By RTN Staff- 9.5.2019
Castellucci Hospitality Group (CHG) owns and operates seven restaurants across metro-Atlanta including Bar Mercado, a multi-regional Spanish tapas restaurant at Krog Street Market; Cooks & Soldiers, a Basque-inspired concept in West Midtown; Double Zero, a contemporary Italian restaurant in Emory Village; Recess, a fine casual, plant-based restaurant in Krog Street Market; Sugo, a Mediterranean eatery in Johns Creek, Ga. and The Iberian Pig, a modern Spanish concept in Decatur and Buckhead, with an outpost at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
When you ask Federico Castellucci III, owner of CHG, about the future of his business, he points to three things: the people he employs, the people he is in the business to serve, and the ways he can support them.
Earlier this year, CHG opened their seventh restaurant, a Buckhead location for the highly-acclaimed Iberian Pig concept. So, what comes next for this industry innovator and the team behind some of Atlanta’s top-rated restaurants? Methodical expansion, creative partnerships with emerging culinary talent, and new technology.
Castellucci is an early adopter when it comes to restaurant technology. So early, he developed a suite of in-house solutions to streamline his business before the explosion of VC-backed software companies entered the scene. Today, it’s easier for Castellucci to invest in monthly subscription fees to have someone else manage the technology so he and his team can get back to their primary mission.
“Providing our guests with an unforgettable experience is the most important part of the job,” said Castellucci. “Investing our time and energy into our customer’s satisfaction drives the business forward. If a piece of technology takes a time-consuming task off my team’s plate, they can spend more time serving our guests.”
However, for Castellucci to entertain the idea of implementing a new system into his restaurants, he has to validate that a new solution will make his employees’ lives dramatically better, and generate a substantial financial impact, either via cost savings or revenue generation.
86 Repairs, a subscription service that manages the entire repair and maintenance process for restaurant groups, checked both boxes. Unlike other aspects of the industry that have been disrupted by subscription technology solutions (POS, staffing, event management), the repairs and maintenance landscape has been overlooked.
Restaurateurs like Castellucci are saving time and money with 86 Repairs while driving employee satisfaction, and, ultimately, delivering a better guest experience. The service includes 24/7 support from an expert team, actionable insights to improve back-of-house operations, and complete management of the service process.
“Our mission is to transform back-of-house operations and elevate the guest experience,” said 86 Repairs CEO Daniel Estrada. “We’re changing the way restaurant operators manage repairs and maintenance – by taking the frustration of managing repairs off their plates entirely, and by giving them proactive insights to save money and make better decisions.”
Getting things fixed in a restaurant is a frustrating, expensive, and time-consuming process. Restaurants spend 3% of annual revenue on repairs and maintenance, and it’s the largest controllable expense category. With The National Restaurant Association predicting U.S. Restaurant sales to hit a record $863 billion in 2019, that translates to $26 billion a year spent on repairs.
“Ordering, scheduling, receiving, fixing things that break- these are the things you have to do on a daily basis to keep your restaurant up and running,” said Castellucci. “Now, think about the restaurant next door, and the one down the block – they’re doing the exact same thing. These are table stakes. I’m interested in investing in technology that manages these tasks for me and my team, so we can focus our energy on driving the business forward.”
“Fred [Castellucci] and his team are fantastic operators, and they took a chance on us as one of our first customers. Since then, our partnership with CHG has helped us improve our service and expand our business in Atlanta and across the U.S.”
Castellucci adds, “My team loves 86 Repairs so much, there would be a revolt if I tried to cancel.”
