We’re In The People Business - Amir Mostafavi of South Block Juice

Qu - Restaurants Reinvented - Amir Mostafavi - Transcript

[00:00:00] Jen Kern: Hello everyone, and welcome back to Restaurants Reinvented. This is Jen Kern, the hostess of the show. And today with me, I have one of my local fan favorite joints on the show. It's the CEO and Founder of South Block, the most amazing acai bowls in the DC area, FYI. And his name is Amir Mostafavi. Hi, Amir.

[00:00:21] Welcome to the show.

[00:00:23] Amir Mostafavi: Hey, Jen. Thanks so much for having me on. I appreciate it. 

[00:00:26] Jen Kern: Oh, I am so excited. I really am like a gal pal, you know, just fan of your brand. It is amazing. And I'm not kidding, when I say the acai bowls are like crack. I mean, we get the one, what my son gets the one with Nutella on it. Sort of like defeating the purpose on an acai bowl, but so good. 

[00:00:47] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah, you can't go wrong with Nutella. You know, that's one of those that, you know, the whole life is about balance thing and, uh, you know, we looked at it as like a gateway drug in a way into eating healthier. Like if you got to put Nutella on your fruits to have fruit, at least you're having fruit, and then maybe next time you'll get a green smoothie or a juice or, you know, evolve into other things. So but that's a, that's a big part of our brand, you know, it's introducing, is being there for the people that are interested in eating a healthier product, but also being a brand that is welcoming to people who maybe generally don't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and we don't want them to be intimidated by incorporating that into their lifestyle

[00:01:28] in some way. 

[00:01:30] Jen Kern: Yeah, well, your brand is also very approachable, and in my humble opinion, it's phenomenal. Um, I've been visiting your stores for the better part of the last decade, and I'm always greeted with a smile by a lot of the people that work there. Your menu is amazing, like you're saying, you can have a really healthy, like juice.

[00:01:53] Like if you're on a cleanse, you've got the juices, you've got the gluten-free dough balls, which my son loves as well. Um, and you have a wide range of acai bowls and smoothies and even a delicious bullet coffee with tumeric in it, which I've also had. Um, so, and I've, you know, I've stood in your store and taken a lot of pictures.

[00:02:13] You know, I like to do Instagram and social media and you always have like really inspirational signs up and sayings and it was very apparent to me early on that you were treating your employees differently than what I had seen at some other types of restaurants and fast casual places where I go. And so fast forward, here we are, you know, in the, you know, in a pandemic still. I believe, I don't know.

[00:02:40] Um, and, uh, labor, and as we were talking about earlier supply chain, but labor has really become a very difficult thing for restaurant owners and operators to keep, keep people, to find people, to, um, help them, you know, stay involved in the company and the brand. And I know, and I remembered you, 'cause I'm like, "This company does an amazing job before it was quote unquote an issue."

[00:03:08] Right? And so I wanted you to come on because I am focusing on labor right now on the show, and talk to our audience about some of the things that you've done. And, and maybe you can just start at the beginning about how, how you started your fabulous, you know, a company, which is, I believe started in 2011 and you now have 11 locations.

[00:03:27] Um, and what that environment is that you've created for employees, that, that they, they seem so happy?

[00:03:34] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. Such an important and relevant topic right now as well, but always important and always at the forefront of my mind and my team's mind, um,

[00:03:45] is, is our employees. And so, you know, going back a little bit further, um, before 2011, I actually got into the juice bar business, um, back in, uh, 2006. Um, and I opened a juice bar at George Washington University called Campus Fresh. And it's still there. And you know, we've been there, uh, you know, what 15 years now, and now it's South Block. But when I first started in the business, um, you know, I was, uh, I was coming out of, um, uh, school. I went to Virginia Tech, I got a degree in, um, Graphic Design. Uh, and, um, you know, I came out and started doing graphic design work and, and, you know, I found it to be very, um, unmotivating.

[00:04:33] I didn't like sitting in a cubicle all day. And, um, my dad was a, uh, well, he is a business and marketing professor, and then started his own businesses and got into video rental business. Um, and I always saw him working so much and especially compared to when he was a professor, when he had summers off and we had vacations, and all of that. Um, when I saw him start a business, I saw him like just working all the time.

[00:05:00] And when I was growing up, I thought to myself, "I don't want to have my own business 'cause like, I'll want to have the paid vacations, and the 401k and the, you know, the corporate, all the corporate things that come along with that." Then when I got out into the corporate world, I realized that, "Hey, maybe my dad wasn't so crazy," because he was, for him, it wasn't work.

[00:05:21] It was his passion. It's what made him get, want to get out of bed every day. And so I wanted that same thing. So, I started thinking about different businesses that I could do. And I was just really drawn to these, this juice bar world, because I loved fruits and vegetables, that was a thing. My parents, especially my dad, uh, you know, coming from Iran, he would always talk about the fruit in Iran.

[00:05:45] And you know, we've talked about these pomegranates that were huge and things like that. So, he'd come home with fruit, put it on the floor, we'd all eat it. And no matter what was going on in our, in our lives, like, uh, you know, we had times when, when I was growing up where we were on, uh, you know, we were buying all our clothes from thrift stores,

[00:06:01] we were on food stamps for a brief period of time when, you know, my dad came over during the, uh, the revolution in Iran, and, um, was getting paid from the Kerman University in Iran to live and to get his PhD. When the revolution started, all that funding was pulled. And here he is with four kids, four young children, no funding in the middle of getting his PhD,

[00:06:25] right? So, you know, I saw him fight through that, still get his PhD, and still always make sure that we were taken care of and always had still had fruits and vegetables and healthy things to eat, um, during, during that time. And, you know, I learned a lot from that, like, uh, especially that, you know, if you always, um, have hope and see the opportunity, you can get through anything and make it, make it through to the other side.

[00:06:53] So, um, that was a big lesson for me. And, you know, so when I, when I was looking at, uh, businesses, I was attracted to the fruits and vegetables and just the smells and colors of juice bars, and the vibe that juice bars had, especially the ones I was seeing in Southern California that we didn't have in this area.

[00:07:13] So, I thought, "You know, that'd be a cool thing to have here, 'cause we need this vibe. We need the,..." especially back in the early 2000s, there was nothing like that in this area. Um, you know, there maybe there were smoothie places, but there was like, they were doing it with like, um, you know, they pull out a carton of some kind of strawberry mix and blend it with ice.

[00:07:32] Um, so when I started, I had no experience in food service at all, except for two weeks that I worked in the sandwich shop when I was at Virginia Tech. And I quit after two weeks because my manager was just a jerk. And I don't think that that's uncommon or, or I think it's less uncommon, it's less common now, but restaurant industry in general has been... messed up managers can be jerks, right? And I learned that lesson, that was the first lesson I learned in two weeks and working in a restaurant is like... When I started my business, I remembered that, and I said, "My rule number one is, don't be a jerk, because your people will quit." It's almost as simple as that, right?

[00:08:17] Like just don't be a jerk, right? And I'm naturally not a jerk anyway, but I also knew that, "Hey, maybe the industry can change you. So let's make that, let's put that at the forefront of my mind. Like, let's be very careful about the way we're treating our people, because they have a choice if they want to be here or not,

[00:08:34] right? They don't own the business like, like you do." So, you know, from day one that was rule number one and is still rule number one is, "Don't be a jerk, uh, 'cause people don't want to work for jerks," right? Um, so another, another thing I learned at, at George Washington University was we did a lot of fundraisers, um, so we were very involved with the community. And I learned this also from working in my parents' video stores, where's my mom would do the work a lot of the daytime shifts. And people from the community would come in and they'd know her, she'd know them. And they would come in because of that relationship.

[00:09:11] So, connection to community was something that was important to me that I saw as an important piece of, of, of a successful business. So we did that a lot through fundraising at George Washington University, and, you know, I tell people that that's where I got my PhD in business and marketing was through my first store at GW.

[00:09:34] And then when I was finally ready to take the show on the road, we opened South Block in Clarendon in 2011. So, um, you know, a lot of people ask me why the name South Block, right? Well, I couldn't call it Campus Fresh, uh, because it wasn't on campus. Uh, so I was trying to think of a name that wasn't so like generic sounding, like something smoothie or something juice like this.

[00:10:03] So the name South Block jumped out at me literally when I was going to sign the lease, and I didn't have a name picked out yet. And I saw on the lease that, at the time in Clarendon they were building two new towers. One was the North Block tower, ours was the South Block tower. So the new word South Block stood out to me because, one, I thought it had a cool sounding tone to it.

[00:10:26] It sounded cool. But also because the only reason like I had this opportunity to open, there's nobody else wanted this spot that I was going into. 700 square foot on the backside of this building, on a street that generally no traffic would go to in Clarendon, that everyone mainly sticks to the main street in Clarendon, Wilson-Clarendon Boulevard.

[00:10:48] They wouldn't come off to the back where I was on 11th in the Garfield Street. I thought about all the lessons that I learned and why were we able to create a community, and why were people coming up and finding us on the second floor of this gym at George Washington University with no exterior signage. But we were getting people coming in from the Department of State, from the GW hospital, from law offices, because they'd heard about us,

[00:11:13] right? So my, my theory was that the location didn't matter that much, as long as we were gonna go in there and build a connection with the community, and serve an awesome product, and give people a great experience that people would find us. Um, so that's been one of the things that we think about every time we open a new South Block, is we have to make sure that we have that connection to the community where we're driving an experience, because people will gravitate to businesses that successfully do that. 

[00:11:51] Jen Kern: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:11:52] Amir Mostafavi: So, and that's what we found in Clarendon, you know? They, people found us and then we started fortunately other similar type businesses were opening around us that, um, complimented us like yoga studios and, and, uh, uh, spin studios and other fitness type concepts. So, we really were able to build a cool community there. 

[00:12:13] Jen Kern: That's so cool. Well, thank you for sharing some of that story. That's that's really neat. And a lot of it's making sense to me now, 'cause I'm like, "Oh, he's a graphic designer. No one did the brand is so warm and approachable, your stores are so beautiful, and your food is gorgeous and it tastes good." Like, "Ah, it makes sense now." Like you have, uh, you have that design sense about, you can see that. 

[00:12:33] Amir Mostafavi: Oh, it helps so much in business like to have it. 

[00:12:37] Jen Kern: Yeah. And it is a great name. South Block's a great name. And I'm looking at you and your hat says, "You rock," you know? And I, and I know that from being, you know, 'you rock on the block' you know? I mean, you have, you have great taglines and, and it, it is relatable and approachable and, and you have the community in mind.

[00:12:54] That's great, but I want to kind of, I want to zoom in on one thing you said, which is very important, which is rule number one, "Don't be a jerk," as a restaurant manager. And I gotta tell ya, I got to tell another story. Uh, my listeners know I do this quite frequently, but, um, I do frequent Starbucks a good amount. My girlfriend and I meet there and we have our, you know, our, our cuppa. And the one that's, uh, pretty close to me,

[00:13:20] um, the people that we get to know that people. I'm that person that goes up to the counter and I want to look the person in the eye, and I want to say, "How you doing?" I don't want to just place my order, you know? I'm not tooting my own horn, but I like the experience. I'm, maybe I'm a dying breed, but whatever. I like to go in, look them in the eye, "How are you doing?

[00:13:37] Okay. Hmm, this is what I'm going to have today." And I talked to, I talked to the people. And, um, we get to know them. And the next thing you know, they're gone. The next one is gone. The next one's gone, the next... they're quitting. And then they're telling us, "Our manager is abusive. Our manager is awful. Mean, awful.

[00:13:54] And, and can you write to, you know, corporate about him?" And I'm like, "Wow. Wow. Wow." So, it's like, it's hard to tell sometimes like, you know, how much is the labor shortage and the way that the industry is currently set up an operating around pay, and benefits, and flexibility, and things like that, being behind in technology, all those sorts of things.

[00:14:16] How much of it is that, and how much of it is our manager is really a jerk, you know? Um, but yeah, um,...

[00:14:25] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah.

[00:14:26] I mean, you know, it was like I said, when I started, that was my lesson, number one was, "Don't be a jerk," but you know, also like when I first started my business, it was very much for me. Like I wanted to change my lifestyle, I wanted to have something that motivated me more. Um, so I, you know, this is the lesson I learned in the first few years of operating was, and this is why I can, you know, sit here 15 years later and still be just as passionate, if not more passionate about building our business, is because I discovered that in our industry we're, we're unique in that, we have the opportunity to touch so many different people in so many different ways every day, whether it's our employees or our customers or other businesses in the community.

[00:15:17] And so, I turned my business into, even though we sell smoothies and asai bowls and juices, we're really in the people business. Um, and it doesn't matter what product you sell, if you make your passion about the people, that's what is going to keep you motivated. Like I would not be that motivated if I was still just

[00:15:37] only obsessed with selling smoothies, right? Of course your product has to be good, but in order to stay motivated and passionate, you have to make it about a larger purpose. So, making it about the people being number one, people over profit. And the ironic thing about that saying is that that actually is what makes you profitable, is if you put your people over profit, right?

[00:16:01] So, uh, it's a win-win. Um, so you know what I started getting motivated by that idea that, "Man, we really do have an opportunity to impact people's lives." And it's something that I truly believe, even if it's a small interaction at the register or showing your team that this is not, this can be an opportunity,

[00:16:23] whether... like I go, I always use the words, opportunity and hope. Like give your team this... I try, I've tried to create an environment where we give our team the same types of opportunities and hopes and dreams that, "Why did I start my business?" Because of, I wanted something that I was more driven by, more motivated, more passionate by. Okay, why would I expect my employees to stay with me,

[00:16:50] if they're not feeling like they're a part of that dream, a part of that mission? So, you know, first it starts with hiring the right people. You have to hire people, the number one thing is like, why are, why do they want this job. And what's music to my ears is, "I want to be a part of a company that has a great culture," that, "I'm tired of toxic environments."

[00:17:15] Um, so you want people who understand that and want that in their life, right? They want, ahead of like what their resume says, like, I don't care what people's experience is. If they have a passion to be part of a positive culture, and they have a passion for people and... We have a lot of people in our company that are driven by leadership development, people development, and that understand that it's not just about you. In order to be, in order to remain motivated and to be successful,

[00:17:49] you have to be able to pass that passion and pass your skills and knowledge on to other people to give them the same types of hopes and opportunities that you have. So, you know, starts with hiring the right people who are, are, are motivated by that. And you know, culture became the number one thing that we focus on all the time. We might, we're not,

[00:18:15] and I would say we're not even a hundred percent nailing it, right? It's hard for any company to hundred percent nail it, but you can a hundred percent focus on it. And if you're not a hundred percent focused on it, you're not going to get nearly close to where you want to be, right? So we make it a priority,

[00:18:32] we're a hundred percent focused on company culture, on our team experience. And I tell my team all the time, like, "We love our guests. We want our guests to have a great experience, but guess what? I love you guys more. Because if I don't love you guys more, how am I expecting you to love our guests, right?"

[00:18:48] So, my priority is our, is our employees, because I know that that's going to transfer to our customers' experience in the store.

[00:18:57] Jen Kern: That's music to my ears.

[00:19:00] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah.

[00:19:01] Jen Kern: That's beautiful. You know, it's just beautiful.

[00:19:03] Amir Mostafavi: I, um, you know, I had this like, um, thought of a few weeks ago when I had a dream, right? Well, I didn't have the dream, actually. My daughter had a dream. I have two daughters, 11 and 14-year old daughters. And you know, how kids are, they always love to tell you about their dreams when they wake up in the morning. I was driving my daughter to school and she's telling me about a dream that she had.

[00:19:25] She tells me about dreams a lot, right? And you can think back to anyone telling you about a dream that they've had. And a lot of times when you're listening to someone's version of what dream they had, they're all excited about it. And you're like trying to understand what's happening. Like, "I don't get... 

[00:19:40] Jen Kern: Yeah.

[00:19:41] Amir Mostafavi: I'm not following, you know? It's not making sense to me." But if you, if, if someone's telling you about a dream and they're like, "Jen, you were in my dream last night." Like, you know, "I was, I was, uh, doing whatever, whatever, whatever, and then you were there." And if you say to whoever you're talking to, "You were there."

[00:19:59] So, my daughter was telling me about a dream and then she's like, "Dad, you were in my dream." Then my ears perk up and I start listening, "What was I doing? What was happening?" You know? And you start asking questions and you're curious. So I thought about that, I said, "Okay. Well, if you put people in your dream,

[00:20:17] they will be more interested. They will listen to, to your dream or they'll, they'll be, um, more passionate about what you're saying, but you have to figure out a way to put your employees, put your team into your dream. So, if my dream is building a business, how do I share that dream with my employees. Because if I can successfully do that, they're going to be more willing to listen.

[00:20:40] They're going to be more interested if I put them into my dream. So, that's something I think about in every decision we make or how we're motivating our teams. Like even with our, um, our bonus programs. We have profit share programs. So it's literally tied to how profitable we are, uh, because that's the same way that I get rewarded as an owner.

[00:21:03] I want my team to get rewarded by the success and profitability of the company. So, you know, it's a great opportunity to teach, um, your team like business. We, we, we have this, um, game that we play, that I created. Uh, and it's it's, um, uh, I used to play basketball in high school, so it's based on, uh, basketball. We have four quarters in a year. And we have a company score and we have a scoreboard that we write our company score on. And we base it off COGS, our cost of goods, our labor, and my favorite one and the most important one is the guest service score.

[00:21:41] So, we combine all of those and that gives us a company score. And that tells us how well we're doing as a company, and, and it drives, it drives our profitability. But the important thing is that you put the guest service number first. If you start focusing on the labor number or the COGS number, you'll start seeing bad habits form in your stores, where people are now like running skeleton shifts and sending people home,

[00:22:11] 'cause they're trying to save money on labor to get those labor numbers down. But that's, that's impacting the experience in the stores, because now you don't have enough staff to manage the flow of customers or to build your business. So, you don't want that negative effect because you're so focused on your labor number.

[00:22:28] So, of course we have to hit labor numbers, of course we have to hit our COGS, but if we're not nailing our guest service experience first, none of it's going to work, right? So that has to be your, your number one focus all the time. And, um, you...

[00:22:44] Jen Kern: And how do you measure that number? Can I, can I ask? Your guest service number, how's that measured?

[00:22:48] Amir Mostafavi: We do. I mean, it's not a, it's not a perfect science, but what we do is we take our, uh, our Google reviews, our Yelp reviews, um, and our, we use Square for our register system and our Square feedback. And, you know, anything, anything that's four stars and up is positive, three and under is negative.

[00:23:08] And we just simply, on Square, it's either like to give a thumbs up or a smiley face, or a frowny face for if it was a negative or positive experience. So we just accumulate all of those, um, and positive negative, and you get your percentage there, right? So, we've been like, you know, I'm, I'm always happy to see that number above 90%, which we've been pretty consistently doing.

[00:23:32] Um, so that, you know, that everybody knows is, um, is the most important. I mean, you know, we, we, we also celebrate that a lot. Like whichever, uh, store head coach, we call our general managers head coaches, has the highest guest service number, they get recognized. They get a special T-shirt that we made.

[00:23:54] It's called "The fist bumps all day T-shirt." We're big on fist bumps, you know? Uh, so they get, they get a T-shirt, they get a fist bump pin. And I have a basketball that they get to sign and put the, they put their name, and the date, and their guest service score on it. And that's like, kind of kept, uh, that we pass around, um, to whoever has the highest guest service or gets to put their, put their name on there. So, it's kind of fun things like that, you know? 

[00:24:20] Jen Kern: Yeah. That's a great way to gamify it, you know? I mean, there's a lot of talk now about gamification with employees and technology, but that's a real, that's a real game. That's that sounds like fun. 

[00:24:32] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. We've been, we've been doing that for some years, you know, and it, it has been fun. It's also like simple, so you don't, I think, I think a lot of people focus too much on all the details of their P&L with their managers. And it, and a lot of, I've talked to a lot of managers, you know, I love learning from when I, when I... I don't do as much interviewing anymore, but when I still interview people for manager positions,

[00:25:00] I'd love learning about their experiences from other places, and what they liked, and what they didn't like. Um, it's honestly, like it's a great opportunity to learn. Like I said, I've never worked at anywhere except for that sandwich shop for two weeks, so I don't, I only know what I know, right? So, bringing in people that have had other experiences and no other, other things than I do and what they like, what they don't like, you have to listen to your employees.

[00:25:22] And, um, you know, one of the things was, um, just people were confused about their bonus and how they were getting their bonus and, and how it was calculated on their P&L. So let's simplify that like the controllable numbers, COGS, labor, and the guest service. That's what you guys have control over. And look, if you impacted this way a little bit, or that way a little bit, this is how it affects the profit.

[00:25:46] We, we do a demonstration with a stack of

[00:25:48] a hundred pennies to show like, if you do this and this and this, this is how many pennies you're left with. If you, if the number goes this way, it's this much. And then you can see, you can relate that to a dollar amount, right? But, yeah... 

[00:26:00] Jen Kern: So, you've got like a little mini, you like a little mini business school going on there, Amir. 

[00:26:05] Amir Mostafavi: We call it the South Block Academy, but yeah.

[00:26:08] It's a little, it's a little business school. 'Cause you have to, we, we call, you know, like I said, you have to share your dream. So, I really, uh, you know, I call my, uh, everyone in my leadership team, my partners... um, and you know, I try to set up, um, you know, things that we're doing that, that allow them to share in the, in the, in the profit of the company.

[00:26:31] So, they really, truly do feel a sense of ownership and pride in the company. The same, the same way I do, you know? I don't expect everyone to, anyone to feel the same sense of commitment and responsibility that I do to the company, but the more, the more I can do to, to, um, to, to give that to my team, the better for everybody. 

[00:26:55] Jen Kern: Yeah. Yeah. And well, I, and I love how you're putting those numbers up on, like, you're saying, look at this dashboard and you, and you using the basketball example. But you know, you've got the cost of goods, you've got, you've got the labor, you've got the, um, the guest experience score. I forgot what the fourth one was.

[00:27:12] Sorry, what was the fourth one?

[00:27:14] Amir Mostafavi: Um, that was it w it was those three, and then all of those three combined that make the, uh, the company score. 

[00:27:20] Jen Kern: The final score and everyone knows those numbers, or everyone at least has some visibility into like, if these numbers are performing well, then we're going to get a little bump in our pay through the profit sharing. Is that right?

[00:27:32] Amir Mostafavi: That's right, yep. 

[00:27:33] Jen Kern: Yeah, that's fantastic. So, everyone's got a little, little stake in the games. And that's, I mean, that's, that's very rare.

[00:27:40] I haven't heard this model that often, so... 

[00:27:44] Amir Mostafavi: And we're, we're even like, you know, like you said, like people are thinking about new and creative ways now, because there is issues with labor. Um, we haven't experienced as much of the issues, I think as maybe, um, um, some others, especially I think in, in full service maybe a little rougher. But, um, you know, I do think that our, um, our commitment to our team over the last several years, our company culture helped us.

[00:28:17] We have, uh, uh, you

[00:28:18] know, I've, um,

[00:28:19] people that have been with me from the Campus Fresh days that are still here, you know, 10 plus years. Um, that's not to say we don't have a good amount of turnover either, but we have a lot of retention, a lot of, um, people that have been here for a number of years, over 10 years.

[00:28:36] Um, so, you know, I think, um, that, uh, also when, uh, when the pandemic first started, I looked at that as an opportunity to build and gain trust from my team. Um, you know, my, the number one priority in our company was, "How do we keep our employees employed?" Um, "How do we keep serving our guests?" So, we made it a priority not to, uh, to say, to save jobs, to keep our employees employed.

[00:29:13] And I think through doing that, we were able to gain trust in our employees and a sense of security to them. Like, if we can get through this together, then we can get through anything, right? So, I think that that to me was invaluable, even if it costs us money to, to, to do that. You can't put a price tag on building that level of trust among people. It's so hard to do,

[00:29:42] um, you know, building culture and trust is one of the most challenging things you can do. So, when we were faced with that, with the challenges, you know, like I said, we just looked at that as like, "This is a great opportunity for us to really show who we are and what we're all about." 

[00:30:01] Jen Kern: Yeah. Wow. Well, I mean, it sounds like you're already loving on your employees a good amount, and it sounds like you took that as an opportunity to really embrace them and circle around them. And that's fantastic. I mean, you talked about the mission, you've mentioned the mission a few times when you're talking about the culture. What is your mission?

[00:30:21] Amir Mostafavi: I'm glad you asked. Alright, so our mission is to build healthier communities, one block at a time. And, um, you know, what that means is it's not just about building healthier communities through food. It's through how can we help support other businesses, how can we support people in the community, how can we, um, um, support our employees who are coming to work for us in that community.

[00:30:49] Um, how can we, um, get involved in and support mental health issues. Um, in matter of fact, um, two years ago, uh, we started a nonprofit company called Fruitful Planet. Um, it's fruitfulplanet.org. So it's something we've done as a company kind of casually through the years where we would donate fruits and vegetables to, um, food banks in the area like, um, Martha's Table, DC Central Kitchen, AFAC Arlington Food Assistance Center,

[00:31:26] who's been a great partner of ours. Um, so one thing I learned from, from, from, from that, from giving back over over the years, was that there's a real need for fruits and vegetables in our community, because they're fresh. And a lot of people donate canned and boxed goods, which is great, but you, you, you can stockpile those, you can't stockpile fruits and vegetables.

[00:31:52] So, there's a consistent need for fresh fruits and vegetables. And also being in this business, I realized that we, that, that the product is not affordable by everybody. It's hard to eat healthy. It's hard to consistently have fruits and vegetables in your diet if, if you can't afford it. So, our mission was we want to serve the entire community. And so, um, two years ago, what happened, what happened was my mom got sick and she passed away. 

[00:32:30] Jen Kern: I'm so... 

[00:32:31] Amir Mostafavi: This was right before the pandemic. And, you know, uh, thank you. And, um, you know, when something like that happens, you really start thinking about life, and the meaning of life, and what you're doing, and what your legacy is.

[00:32:45] So, you know, a lot of things kind of just happened at that, that, that pointed, pointed to signs of like starting this organization Fruitful Planet, and making an official nonprofit organization. Um, you know, my, my mom was passing and, and, um, I w we were, we were getting ready to open the Roslyn location in Arlington.

[00:33:06] And, uh, I was getting out of my Jeep, and in the back of my Jeep, uh, had a tire cover that says, "Good vibe tribe," in the South Block logo. And somebody was passing by and said, "Oh, are you a owner of South Block, Amir?" I said, "Yeah." And said, "Oh, I'm uh, uh, Brian." Uh, his name is Brian MacNair. And, uh, somebody tried to connect us a few years ago, but he, he used to be the director at DC Central Kitchen.

[00:33:32] He was a part of, uh, helping Jose Andres start World Central Kitchen. So, he's like the guy when it comes to like nonprofit food businesses, right? So anyway, we randomly met because of my Jeep cover and, you know, the, the, we started talking about my idea for Fruitful Planet, and he was looking for a new project. And I said, "Okay, well, let me think about it.

[00:33:55] You know, we've got to consider if this is something we really want to jump into all the way and do a nonprofit." And then the next day I got a call from my sister that my mom had taken a turn for the worst. And, um, I was actually on the road driving down to Virginia Tech with my family, we're going to go see a football game.

[00:34:14] We turned around, came back when visited with my mom. And, you know, with all of that, just meeting Brian, talking about fruit, the idea of Fruitful Planet, and then my mom taking that turn. The next day I called Brian, I said, "Let's do this, let's start this a nonprofit." So, I didn't really know what we were getting into or what that meant, but what it's turned into today is that it's very simple.

[00:34:41] So one of our, one of our core values is it, small acts can make big impacts. And I really love that core value, because it's little things that you do that can end up having a big impact. So we took that core value and we, we, we turned it into something positive for Fruitful Planet, where every time someone buys a bottle of juice from us, a percentage of that sale goes directly to Fruitful Planet.

[00:35:06] A hundred percent of that money is used to buy fruits and vegetables that we donate back to, uh, people in our community who are in need. Um, and so, you know, we donated over 45,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables in the, in the two years since we started the nonprofit. Um,... 

[00:35:28] Jen Kern: Awesome.

[00:35:29] Amir Mostafavi: So, you know, that's what that, that's the whole meaning of building healthier communities.

[00:35:35] One block is a time, it's like what does everything that we can do, um, you know? So you, you have to have, uh, you have to have, uh, a mission. You have to have core values. You have to believe in them. No one else will believe in them if you don't, right? You have to show, show that this is what you, what your company is all about

[00:36:00] and you have to share that dream with others and bring them into that dream. So many people who work for me, they bring up Fruitful Planet, and, "This is what was drawn to me, this is what I love about the company. So, I want to be a part of this company, right?" So your company values what you're doing in the community, what you're doing for people. Employees are recognizing that.

[00:36:26] And they're looking at those places as companies that they want to be a part of, because it feels good, right? And everybody wants to be part of something that they feel like is bigger than themselves. Like, "Why am I, why am I spending my time doing this all the time? Like, what's the, what's the purpose?

[00:36:46] Like, I could be doing something else." Especially in our industry, you know? Like the hospitality industry, um, you know, something w we've been there, w there's a lot of things that we're thinking about now too, how can we improve? You have to always be thinking about how you can improve. You, like, you've never nailed it a hundred percent,

[00:37:05] right? So, you always gotta be thinking about other things that you can do. Um, especially now you gotta be thinking about things you can do different or better. You think about the restaurant industry, and the hospitality industry, there's a lot of challenges that go along with it, you know? There's a lot of burnout because of the hours you have to work.

[00:37:24] And, you know, I, again, I, I try to relate everything back to me and my experience and in, in growing the business. And, you know, in the beginning I was working every day, seven days a week... We didn't, my wife and I didn't take vacation for three years, no weekends, you know? It was open to close, and then up all night working on my computer like doing whatever what had to be done in off hours. And then, um, we had kids. And then my kids started having soccer games on the weekend. And now I'm trying to go to their soccer games, and I can't, because I gotta be at the store. Or I try to go, and then I get a call that they need help, and I got to run over to the store. So, you know, as I've built my business, I've made it a priority to be able to make that time for my family and be able to be there for those soccer games and be there on the weekends and things like that. So, but that's what I did for me, 'cause I was able to, right? But how do we give that same opportunity to people who work in the industry, who are trying to make this their career?

[00:38:31] You know, there's so many reasons why not to make it your career. There's a lot of great reasons to make it your career as well. You know, especially with like some of the things I talked about earlier with the ability to connect with people so frequently, you just don't get that in, in, uh, in a lot of industries like you do in the hospitality industry. But you know, maybe there's things that we can think on different within the hospitality industry.

[00:38:57] Like, um, does your restaurant manager really need to work every Saturday? You know, maybe there's some flexibility there. Like maybe they're getting... If you want them to stay with you and have a career with you, maybe you give them an opportunity to do the same thing you did. Like yeah, you, you, what we do is we put it on our teams

[00:39:19] like we, we help them through South Block Academy to give them tools, to become good leaders, to develop people who they're working with in their store. They're owners of their location. You build your team, you, you, you, you, you get your store set, cool. Take Saturday off, go to the soccer game. We don't care,

[00:39:39] you know? Flex, we're looking at things like flexible PTO. A lot of people on hospitality don't do that. We're going to start flex PTO next year. Um, you know, so they're like, what are things that we've always thought we can't do in the restaurant industry that maybe we can do, if we really put our minds to it,

[00:40:02] right? And it's not to say like you want to create an environment where you're not, people aren't expected to. Work hard, because I had to work hard. Like you need to work hard to be successful, and I think that's, uh, that's, that's something that you need to stress as well. But, you know, if you work hard and, and uh, you, you give people that opportunity and that hope, then they should be able to get some benefit from that. Just like you did,

[00:40:31] right? Um, so I think, Jen, one of the things you, you, uh, mentioned to me when we connected was you saw that I was giving people shoes. 

[00:40:43] Jen Kern: Yeah.

[00:40:44] Amir Mostafavi: Right. Yeah. 

[00:40:46] Jen Kern: Or trainers, as they would say in Britain.

[00:40:49] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah.

[00:40:49] So, you know, the shoes, um, I think, well, first of all, I've always been like, um, like kind of into shoes, right? Like, uh, I, I kind of collect sneakers and things like that a little bit, but I, I liked shoes like, what are the, one of the reasons might be as like my mom and dad always tell this story about the reason why they met is because my mom liked my dad shoes. And that's what started their first conversation.

[00:41:18] So, you know, shoes can have a big impact, right? Small acts have big impacts. The shoe led to them getting married. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for his shoes, right? 

[00:41:27] Jen Kern: Wow.

[00:41:29] Amir Mostafavi: You know, so... So I started thinking about shoes, right? And why, why do I give, I give all of my, the, my leadership team, a pair of shoes every year that I custom design?

[00:41:43] And it's like the, you know, the Amir 2021 is going to drop, and, you know, I, I designed them and then give everyone a pair of their shoe. We keep everyone shoe size on file, you know? Um,

[00:41:54] but the reason why I do... Managers, all of our managers. And the reason why is because the meaning behind the shoe is not just that you're getting a cool pair of shoes that I design. Uh, it's, it's because they represent the idea that you have a responsibility as a leader to create a path for other people to follow in. For other people to walk into your, in your footsteps. So these shoes represent the idea of your responsibility as a leader to create opportunities for those who are looking up to you, who want to follow in your footsteps.

[00:42:33] So what kind of path are you creating, what kind of opportunities are you giving to other people so that they want to one day can walk in your shoes? 

[00:42:42] Jen Kern: Hmm. That's lovely. That's really beautiful, yeah. And I mean, I just want to say, I'm really sorry about to hear about your mom. And, um, I'm a mom of three boys, so, you know... I'm sorry to hear that. And I know she's looking down on you and so proud of you. I mean, gosh, so proud of you, what a wonderful son she's she, she birthed and raised. And, um, for you to take that as an opportunity and that the impetus to, to create Fruitful Planet, which I'm familiar with, because I know your brand, um, and another great name by the way, um, to give back to communities and you're so right. Like I am a familiar with DC, DC Central Kitchen as well,

[00:43:22] we've done a little work with them. They used to use our system. And, um, I've seen their gardens and whatnot, but, but making healthier food accessible to everyone is so important. And,... 

[00:43:34] Amir Mostafavi: Speak of gardens real quick, by the way, we're, we're, we're, we're a sponsoring, uh,

[00:43:39] a garden at, at elementary school. 

[00:43:41] Jen Kern: Oh, cool. 

[00:43:42] Amir Mostafavi: As well, which we're really excited about as part of Fruitful Planet itself. Um, you know, kids are, are very important to me as well and us as a company. So, um, giving, giving them the same, um, hope and opportunities that every kid should have,

[00:43:58] right? So, anyway, sorry to cut you off. 

[00:44:01] Jen Kern: No, it's not. It's all good. No, not at all. I just, I just wanted to say that, 'cause I'm like, you know, really landed on me how you talked about your mom and, and then, you know, getting to that point of like, "Hey, I gotta, I gotta do this thing. This other thing. You know, I need to, I need to create my legacy." And, and it, and then again, you know, we're talking about, you know, employees, it gives someone like you're saying, people look for something to believe in.

[00:44:23] They call it generation 'we' now, right? You know, it's a it's, it's a community. Like people want to work for businesses that are doing good, because people want to do good, you know? 

[00:44:33] Amir Mostafavi: People. Well, that's the... 

[00:44:34] Jen Kern: All people are good.

[00:44:36] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, um, you know, when people do, you know, that's one of the things too is, um, people will, one of two things will happen if people enter an environment that is toxic. They will, if like you said, you maybe assume all people are good, they come into environment that is toxic. That person is either going to quit, like I did, or they're going to become toxic as well, right? So you have to create an environment of positive culture. Then even if somebody comes in, who has a chip on their shoulder, where they have, they've had bad experiences in the past with hospitality or whatever their experiences in the past. If it's like the norm to have to be positive, then you're going to create, people will go the other way too.

[00:45:25] "Oh, this looks fun. I'm going to be part of this positive culture, because this feels better than a negative culture," right? So, you know, we use the word 'fruitful' as a way to describe too, like the difference between being successful and fruitful. Like, what do you like, what do you really want your to to be?

[00:45:48] Do you want to be a fruitful person or a successful person? You can be both, you know? But like being fruitful hasn't had to me a much, um, more positive meaning, which is much more an important meaning to be a fruitful person than a successful person, right? So, you know, we, we really focus on that, um, when we talked to our team too about what do you want out of your career here.

[00:46:14] And also by the way, like, if, if we, if we have people that we've helped develop through working here, whether it's, uh, we call our entry-level Block Stars or our team members are Block Stars. Whether it's a Block Star or a Head Coach, we want to give them something that if you came to South Block, we don't expect everyone to come here and stay for 10 years.

[00:46:41] It's unrealistic. If you want to stay here and build a career here, great, we'd love that. If you want to stay here and do a summer job and then go to college, great, we'd love that. No matter who you are, when you're here, we want you to learn something. We want you to pick up something that you can take on with you for the rest of your life.

[00:47:01] Um, a lesson or something you, you, you you've learned through, um, uh, leadership development or culture that... We want you to go on and like take something from here positive that you can go out and, you know, impact your environment with. Um, that to me is the definition of success and being fruitful. That's how you have an impact.

[00:47:25] You know, and you gotta see, you gotta let people know that too. Like if this isn't the right place for you, if you're not happy here, if you have other dreams, great. And I want to support you in those dreams. 

[00:47:37] Jen Kern: Yes, yes, absolutely. Absolutely. That's just a good manager, right? Like being less selfish. Like," What am I getting out of you?" Versus, "What's best for you?" Because if they're not in the place that's best for them, that's going to come through in some way, shape or form, right? 

[00:47:55] Amir Mostafavi: Absolutely. Yeah. 

[00:47:56] Jen Kern: So gosh, you know, you're, you're answering all the questions that I don't even have to ask them.

[00:48:01] Like, I'm wondering how is he keeping his employees happy? And, um, it's, it's really showing, just, you know, through all the things you're talking about. And, and I agree. Like that fruitful, like meaning has it's tied to the earth, right? And it's like propagating like, it multiplies, right? And it's, it's, it's, it's, it's part of the earth.

[00:48:21] So, it has a different connotation to me as well, um, when, when you talk about that and this, that's really cool. Um, you also talked about like hiring the right people. Um, how do you do that?

[00:48:39] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah.

[00:48:39] I think, I mean, I think the initial interview is, is important and kind of like, you know, you're not going to nail it a hundred percent of the time, and you have to like learn to also like not beat yourself up. You know, if the person, if the person you hired, they come here and they, and it's not the right place for them,

[00:48:55] cool. If it's not the right fit for your company, you gotta recognize that. So we have a 90 day tryout period, we call it. Where, "Hey," like, "let's get to know each other. If you'd like it here, great. Let's but let's talk about it." You know? Um, "And if you're not the right fit, we're going to talk about that too."

[00:49:11] But there's only so much you can learn in the interview process, but there's certain things that you keep an ear out for. Like I said, like if, if, if, um, the one of the main motivations of wanting a, uh, um, a new job, maybe someone's coming from someplace else and looking for a new job, or they're looking for a career change or it's their first job, whatever it is.

[00:49:37] Um, those, those things like how important to them is a company culture, how important is a positive work environment. Um, 'cause if people don't come into your company recognizing the value of that or wanting that for themselves, then you're probably already setting yourself up for potential failure when you're trying to build your company culture.

[00:50:02] So, you need to have a team of people who are there for that purpose. And it really does, it starts with the first interview and kind of like seeing, like, is that something that's important. And it's important to a lot of people. Especially now like the new millennial generation, uh, it's much more important that they're part of something that is meaningful,

[00:50:26] part of something that, um, they feel like they can make a difference, have an impact, and that they're not wasting their time, right? And, uh, uh, nobody wants, nobody wants to be part of, spend their day in and day out, being part of a toxic environment. But yeah,

[00:50:41] you really, it really does start with, with, with like trying to find people who are more focused on that than like... Like of course you want to try to pay people,

[00:50:52] and we we've been very focused on paying people, competitive wages. And, and, um, you know, as we grow, my goal is like, "How much more can we pay people? Like how much more can we afford?" Right? "How much more profit sharing can we do?" Um, but if that's like the number one conversation in your interview is like, you're going back and forth about pay,

[00:51:15] it's probably not the right fit. Like we're going to, we want to make you happy with pay, but let's talk about the, let's talk about our company culture. Let's talk about our mission. Like how important is that to you when you're joining a new company. Um, and if, uh, you know, if somebody, I think everyone will attest to this. If you get somebody who is, um, uh, a good employee and a positive person, like they're invaluable.

[00:51:43] They're like, "I'm going to do everything I can to try to keep that person here as long as they want to be here." Um, so, you know, we're doing, like some other creative things, where we're thinking about doing like outside of like... You know, whereas we just signed it for our 12th location, you know, we're... so we're still like, um, uh, a small company growing. You know, we're, we're gonna open, I think probably three more next year.

[00:52:07] We're also getting our, our franchise disclosure documents prepared to, to start offering franchises and, and, and look, look how to grow outside of this market. You know, one of my, um, one of the reasons why we haven't done so yet is because I understand how important company culture and connection to the community is.

[00:52:32] So, if we're going to, if you're going to grow your brand, if you're going to scale, how do you do it in a way that preserves that company culture, the quality product and the guest experience. And I've seen too many brands grow out pace, outgrow their ability to maintain a positive company culture, and quality of product, and quality of service.

[00:52:54] So, we've always kind of grown, you know, as long as I've been doing this 12 stores is a lot, but it's also like, not as many as we could have done. But we probably would have destroyed the brand along the way, by doing it faster than we felt like we were able to do it. Um, so I think that's important for companies as well as to realize, just because you can grow, it doesn't mean you should grow all the time.

[00:53:18] You got to make sure that you're prepared and that first thing you have is this the right decision for the company culture before I decide to grow. Um, and that's always looking at what we ask ourselves. 

[00:53:30] Jen Kern: Yeah, it's interesting you bring that up, because I've been thinking like the last, you know, part that we've been talking. Like, "Wow. Like he is literally doing everything so well, when it comes to like employees and culture and..." You know, sort of what I guess, you know, like I said, looking from the, from the outside in, and I think about, you know, our demographic, which, you know, we mostly sell to large chains, fast casual, QSR. And how this must be so much harder for these larger chains.

[00:54:05] Although I don't know, is that a cop-out to say it's that much harder? I don't know, but if you just, you just said like, you've been slow to scale because you don't want to lose that. I mean, what, what would you say to a larger owner operator about this? 

[00:54:19] Amir Mostafavi: You know, like I said, I only know what I know and I've experienced. I know it's gotta be like very challenging to, um, have a large business like that and, and, and maintain a company. I mean, I think, I think that I would, I would assume that that the same rules apply where you have to put your people first.

[00:54:39] Um, you have to preach that, you have to demonstrate that. You have to, you know, say that out loud to your people. Um, you know, hiring the right people, it is hard like th th depending on the brand. Like if you're, if you're already kind of like behind and your company, culture is like 70% toxic already, it's going to be hard to climb back,

[00:55:04] right? But if you're already like part way there and people want it, then you just, you know, I think just focusing on company culture and positive work environment and, and employees first and people development, um, giving people tools to succeed. I think servant leadership, you know, I just posted something on LinkedIn the other day, I walked into a store and they needed strawberries for their lunch rush.

[00:55:31] So, I jumped in and started shopping strawberries, right? Um, it's not to say you want to build your business where you're still expected to come in and chop, chop strawberries. But if your, if your team needs it, as a leader, you gotta be there for whatever your team needs, right? Because stuff happens, right,

[00:55:48] as we all know. So, I think, um, having, uh, uh, your leadership team with that mentality of like, "Hey, your title, your position, doesn't make you too good to jump in and, and help help the team out during the middle of a crazy lunch rush." Right? "So take out the trash." Like whatever it is, like you have to demonstrate that no one's above that.

[00:56:09] Like, we're all in this together. We're all a team we'll do. They're going to do whatever we have to do to, to support each other. 

[00:56:15] Jen Kern: Hundred percent, hundred percent. I'm curious what role technology you think plays in all of this? 'Cause that's one thing we've been sort of sussing out as we, as we care about the labor challenges and such. I mean, obviously technology is not the solution, it could potentially be part of a solution in terms of maybe automating communications.

[00:56:37] You know, we had a show with 7shifts who does like, uh, the, you know, scheduling and things like that. What do you think what, what role, do you think the younger generation wants better technology, you know, when they're working? And what, what, what are the expectations there and how do you think that plays a role here?

[00:56:56] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah,

[00:56:56] a hundred percent. You know, I've, I've always been kind of a technology geek as well. And as I've been building the brand, like it's been so interesting, you know, over the last 15 years to see technology develop, um, through the restaurant industry. And I've always been, um, interested in it and, um, I think I've adopted a lot of the things early on.

[00:57:18] Um, like I remember when I started, um, 2011 South Block, our first rewards program was a company called Belly Up. They're called Belly. Um, it was one of these rigs, you come in the iPads on the wall and you scan the QR code and you can put like different reward space. You got five points every time you checked in or whatever it was.

[00:57:41] Um, you know, that was before, like rewards were starting to become now, like integrated with your PLS, but they weren't really yet, so they had like these other, like third-party rewards things that were not a punch card, but a digital thing. So we started doing that and, um, it was pretty fun. I remember one of the rewards, the highest reward, I think it was like 500 points was that I would put on a banana suit and run around the block.

[00:58:03] And one of the of the customers cash that in and I did it, but we ended up doing it for a charity to raise, raise money for a kid who had cancer that was friend of our family. Um, so, you know, but technology has really grown. And I think as far as it relates to employee experience, you know, especially in my business, you know, we do employ a lot of younger people who, you know, are used to technology.

[00:58:34] So in the beginning, you know, when you were clocking in for your shift, we had punch cards that you would stand through the thing. And I think I just bought it at Staples, you know? When you get your paper with your name on it, you punch it in and you punch it out. Um, but you know, then as technology grew, we tried to keep up with that and we use, um, uh, uh, technology now, uh, that does, um, like facial recognition.

[00:58:57] So, when you come in, it's on an iPad. It recognizes your face. Employees can have an app on their phone where they can log in and see their hours, all of that kind of stuff. So having, like having technology in place that makes your employees lives easier that, uh, you know, it also is a representation of your brand.

[00:59:16] Like if, if you have your employee comes in and they're still punching a card, like, what's that say about... 

[00:59:22] Jen Kern: Yeah.

[00:59:23] Amir Mostafavi: Um, you know, creative you are as a brand or, or how much care you're putting into the employee experience. So, you know, we, we use, uh, uh, I don't know if you want me to like name by brand, what... 

[00:59:34] Jen Kern: I'm curious about the facial recognition one. Yeah, you can.

[00:59:39] Amir Mostafavi: So, we, we use, uh, Harry, H A R R Y. Think it's pronounced Herry or Harry, um.

[00:59:45] Jen Kern: We know them. We know them. 

[00:59:46] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah.

[00:59:47] So, um, you know, and one of the cool things there is like when they, when they clock in, uh, you can put like a message to your team. Uh, so we use that as a, as a way to like, s like an important message that they needed off for the day, or maybe just a positive message that they, that starts off a day. Or it's feedback,

[01:00:06] "How is your, when you're clocking out, how was your shift today? Was it good? Was it bad?" Um, and you know, that's important information. Like, um, we also send out anonymous surveys, um, to our employees, uh, to let us know what their experience is like here. And it's fully anonymous, so, you know, we take, you know, luckily for us, we have a lot of positive feedback, but we do get some negative comments too, that...

[01:00:34] The way I look at it is, I look forward to problems because they're opportunities for us to find solutions and get better. And you, you, like I said, you're never going to be a hundred percent right on the money with everything. We make mistakes all the time and there's things we can definitely be doing better.

[01:00:52] Uh, and we can definitely be doing better for our employees as well, so I'd never tell anyone on my team, "You got nothing to complain about. We're doing everything right. Like what do you got to complain?" Like it's, it's not true. You know, there's blind spots. There's things we can be doing better.

[01:01:05] There's also, you're evolving. Like, I think that's one of the things that's kept us, uh, relevant, um, and in business all this time is just the ability to, to evolve and adapt. And adapting to your customers' needs, and your employees' needs, and to technology has been crucial especially when the pandemic started. Throughout the pandemic

[01:01:27] we were lucky that we had a lot of this technology in place already that allowed us to just make simple pivots, um, that us... 

[01:01:37] Jen Kern: Is Harry the one that has the facial recognition? 

[01:01:40] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. 

[01:01:41] Jen Kern: Oh, wow. That's cool. I didn't know they were doing that.

[01:01:43] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. Yep. And, and, uh, I should mention too, that one of the, I was talking about pivots and adapting during, uh, for just for business in general. But during the pandemic, we started one of the things we did during the stay-at-home orders, we started, um, putting our acai bowls in kits, freezing them. And, uh, we would, ourselves, me, my brother, who's one of the VPs in the company or my other VPs, like it didn't matter who it was. We would just drop drive the box of frozen acai bowls with the granola and the fruit, everything you needed at your house to make your own smoothie bowls at home, you could order it.

[01:02:25] We would contactless deliver it to you on your doorstep. And then you had an eight pack of bowls that you could put in your freezer and make any time you want without having to leave your home. So, that evolved into what is now a business called Bowl Kits, and it's bowlkits.com, and we're delivering across the country now. So that little pivot to the idea with that at the time was not like, "Let's create a national brand that we can ship Bowl Kits across the country." It was, "What do we do to keep our employees employed and keep serving our guests?" So we started packaging these bowls, and then we said, "A-ha, I think we could sell these online,

[01:03:05] if we could figure out how to package them in dry ice and ship them." We started testing that. We built a website. Uh, we have, now we're in fulfillment centers on the East Coast and the West Coast. Uh, we've had celebrities try our product and, and, and post on Instagram about it, which has been really exciting.

[01:03:25] Vivica A. Fox, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, which I was excited about, 'cause I was a huge like Saved by the Bell fan, back in the day. And it's funny, my kids love Saved by the Bell now, it's like making a comeback. So I was, I was like dad superstar when... 

[01:03:39] Jen Kern: Yeah. 

[01:03:40] Amir Mostafavi: Thiessen, uh, posted about our Bowl Kits. So it's been fun. Like growing that business. I've never done e-comm. Because it really is more of an e-commerce marketing business than what we've done, you know, with brick and mortar retail, uh, marketing, which for us has really been more grassroots. And we haven't spent a lot on marketing, it's been a lot of just connections with people.

[01:04:03] Um, and we're approaching the e-commerce business in a similar way, where we feel like we need to make connections with people, but how do we do that digitally, which people are more used to now anyway. Um, so you know, it really is about creating that vibe, and that culture, and that brand. Um, so, you know, it's new, we're learning a lot from it.

[01:04:24] Um, and, uh, you know, we're having fun building that company as well. 

[01:04:30] Jen Kern: That's so cool. So you have a, you have a digital business and you have an, you know, in store business, right? 

[01:04:37] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. That's right. 

[01:04:39] Jen Kern: Yeah. That's so cool. That's really, really cool. I mean, I knew that you were doing the bowls, I didn't know it was a national business. That's fantastic. Good for you.

[01:04:48] Amir Mostafavi: Yup. Yup. We're I mean, we are in fulfillment centers, you're able to order online and, you know, it's, we're, we're getting, we're getting out there. You know, slowly but surely. So, um, you know, like anything else, when you're starting a business, like overnight success is usually, usually doesn't happen overnight.

[01:05:04] You got to put in, you have to put in the working, and your branding and marketing behind that. It means so much. And, um, you know, I just, uh, I think, uh, you know, how, how you have to have kind of a brand and marketing strategy when it relates to your employees too, right? How you connecting with them, what messages are you sending to them?

[01:05:26] It's it's, uh, it's, it's a branding and marketing all in itself and you

[01:05:33] got to think about what is your message, what is your marketing message to your team. 

[01:05:38] Jen Kern: Yeah. 

[01:05:39] Amir Mostafavi: So, yeah.

[01:05:40] I think, I think in the future, like you do have to attract people back to the industry. Like, "Why would I want to come to a place where I got to wear a face mask all day, when there's places where I don't have to wear a face mask?" You know?

[01:05:51] Um, "I don't want to work on the weekends." So you have to make it like a positive place to work. You have to bring people into your vision, build a family company culture, where people want to be a part of it. They don't want to leave because they don't want to miss out on what's happening in the family,

[01:06:13] right? Uh, you know, you also have to make sure your team is rewarded financially, um, competitively, um, that they feel like they're part of the journey and part of the growth and getting in and getting recognized with financial, if you're getting recognized financially with your growth, so they don't feel left before.

[01:06:36] So, like I said, we do the profit share right now. Um, we're also going to start next year, a three-year, uh, partner payout. So we're going to start rewarding people that every three years when you're here, you're going to get a big payout that is equal to the last three years of all of your profit share payouts.

[01:06:57] So, it's rewarding people for being part of the company for an extended period of time. Like you're going to get your regular quarterly profit share payout, but at the end of three years, you're going to get a, uh, a big check that is equal to all of your checks from the last three years, um... 

[01:07:16] Jen Kern: That's a really great idea. I love that. 

[01:07:18] Amir Mostafavi: I think we all recognize how valuable it is to retain good people.

[01:07:23] And I'd like to think that we're going to retain good people just because we have a great company culture, but that's not always enough. You also got to make sure that

[01:07:32] they are accomplishing their financial goals as well. And they feel like they can build a career and raise a family by working at your company.

[01:07:42] So, we want to try to put things into place that, you know, of course you have to run a profitable business. You have to make sure that you're not going to go out of business, because then no one will have a job. Um, but if there's things that you can do to like, you're going to save money if you're retaining good people. You're there they're worth every penny of it,

[01:08:03] right? So if you can put in systems that help you retain your top people, who are contributing positively to your bottom line and your company culture, um, you gotta do everything you can to think of ways to do that, you know? 

[01:08:22] Jen Kern: Yeah. Well, with this whole, you know, the great resignation as it, as it's been called in Dubbed recently. I mean, it is it's it's, you've got to go the extra mile and you're coming up with some really creative ways to do that. I mean, it's, it's huge. It's huge. You are definitely a Block Star, Amir. 

[01:08:40] Amir Mostafavi: Thank you. 

[01:08:41] Jen Kern: You are a Block Star.

[01:08:43] It's like, I can just end the labor series now. I can just tell everyone, "Go listen to Amir. Do what Amir does, and things will improve." 

[01:08:51] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. I don't know about that. I'll... 

[01:08:54] Jen Kern: Oh, I do. I do.

[01:08:55] Amir Mostafavi: It is easier said than done, that's for sure. But you know, like I said, you have to, you have to first make the conscious decision that this is what your company is about, and this is what we want as a leadership group. And this is what we're going to talk about,

[01:09:09] and this is what we're going to think about every time we get together. Every time we have an opportunity to connect with our teams, we're going to try to make a positive impact. Um, if you're not consciously thinking about that, it's not going to happen. It's a hundred percent not going to happen. If you're a hundred percent thinking about it and you want that to happen, then you're going to start making progress and you just need to stick with it. And it's not going to happen overnight. Um, and also by the way, you can destroy it overnight too. Um, if you, if you show your team it's so it's so hard in business and in life to build trust, it's so easy to break it. So you have to be consistent as well. 

[01:09:50] Jen Kern: Yeah. Wow. Well, thank you. I have certainly learned a lot and I'm sure this will be a very informative episode for our listeners as well. Um, thank you so much, Amir, for sharing all of there gems with us. And thank you for making so many awesome people happy around the area with those acai bowls that are so delicious.

[01:10:13] Um, so before we wrap, is there anything you else you want to plug for your business? Any, any final thoughts, um, in terms of Restaurants Reinvented, which you've been re-inventing from the get-go, so?

[01:10:25] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah, no. Thank you. Um, no, not really. I think, I think just one, one a story about acai, because you mentioned again. It reminds me, I wanted to just quickly tell you how I started selling acai bowls. When I first started, acai bowls were not on our menu. Um, no one had ever heard of acai bowls,

[01:10:44] right? But I was working in my juice bar one day and this surfer, classic surfer dude came in from Southern California, and he's like, "Hey, hey bro, can I make you something?" And I was like, "Sure." He jumped in behind the counter, I didn't know what he was making. I knew he was like wanting to sell me something,

[01:11:05] right? And he wanted to make me something to try. So it turns out he was making me an acai bowl. And I had never tried an acai bowl, I never heard of it before. And I tasted it and it was, for me, that like one of the greatest things I've ever tasted in my life. I was like, "What is this stuff? How do I get it? I need to put this on my menu."

[01:11:26] So I started, as far as I know, I was the first business on the East Coast to sell acai bowls. We started importing it, um, you know, it's 15 years ago. Started importing it, I had one bowl on the menu. We probably sold five or less a day, no one cared about it. But I loved it. And anyone who would listen to me, I would tell them to try it.

[01:11:48] I would give them samples of it. And then when I opened the South Block in Clarendon, we started off with, I think two bowls on the menu there, but then because I loved it so much and anyone that I let try it, loved it so much. I decided, "We got to make half of our menu acai bowl." So we did that. We have to be known as the place to get acai bowls the best. And the thing, I think the thing, the reason why it was successful, 'cause one, 'cause I loved it and people could see how much I loved it and wanted to share that with them.

[01:12:23] Um, so you have to, you have to love what you're, what you're selling. And, um, two is because w I, we make our acai bowls the same way we did when that surfer dude came in and showed us how to make one, which is not an easy process. There's been ways to make acai bowls now that are easier. You can scoop sorbet and not blend things,

[01:12:44] and, but we've decided we're going to keep doing it the same authentic way. No shortcuts. We have our, we have our own recipes that we've developed over the years, which by the way, I guess I've never been in food service before. I can't cook anything, I can only blend things. And most of the recipes I came up with like laying in bed, like daydreaming about things I want to put in a blender and then next day I'd come in and blend it.

[01:13:10] And usually it would taste good. I'm like, "Man, I guess I have a knack or instinct for how to create this stuff." So anyway, that's how acai bowls started. I think there's a lesson there on like how to convey, stick with something that you believe in and you're passionate about. Keep doing it the right way. Don't sell out.

[01:13:30] Don't take shortcuts. And you know, same thing applies to your company culture and your employee engagement. Believe in it. Stick with it. Don't take shortcuts. And eventually people will gravitate towards it. 

[01:13:45] Jen Kern: Yeah. Well, I can taste the difference. I'll just tell you that much. Because I eat acai bowls like when I travel a lot, I want to get one. Um, but yours was probably the first one I ever had. And it sets the bar really high, I will tell you that, for sure. Even without the Nutella, by the way. To get the Nutella on it.

[01:14:08] Um, 

[01:14:08] Amir Mostafavi: I do the, uh, the Almond butter bowl is my, is my... 

[01:14:12] Jen Kern: That's good too. Um, I think a really nice way to wrap would be, um, for you to tell me or not wrap... 

[01:14:19] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. They're... 

[01:14:20] Jen Kern: Um, uh, is to tell me one of your favorite stories about an employee. You know, like, I bet you have a lot of really cool stories and I'd love for you to share one.

[01:14:32] Amir Mostafavi: Well, let's see. Um, I guess, I guess I'll, I guess I'll, I'll tell a story about, um, I'm not really sure. So stick with me 'cause I'm not really sure where this story is going to go. But there's, like I said, I've had people that have been working with me for, um, 10 years or more. This particular guy, he started working with me, um, right before I opened South Block in Clarendon.

[01:15:00] I hired him to be my assistant manager, 'cause I didn't know how I was going to manage two stores without somebody else to help me. So, uh, this guy, uh, he, he came over to me from Chipotle and um, you know, in the beginning, um, we, we just had the two stores, Camp Campus Fresh and South Block. And like I said, and then I ended up changing Campus Fresh to South Block.

[01:15:23] But you know, I remember, um, in the early days when we opened South Block, uh, this employee's name, his name is Jose. Um, shout out to Jose,

[01:15:32] if he's listening. Um, he's still, he's still with me. But you know, I remember in the early days in the, when we were building the business, um, the winter times were slow. And it's still slower for us in the winter than it is in the summer times, of course, but not like it was back then. Because back then it wasn't as much eating healthy, eating juice, drinking juices, smoothies, acai bowls. It was more of like,

[01:15:59] "I've got to have a smoothie because it's cold outside." Then it started shifting around 2013 to being part of my lifestyle, my diet choice. Um, I really started seeing that with like the new generation and like the focus on, uh, especially with the millennial generation, like focusing on, um, um, eating healthier and what they're putting into their body.

[01:16:20] So, excuse me, we had, um, drink some water here. 

[01:16:26] Jen Kern: Yes. Drink some water. The frog out.

[01:16:29] Amir Mostafavi: So we had, our first couple of winters when we were first building the business was very slow. So it was just, you know, me and Jose and there day in and day out all winter, all winter long. And we were like, "Is this business gonna work? Are we gonna,..." There was, in the first couple of years, I thought I'd made a mistake and we were going to fail.

[01:16:49] So, even based on the success we had at Campus Fresh, I didn't mean our site, our location there at South Block was going to succeed. But Jose stuck with me. You know, I think a big reason why he's stuck with me is he believed in me. Um, you know, I think if you are, you have to have a certain amount of like stubbornness to be successful in business to not give up.

[01:17:15] And so I think Jose saw that in me, that I wasn't going to give up, and he stuck by my side. And he's with me, you know, 10 years later. He's probably worn every different hat in the company. Currently he's overseeing and managing the juice, commissary kitchen, but also overseas facility that helps overseas facilities and everything in between.

[01:17:38] Um, and he knows everything about running a South Block. But I think, um, you know, that's an example of, uh, of an employee, like whether you're starting off, if you're starting off like even in those early days, your passion, your work ethic inspires your,... it's going to inspire your employees to want to stick with you and stick by your side.

[01:18:03] Even if you have a business that feels like it's going nowhere. Um, so, you know, I appreciate, I appreciated him for believing in me, sticking with me. And then, you know, we have a T-shirts that say, "Believe in yourself," and then it highlights 'be you'. So that's been something that, you know, you got to believe in yourself.

[01:18:25] Other people will believe in you if you believe in yourself, and I truly believe that. I've never asked Jose specifically, but I think he stuck by me because he believed in me. And I want nothing more than for him believing in me, to be the right decision for him and to pay off for him. So that's what I, that's, what I mean by you have to make other people part of your journey, part of your dream.

[01:18:52] I can't just be about, "Hey, thanks for believing in me. Now I'm successful, good luck with whatever you're doing," you know what I mean? So you got to appreciate the people that believe in you and that stick by you. 

[01:19:05] Jen Kern: Yeah. That's so cool. And that is the phrase that I took a picture of once in your fast search store. It's said, "Believe in yourself and the be you," like you said, it's highlighted because everyone else has taken. There's only one you. 

[01:19:21] Amir Mostafavi: Right. And it starts with you, everything has to start with you. It's not, you can't, you can't look around looking for other people to make changes that are going to affect you. You guys got to start with you and it's... I started coaching my daughter's 11 year old basketball team and a lot of what we're doing works for 11 year old basketball coaching too. 

[01:19:41] Jen Kern: I bet. I bet it does. 

[01:19:43] Amir Mostafavi: In general,

[01:19:44] right? 

[01:19:44] Jen Kern: Yeah. Oh, fantastic. Well, thank you for setting such an amazing, an awesome example of how to do restaurants well, by putting people first, primarily your employees first. 

[01:19:58] Amir Mostafavi: Well, thank you. We're trying, and it's not always easy for us either. So, you know, everyone out there just stay positive and uh, you know,

[01:20:06] keep doing your thing, focus on your people, make sure you're good. Make sure that you, as the manager, owner, whatever you are, your mental state is good. Take care of yourself,

[01:20:18] 'cause you can't take care of other people if you're not good. 

[01:20:21] Jen Kern: Oh, a hundred percent. Amen to that. Well, thank you so much, Amir, for all your time and insights and great stories. It's been truly a pleasure to, to listen and learn from you. And I really, again, I thank you for everything you're doing in the community, and with your people, and that leadership development, that South Block Academy, and teaching business.

[01:20:41] I, I, I want to go through that academy myself. That sounds pretty darn, pretty darn cool. 

[01:20:46] Amir Mostafavi: So, selling courses, right? 

[01:20:47] Jen Kern: Yeah. So again, thanks for being such an awesome Block Star. I'm gonna just going to keep calling you that. 

[01:20:52] Amir Mostafavi: Yeah. No, thank you. Thank you for being a Block Star. 

[01:20:55] Jen Kern: Yeah. 

[01:20:56] Amir Mostafavi: All of our guests, all of our guests are Block Stars. Yeah. No, thanks for having me on. 

[01:21:01] Jen Kern: I've never taken your survey or, you know, fill that... I don't think I filled out the star thing, but I, I will say I've never had a bad experience at your store.

[01:21:09] I can't say that very many places I go. 

[01:21:12] Amir Mostafavi: Love it. But if you ever do, let me know. And you know, we're looking, we're always, looking for ways to improve, so. 

[01:21:17] Jen Kern: Well, yeah, I know how to reach you now. I know where you are. I will find you in that Jeep.

[01:21:25] Amir Mostafavi: You will, and my tags to the South Block, so. 

[01:21:28] Jen Kern: Alright. Well, you have an awesome rest of your day, Amir. 

[01:21:32] Amir Mostafavi: Thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. All right.