18: Saved by a Second Location | Todd Parent, Extreme Pizza

04/25/23 • 68 min

“Whatever you think it’s gonna cost double it, whatever you think you need for working capital triple”

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This week’s guest is Todd Parent, Co-Founder & CEO of Extreme Pizza, a Bay Area-born chain with over 30 locations from coast to coast.
Todd had a unique journey to restaurant ownership, starting in the dish pit of a friend’s restaurant in New Jersey, honing his management skills in Aspen, then eventually making his way to San Francisco, where he was encouraged to chase his entrepreneurial dreams by the founder of Noah’s Bagels.
After launching the first Extreme Pizza in 1994, Todd admits he made every mistake imaginable. He had the wrong business model, a poor location, was under capitalized, and had to navigate a nasty breakup with his original co-founder. We discuss how he overcame these challenges, what he learned from them, and how he would do things differently if he were starting Extreme Pizza in 2023.
Big props to Todd for being honest and vulnerable as he shared his journey, and not sugar coating anything for anyone looking to get into the restaurant industry.
Please enjoy my conversation with Todd Parent of Extreme Pizza!
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Where to find Extreme Pizza:

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Where to find Todd:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-parent-0875691/

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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In this episode, we cover:

Life before Extreme Pizza
Todd’s first restaurant job washing dishes, to managing 3 restaurants
Gaining more restaurant chops in Aspen
How working at Noah’s Bagels nudged him to start his own restaurant
The genesis of Extreme Pizza as a concept
The first steps Todd took to start Extreme Pizza
Raising money through a private placement offering
Everything that went wrong with his first location and early business plan
Dealing with co-founder conflict and how he resolved it
How location #2 got their name on the map
Rebounding from a rocky start to opening up multiple units
Why it took 4 locations before deciding how to grow
The infrastructure needed to manage a multi-state franchise operation
How Todd would start Extreme Pizza in 2023
Keeping the business fun with “Customer Abuse Day”
On The Fly Segment

“Whatever you think it’s gonna cost double it, whatever you think you need for working capital triple”

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Where to find Todd:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-parent-0875691/

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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In this episode, we cover:

Life before Extreme Pizza
Todd’s first restaurant job washing dishes, to managing 3 restaurants
Gaining more restaurant chops in Aspen
How working at Noah’s Bagels nudged him to start his own restaurant
The genesis of Extreme Pizza as a concept
The first steps Todd took to start Extreme Pizza
Raising money through a private placement offering
Everything that went wrong with his first location and early business plan
Dealing with co-founder conflict and how he resolved it
How location #2 got their name on the map
Rebounding from a rocky start to opening up multiple units
Why it took 4 locations before deciding how to grow
The infrastructure needed to manage a multi-state franchise operation
How Todd would start Extreme Pizza in 2023
Keeping the business fun with “Customer Abuse Day”
On The Fly Segment

Previous Episode

17: The Restaurant Lease Episode | Roberta Economidis, GE Law Group

“At some point you have to say, ‘I’m not going to make a bad business decision to get my dream space.’”
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Today our guest is Roberta Economidis, co-founder and partner of Georgopoulos & Economidis, a boutique business law firm based in San Francisco, with a specialty in the hospitality industry. Roberta has helped restaurants and hospitality businesses throughout California and the US with everything from corporate structure, to lease negotiations, private equity offerings, licensing, permitting, and much more.
The focus of our conversation today is the restaurant lease, a VERY important topic for anyone looking to open a restaurant, whether it’s their first or 51st. Signing a favorable lease can make the difference between a successful or unsuccessful restaurant business.
Roberta helps demystify the restaurant lease, covering topics like:
- What the typical lease negotiation process looks like
- The purpose of an LOI
- Breaking down different types of restaurant leases
- Important clauses to consider, and
- Tips for how to negotiate favorable lease terms
Get your notepad ready, cuz the information you’re about to hear would normally cost a pretty penny in legal fees!
Please enjoy my chat about restaurant leases with Roberta Economidis.
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Where to find GE Law Group:

Website: www.gelawgroup.com
Twitter: @GroupGe

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Where to find Roberta:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberta-economidis-495177/

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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In this episode, we cover:

(01:44) Roberta’s background & credentials working with restaurants
(0:2:48) When to get an attorney involved in lease negotiations
(03:39) The purpose of a Letter of Intent (LOI)
(08:15) How to negotiate alongside competing offers
(10:59) What happens after a lease is signed?
(11:55) The different types of restaurant leases – gross rent, triple net, and % rent
(16:13) Factors to consider with % rent deals, calculating break points, and when % rent makes sense
(20:54) Roberta’s preferred lease structure – gross rent with fixed increases
(23:30) The structure of a typical lease, and important clauses to consider
(25:07) How to negotiate out of a personal guaranty
(27:29) Tips for negotiating favorable terms
(30:30) How to close on a lease when you don’t have funding yet
(32:16) The biggest mistake she sees restaurant owners make when negotiating a lease
(36:19) The importance of understanding your maintenance obligations
(38:52) Recent lease negotiation success stories
(42:10) Mechanics of taking over a space with an existing lease
(46:20) Roberta’s biggest piece of advice for restaurant owners negotiating a lease
(47:32) On The Fly Segment

Next Episode

19: Tackling Climate Change Through Food Waste | David Murphy & Kayla Abe, Shuggie’s

“Don’t pick the cheapest person, don’t pick the person who says they’re going to do it fast... pick the person that is the most responsible.”
—
In this episode we’re joined by David Murphy & Kayla Abe, co-owners of Shuggie’s Trash Pie & Natural Wine, a climate solutions restaurant highlighting upcycled ingredients, where they take all kinds of things left over from the food system and make them the stars of the menu.
Shuggie’s is the new hotness of the San Francisco food scene and beyond, having been featured in the SF Chronicle, NY Times, Eater National, and Esquire, who named them one of the Best New Restaurants in America in 2022.
Chef David and Kayla have created a fun, colorful, and lighthearted dining experience to tackle the problem of climate change. By using food waste products, upcycled ingredients, and natural wine to create a truly unique dining experience, they’re making it trendy and craveworthy to put food dollars to good use.
In this conversation we dive deep into what it took for David & Kayla to open Shuggie’s. We cover topics such as how they funded the business (and the challenges of using Kickstarter), finding a location without a real estate broker, mistakes made during the build-out process (like getting ripped off to the tune of $38k by a bad contractor), and much more.
Please enjoy my conversation with Chef David Murphy & Kayla Abe of Shuggie's.
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Where to find Shuggie’s:

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Where to find David & Kayla:

Kayla’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylaabe/
David’s IG: @doublefastdave

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

In this episode, we cover:

How Dave & Kayla went from selling “ugly pickles” to opening a restaurant centered around upcycled food ingredients
Why pizza was the perfect vehicle to transform a somber topic (food waste) into something light and fun
Using a unique and flexible brand style as an advantage to differentiate
Hard lessons learned from searching for a location without a real estate broker
“The space dictates a lot of what you can do”
The challenges of raising money through Kickstarter, and how they raised the rest of their seed capital
Getting $38k stolen from them by a bad contractor
How they structured their concept to enable a good quality of life for themselves and their staff
The downsides of brunch service
Why 7-day/week service actually allows for more staffing flexibility
On The Fly Segment
Plans for a future restaurant
Where the name “Shuggie's” came from