German-Inspired Food & Seasonal Craft Beer Oktoberfest- Thursday, September 21 - Tuesday, October 4 Negroni Week- Thursday, September 14th - Sunday, September 24ĭrink for a Cause with a special Negroni Menu! So as you grow and build and you have chefs and you have people and everybody has their vision, you want to keep evolving it.Four Amazing Tacos + Three Tasty Tequila Cocktails after 3pm But I need to build it with people because I’m one guy. I see a nice coffee shop roasting coffee, I want to make my own version. I want to have one restaurant for every cuisine there is out there. He expects the same from his future brands, where his personality-a self-described never-give-up attitude- is adopted by all of his employees. Where can you find the money, at the cheapest price possible, to grow your business and stay affordable?”ĭegel says his motto is “one customer, one steak, one martini at a time.” He attributes the success of his Meat House and Steakhouse to organization, cleanliness, and detail-orientation. So you’re looking to get money different ways. It takes a lot of love, it takes a lot of people, it takes a lot of infrastructure, and it takes a lot of money. “You can look and map it out and go from the East Coast to the West Coast and then cover all of America, to out-of-state, other countries,” Degel says. Degel spent two and half years and 58 episodes starring in Food Network’s “Restaurant Stakeout,” where he went behind the scenes to help restaurants around the country.Īs expansion reaches a certain point, Degel says, the next step would be to go public with an IPO and get more people invested in his brands. I can help them with the vision, as long as they’re willing to dig in, do the work, own it along with me, execute, feedback and take care of the guests, we can do it.”ĭegel, sometimes referred to as the “Steak Doctor,” opened his first restaurant in Queens in 1990 and opened the first Steakhouse six years later. “Today as you evolve and you grow your business, the infrastructure I have-I could be the bank, I could be the corporate support. “So, in the store in Duluth, I have people who work for me or used to work for me, that that was part of their dream and vision, and I can pull them into that and make them working partners,” Degel says. He wants to build the Jack’s Shacks around his employees, which he enjoys doing. Ideally, he wants about one food truck per two to three stores. He sees them as a cross-promotional opportunity where employees in the restaurants can popularize the food trucks and vice versa. So Degel’s thoughts led him to food trucks. His brands often participate in events and staff has to set up for those occasions. It also presents a way to market each of his restaurants. “I love the growth of the South-anything I can do to take care of my customers and build the brand and make sure everybody at every level at every occasion can afford and eat my brands,” Degel says.ĭegel says that with the food truck, he can sell high-quality items at an affordable price because of the low overhead. He wants developers and entrepreneurs to contact him and send proposals so he can plant seeds and get boots on the ground. His target markets are in the South-Georgia, the Carolinas, and Florida. They train, they open, and every time you do it, you get better at it.” You go in, they love it, they love the pressure, the stress. “… You just build a team that opens places. “I’m growing my team and my people, so I need great people onboard to help me grow and be a part of this,” Degel says. A long-term goal is to open 10 to 15 stores in the next three to five years. The first Jack’s Tavern is scheduled for Lawrenceville, Georgia, in September. READ MORE: Willie Degel sounds off on politics, how they're killing restaurants, and why he keeps fightingĭegel’s plan is to open a second Meat House in Peach Tree Corners, Georgia, in August, and another in Miami later in the year. He envisions the Shack as a fast-grab, affordable eatery that showcases items from all of his brands like signature burgers, chicken sandwiches, disco fries, steak sandwiches, brisket, and more. Degel says there will be diverse cuisines, including Italian, Asian, Latin/Mexican-infused, South American, and classic American dishes. He described the Tavern as a farm-to-table neighborhood grill and pub, with a scratch-made, chef-driven kitchen. In 2020, he’s not only seeking more Meat Houses, but also two new concepts-Jack’s Shack food trucks and another restaurant, Jack’s Tavern. The industry veteran owns two Uncle Jack’s Steakhouses in New York City and two Uncle Jack’s Meat Houses in New York and Duluth, Georgia. Since Willie Degel started in the restaurant business, he’s wanted to grow and build, and the former Food Network star believes this is the year to start evolving.
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