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HOST: ALICE CHENG
So excited to have Stephanie Castellucci here with us today. Stephanie is the Co-Owner and Director of Human Resources at Castellucci Hospitality Group, family-owned and operated restaurants in the Southeast: Atlanta area and Nashville and potentially expanding. We'll hear about more of that. Strive to pursue and perfect dining experience, one guest at a time. I can attest to that. It includes restaurants, Cooks & Soldiers, Double Zero, MUJŌ, Sujo, The Iberian Pig. Multiple locations, you might have heard of some of them. Thank you Stephanie for joining us today.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, I'm so excited. We recently reconnected while we were at an event, Team Hidi down in Atlanta. And so I was immediately reminded of all the fun times I've had in your establishments over the years. But we are curious to understand how did it all begin? Because I feel like restaurants and hospitality just, like, run through your blood. Like literally.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Definitely, yeah. So my brothers and I were actually the fifth generation of restaurateurs in our family. We were fully immersed, grew up in the business. My parents had restaurants in Rhode Island prior to us moving to Atlanta. And all of our first childhood memories are in that restaurant in Rhode Island. And then once we moved down here and we were tall enough to hit the counter, we were off to work and helping my parents with their restaurant that we started here over 20 years ago at this point.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Wow, wow, fifth generation. No pressure at all, no pressure. I mean, at that point, are you just expected to do this for the rest of your life?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Interestingly, no.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah. Great, great, let's talk about that.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
My parents really gave us the option, opportunity to really do other things. We all really, I think, realized throughout our childhood and early adulthood that we really had all a passion for hospitality and for restaurants and couldn't see another career path forward outside of that.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, I feel like it… I remember chatting with your brother, with Fred, and he was talking about his tech life, and then of course, in the hospitality industry, just sucks you back in. So take me back. So early on, part just by default, part probably because you enjoyed it, you started working in restaurants. What were some of the things that, at that time, were you like, “This is great, I want to do this,” or was it more like, “Ugh, I have to go work in a restaurant”?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
I mean, it was definitely a little bit of both. I mean there's a certain expectation, or really at the time, it was a need. Like we couldn't afford to bring on a huge staff. We couldn't afford managers and chefs and all of the things that make restaurants run and run well. It was all really run by our family, and that initially very much came out of necessity. So I started off in the kitchen. I was a line cook basically working every station, working my way through the stations. And my older brother, Fred, also worked in the kitchen, and eventually my youngest brother, John, who's four years younger, came into it as well. And so all of our first experiences were in the kitchen and prepping, working service, closing down dish pit, doing all of the things that were necessary to run a shift. You know, initially that was out of necessity. And of course, you're a kid, you’re wanting to do other things like go to the movies with your friends. But it never really felt begrudgingly, it just felt like it was what was needed to help our family.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a genius strategic move by your parents for being like, “Yeah, do whatever you want. Just get on the line and help out a little bit, and learn all the stations, and go to school for hospitality, and then select your career.” So you did go to college. You went to Cornell for Hospitality School of Hotel Administration.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
I did, yeah, so the hotel school was really… It was either going to the hotel school, or I wanted to essentially just go to the West Coast and be at a beautiful college somewhere there and be around good weather.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Palm trees and low humidity.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, I ended up in upstate New York where it's freezing and snowing in May, but I loved my college experience. I definitely did not take it for granted because I knew that once I graduated, it was just going to be working nonstop and being a part of the restaurant.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
And so when you graduate, you just go back right back into it?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
I did, yeah, we were at a really, really challenging point, and with our family, we had two locations of a restaurant – Sugo, and we had started to franchise that, and things were transparently not going well. So I graduated, I moved back home, I moved in with my parents and was essentially just ride sharing car with my dad to work every day and go to the restaurant, and I was the only manager there for a while. So it was definitely one of those things where I, you know, you know what you're signing up for, but I knew that as soon as I got home, it was off to the races trying to figure things out and get back to a place of stability.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, and I would say–and I don't want to fast forward because I'm sure there are a lot of different years and things that happen throughout all this time–but you guys entered into a period of growth not too long ago, I would say pre-pandemic, because it started to expand a little bit more. Curious how oftentimes we see situations where the business has been in the family and then the next generation either takes it over or doesn't. And they need to rely on other folks that they've trusted and other leaders that they've brought up through the process. So when you were looking at, ok this is going to be your thing, I mean, at some point you must have realized where you all expected that you were going to stay, right?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
At a certain point.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Were you like, “Okay, I have all these ideas. I want to do all these things. I want to expand,” etc.? Take me through some of that thinking and timing.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, for sure. Really, my brother Fred has always been the driving force behind our growth, and where we're going next, and what next lease are we signing, where are we going into. And I've always been the more operations-focused, HR-focused. You know, how do we get the people in place to be able to grow to be able to do those things? So I think from a growth strategy, we’re a family-owned restaurant group. You know, we don't come from money, we don't have investors. From a financial piece, we've always really grown at a rate that's sustainable for us and that allows us to grow and be able to remain the decision makers and not have to answer to investors.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, and that's a big business decision in and of itself in a lot of cases as well, family or not. When you have a team of leaders and partners and you have something and you're looking at growth and expansion, there are different ways to do it. Some are… I mean, I wouldn't say there's any easy way to do it, but there's different ways to do it.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, and for us it's really just been the long game. You know, we've had Sugo, our restaurant in Johns Creek for over 20 years, and the location that we opened after that was Iberian Pig on Decatur Square in 2009, and from there, we were growing one restaurant every few years. And I think at the point we're at now, that's increased a little bit, but you know, our strategy is never to stamp out as much as possible as quickly as possible. It's always just really about finding the right location, the right concept, and most importantly, the right team to be a part of that.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, and was it natural the way you all kind of fell into your own “segments,” if you will, or…?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
It was, yeah, I mean, I was definitely like a hack line cook. I could get the job done, but there was no finesse. And I honestly was… I'm like the least organized on the line compared to my two brothers.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
John's like, “Step aside, I got this.”
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
And John's like, “Please move out of the way so I can do my job.” So John really focused on the culinary piece and naturally stepped into that. He ended up going to the CIA, the Culinary Institute of America, and ended up taking on some really great externships outside of working with us over many, many years, but able to go out and do really unique things that really set us up for success.
Like right before we opened Cooks & Soldiers, he was able to move to San Sebastián in Basque Country, which is what Cooks & Soldiers is all about. And I was able to work at a really awesome Michelin star restaurant there and gain knowledge and do things that were really crucial to the operation for sure. So I think we all really naturally kind of fell into our own arenas, with Fred being more, like… he's like a little bit more risk-forward than I am. Like, okay, let's assess whatever, everything that's going on. And he's always been, you know, more fearless in that way.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
I love it. Sometimes when I meet family or siblings that work together and it works out really well, I'm always reminded of like, I love my brother, but I'm like, I don't think that would work. I don't think I could work with him.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
A lot of people say that to me. They, like, talk about their own family dynamics and why that was maybe not, you know, the right path for them.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah. Yeah. So when I see it all in harmony, it's, you know, I'm sure there are tough days and then there are really wonderful days. But it's always nice to see the pieces fit together.
So focusing back on you, like over the years now you've stepped into/you've always been doing operations and people. And I feel like I may be mistaken, but you can correct me. I want to say either a handful of years or–it gets cloudy with the pandemic–you stepped into more of a Director/HR, like you really took over in a more deliberate way, because you were doing it anyway as your company was growing into doing more of that. So when you look at leadership and growing people–since the three of you are at the top, if you will–what do you look for as you're looking at how you grow people in the different concepts that you have?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Definitely. Yeah, I think from every single position in the restaurant, we look for the same qualities, and then looking for people that want to grow with us and have those unique characteristics, and I think it all starts with having a level of sincere hospitality and passion for what you do. And I think there are so many things that you can teach someone, but it's hard to tell somebody to be a certain way. It's like there are some innate characteristics that individuals have that, for our company specifically, allow them to foster that and be able to grow. I think that grit is really important, and I think that's important for anybody that works in restaurants. But for us, it's really having like-minded individuals that are really focused on the guest experience and the staff experience, really investing in those relationships and really thinking about it in the long game of “how can I invest into my team, invest into our guests to allow for that growth?”
And from a leadership perspective, we really look for team members that are wanting to mentor and grow other people and coach so that they can help move them up. And that doesn't necessarily always mean move up within our restaurant or restaurant group. It might be helping them get to other promotions in their career that aren't related to restaurants at all. I think a lot of the things that you learn in restaurants is very applicable to every single aspect of your life and other jobs that you take on.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Absolutely. Yeah.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
So I think thinking about it in that light, it's, you know, everyone talks about how restaurants are such a transient thing and there's always people coming and going, and sure that's true. And there are a lot of people that are in it for the long run and want to be in restaurants for a long period of time. We have servers of ours that are with us, and we know they're gonna be with us for a year. They're going through school, but providing them everything that we can give them to be able to help be successful in other aspects of their life is equally as important as mentoring, growing individuals that you feel like are gonna grow within.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, that's one of the many wonderful things, quite frankly, about this industry. And over the years, and something that we really push at Culinary Agents is, you know, this is a profession, it's a noble profession. It's not for everyone. But one of the beautiful things is the skills and the networks and the people that you meet here. And you can take that with you, whether it's a career further into hospitality or in an adjacent part of the industry or out of the industry. And I think the more that people understand that, the more that they take their time here, I shouldn't say more seriously, but differently. They approach it differently. And we're seeing that across the board. And I love that for the industry. And I love that for how you approach leadership and how you support your team as well.
How do you continue to stay inspired? I mean, John got to go play in San Sebastián.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, I mean, there's always like long stretches of just kind of put your head down and get done what you need to get done. And that's always been kind of within our family. That's always just been an understanding. It's like there are these pockets of time where it's like you're just in it and you're in it, and you’re there, and you just need to do at all costs whatever is necessary to move the ship forward. And then you kind of find those pockets of time to be able to gain inspiration and do other things.
I think for me, dining out at other restaurants is where I get the most refreshment and inspiration, through travel or just dining out in nearby cities or even restaurants within Atlanta as well. So I think that most of my inspiration either comes from talking to people that are in hospitality or hospitality-adjacent or gaining inspiration from dining experiences and in that realm.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, it's great. You know, obviously a lot of people who are in the industry–I would even argue most–love it, even outside of work. You know, they grind and they work and they work. And you would think that you just don't want to like… you just want to go home and sit in a quiet room and stare at a wall. But then the joys of what keeps people inspired is going out to other places, and meeting other people in the industry ,and enjoying food and wine with them. So that's great. That's how I stay inspired too. I just go check out more places and meet more people in the industry. And so, I would say MUJŌ, is that still kind of the newer concept as a group that was right after–? That's like 2022. That's kind of like, I don't know, when did MUJŌ open?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, definitely. I can talk through the timeline there. So, MUJŌ actually started off as a pop-up out of our restaurant Cooks & Soldiers.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yes, I remember.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
So, during COVID, our chef Jordan–he was living in New York–came down. That then was a temporary arrangement where we were going to operate this pop-up out of our pintxo counter at Cooks & Soldiers and execute really high-end takeout sushi. And this was like the peak of the pandemic, essentially. And there was a space that became available right next to us at Cooks & Soldiers that was really the exact size and scope we were really looking for. So we were able to take over that location and open that brick and mortar in 2022 with our chef-partner who really drove the bus from a creativity & otherwise perspective with my brother Fred. And that was really both of their passion projects.
And it's been so great honestly, because it's good to be comfortably uncomfortable and doing things that you didn't think that initially would be in your scope, and it's been really energizing to be around different people that really execute at a high level for something completely different than we've done in the past.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, and it gained fanfare rather quickly, you know, right away. And then in 2023, the first–actually that was the first year that Michelin was in Atlanta, and it got a star.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, definitely, yeah, it was so awesome. And we were just really glad that the Michelin Guide came to Atlanta, and recognizing Atlanta as a food city was really, I think, a win for the city as a whole for sure.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, I think people often have, I shouldn't say love-hate relationships with awards or awarding distinctions and stuff like that. But I think what we're seeing from Michelin–and as they continue to expand, because they just announced a bunch more cities–is that they're really kind of shining the spotlight in a little bit of a different way to these cities and not just from the guest perspective, but also from people who want to learn and grow and work in other areas. Right?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Absolutely.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
So that's been that's been really cool to see from our side as well.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
I know. It's funny that you say that because that was the one thing, when I heard that the Michelin Guide was coming to Atlanta, and probably similarly to you and what you were thinking was I hope that this just brings more talent to our city. And I thought about it mainly from an HR perspective of, like, hopefully this will gain traction for people from other parts of the country and world that want to come to Atlanta and work here.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Absolutely. I mean you got to keep that HR hat and the People & Culture hat on. And I think, you know, we've been nationwide at Culinary Agents as you know, and we've always tracked some migration patterns, and we talked to people. And you know, there is something to be said about putting on your resume having worked at a Michelin-starred establishment or Michelin-recognized or Relais & Châteaux, any of these kind of distinctions, largely because more people can associate or familiar with it. So that kind of gives you a little bit of a clout, if you will, or kind of gives people the perception of, “Okay, well, this person had a certain level of training (or whatever this type of experience), they can probably do this, that and the other.” And it's a little more difficult if you're not as familiar with the establishments. And there's so many different restaurants and this, that and the other. It's really a great thing to see. Also to continue that kind of professionalism and that growth and giving people more options and flexibility to continue down their career path, if you will.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Definitely, yeah, and it's honestly happened even internally within our restaurant group. We've had servers that have been promoted to MUJŌ, and being able to kind of take that next step in their career and work in that “true” fine dining environment. All of our restaurants are finer dining, but in that true fine dining atmosphere has also been really great and able to allow for us to have people grow from within.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, yeah. And we're the only site where you can actually search for jobs based upon Michelin stars. Anyway, I had to put that plug in there. So what's next?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, yeah, so we after MUJŌ opened, we opened Iberian Pig in Nashville, which has been going really, really great, in no small part to the team that we were able to cultivate there. So we were able to promote our GM Kara to Iberian Pig in Nashville. She's been with us for almost 10 years. And Tony Pell, he was moved over as our Chef de Cuisine and is now our Executive Chef. And then we also had dining room managers and sous chefs that we were able to bring with us and promote. One of our sous chefs, Dre, that moved up there, he actually started off with us as a dishwasher and moved his way up.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Wow.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
And that was his first big like out of state move. We were able to really cultivate an all-star team to open that restaurant, and it's been really, really great. I mean, Nashville as a city is awesome. It's a really fun city. It also brings a large amount of tourism, and it's just been…
HOST: ALICE CHENG
The stars are going there too.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, and it's just been such a fun, you know, fun restaurant and just a really great endeavor so far. So our next move, we're opening an Iberian Pig in Charlotte, which we're really excited about. So we just signed a lease on that and are in the design and construction phase of that, from the bidding process on the construction side, but have a really great designer that's worked with us before. That piece of it, that's really the next thing on the horizon. And then we have a restaurant that we're opening here in Atlanta, in Buckhead, really close to Iberian Pig and Buckhead at 99 West Paces which will be another partnership with our Chef J. Trent from MUJŌ. [He] will be really overseeing this next big project that we're doing at 99 Paces, which will also be a sister restaurant to MUJŌ and that fine dining spectrum but really more centered around wood-fired Japanese steaks.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Wow!
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
So yeah, so we have a lot going on, but again, kind of growing in that way that's sustainable for us.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Yeah, and I love that you're bringing people in from your team, whether they're partners or they're just folks that you're offering another opportunity. Oftentimes people are like, you know… not that that's the only reason to grow, but talent retention definitely is something that is a benefit when you are looking to grow. These two recent, well, these two Iberian Pigs, they're the first ones that you and your brothers are opening outside of Atlanta, correct?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Exactly, yeah. So Nashville was our first out-of-state restaurant ever, so Iberian Pig in Nashville, when that opened in 2023–
HOST: ALICE CHENG
What was the hardest part of that?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
That's a great question. I think the hardest part for me personally was the recruiting piece of it prior to our opening, and figuring out the channels and avenues in which we were going to be able to get talent and figure that part out, I think, was one of the most challenging pieces. Nashville, you know, a couple hours away, it's like we don't know if anybody in Nashville even knows who we are. So it's like, how do we find people that want to come work for us that, prior to maybe a job ad posting, they had no idea who we were, what we were doing. So I think the recruiting piece of that was the most, I guess, frightening for me, but ended up working out really well. And we had a really, really incredible opening team and a lot of those opening team members are still with us.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Great, great. Well, I'm excited. I'm long overdue to make it out to Nashville. And I already told my–I have cousins in Charlotte. I already sent them Fred's little sneak peek reel on Instagram. I'm like, “They're coming!”
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Nice.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
So they're all really excited. That seems to be like a food hub that's emerging in Charlotte. But on that note, I think we're going to quick-fire.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Okay, sounds good.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
What advice would you tell your younger self?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
I think just to keep the main thing the main thing, focus on what's in front of you and what's most important, and not get distracted by a million other things.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
What's your advice for someone struggling in the industry?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, I think just evaluating what's really important to you both inside and outside of work and really noting that, writing it down, and figuring out the best path forward. If that's to stay in or get out or make a move, it's really kind of putting pen to paper and thought to what is, at the core, most important to you?
HOST: ALICE CHENG
What's your advice for fellow hospitality leaders?
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just continuing to pour into your people. And I think I get the most reward and gratitude… I feel like my greatest happiness comes from my relationships and investing in those relationships. And I think that goes for inside and outside of work, and I think just focusing on that is probably one of the most important things that you can do just in your life.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Great. Well, Stephanie, thank you so much for taking some time to share about your career path and advice and sharing some of your exciting growth plans you have for your group. And I can't wait to see more.
GUEST: STEPHANIE CASTELLUCCI
Yeah, definitely. Looking forward to it.
HOST: ALICE CHENG
Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected].
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