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In this episode of The Bottom Line Podcast, host Naki Soyturk sits down with Arita Matini, co-founder of Sweet Leaf Café — a family-owned fast-casual brand with six thriving locations in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Arita shares her entrepreneurial journey from studying interior design to opening her first restaurant in McLean, Virginia during the 2009 recession. She reveals how her vision for affordable, healthy, everyday food resonated with her community and how Sweet Leaf has grown to offer breakfast all day, signature sandwiches, salads, grain bowls, and fresh soups.

The conversation covers strategies for growth without heavy marketing, including leveraging catering as a major revenue driver, the importance of relationship-building in B2B sales, adapting location strategy between suburban and office districts, and thriving amid competition from national chains. Arita also reflects on the role of culture, employee retention, and consistent customer experience in Sweet Leaf’s success.

Guest Links
Website: sweetleafcafe.com
Instagram: @sweet_leaf_cafe
Locations: Find a Sweet Leaf Café

Takeaways:

• Starting small and local can lead to strong community loyalty.
• Catering offers high-margin growth potential when paired with personal outreach.
• Consistency in quality, service, and culture is key to competing in a crowded market.
• Adapting location strategy to customer behavior ensures long-term sustainability.
• Strong employee relationships drive customer experience and retention.

Quotes

1. “If you feel like you belong, they don’t ask questions — you just have to fake it till you make it.”
   
   
2. “People don’t want to think; they just want the item to be ready and good at the end.”
   
   
3. “The success of our business is only thanks to … our employees.”
   
   
4. “Catering takes a lot of relationship building — it’s all about trust.”

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to Arita Matini and Sweet Leaf Café
01:16 – From interior design to launching a restaurant
04:16 – The Menu and Locations
06:48 – Menu evolution and creating signature items
10:42 – Building catering as a revenue driver
15:38 – Location strategy: suburban vs. office areas
18:27 – Competing in D.C.’s crowded fast-casual market
22:13 – The role of culture and employees in success
26:08 – What’s next for Sweet Leaf Café
31:43 – Get ahold of Arita Matini

Welcome to The Bottom Line – the real talk podcast about restaurant profit and growth. Each episode, we explore the decisions, systems, and stories behind the most successful food businesses out there in the market. No fluff. No hype. Just real operators, real challenges, and real advice from people who know how to get results. Let's get to The Bottom Line.

Have a question or need a professional opinion? Reach out!

Web: https://consultingaccross.com

Get a Free Profitability Audit

Connect with Naki on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ufuksoyturk/

Send us a text

In this episode of The Bottom Line, Naki sits down with Brooks Bassler, founder of BB’s Tex-Orleans, to unpack the origin story and explosive growth of one of Houston’s most beloved restaurant brands. Brooks shares how his Southern roots and experiences in the restaurant industry inspired him to launch the first location with no menu, just a drive to build something unique for late-night Cajun-style dining with a Texas twist.

Brooks shares the early days of risking it all, opening too many locations too fast, and the lessons behind the stores that succeeded and the one that had to close. He shares his expectations and philosophy behind hiring the right people and how if you want an A grade process then you need A grade operators. This episode is a playbook for anyone building a business from the ground up—without losing their soul in the process.

🔗 Brooks Bassler’s Links:

Website: https://bbstexorleans.com
Instagram: BB's Tex-Orleans (@bbstexorleans) • Instagram photos and videos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooks-bassler-37a49410/

💡 What You’ll Learn
- The key mindset shift that helped Brooks scale beyond one location
- Remember to listen to what the customers want
- Why keeping the books tight in the early days mattered
- Dangers of growing too quickly (5 locations in 15 months)
- Impact of top level operators if you want top level results
- Why your staff needs an “Ownership Mentality”
- The role of personal accountability in business success

💬 Key Quotes
“I didn’t know how to do it, but I knew I’d figure it out.”
“We’re the best late-night dining restaurant in the city. I don’t care what anybody says.”
“If your GM’s a B player, you got a B training program.”
“You can have all the systems and procedures and blah blah blah—but if your GM is not a player, your training is going to suck.”
“Ownership mentality is one of our core values.”

YouTube Chapters
00:00 – Intro & Meet Brooks Bassler
01:20 – Humble Beginnings to First Location
05:04 – Give the Customer What They Want (Crawfish Story)
06:57 – Menu And A+ Locations
09:43 – Breaking Past The Bottle Neck
13:16 – Ownership Mentality and Hiring High Skilled Operators
20:31 – The Right Structure Requires the Right GM
26:16 – ROI on the Right Operator
29:39 – What Prevents Raising Prices on Operators and Overhead
33:10 – Hidden Costs of Restaurant Management
35:10 – Developing A Sales Forecast

Welcome to The Bottom Line – the real talk podcast about restaurant profit and growth. Each episode, we explore the decisions, systems, and stories behind the most successful food businesses out there in the market. No fluff. No hype. Just real operators, real challenges, and real advice from people who know how to get results. Let's get to The Bottom Line.

Have a question or need a professional opinion? Reach out!

Web: https://consultingaccross.com

Get a Free Profitability Audit

Connect with Naki on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ufuksoyturk/

Send us a text

In this episode of The Bottom Line, Naki Soyturk sits down with Shawn Walchef, founder of Cali BBQ and Cali BBQ Media. What started as a single-location barbecue restaurant in San Diego has evolved into a national brand and thought leader in hospitality tech and digital storytelling.

Shawn shares the philosophy behind turning every restaurant into a media company, breaking down how consistent storytelling builds brand equity and customer trust. From using content to drive catering sales to automating digital hospitality through smart tech, Shawn outlines a playbook any operator can follow.

This episode is a must-listen for any owner or GM wondering how to stand out in an AI-driven, content-hungry world—and how to build a brand that lasts longer than the next trend.

Shawn Walchef’s Links:
Website: https://calibbq.media
Instagram: @shawnpwalchef
Podcast: Cali BBQ Media

What You’ll Learn

• Why every restaurant is already a media company—whether they admit it or not
• How Cali BBQ built a global brand with one location and a smartphone
• The “3 Ts” that every operator must master: Time, Temperature, and Tech
• Why storytelling beats advertising for long-term success
• How podcasting and video built a stronger catering business
• The mindset shift required to invest in content even when it feels like a luxury
• What hospitality looks like in a digital-first world

00:00 – Meet Shawn
01:38 – Time of Technology and Story Telling
05:30 – Shawn's Podcast, Cali BBQ Media
06:27 -- Getting Started
08:22 -- Digital Hospitality
12:20 – How Companies Tell Their Stories
18:42 – Who is Going to Listen to Me?
26:31 – Treating Vendors like Partners
27:51 -- True Partnership Matters
28:38 – What Transparency Can Do For Your Professional Relationships
31:09 – Connect with Shawn

Welcome to The Bottom Line – the real talk podcast about restaurant profit and growth. Each episode, we explore the decisions, systems, and stories behind the most successful food businesses out there in the market. No fluff. No hype. Just real operators, real challenges, and real advice from people who know how to get results. Let's get to The Bottom Line.

Have a question or need a professional opinion? Reach out!

Web: https://consultingaccross.com

Get a Free Profitability Audit

Connect with Naki on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ufuksoyturk/