Notes

In this episode, we sit down with Andy Hooper, restaurant industry leader and former CEO of Hart House, to talk about how people development drives long-term success in hospitality. With experience scaling mission-driven brands and advising operators across the country, Andy offers a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to build teams that deliver consistently excellent service.

Hear Andy’s take on navigating leadership transitions, the future of hospitality, and how brands can maintain consistency as they scale. He shares what curiosity reveals in emerging leaders, why training programs should be built around business metrics, and how social dining is reshaping guest expectations.

From the value of frontline development to the operational metrics L&D teams should be tracking, Andy breaks down the systems and behaviors behind sustainable hospitality leadership.

Tune in to hear why understanding your employees’ lived experience is key to building loyalty — and how investing in people leads to real, measurable results.

Chapters

  • ‍‍00:00 Navigating Change in Leadership
  • 02:55 The Importance of People Development
  • 05:54 Trends and Challenges in the Restaurant Industry
  • 08:53 The Future of Hospitality
  • 11:53 Optimism in Social Dining
  • 14:54 The Value of Exceptional Hospitality
  • 20:21 The Power of Consistency in Hospitality
  • 25:32 Training and Development Challenges in Restaurants
  • 30:00 Linking Training Success to Business Metrics
  • 32:10 Spotting Potential Leaders: The Role of Curiosity
  • 38:35 Leadership Lessons and Personal Growth

About Us

‍Opus is the training operations platform purpose-built for the frontline. Train 100% of your team in 101 languages on the job to quickly get them up the productivity curve. With full visibility across your workforce, you get the frontline business intelligence needed to drive your business.

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