Today we’d like to introduce you to John Kunkel.
John, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve had a very non-traditional path in the restaurant industry as nobody in my family was in the business and I didn’t come from money. When I was 15, I started in a local restaurant and worked my way up from dishwasher to cook and every other job in front and back of house. In my 20s, I realized I had a talent for creating brands and interior design and somebody was crazy enough to let me do that with several concepts in Miami.
My main motto in those days was “fake it till you make it.” I did a lot of faking and, fortunately, I was able to deliver, working my way up through the business. I founded 50 Eggs in 2008 and, today, we operate multiple restaurant concepts with locations in Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Singapore. Dallas and Washington, D.C. will open this year and several more are on the horizon globally.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If you find any person in the restaurant industry that says it’s been a completely smooth road, I want to talk to them! I don’t believe there’s anything smooth about our business. Those who excel find the calm within the storm and are able to thrive in the eye in the tornado while all of this chaos surrounds them. For someone who has a little ADD and likes to have 19 things going on at the same time, this business is ideal. For everyone else, looking from the outside in, they usually say “you guys are nuts” and they don’t know how we’re juggling all these different tasks.
For me, it starts with an idea – a menu, a country, a type of cuisine or a chef – and seeing it evolve from ideation to execution and then how people respond to it. The only thing I can imagine that’s similar to it is any kind of artist, such as a movie producer, actor, or anybody who’s creating something, and then getting reactions and feedback. In the restaurant business, from even before you open, at the friends & family dry rehearsals, you’re getting immediate, unfiltered feedback on this thing you’ve created. That’s scary and exciting, but obviously, it’s addicting, because I keep doing it over and over again. I love it, but it’s never a smooth ride.
We just opened one of our concepts in Miami, and of course, the best-laid plans… We had time, we planned it out, and there’s always going to be something: a leak in the bar, the A/C goes out, a sound system doesn’t work, a grill breaks, someone doesn’t show up. There’s something every day and we’re only as good as our last service. Our goal is to never let our customers see the bumps in the road. From a career trajectory, those bumps seem to happen over and over again, like “Groundhog Day.” It’s never going to stop, but if you embrace that and understand this is the business and it is crazy and bumpy, then you can find your happy place in that chaos.
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
50 Eggs were created as a full-service hospitality company. We take the idea that itches in the back of your mind when you can’t sleep in the middle of the night to actually proving it out by designing a restaurant, buying specialty furniture, creating signature dishes, lighting and playlists – all of the things that go into creating an amazing restaurant. Our specialty as a group is as incubators of concepts. There are few companies that do what we do. There are many big restaurant companies operating established brands as franchises or expanding existing restaurants, but we’re on the frontline taking that original idea and fleshing it out for the very first time. We’re not like most “mom and pops,” where they’ll develop a single restaurant or concept.
We do that, and then do a second, third, fourth unit and so on. We really incubate the brand so by the time we take on an investor, or we begin to expand that brand, we’ve already taken on all of the risks. Someone described what we do as high stakes gambling because we are pushing our chips in the middle of the table every time we create something and we’re seeing if it works. That kind of risk isn’t for everyone, but we enjoy and specialize in that. I’m proud of so many things we’ve created, but I’m especially proud of the group of people who are on the front lines running these restaurants every day.
Coming up the way I did in this business, I know firsthand how hard every single job is, from host to bartender to cook to manager. I know what it takes with the commitment and the time away from loved ones, so I’m most proud of the dedication our team displays and how much they pour themselves into making sure their restaurants are successful. Having a restaurant like Yardbird that’s been around for nearly 10 years in Las Vegas, that maintains a No. 1 status on Yelp, gives me immense pride because that means everybody is so invested in making sure that guests have a great hospitality experience when they come to our restaurants.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
Depending on the day you ask me, I don’t know if I believe in luck. I think we make our own luck. I certainly believe I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by some very talented people who are on our team, but I think when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of what we do, it really is true perseverance above luck. I will take perseverance any day above luck or talent.
That’s where we really excel and where I certainly lock-in. I just don’t let go when I latch onto something; I will pursue it over and over again. It takes perseverance and consistency to be operating at the top of your game and be successful in this business. Just because you’ve had a great week, a great month or great year, that has nothing to do with a restaurant’s long-term success, so for us, that’s where I maintain. I think this relentless pursuit of excellence starts at the top, so I have to have that fire first if I expect anyone else to have it.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2121 N Pearl St., Dallas, TX
- Website: runchickenrun.com
- Phone: (469) 208-2441
- Instagram: @yardbirdsouthern
- Facebook: facebook.com/yardbirdsouthern
- Twitter: @YBSouthern
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