03: Finding Your Michelin Star Business Partner | Ben Moore, Mamahuhu
01/10/23 • 57 min
Ben Moore is a Partner and Co-Founder of Mamahuhu, a fast casual Chinese American restaurant concept that puts a modern spin on classic Chinese American favorites. In this interview Ben shares the story of how he fell in love with Chinese culture after living in Shanghai, was ultimately inspired to modernize Chinese American cuisine back in the States, then teamed up with a dream culinary partner in Brandon Jew, owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco.
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Where to find Mamahuhu:
- Website: https://www.eatmamahuhu.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatmamahuhu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatmamahuhu/
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Where to find Ben:
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Where to find Bryan:
- Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
- Twitter: @btublin
––
Where to find Kitava:
- Website: https://www.kitava.com/
- Instagram: @kitavakitchen
––
Referenced:
––
In this episode, we cover:
- (01:54) Ben’s early introduction to Chinese culture
- (03:25) What Ben was attracted to in the culture of Shanghai
- (04:40) Meeting his first business partner and the early seeds of the idea that became Mamahuhu
- (07:25) Ben’s two-pronged interest in food
- (10:38) Why Ben and sought out a culinary partner for Mamahuhu
- (12:00) Meeting Brandon Jew for the first time
- (14:20) How they funded Mamahuhu
- (16:48) Setting up their business structure
- (18:38) Figuring out how to divide up ownership among the co-founders
- (22:45) Coming up with the menu for Mamahuhu
- (23:50) Testing one of their early ideas as a digital pop-up through Caviar
- (29:59) The inspiration behind creating a modern take on Chinese American cuisine
- (34:09) Mamahuhu’s food values
- (39:02) Using simpler ingredients to create higher quality meals that meet their food values and business needs
- (45:07) What the opening process was like for Mamahuhu, both before and through the Covid-19 pandemic
- (50:50) When they knew the business was going to work
- (52:03) Where Mamahuhu is today, and their future goals
- (53:58) The criteria they use to choose new neighborhoods for potential expansion
Ben Moore is a Partner and Co-Founder of Mamahuhu, a fast casual Chinese American restaurant concept that puts a modern spin on classic Chinese American favorites. In this interview Ben shares the story of how he fell in love with Chinese culture after living in Shanghai, was ultimately inspired to modernize Chinese American cuisine back in the States, then teamed up with a dream culinary partner in Brandon Jew, owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco.
––
Where to find Mamahuhu:
- Website: https://www.eatmamahuhu.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatmamahuhu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatmamahuhu/
––
Where to find Ben:
––
Where to find Bryan:
- Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
- Twitter: @btublin
––
Where to find Kitava:
- Website: https://www.kitava.com/
- Instagram: @kitavakitchen
––
Referenced:
––
In this episode, we cover:
- (01:54) Ben’s early introduction to Chinese culture
- (03:25) What Ben was attracted to in the culture of Shanghai
- (04:40) Meeting his first business partner and the early seeds of the idea that became Mamahuhu
- (07:25) Ben’s two-pronged interest in food
- (10:38) Why Ben and sought out a culinary partner for Mamahuhu
- (12:00) Meeting Brandon Jew for the first time
- (14:20) How they funded Mamahuhu
- (16:48) Setting up their business structure
- (18:38) Figuring out how to divide up ownership among the co-founders
- (22:45) Coming up with the menu for Mamahuhu
- (23:50) Testing one of their early ideas as a digital pop-up through Caviar
- (29:59) The inspiration behind creating a modern take on Chinese American cuisine
- (34:09) Mamahuhu’s food values
- (39:02) Using simpler ingredients to create higher quality meals that meet their food values and business needs
- (45:07) What the opening process was like for Mamahuhu, both before and through the Covid-19 pandemic
- (50:50) When they knew the business was going to work
- (52:03) Where Mamahuhu is today, and their future goals
- (53:58) The criteria they use to choose new neighborhoods for potential expansion
Previous Episode
02: How to Save Your Restaurant From the Brink of Failure | Laurie Thomas, Rose's Cafe, Terzo, GGRA
Laurie Thomas is the Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, and the Owner of Rose’s Café and Terzo in San Francisco. In this interview Laurie shares her journey from working in marketing for a tech company in Silicon Valley to becoming an investor in a restaurant group in San Francisco, and ultimately transitioning to running the business full-time as she was tasked with turning the company around from the brink of failure.
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Where to find Laurie Thomas:
- Website: https://ggra.org/, https://rosescafesf.com/, https://terzosf.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ggrasf/?hl=en, https://www.instagram.com/rosescafesf/, https://www.instagram.com/terzosf/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggrasf, https://twitter.com/rosescafesf, https://twitter.com/TerzoSF
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/287952471075, https://www.facebook.com/rosescafesf/, https://www.facebook.com/terzosf
––
Where to find Laurie:
––
Where to find Bryan:
- Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
- Twitter: @btublin
––
Where to find Kitava:
- Website: https://www.kitava.com/
- Instagram: @kitavakitchen
––
Referenced:
––
In this episode, we cover:
- (01:40) How Laurie first got involved in restaurants as an investor
- (04:53) The structure of Laurie’s first restaurant investment in Rose Pistola in 1995
- (5:44) How Laurie and her partners incorporated their company, Nice Ventures
- (06:46) How investors such as Laurie received distribution payments from their investment
- (09:16) Laurie’s journey from working in tech to restaurant operations
- (10:12) When Nice Ventures began expanding beyond Rose Pistola, “a little too fast” according to Laurie
- (11:17) The beginning of the collapse of Nice Ventures’ businesses
- (12:30) When “the music stopped” and Laurie’s company had to file a pre-emptive Chapter 11
- (14:25) The benefits of Chapter 11 for a struggling business
- (16:45) The risks of growing too fast, and the importance of knowing how you’re going to fund each expansion
- (18:15) What to do after filing Chapter 11 in order to clean up the business and rebuild
- (21:30) When Laurie got the business back on solid footing again
- (22:58) The decision to expand again to open Terzo across the street from Rose’s Cafe
- (24:08) The concept of Terzo, and the ga
Next Episode
04: Building a Restaurant to Fit Your Lifestyle | Mat Schuster, Canela
Mat Schuster is the Chef and Owner of Canela Bistro & Wine Bar, a Spanish restaurant in San Francisco specializing in ingredients and dishes from Spain and California. Mat also serves as the President of the Board for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, and generously lends his talents to helping restaurants succeed in the Bay Area. In this interview Mat shares how he became interested in becoming a chef and restaurant owner, menu tweaks he made based on customer feedback, and his thoughts on building a restaurant to fit the lifestyle you want for yourself.
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Where to find Canela:
- Website: https://canelasf.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canelasf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanelaSF/
––
Where to find Mat:
––
Where to find Bryan:
- Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
- Twitter: @btublin
––
Where to find Kitava:
- Website: https://www.kitava.com/
- Instagram: @kitavakitchen
––
Referenced:
––
In this episode, we cover:
- (04:28) Where Mat was in his life prior to starting Canela
- (08:36) How he developed the dream to open a restaurant
- (10:27) The initial concept for Canela
- (12:55) Using early customer feedback to inform menu changes
- (14:58) Canela’s opening story
- (16:34) Finding the right location and funding the restaurant
- (17:45) Paying yourself as a business owner while putting money back into the business
- (19:19) The importance of hiring experts that have experience working with restaurants who will save you money long-term (interior designers, CPAs, etc.)
- (23:48) Developing an initial menu, and when to make changes vs. stick to your guns
- (29:40) When he knew the restaurant was going to be sustainably profitable
- (30:10) The misconception that restaurant owners walk around with big pockets; “most of my time is spent making money for other people”
- (30:43) The challenges and tradeoffs of operating a restaurant as a small business owner
- (33:03) How Mat’s role in the restaurant has changed over time
- (37:43) The future for Mat and Canela
- (44:43) Mat’s process for organizing his work each day
- (45:31) Ways to get things done: Either you do them, you hire someone else to do them, or you decide they’re not important (“do, delegate, or deprioritize”)
- (47:11) What Mat does to take care of himself
- (54:37) “At some point you have to jump in the pool”
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