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

    Fix THIS or Your Restaurant Will Keep Struggling

    Most restaurants don’t have a sales problem, they have a people development problem. When you break down inconsistent service, weak guest retention, bad reviews, and high turnover, it almost always comes back to the same root issue: underdeveloped training, weak leadership, and broken systems.  In this video, we break down a complete restaurant training and onboarding system designed to fix that at the source. What you’ll learn in this video ✔️ ✔️ How to build a restaurant training system that creates consistency at every level ✔️ How to turn employees into high-performing “drivers” instead of passive “passengers” ✔️ How guest experience directly drives sales, reviews, and retention ✔️ How to fix leadership gaps by developing managers, not just hiring them ✔️ How to create a culture of accountability where “that’s not my job” disappears ✔️ How to onboard staff so they are aligned, bought in, and ready to execute from day one We also cover mindset and leadership principles like Kaizen (1% daily improvement), the “driver vs passenger” mentality, and why discomfort is necessary for growth. You’ll see how proper onboarding builds buy-in first, before any real training even begins, and why that changes everything about execution inside your restaurant. At the core of it, restaurants don’t scale because of better menus or more marketing, they scale because of better systems and better people. When you develop your team intentionally, you increase sales, improve guest experience, reduce turnover, and build a stronger culture across the board. If you want to build a restaurant that runs on systems instead of stress, this is where it starts.

    20 min

  2. APR 3

    Fix Your Hospitality Training through Leadership Development

    If you think your managers are a cost, you’re already losing money. After working with over 300 restaurants worldwide, I’ve seen the same mistake again and again: owners try to fix training, systems, or hospitality first… but nothing truly changes until leadership is fixed. Leadership is the foundation. If it’s weak, everything else breaks. In this video, I break down how an $80,000 manager can either drain your business or become a profit-generating asset. The difference comes down to how you develop them. When managers are told to just “manage,” you get inconsistency, turnover, and missed revenue. But when they’re trained to lead and develop people, your entire operation starts to scale. Here’s what that actually looks like in your business: ✔️ Lower employee turnover (saving $20K–$30K/year) ✔️ Increased upsells without being pushy (adding $50K+ in revenue) ✔️ Better guest experiences that drive repeat visits ✔️ More 5-star reviews and word-of-mouth growth ✔️ A team that performs without constant oversight This isn’t theory, it’s a proven framework we’ve used with hundreds of restaurants. When you shift from seeing leadership as a cost to expecting a return on it, everything changes. Your team gets stronger, your systems start working, and your business becomes more predictable and profitable. At the end of the day, your staff controls your guest experience, your guest retention controls your revenue, and your leadership controls it all. If you want help actually implementing this into your restaurant, I’m hosting a free live training where I’ll walk you through how to build leadership, training, and systems that actually stick. You’ll also get a workbook so you can apply everything directly to your business.

    15 min

  3. MAR 27

    The Crazy Truth Behind Turning $12 to $100M Restaurant Empire

    How do you turn $12 into a $100 million restaurant empire? In this video, I break down the incredible true story behind Carlo Distefano and the rise of the San Carlo Restaurant Group, one of the most successful luxury restaurant brands in the UK, with locations in London, Manchester, Dubai, and soon Miami.  If you’ve ever wondered how to start a restaurant, scale a restaurant business, or build a brand that dominates in highly competitive markets, this is a case study you don’t want to miss. What makes this story so powerful is that it’s not just about entrepreneurship or a typical business success story. It’s about how mastering hospitality, customer experience, and restaurant systems can take you from nothing to building a global brand.  Carlo didn’t win because of luck, he won because he understood how to create an unforgettable guest experience, how to train teams at a high level, and how to build consistency across every location.  These are the same principles that separate struggling restaurants from the top-performing restaurant businesses in the world. Throughout this breakdown, you’ll see exactly how San Carlo used a unique “theater-style” dining experience to create demand, long wait times, and a reputation that attracted celebrities, athletes, and loyal customers.  You’ll also learn why most restaurants fail to scale, how leadership and training impact restaurant operations, and why systems are the foundation of any successful hospitality business.  Whether you’re a restaurant owner, entrepreneur, or operator, these restaurant growth strategies and business insights apply directly to building a profitable and scalable company.

    13 min

  4. MAR 21

    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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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
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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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