Heroes in Business - Bob Johnston, CEO Melting Pot

Episode Date: June 25, 2022

His First and Last Job. Bob Johnston, CEO Melting Pot  is interviewed by David Cogan famous celebrity host of the Heroes Show and founder of Eliances entrepreneur community. meltingpotfranchise.com eliances.com 

Entrepreneurs align. Alliances where entrepreneurs align. Alliances where entrepreneurs align. Alliances where entrepreneurs align. Alliances where entrepreneurs align. Welcome to Alliances, the only place where I can do a lot. Up in the sky. Look, it's captivating.

It's energizing. It's Eliance's Heroes. Eliance's is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups. We're our heroes in business aligned. Now, here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's.

That's right. And I just fly right in each and every single week. And I'm just so honored to be able to have the opportunity to introduce you to our heroes in business, ones that are truly making a difference in the community. They may be entertaining others. They may be hiring others. There's so much that is being done, and I'm just very excited and very excited about today. Wait till you see who we've got on next. But before we do, thank you again for the feedback when I had recently on the co-founder of Zillow. So make sure that you go

to alliances.com. As most of you know now, E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com, the only place where entrepreneurs align. And those of you that are listening in your car, you're welcome to, just don't do it while you're driving. Make sure you stop by and go to eliances.com too so you could see the video portion of this so you know i've always wondered and i know many others have too when they meet or when they hear about the ceo of a company and they wonder okay was that person just recently hired and put in that place how did they get to where they got to? And we're going to hear a pretty cool, amazing story today because I'm a big fan of the place. With that, we have with us Bob Johnston.

He is the CEO of Melting Pot. That's right, and you can reach him at meltingpotfranchise.com. Now, I'm sure many of you have heard of Melting Pot, and if you've had the opportunity to go there, you know it's amazing. But Bob, welcome to the show today. We're really excited to have you here. Thanks, David. I appreciate your interest in the Melting Pot story. It's wonderful to be here. Absolutely. So for those that may not have been and experienced the melting pot, and I do say it's an experience. It's not just going there and eating. It is truly experience. Kind of why don't you talk us through really kind of what takes place when someone attends?

Sure. If you're not familiar with the melting pot, we are the United States premier fondue restaurant with nearly 100 locations coast to coast. Our restaurants are all independently owned and operated by our franchise strategic partners. So we are in two businesses. We're in the business of entertaining guests and creating memories in our melting pot locations, but we're also in the business of helping people achieve their dream of business ownership. And it is truly an experience. I mean, you know, we go there when it's a pretty big occasion in that, but someone doesn't have to just go there for a special occasion, right? You can go, I mean, people can go there on dates, which could be a special occasion for some, depending upon how long they've known that person, right?

But also, too, is do you do business lunches? Do people go there for business lunch and that, too? Many of our locations are open seasonally during lunchtime, but primarily we're a dinner restaurant. And you're right. Many do choose us when they're celebrating a special moment in their life. But especially now and more and more are just coming when they want to have their fondue fixed because the meal is craveable. And when you put that together with a really fun and entertaining experience with people you care about, it's just a it's a winning recipe. And we're going to talk a little bit about the franchising part.

But before we do, I think it's the people need to know you're quite experienced with the melting pot model. You're experienced having work there and stuff. So walk us through what happened at the age of 14. Yeah. So you're right. I've been around a while and I started working at the melting pot, washing dishes for my two older brothers, Mike and Mark. They were the very first franchisees of the melting pot back in 1979. This was in Tallahassee, Florida. And like a lot of people who spend time in the restaurant business, I didn't have any plans of making it my life's work. But when I had the opportunity to get out in the dining room and start entertaining the guests. I really got hooked

by that. I enjoyed putting on a show every night. And most importantly, I enjoyed creating an environment where our guests could connect with people they care about for a little while and escape and create some memories. They left with smiles on their faces, which was like a second paycheck for me. How did you like know that at the point, I mean, where you go, you know, I'm thoroughly enjoying this. This is something I want to continue to stay. Was it the point of we're trying to just dig in because we've got a number of people that are listening now. They may be at the job. They may be in the same position now, five years later, seven years later, and they're kind of wondering, how do you, and then second part is, how do you even move up? How do you get to that next step? Sure. Well, I owe a lot of gratitude to my two older brothers who gave me, you know, the opportunity. I actually dropped out of junior college to join them to purchase the concept from the founders of the melting pot that

was in 1985 the same year that i got married to the young lady in psych class you sat one desk behind me and we moved to tampa florida to start this uh adventure but you know i i would like to say i didn't choose the melting pot. The melting pot chose me. And that's true of a lot of our franchisees who first started off as customers, loyal users of the brand. And they could see themselves being a melting pot for HIZ. And they joined our family. Yeah. Again, incredible story and stuff.

And you're listening, watching me, David Kogan, host of the Alliances Hero Show. Make sure you go to alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. The only place where entrepreneurs align. We have with us Bob Johnston. Yeah, the CEO of Melting Pot. You can reach him at meltingpotfranchise.com. So Bob,

how does someone go? They experience it. They're maybe listening right now and they're like, I'd like to inquire, learn more about what does it take to own one of the melting pots? Sure. Yeah. And that's, by the way, that's how most of our franchisees have come to become franchisees. They started off with visiting the restaurant and developing a passion as a guest for what we do and then inquiring. And the best way to get information is to visit our franchise website, which is meltingpotfranchise.com, as you mentioned, and is on the screen now. And that's where you can start that journey of really exploring whether or not becoming a free HSE is the right move for you. We don't sell anything.

We provide information in order to give our candidates who've inquired about the concept an opportunity to make an informed decision. And in some cases, this concept is not the right fit for them. And they remain loyal customers of the brand. But in many cases, they join the family. And, you know, that's a big part of our success story. All right. So I almost fell off my chair when I heard this stat. What does 692,060 pounds of cheese and 542,250 pounds of chocolate per year mean to you? Well, I tell you, it means a lot of smiling faces in our restaurants. That's what it means. it means a lot of smiling faces in our restaurants. That's what it means. And all credit to our purchasing team here at our Restaurant Support Center in Tampa, Florida. They do a wonderful job developing relationships with excellent vendor partners and providers of our artisan cheeses

and chocolates that we use in the restaurants. So in essence, again, people go there, they do the fondue style. So I was curious to know then, are there any, is there an oven or anything in the back if everybody's cooking? That's one of the cool things about the concept is that we're unlike a typical full service restaurant, which has, you know, chargrills or flat tops and ovens and broilers. Really, a melting pot is none of that. The cooking is done by the guest at the table. And that's really, you know, that's what makes it fun is that experience. We like to say, you know, it may sound a little corny, but we think the melting pot is as much about what's going on around that fondue pot

as it is what's in the fondue pot. You don't go to the melting pot for any reason other than to have a good time. So people gather with people that they know, they love, or they want to get to know better to spend some time together. All we do is we create that perfect opportunity for them to be entertained and to allow them to do exactly what they came to this morning. And Bob, what is your favorite item on the menu? When Bob Johnson goes to the melting pot, what does he order? Yeah, you know, I am a traditionalist, I suppose. You know, back in the day in 1979 when we got started, there was only one kind of cheese fondue on our menu. Now there's a wonderful variety to choose from. And that was a traditional Swiss fondue.

And that is what I enjoy the most. That's great. So, Bob, since you started at that company when you were 14 years old and that, Bob, since you started at that company when you were 14 years old and now, what kind of secrets do you have to share with others that are either parents listening now or 14, 15, 16 year olds in high school, maybe their first job that they're watching and listening right now to be able to make their mark like you have, be able to move up that ladder and make a difference? Well, I guess there's two things that I would share. One is that you've got to follow your

passion. You have to have a deep-seated love for what you do in order, in my view, to be as successful as you could possibly be. The other thing I would share is that business, like pretty much all of life, is ups and downs, cycles. And you have to develop thick skin and the ability to persevere during challenging times because that does happen. It's a part of business. And, you know, one of the things that we do here at Melting Pot Franchise and the Restaurant Support Center is we help our franchisees in those good times. Like we're experiencing now record sales,

but we're also here for franchisees to prepare for the times when things are not quite that good. And we coach them on how to persevere through those challenges. So, you know, we are we're just a big family here. We we refer to it as that because that's what it feels like when you become a melting pot franchisee. What do you think about all the things that are going on within real estate and investing in real estate and that aspect? Because melting pot, it's there's a lot of stuff in there. I mean, it's it's it's definitely not your fast food. It's not anything like a traditional restaurant.

Each booth, correct me if I'm wrong, but at least most of the booth have their own cooking area, too. Yeah, correct. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, that's the restaurant business is not it's not a complicated business. It's actually fairly simple. I mean, you need to execute consistently. So the guest knows what to expect and they get it every time. And you need to be polite and provide hospitality. Right. I mean, but it's not an easy business on the other hand, either, because it's taxing. You know, it's hard. It's hard work. And, you know, our franchisees, we couldn't do it without them and their teams. You know, they're they are hard to work every single day, swinging the door open so our guests can enjoy a perfect night out.

But as far as, you know, developing a restaurant. Yes, you're right. you know developing a restaurant yes you're right i mean real estate is involved and we support franchisees with site selection and modeling what prospective sales might be in a location and then we help them with construction and design we have a team here of four people that that do that and involve the franchisee but help them through that process i mentioned earlier we have a purchasing team. Their work is really shining right now because they're helping stabilize costs in what I think everybody would agree is a pretty volatile inflationary period of time, right? Their work done last year is with stabilizing prices right now. Marketing is another business unit where we support the franchisees, both marketing locally in their stores and in their communities, but also digitally through Internet marketing and social media.

So, Bob, do you ever just like when you walk in, just sit back or just go and realize where you've come from 14 years old to being CEO and that entire path and career? I mean, does he ever just go, wow, from walking 14? Yeah, only every day. I mean, I feel truly grateful for the opportunity that my brothers gave me and the opportunity to work with this talented team here and our family of franchisees. But I have to tell you the truth. Today, I am the least important person on this team. The success really comes as a result of everybody else, the hard work of all of our business leaders here at the Restaurant Support Center and our franchisees who's you know they're they're next on the line you know they they've made big wagers to become a business owner and

we have a lot of reverence and respect for that absolutely bob from washing dishes to become the ceo of melting pot you provide business ownership and success one bite at a time. That's a hero, Bob Johnson, CEO of Melting Pot. You can reach him at meltingpotfranchise.com. This has been David Kogan with the Alliance's Hero Show. Flash, 60 seconds of secrets of heroes with David Kogan from Alliances. Where entrepreneurs align. Our heroes will provide one-word short answers to the secret questions.

Can you beat the Flash? We have with us the CEO of Melting Pot. You can reach him at meltingpotfranchise.com. Bob, what is the proudest moment you've had in your life? Birth of both of my children. One wish you would make? Wow. I wish for my family, my friends, and our team here to be healthy and happy.

Your favorite place on earth? Any place with water or mountains. One thing that helps you sleep at night? Definitely prayer and meditation. Your favorite word? Opportunity. The best advice you ever received. If your gut tells you something's wrong, the sooner you fix that, the better. Would like to be this one superhero. Oh, fondue man, for sure. What makes you laugh? Oh, fondue man, for sure.

What makes you laugh? I would say the early days of Saturday Night Live. Would like to live in this period of time. Now, right now, I'm perfectly happy. And finally, would like to give my younger self this advice. There's going to be ups and downs, but you can be joyful through all of it. Thank you for playing Flash 60 Seconds of Secrets with David Kogan from Alliances.

We're entrepreneurs aligned. Go to E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S to unlock more secrets. Go to E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S to unlock more secrets. E-Liances, where entrepreneurs align.