Fostering community and belonging in the restaurant biz | Ellen Yin, Founder of High Street Hospitality | 049

Great teams make great restaurants. On The Pre-Shift, restaurant operators and industry experts dive into building great restaurant teams. We explore their stories, their strategies, and valuable lessons on running restaurant teams. Hosted by D.J. Costantino. Presented by 7shifts.

In this episode of the Pre-Shift Podcast, host DJ Costantino talks with Ellen Yin, founder and co-owner of High Street Hospitality Group. Ellen shares her journey from a high school summer job to running celebrated dining establishments. The discussion focuses on the importance of building a strong sense of community and belonging within her restaurants. Ellen emphasizes the significance of respecting and empowering employees and effective recruitment, training, and career development strategies. She also highlights the challenges and successes in maintaining a consistent and supportive team culture across multiple restaurant concepts.

00:00 Introduction to the Pre-Shift Podcast

00:14 Meet Ellen Yin: Founder of High Street Hospitality

01:14 Ellen's Journey into the Restaurant Industry

04:43 The Success and Longevity of Fork

06:55 Building a Strong Team Culture

14:00 Recruitment and Career Development Strategies

22:08 Challenges and Overcoming Obstacles

26:40 Future Goals and Exciting Developments

29:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Transcript

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[00:00:00] DJ Costantino: Hello, and welcome to the pre shipped podcast, the show featuring real restaurant people, real stories, and real advice to build high performing teams. I'm DJ Costantino, and I'll be your host today on the show. I'm joined by Ellen Yen. 

[00:00:16] Ellen Yin]: Ellen Yen. Founder and co owner of High Street Hospitality. 

[00:00:22] DJ Costantino: Ellen Yin is the founder and co owner of High Street Hospitality Group, which operates some of the country's most celebrated dining establishments, including A Kitchen and Bar, Fork, High Street Restaurant and Bakery, High Street Hoagies, and the Wonton Project in Philadelphia.

Yin is a graduate of the Wharton School and was honored with the Philadelphia Business Journal's Women of Distinction Award in 2020. In 2023, she was awarded Outstanding Restauranteur by the James Beard Foundation. On today's episode, we discuss the importance of cultivating a sense of belonging, community, and a strong team culture within her restaurants.

Ellen discusses strategies for employee recruitment, training, and career development, emphasizing the need [00:01:00] for professional respect and empowerment. Just a reminder, if you enjoy the show, please be sure to follow us and sign up for our newsletter, The Food Runner, to get all the latest episodes and so much more.

Without further ado, here's my chat with Ellen.

You know, you can't have as long and successful careers you've had without loving this industry and loving hospitality. Uh, so I'm curious what initially drew you to the industry and, and more importantly made you want to stick around in the industry. 

[00:01:26] Ellen Yin]: Yeah. Well, I mean, like many people in this industry, I started out when I was in high school and for me it was, you know, a summer job at first and I fell in love with it.

And I worked at first in a little, um, Mongolian barbecue restaurant, um, that was maybe like a mile away from my house. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I think I just got lazy and decided I want to work in a restaurant closer to home. And there was a French restaurant around the corner from my house. And [00:02:00] so I started busing there.

I didn't, I didn't know anything about fine dining, like at home we used chopsticks. I, I felt very intimidated when I walked in the door. But there was something about that group of people that made me feel like I belonged. And I didn't, I didn't have that in high school. Like we're up in that. Merely non Asian where I was one of the few Asians in our high school.

And we moved there in sixth grade. So I already had enough things going on in my life where it maybe didn't feel a hundred percent, like I belonged with the other kids in my class. So when I found this restaurant and everybody there made me feel welcome and part of the team, I just fell in love with it.

And also I think, you know, I always had, my, my mother was an entertainer and she. With road dinner parties and I always enjoyed serving people. Um, and so I always had that in my blood, but [00:03:00] also I'm a little bit of a, um, black sheep in the family. All my family members are scientists or engineers. And so I have this kind of streak of creativity and not wanting to be like everybody else where I feel like the restaurant is almost a film.

And And it's about everything that you're doing to make people feel like they belong in your concept and that your concept is fulfilled. So that might be the visual, how the restaurant is designed, how you feel in the space, whether you feel comfortable, what the food looks like, what the service looks like.

And I just think that that is a really exciting career and that's what's kept me in the business for so long. Besides the fact that the people. Are incredible. 

[00:03:50] DJ Costantino: Absolutely. Um, did you ever think about getting out of the industry or you've been, uh, a hundred percent this whole time? 

[00:03:57] Ellen Yin]: Well, I have a little bit of a different path to owning a [00:04:00] restaurant.

Um, I, um, worked in restaurants through college, always loved it. But after college, I think I was, um, faced with the reality that, um, that if I wanted to own a restaurant that I would need to save a significant amount of money and And, you know, I needed to kind of explore, my parents were not very verging of me opening a restaurant at 23 after spending so much money on college.

So I worked in advertising, I worked in fundraising. I also worked, um, in healthcare and I just kept coming back to it as the thing that made me feel the most complete and the most satisfied. 

[00:04:43] DJ Costantino: So starting that restaurant, uh, you recently celebrated Fork, uh, Fork, the first and flagship restaurant of the group's 25th anniversary.

Um, what do you credit the longevity to? Is it that sense of belonging? 

[00:04:56] Ellen Yin]: I think it's that sense of belonging, but also, [00:05:00] um, it's a concept that, um, that maybe was considered innovative when we purchased open, but I think it is accessible and relatable to a lot of people and. Um, you know, there's a lot of factors that make a restaurant successful from location, concept, um, team, of course, I've had this incredible team, thousands for, you know, um, over 10 years, I think that the pandemic was a little bit of a, what a kind of glitch in that, but, um, generally speaking, um, the restaurants longevity, I think is due to it being, um, constantly evolving and constantly, you know, Um, just moving toward what people, um, feel is, is not trendy, but classic.

[00:05:56] DJ Costantino: So just trying to maintain that, that sense of, um, [00:06:00] yeah, I, I guess it gets lumped in with those, those classic restaurants in America. Um, I know you guys received some of those awards. in the past. So, um, just trying to keep that level of, um, belonging and just keeping it current, but also remembering, I guess, what, um, what drew you to it in the first place?

[00:06:22] Ellen Yin]: Yeah. And I think it's about community because of course, um, there is the community of guests who, you know, so many people have celebrated important occasions at our place and also have met Friends and husbands, wives, you know, best friends at the bar, um, in our customer base, um, and it feels like a place where people can connect.

And, um, our team members feel the same way. 

[00:06:55] DJ Costantino: So getting into that kind of connection and that belonging that you felt, um, [00:07:00] early in your career that drew you to the industry, um, of course you mentioned the team being a core tenant of that success, um, both with Fork and the rest of the restaurants in the group.

Um, So I want to talk a little bit about the culture of work. Like what does it mean, um, for an employee to work at high street group? And, um, what kind of, what are some of the core tenants of, of the employee experience that you've tried to build? 

[00:07:23] Ellen Yin]: Right. Well, I think in the beginning, because my background wasn't restaurant management, I never managed a restaurant.

Um, I did think that that was actually in my favor because it was the It's easier to build a team because we needed to have people contributing and having their voices heard and all these things that. Um, that, um, when you don't know what you're doing, you need the support of all the people around you.

And in exchange, you need to be able to provide something back for them. Um, and I know that sounds very transactional, but, um, [00:08:00] at the very beginning, um, when, you know, a restaurant is trying to come together, the glue is that everybody kind of feels this vision, a mission, um, of making this restaurant a success.

Um, maybe it hasn't been fully defined or matured what the vision is going to be, but as a very beginning, at a minimum, everybody came together because they wanted to make this, this beautiful restaurant a success. And all along, I think that that has been something that, um, that I feel is that, um, my team members are my, they are the people, um, I need to make sure that they are, um, Um, happy that they're succeeding.

So everybody has kind of a, a customer, whether it's an internal customer or an external customer. And for me, my team members are the people that, that I need to make the most happy in addition to of course, customers and, and whatnot. [00:09:00] And so from the beginning, I think making sure that they felt their voices were heard in terms of being part of decision making, empowering them and pushing any decision that could be made by.

the person closest to the customer. So for example, um, uh, uh, somebody doesn't like something. I empower my team to make a decision. You don't have to go to a manager right away. You feel that you can solve the problem, um, you know, solve the problem and then you can bring that to a manager. Um, so, um, um, making sure that they felt empowered, making sure they felt professional.

So for me, um, when we first opened, many servers told me that they didn't feel respected by their restaurant owner. And so it was really important to me that, A, that they feel financially secure, that they felt respected as [00:10:00] professionals. And so, um, benefits and, um, you know, um, uh, empowerment really For me are kind of rewards of professionalism and so, um, that has been an important tenant of our restaurant and then community has really been part of our restaurant group.

So, you know, we do a lot for the to participate in the community. Um, when fork opened, we were involved with, um, C cap and other organizations. And of course, our original mission of supporting local agriculture and the local economy has. Has been a through line throughout our entire existence. And so, you know, what we, what we try to do is to make sure that we are participating in our local community, whether it be volunteer work.

Um, you know, bringing in kids from, you know, other center city schools, whatever it was, was always trying to [00:11:00] build this sense of community. So that eventually evolved into the tenants of high street hospitality group, which includes collaboration. Um, you know, I think that, um, you know, when we talk about the menu, it's important to have feedback from all different departments, not just, you know, the culinary side of things, Um, collaboration on teams.

So we have a very team driven model of service so, um, uh, that we can, um, make sure that our customer is most supported and then, um, uh, uh, uh, creativity, of course, we want to be creative, not just in the sense of being creative with food, but we want to be creative as, as, um, Uh, you know, service members as business people and, um, be able to solve problems.

And, um, and then finally, um, the team is the [00:12:00] most important. And so our philosophy is that our general managers, chefs and servers and. Bartenders and cooks are kind of the center of the sun and everybody else is there to kind of support. So those are kind of what we, um, profess to be who we are. And then how do we, how do we create an employee experience?

Starts with, um, proper recruiting and making sure that we spend enough time to really understand what people are wanting out of their, um, employment But then we have a very, um, uh, uh, important, um, onboarding process, which is that all new employees join a orientation slash onboarding meeting where we explain who we are, you know, how that is exemplified by our day to day work.

And, um, [00:13:00] you know, how they can grow their career within our organization. 

[00:13:05] DJ Costantino: It's a lot of, uh, great stuff. Um, I think what I'm, I'm drawn to initially, and I do want to get into some of the tactics as well, but, um, it seems like a lot of the success in, in building the team and communities looking beyond the four walls of the restaurant and saying like the people that work here, this isn't just inside of, um, of this building, it's part of something larger and it's a part of involving.

Um, a lot more than just the people that work in, in the business. 

[00:13:30] Ellen Yin]: Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, everybody has a life outside of work and people have things that are important to them, whether they're artists, mothers, fathers, um, have other commitments to other organizations in their life. Um, you know, we try to incorporate those into what we also do, but we also have our items, our groups that we're committed to and try to make sure that the people who are coming in feel that those things are also important.[00:14:00] 

[00:14:00] DJ Costantino: And when it comes to recruiting, um, what is kind of your, what is your philosophy on that? And, and what kind of people do you look for, um, to, to attract to the business? 

[00:14:12] Ellen Yin]: Uh, well, the, um. Employee, um, uh, recruiting process has definitely changed over 25 years. I mean, I remember, um, you know, when people would just come to you with their resumes and we would have, you know, thousands of resumes that we would be, you know, um, collecting and we might go back to them, you know, a few weeks later and say, Hey, you know, if you'd like to come in and, um, stage with us, we'll come in for an interview.

But, um, I think that right now, what we're doing is, um, making sure that our, um, posts tell a story about who we are and what we're looking for and the values that we're trying to, um, uh, [00:15:00] maintain and, and develop, um, but also the things that we can offer to team members, such as insurance, 401k, all those kinds of employee benefit things.

But also that we're committed to, um, more career development as well. And we've had to change our strategy after the pandemic to look in places where we might not have traditionally looked. So, you know, um, it used to be Craigslist, maybe now it's culinary agents. Maybe, um, it used to be CIA. Maybe it's now many different other types of, um, um, school programs.

Um, one thing I'm really interested in is, um, you know, our city has so many workforce development programs and unfortunately we have not had great success with them, but how do we figure out the gap between where they graduate [00:16:00] and where we need them to be when they first start and make that part of the orientation and onboarding process, make that part of like, you know, You know, high street hospice, high street hospitality boot camp or something like that, where we're really bridging the gap so that we can create a more diverse workforce that has more depth than, um, you know, just the people that we're always used to bringing.

[00:16:25] DJ Costantino: Yeah, absolutely. And, and, you know, we just, we did a survey, uh, recently and had a report talking about employee preferences and what they're looking for in career development was one of those huge. Um, huge things that people want and people want this to be a career. Um, I think like you mentioned, the pandemic may have allowed the people that were in it, um, and not really loving it or, or, you know, wanted to do something different with their lives, uh, kind of a way out.

Um, but the people that stuck around and the people that are still. Um, looking to work in the business, want that career development. So, um, beyond kind of that bootcamp, [00:17:00] um, how do you approach developing people, developing people in the business? Um, kind of what are those career paths look like, um, and opportunities for kind of internal growth?

[00:17:11] Ellen Yin]: Well, it starts with understanding, um, individual person. No one employee or team member is the same as anybody else, and people have different skill sets, and you really have to take the time. So we do have a lot of team members. Um, check ins. Um, so in addition to kind of having a baseline when the person starts, of course, as you're exposed to more, you might, you know, maybe you never thought that you wanted to be a chef, but suddenly after being a server or being an expediter, you suddenly feel this interest sparking in you.

Um, you know, we're going to try to figure out how to ignite that and, um, try to create opportunities for you that would enable you to see if that's really what you truly want or [00:18:00] not. And, um, uh, I think that comes from understanding what each team member is looking for and how we can potentially provide it.

I don't think that there's any one pathway that is the same for everybody, but we do have programs that we're, um, trying to see, um, uh, how that can work. So first of course, having Um, employee training for each basic job, the outline clear, accountable and measurable. Um, secondly, um, you know, trying some new things like, um, the National Restaurant Association has a new training apprenticeship program.

So we're trying that. So if somebody says they want to become a more proficient kitchen manager, they could take that, um, and we can provide access to that. Um, also, um, management training, I think. It's really important because to go from being [00:19:00] a line cook to a sous chef, sometimes people just like say, Oh, great, you're promoted.

You're going to be a sous chef. And what that job really entails isn't really quite clear. And so, you know, trying to get people to understand that, um, you know, we want you to be understanding what the job is before you get promoted into it. So then, then you can kind of hit the ground. Um, running versus kind of trying to figure it out during your initial phase, which might also not make it great for you in terms of your teams.

So, you know, I think that's a really, um, interesting one. And the one that we've been trying to develop training for. 

[00:19:42] DJ Costantino: Sure. Yeah, so not like one set set path of, you know, uh, if you do X, you become a shift leader. And if you do Y, you become a senior manager or whatever it may be. I'm curious. Do you, do you have a lot of, um, folks, uh, jumping around between the concepts that, you know, you have, you know, Of course, more of the [00:20:00] fine dining concepts, the A kitchen and fork, and then, um, you know, high street bakery and hoagies and, and one time project.

Um, you know, do you kind of cross pollinate? 

[00:20:10] Ellen Yin]: Absolutely. Uh, we love cross pollinate. Um, one thing is especially if you are, um, if you are in the management track, sometimes it's easier to manage people in a place where you haven't been. Co workers with them. And so sometimes that works out really nicely. Um, um, other times the fit might not be good or somebody has a still set that we feel like could be developed and would be a great fit for, um, work because they're really interested in wine, you know, I mean, like we do try to, we do definitely try to cross pollinate.

[00:20:47] DJ Costantino: Cool. Um, yeah, I'm always curious, uh, you know, if you find that, uh, it's more rigid or, or that kind of, and I, I guess having so many varied concepts allows for a lot of different types of growth and, [00:21:00] and, um, an interest to, to blossom. 

[00:21:02] Ellen Yin]: Well, one thing for sure is that, um, sometimes. Um, having people cross pollinate also helps us ensure that our culture is, um, what's the word?

Um, MZ, um, uh, also cross pollinated and that, um, that people, you know, for example, we're opening a new concept in Washington DC called, um, a kitchen and bar DC. We are having team members from our other concepts participate there to ensure that we inoculate That culture into the new location and make sure that we're continuing to build that same culture, of course, keeping in mind that, you know, it's a different geography.

It's a different place. People are going to bring their ideas in as well. But, you know, that that core group is really important because they know what the standards are that are expected. They also know what the cultural [00:22:00] standards are. And, you know, we want to make sure that, um, you know, any new project that we have.

It's consistent. 

[00:22:07] DJ Costantino: Yeah, absolutely. That, that consistency is so key and keeping the culture, um, just fresh and, and, and evolving, um, what have been some of the biggest challenges you've had in building a consistent and, um, you know, effective culture and fostering that belonging, um, and you know, how have you overcome them?

[00:22:27] Ellen Yin]: Uh, well, um, one thing that I learned was that if you have only one restaurant, it's great that you can, you can have a great culture, of course, but But, um, to provide career opportunities is really a much more challenging thing. So, um, for example, for the first 15, you know, 10 years of work, um, I think I had three chefs all in.

And at one point I realized, I'm like, if I don't start thinking about how I'm going to grow, I'm going to just be rotating, looking for that same person all [00:23:00] along. And especially because I'm not a chef. Also, I think that sometimes if you have one person who. Maybe to be considered toxic and you don't fire them in or let change that situation in a timely manner, it can really, um, devastate your culture and that kind of a setback.

Um, and, you know, I also think that, you know, we're also just restauranteurs and team leaders are human beings as well. And if they're not well rested and not well, Um, you know, nourish themselves that it can be really hard to, um, you know, maintain that, um, that culture because you need stamina, you need grit, you need all those things to, um, make it for the long haul.

Um, but, um, you know, you also have to give yourself a break and be able to be refreshed and, you know, Um, look at things with a clean [00:24:00] perspective. 

[00:24:01] DJ Costantino: Absolutely. And that just comes down to scheduling and workload management, uh, I presume. 

[00:24:07] Ellen Yin]: Yeah, and everybody's mental health. I mean, like, you know, if you don't take time off or you don't try to, you know, keep your personal life full and, um, you know, um, make time for yourself, uh, it can be really easy to experience burnout.

[00:24:26] DJ Costantino: Yeah, we just a couple episodes ago talked about burnout and how it's different for restaurants. And, um, it's very real and affects, you know, like eight out of 10 people, um, in the, in the business. And I think it's just a testament to the hard work people do, but also how difficult this, uh, this work, uh, tends to be when you kind of take a look back and see everything going and, you know, multiple restaurants and.

Um, so many things going on, how do you know that things are working? Well, um, like, why do you, do you, are you able to kind of say like, you know, this is, this is working and, um, you [00:25:00] know, we're doing, we're, we're, we're doing as, as well as we can do. And how do you know that, uh, that is working? 

[00:25:07] Ellen Yin]: Three metrics, I guess.

One is of course, retention, because when people are not changing jobs and leaving your organization constantly, that means that something is working well because they're happy. They are meeting their personal financial goals. They are meeting their personal career development goals. Um, they are feeling like they belong to the organization.

Uh, so definitely, um, employee retention is really important. Um, of course, another metric is that we have to be making money because Um, you know, if we're not making money and we're not reinvesting into the business, we're not evolving and we're not, um, we're not succeeding and ultimately, you know, that you need that to, um, you know, keep everything working.

And then I think that, um, generally, um, uh, [00:26:00] um, you know, um, positive, positive guest feedback, um, which is a little bit more subjective, but, um, you know, um, when. Um, or, uh, you know, I don't take rankings or ratings that seriously, but like, you know, it's nice to look at OpenTable on fork and see 4. 7, 4. 8. Um, because that means that the whole system is working really well together.

[00:26:28] DJ Costantino: But all of those things kind of in concert, because if, if there was. Not a lot of, you know, if retention takes a hit, but you still have those high ratings, it may be, you know, not the, not the best situation. 

[00:26:39] Ellen Yin]: Right. Exactly. 

[00:26:40] DJ Costantino: Awesome. And then just to kind of close out with, like I said, before hitting that 25 year mark, and, um, you know, if someone's looking to build with longevity, um, they don't want to just do this, you know, they want to build businesses that are good for their teams and, um, and have that, uh, those long lifespans, uh, what's something you kind of at this [00:27:00] point would have told yourself.

Uh, back in 97, when you opened that you could have used that advice then? 

[00:27:05] Ellen Yin]: Well, um, I was just, um, at, um, FAD in Charleston and I was on a panel with Martha Thuver, who is a restauranteur in Indianapolis, who has a restaurant 35 years. And she was saying how important it is to feature for your rest and to be thinking for the future.

And, you know, I'll be honest. I didn't do that in 1997. I was just thinking, can I be open one, one year and then by the open five years and then next thing you know, I'm just like on this road, which I didn't even really know where I was going or what I was doing, but to kind of write down what your goal is.

And to think about how you're going to get there and, of course, revisit it often because we all change over time. Um, you might think that you want to be a, um, multi restaurant operator, but maybe [00:28:00] after three years of doing it as a solo entrepreneur, maybe you decide that that's not what you want to do.

So I think thinking about the future, um, writing down those goals, revisiting them and just keeping your to do list, as many people say, making sure you allow time to work on your business, not just work in your business, um, is a, um, really good suggestion. 

[00:28:26] DJ Costantino: A couple, um, was talking to a restaurateur, uh, and he said there's a big difference between running a restaurant and operating a business.

The two very different things. . Um, awesome. Um, so lastly, just, uh, you know, an a kitchen coming in, in dc um, anything else exciting happening, uh, with the group this, uh, this year on uh, coming up? 

[00:28:45] Ellen Yin]: Well, we um, we just reopened High Street, um, and um, I dunno if you knew or not, but we had to relocate during the pandemic and.

Um, convert from a eat in restaurant to a [00:29:00] take out restaurant. We didn't have any dining room until just this past October. So we've been working really hard at that. We just opened a brand new private dining room, which was also part of our relocation. So we have a brand new private dining room, um, replacing the one that we had at Fort.

And then we also, um, have this gorgeous, um, lobby bar that we're hoping to turn into, um, something really special, but we've been renovating that, and it's going to be one of those places where the room is just so spectacular that you, you want to have, like, a nice, heavy, uh, You know, drank with it and maybe some snaps.

So we're working on that as well. 

[00:29:44] DJ Costantino: Is it still, uh, it's high street still on market or is it, is it off? 

[00:29:47] Ellen Yin]: It's on, um, ninth and chest actually. 

[00:29:50] DJ Costantino: Just high street on high street on market anymore. 

[00:29:52] Ellen Yin]: Just high. 

[00:29:54] DJ Costantino: Awesome. Well, Ellen, thank you so much for your time and, and generosity and sharing your insights [00:30:00] with, uh, with us.

[00:30:01] Ellen Yin]: Thanks DJ. I appreciate it. 

[00:30:03] DJ Costantino: Appreciate you. Thank you so much. 

[00:30:05] Ellen Yin]: All right. Bye bye. 

[00:30:07] DJ Costantino: Thanks again for checking out this episode of depreciate. If you enjoyed it, please leave us a review and rating and share it with one of your friends to help the show grow. Also be sure to subscribe to our food runner newsletter.

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