Did you ever wonder how restaurants like French Laundry, Daniel, and Hall’s Chop House top the charts on review sites like Tripadvisor?

I recently had the pleasure to experience dining at the #3 rated restaurant in the USA according to the 2020 Best of the Best Tripadvisor Travelers Choice Awards. The service and experience as so warm, welcoming, theatrical, yet completely unpretentious. I loved it even though it is a steak house and I am a vegetarian!

My interview for this episode is Sara Faienza, the Assistant General Manager of Hall’s Chophouse, a lawyer by profession, who could not deny her passion for hospitality.

In this conversation we discuss:

How the culture of the company was built by Bill Hall, who started his career in Hospitality as a busboy and went on to luxury hotels working in Ritz Carlton among other prestigious and guest-centric brands.

Every person who walks in the door is treated like family. Everyone is a VIP. Every day is a special occasion.

How they keep the team happy and focused on their mission of building customers for life who will return and share their experiences with others.

How their reputation, great reviews, and guest experience success allows them to provide generously for their team as well as their community, all while expanding their business empire to new brands and new locations.

By the way, when Sara speaks of SNOB, she is talking about their sister restaurant, Slightly North of Broad. The Hall’s Restaurant Group also includes Rita’s Seaside Grill and High Cotton.