s not more training.  👉 It’s SIMPLICITY done right.  After working with 350+ restaurant groups worldwide and analyzing over 1,000 operations, we’ve found a clear pattern:  Success comes from mastering the fundamentals... not overcomplicating them.  What You’ll Learn In This Video:  ✔️ Why “keeping it simple” is the hardest (and most important) strategy in 2026  ✔️ The dangerous mistake most restaurant leaders make when training staff  ✔️ How rising costs are quietly killing your profitability  ✔️ Why your current systems may be outdated (especially with Gen Z + AI)  The 5-Phase Framework used by top-performing restaurants:  Advanced Leadership  High-Level Systems  Dynamic Training  Follow-Up Mastery Accountability  Here is the reality of restaurants right now...  Most restaurants are stuck delivering transactional experiences…  But the ones that WIN deliver true hospitality, and that’s what keeps guests coming back, spending more, and choosing YOU over competitors.  In a world where guests are going out LESS, you need to give them a reason to choose YOU every single time.

    6 min

  2. MAR 12

    How One of America’s Most Profitable Restaurants Built Its Brand on a Shrimp Cocktail

    Most restaurants fail. The average independent restaurant lasts less than 5 years. Profit margins sit around 3-5%, staff turnover can exceed 75%, and the industry is notorious for destroying even the most passionate owners. So how did St. Elmo Steak House survive 123 years... and become one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in America? Located in Indianapolis, this legendary steakhouse generates over $26.5 million per year from a single location. It survived Prohibition, the Great Depression, the 2008 Financial Crisis, and even the restaurant shutdowns during COVID‑19. And the craziest part? It did it without franchising, without private equity, and without opening for lunch. This podcast breaks down the real systems behind a $70M hospitality empire built by Steve Hughes and Craig Hughes. You'll discover: • Why closing lunch service made the restaurant MORE profitable • The psychology behind calling employees “stewards” instead of staff • The business strategy that turned a failing tavern into a hospitality powerhouse • How the famous St. Elmo shrimp cocktail became a viral marketing engine • Why scarcity beats scale in the restaurant industry • The leadership philosophy that kept employees for 20–30+ years This isn’t just a restaurant story. It’s a masterclass in leadership, systems, culture, and hospitality strategy. If you're an entrepreneur, restaurant owner, manager, or hospitality professional, the lessons inside this story might completely change how you think about building a business. Because the truth is: The steakhouse isn’t the product. The system is.

    10 min

  3. MAR 3

    Hot Dog Cart to $750 Million Dollar Empire: The Untold Reason of Portillo's Success

    Grab the popcorn, because in this podcast I break down one of the greatest restaurant growth stories ever: How Portillo's went from a tiny hot dog trailer funded with just $1,100 to a $700M+ public restaurant empire. I recently spent $1,200 on a company dinner… and it made me realize something powerful: Someone else once took roughly the same amount of money and built a national brand using systems, leadership training, operational discipline, and hospitality excellence. This is NOT a story about hot dogs. This is a masterclass in restaurant scaling, business systems, leadership development, and operational execution. If you’re a restaurant owner, entrepreneur, operator, or leader trying to grow beyond one location, this video will show you what scaling actually requires and why most businesses fail before they ever reach real expansion. So, in this rich podcast I go over: ✅ The REAL reason Portillo’s scaled from a trailer to a publicly traded company ✅ The critical milestones that turned a local restaurant into a national brand ✅ Why consistency beats creativity in restaurant growth ✅ The operational systems that allow high-volume restaurants to scale ✅ How drive-thru strategy, throughput, and unit economics create massive profits ✅ Why leadership depth determines whether expansion succeeds or fails ✅ The exact restaurant growth blueprint you can copy using The Thirty Percent

    19 min

  4. FEB 27

    Why Most Restaurants Fail at Training Gen Z — And What Actually Works

    Why is it so hard to train Gen Z in restaurants? Why do so many restaurant owners, managers, and leaders feel like Gen Z employees don’t care, won’t commit, and walk out at the first sign of accountability? Well, in this powerful podcast I explain exactly why training Gen Z feels broken, what’s actually happening beneath the surface, and how you can systematize your training, hiring, and accountability so Gen Z gets bought in, stays longer, and performs at a higher level. The truth is… training Gen Z is absolutely possible. High-performing hospitality groups do it every single day. Brands like Chick-fil-A are living proof that Gen Z can thrive inside structured, mission-driven environments with high standards and clear expectations. So that's why, I cover: ✔️ Why Gen Z isn’t motivated by money the same way previous generations were ✔️ The real reason Gen Z quits (and it’s not accountability) ✔️ How purpose, mission, and structure drive Gen Z performance in ways you didn't realize ✔️ The 3-phase system to train Gen Z successfully ✔️ How to create consistency and accountability without losing people I walk through my Expectation Phase, Commitment Phase, and Reinforcement Phase so you can build a repeatable system that creates clarity, buy-in, and execution. If you’re tired of constantly rehiring… If your training feels inconsistent… If your standards aren’t sticking… This podcast will give you a framework to fix it. Your job as a leader isn’t to complain about Gen Z. Your job is to build an environment where Gen Z can win.

    8 min

  5. FEB 23

    The Insane Reason People Pay $350 JUST for a Reservation to Carbone!

    People are paying $350 just for a reservation at Carbone in New York. Not for food. Not for wine. Just to get in the door. And yes, there are reservation brokers whose entire business is reselling tables at nearly impossible to get restaurants. So the real question is… 👉 Why does Carbone have that kind of demand? Is it the food? The celebrities? The hype? In this podcast, I break down exactly how Carbone engineered one of the most desirable restaurant brands in the world and more importantly, the blueprint any restaurant owner can learn from. I'll walk you through: ✔️ How Carbone started as a tiny 18-seat Italian spot ✔️ How Major Food Group turned it into a global powerhouse ✔️ How they used experience design, systems, and hospitality choreography to manufacture demand ✔️ Why exclusivity, consistency, and execution matter more than the menu ✔️ How Carbone systemized every “move” from service, to training, to recipes, to leadership ✔️ And why people don’t pay for food, but pay for experiences Carbone didn’t get lucky. They didn’t stumble into success. They engineered it. The old way of running restaurants is dead...Innovation in systems, training, and leadership is no longer optional. And Carbone is one of the best case studies in the world on how to do that at scale. This video will change the way you think about running a restaurant.

    17 min

  6. FEB 6

    The Right Way to Upsell in Your Restaurant (No One Teaches This)

    Most restaurants don’t fail overnight. They die slowly. And the two biggest silent killers I see over and over again are: 👉 Inconsistent hospitality 👉 Little to no 'real' upselling So that's why in this podcast, I break down why hospitality and upselling are not “soft skills”, but how they are revenue systems. If you want higher check averages, stronger guest retention, and a more profitable restaurant, you have to start treating upselling as a mandatory part of the job, not a suggestion. I walk you through the exact framework I use with restaurant owners to create: ✅ Advanced upselling strategies ✅ Menu-engineered upsells that actually add value ✅ Simple training systems (not scripts) ✅ Clear KPIs and benchmarks ✅ Accountability without killing culture Most restaurants either do zero upselling or rely on low-level upsells like “Would you like Grey Goose?” That’s the bare minimum. Real growth comes from advanced upselling connected to hospitality... guiding guests to a better experience that naturally costs more and feels good to buy. If you’re serious about running your restaurant like a business, this podcast will show you how to increase check averages by at least 5% (and often 8–11%) without raising prices, adding new menu items, or burning out your team. Because growth isn’t luck. It’s systems. And systems win.

    14 min

  7. FEB 2

    I’ve Worked With Over 300 Restaurants… They All Have This ONE Problem

    I’ve talked to over 1,000 restaurant owners in the last two years. We’ve worked with 300+ restaurants (and we’re closing in on 400). From single location mom and pop shops doing $250k a year to multi-unit hospitality groups doing hundreds of millions and even billion-dollar global brands. And here’s the crazy part… 👉 They all have the same problem. The problems don’t change. They just get bigger, heavier, and more expensive. In this podcast, I break down the real issue holding restaurants back... More specifically: a total lack of consistent accountability. I go over in detail: ✔️Why training alone will never fix your culture ✔️Why hospitality dies without accountability ✔️Why your managers avoid holding people accountable ✔️How to structure accountability into your hiring, training, and daily operations ✔️How the best brands in the world (Chick-fil-A, Cheesecake Factory, Carbone, etc.) actually run their teams And how to fix the root cause instead of chasing symptoms So if you’re struggling with: Inconsistent standards and Staff that “knows better” but still doesn’t do it OR a restaurant that looks good on the outside but feels broken on the inside This podcast will show you exactly why and what to fix first.

    14 min

  8. JAN 29

    The Hospitality Mindset That Creates Top Performers (And More Money)

    Whether you work in a restaurant, a private club, or any service business, your real job isn’t just to do tasks it’s to make people feel valued. In this presentation, I explain why hospitality is really about the small moments, not just grand gestures, how “micro-dosing hospitality” creates massive loyalty, and why a guest-first or member-first mindset changes everything. When people feel seen, remembered, and appreciated, they come back and they tell others. So if you are in the hospitality industry or any business, in this video you will learn: -The Napoleon Hill principle that changes how top performers think -Why personal growth requires discomfort -Why the best employees always get paid more eventually -The difference between average workers and high-value people -Why hospitality (and business) is really about creating experiences -How small moments create massive loyalty -Why “member first” or “guest first” thinking changes everything

    10 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

It’s Not You, It’s Your Hospitality is for independent restaurant owners, operators, and leaders who want to build thriving businesses without burning out their teams or losing sight of what hospitality really means. Hosted by Preston Lee, founder of The 30% Rule, this podcast dives into the systems, leadership strategies, and culture shifts that separate the struggling 90% of restaurants from the top 10% that thrive. With over 20 years in the industry and a decade spent helping major brands grow sales, Preston shares raw stories, proven tools, and hard lessons learned from the front lines. If you’re tired of high turnover, inconsistent guest experiences, and the endless cycle of training without transformation—this podcast will dive deep into the world of Hospitality and show you how to fix it once and for all. Because at the end of the day, it’s not you—it’s your hospitality.

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