20: Creating a Civic Gathering Space | Manny Yekutiel, Manny’s

05/10/23 • 38 min

“The least understood thing about opening a public facing business is the feeling of it, the emotional journey you have to go on”
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Manny Yekutiel is the owner of Manny’s, a civic and political event space with a bookshop, coffee shop, bar, and restaurant, located in San Francisco.
As you’ll quickly find out, Manny is not your traditional business owner, and this is far from a traditional interview. Having worked in the world of fundraising for political campaigns, Manny is charismatic and persuasive, with a knack for convincing people to go along with his ideas... like asking me to take my shirt off during the interview – you’ll have to listen on to find out what happens there.
After burning out from his career in politics, Manny set out to use his skills to create a gathering space for the civic-minded, using food and drink as the great equalizer to bring people together.
We discuss his journey to make a reality out of his vision, touching on topics like his unconventional approach to fundraising, the business’s four primary revenue streams, the pros and cons of partnering with a culinary nonprofit to run the kitchen early on, loneliness as the number one hurdle he had to overcome, and the least understood aspect of opening a brick-and-mortar business.
Please enjoy this fun, quirky, and informative interview with Manny Yekutiel.

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Where to find Manny’s:

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Where to find Manny:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manny-yekutiel-2523b843/
IG: @emanuelseth
FB: https://www.facebook.com/emanuel.seth.9
Twitter: @manny_yekutiel

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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:

Manny’s path from political campaign fundraiser to opening a restaurant & event space
How getting one investor to commit early helped him raise all the money he needed, and how he would have structured the investment differently
Manny’s four revenue streams
Why Manny purposely doesn’t maximize revenue
How partnering with a culinary nonprofit helped Manny get the space up and running
Loneliness as the top hurdle Manny had to overcome after opening
The least understood aspect of opening a brick-and-mortar business
How Manny’s role in the business has changed
On The Fly Segment

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Where to find Manny’s:

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Where to find Manny:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manny-yekutiel-2523b843/
IG: @emanuelseth
FB: https://www.facebook.com/emanuel.seth.9
Twitter: @manny_yekutiel

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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:

Manny’s path from political campaign fundraiser to opening a restaurant & event space
How getting one investor to commit early helped him raise all the money he needed, and how he would have structured the investment differently
Manny’s four revenue streams
Why Manny purposely doesn’t maximize revenue
How partnering with a culinary nonprofit helped Manny get the space up and running
Loneliness as the top hurdle Manny had to overcome after opening
The least understood aspect of opening a brick-and-mortar business
How Manny’s role in the business has changed
On The Fly Segment

Previous 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.”
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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

Next Episode

21: From Pop-ups to Pizza Trendsetter | Marc Schechter, Square Pie Guys

“Lean into your network, don’t be afraid to grow it, and don’t be afraid to ask people for help and reach out to people who have done it before. You never know what you’ll get back, you just have to ask.”
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Marc Schechter is the Co-Founder of Square Pie Guys, a Detroit style fast casual pizza chain based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
With three locations between San Francisco and Oakland, Marc has grown Square Pie Guys into a trendsetting brand inspiring square pizza concepts nationwide.
I sit down with Marc in person to discuss:
- His early love for pizza
- How standup comedy gave him the skills to market & promote events
- Where the idea for focusing on Detroit style pizza came from
- How Marc raised money, and lessons learned from their first two buildouts
- The story behind negotiating their exclusive rev share deal with Caviar
- SPG’s approach to marketing, promotions, and celebrity collabs
and much more, including stories about celebrities Jim Gaffigan and Jeremy Lin.
Please enjoy my conversation with Marc Schechter of Square Pie Guys!
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Where to find Square Pie Guys: