If you care about leadership rooted in character, community, and real-world experience, this episode is worth your time. Josh Johnston shares an honest look at building and sustaining values-driven businesses in one of the toughest industries out there. From bartender to president of a multi-concept restaurant group, he speaks candidly about leadership mistakes, hiring for character, and why being nice is still a competitive advantage. It’s a grounded, insightful conversation for founders and people leaders who want to build teams and businesses that truly matter.
We always try to hire for character first, because we can teach process. – Josh Johnston
Josh Johnston LinkedIn
Independent Restaurant Concepts (IRC): https://www.irc-nw.com/restaurants
Suzanne Hanifin President LinkedIn
Tanis Morris Business Development LinkedIn
Hiring For Good Website: https://www.hiringforgood.net/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hiring-for-good-podcast/id1725208602
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/288s2urueV7xjlsFoYW8QN
Acumen Executive Search Website: https://www.acumenexecutivesearch.com/
Hiring for Good Transcript
Tanis Morris: Well, good morning, and uh, welcome to Hiring for Good. Today, we are joined by a leader whose impact on Portland extends far beyond the restaurant industry. Josh Johnston is the president of Independent Restaurant Concepts, the group behind some of Portland’s most beloved and community-rooted dining destinations. Under his leadership, IRC has become known for crafting spaces that blend creativity, hospitality, and operational excellence while also nurturing teams that truly thrive. But Josh’s entrepreneurial reach goes well beyond IRC. He’s a serial entrepreneur who successfully runs multiple companies simultaneously, bringing the same intentionality, innovation, and people-first mindset to every venture he touches. Josh is also deeply invested in the broader Portland community. He’s a respected philanthropist, an active contributor on, uh, to local causes, and a dedicated member of several professional organizations, including Portland Executives, where he is known for his integrity, generosity, and collaborative spirit. Today, we’ll dive into his leadership journey, the values that guide his decision-making, and how he builds strong teams across very different kinds of businesses, all while staying grounded in service to the community. Josh, welcome to Hiring for Good.
Suzanne Hanifin: Welcome, Josh.
Josh Johnston: Thank you. So, I can we end it right there because that was the, the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.
Tanis: Well, um, you know, I, um, feel lucky to, uh, have known you through a number of different professional organizations, and, um, every word is true, and I’m just really glad to have you as a as a guest with us today. So, I guess, um, let’s go ahead and have you tell us a little bit about your journey, um, to becoming a business leader. You can start in childhood. You can start…”
Josh: That’s a long story.
Tanis: Yeah, that’s okay. That’s good.
Josh: I’ll keep the long story as short as I can, but, uh, my father, uh, grew up very poor, son of a sharecropper in Iowa. You know, one classic story, one, one faucet of running water in the house, and they’d heat the water and fill the bathtub, and all take, take turns, uh, bathing in the kitchen in the pale, right? And, and, he got a a really, uh, lucky opportunity. Uh, the the banker in the hometown kind of bet on him and front fronted him the money to go to college because he wasn’t going to be able to afford it, and, uh, ended up being kind of a first-generation college student in our family and changed the trajectory of our family.
Tanis: Wow.
Josh: Um, the reason I tell you that is because there wasn’t a lot of guidance from his dad on on prepping him for what you’re going to do beyond working on the farm.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And so when it came time for me to start, uh, becoming an adult when I was a senior in high school, the conversation went something like, “What are you going to do next year because you can’t stay here?” I said, “Oh, okay.” And I went back, and I thought about it a little. I said, “Well, I came back a couple days later said, “Well, I guess I could get a job or join the military or go to college.” Said, “Sound like great ideas. Let me know what you decide.” Oh, okay. And went back. What are all my friends doing? I don’t know. What do I want to do? And I came back to the table, said, “I think I’m going to go to college.” “Great. Let me know how that works out.”
Okay. So, off I went. And it was, well, where am I going to go to college? Why am I going to go to college? And and so, I kind of had to, uh, figure out what my success criteria was. And I said, well, I want to I want to leave California and see something new. I I was a rugby player. And so, I wanted to play rugby. And I wanted to be a forestry major. And my idea of forestry was, uh, you know, kind of hiking in my short shorts around Yosemite as a park ranger and getting paid 100 grand a year. And when I got to Corvalis, Oregon, uh, and their forestry department, I figured out I was standing in the rain with a bunch of guys counting trees and I went, I don’t know if this is exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I but I ended up staying and uh went through school and after school ended up working, uh, mostly in sales. Um, I was a mortgage banker. Um, I sold, you know, I I helped recruit and train people for a sales company. Uh, and then worked in high-tech sales for a number of years. And I, and I was naturally good at it. Um, I also just didn’t really care that much, and I was young and living in a studio apartment with no overhead and making plenty of money, and just didn’t care, and I had a really easy life. Um, but at a certain point, that cubicle just started kind of sucking the soul out of me, and my grandfather was, uh, self-employed. My my father ended up being self-employed, both entrepreneurs, and I I I just kind of decided I wanted to be my own boss.
And I I left said, “Okay, I’m out of here.” And then I went, “Oh shit, what am I going to do? I’m not qualified to do anything.” I know how to sell things, but I I have no skill or trade. I am not an engineer, you know, and so, I, uh, I actually bought that book, uh What Color Is Your Parachute?
Tanis: Oh, yeah.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: And went through the exercise and the process. You know, I see how hard my dad had worked and I figured that I really better pick something that I love and that I enjoy because I’m basically going all in. I’m going to marry myself to this choice. And, uh, I went round and round and I I ended up looking at all these different jobs and things I had done. I went, you know what? Bartending was the absolutely the funnest job I’ve ever had. I’m going to open a bar. And I I had worked in restaurants. And so, um, I left high-tech and then I went, well, I better go back to bartending cuz I don’t know exactly how I’m going to do this. And I went back to bartending and helped open up as one of the opening bartenders on a big project called Henry’s down in the Pearl District.
Suzanne: Love Henry’s.
Tanis: Yeah, I remember that. Yeah.
Josh: It was a big, a big thing. And then bartended at Jake’s Grill, another kind of classic place.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And I did that for about two years. And in that two-year process, I rotated through a couple, uh, potential business partners. Um, I wanted a partner. I I wanted somebody to kind of share the the load as well as the reward with. And we had to figure out how to build a business plan and how to go find money and and the whole process of of becoming a small business owner. And it took about 2 years before we signed a lease on our first spot. And that was, um, 19 years ago this last November. So, we’re coming up on our 20th year.
Suzanne: Congratulations.
Tanis: Yes. And so, that was the very first spot. Is, do you still have that particular….
Josh: I do. I do. It’s called North 45.
Tanis: Okay.
Josh: And I just got done repainting and putting lighting in and reupholstering and trying to trying to put a little lipstick on the pig….
Tanis: Yeah, right.
Josh: And reinvest a bit for our 20th year.
Tanis: Okay.
Josh: Try to, you know, it’s the the way the kind of the modern consumer works now is, um, you know, what’s the new shiny penny? And so to stay relevant, you have to work really hard.
Tanis: Totally.
Josh: We figured 20 years is a good story to tell and maybe let’s, uh, make it pretty and get some people in the door.
Tanis: And then, so from there, how long was it before you bought your next location? Like, how many locations do you have now?
Josh: Sure.
Tanis: I mean, you have a lot going on.
Josh: How many have we had versus how many we have now?
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: It’s always a moving target, but, uh, uh, we have nine now. Uh, it we operated North 45 for about 2 years and, um, you know we couldn’t afford to pay both of us when we got started and I had the bar experience, so I said well I’ll take the bar job and my business partner went and took a day job and he would come in at night and sit with a very scowling, kind of stressed look on his face. He was the numbers guy.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And at one point, you know, I had to tell him like you’ve got to leave, what I’m like, your energy is freaking people out, you got to get out of here, and I’m I’m I’m in the fun business And, uh, and we did that for about 2 years. Um, and in concert with me having my first child, so who I did not see for the whole first year of his life.
Tanis: Oh, I bet. Wow.
Josh: But uh, we bought Paddy’s, oldest Irish bar in the city, a week before St. Patrick’s Day, about 2 years later. And I called him. I said, “You need to quit your job. I need your help now. I can’t do this all.” And we’ve worked side by side ever since.
Tanis: Wow. How great. And then how many restaurants? Like, how, I know you’ve bought and sold and had some and let them go and all that kind of stuff, but you have nine now. And then overall, there’s like I don’t know how many the whole family.
Josh: We’ve had a couple other concepts that we’ve let go, mostly because, uh, leases came to an end, as we, you know, our long-term strategy was always to buy the real estate.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Um, and hopefully that becomes our our retirement somehow. And, uh, and so we’ve been lucky enough to do that along the way, and so the buildings we let go were leases that expired, and the landlords weren’t willing to sell us the property. You know, we didn’t have the money when you get started. So just sign a lease.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Exactly. Exactly. And so here you kind of shared with your, the journey of where you started and where you are today. But. there .you know. on the way we meet people or we have these experiences that really do shape who we are as leaders. Can you share some of those formative experiences?
Josh: Oh geez. Um, I would say that going from one store to two, there was a big transition that I didn’t see right away until it kind of bit me. Um, and you know, that first store I was I was in there. I was the bartender five days a week and kind of the general manager of the other two. And and I was shoulder-to-shoulder with the other employees. And it was much more of, we are equals, we are a team mentality. And as soon as we got to two stores, I was still treating everybody the same that I I treated them as if they were my friends. And, uh, and I didn’t realize that the way people were perceiving me was now different, where I was, oh, I was the boss. And so, uh, you know, it really changes the way you have to interact with people, um, you know, not only professionally, but just from a from a leadership standpoint or or motivationally or however however you want to communicate and interact.
Tanis: Can can you speak a little more on that learning curve? I think that’s a really interesting, um, kind of metamorphosis that that everybody experiences to some extent.
Suzanne: Especially in a startup cuz you’re friends.
Tanis: Right.
Josh: Right.
Suzanne: And then you’re the boss.
Josh: And and, yeah, and, you know, I’m I’m moving ahead, like okay, here we go, come, everybody, come with me, and, um, even though I could make the distinction of when the friend hat was on and when to put the boss hat on they couldn’t.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And so, again, it took, it took some time to learn oh, I need to I need to do things differently. And I, you know, and I think that was, um, a result of multiple things. I think it was a result of me seeing, you know, people, me not getting the the result I was looking for out of, maybe trying to motivate somebody or get somebody to do something. Um, or also, you know, in, uh, offending people, right? I mean, you can tell a joke to your friend. You can you might not be able to tell that same joke to somebody who looks up to you as a in a position of of power. Uh, so I think it was just a, I didn’t, I’m not smart enough to learn the lesson the first time. It it took it took a a while.
Tanis: It does. It does take a while.
Suzanne: Absolutely. And, and then I also think it’s interesting because the first one you are shoulder to shoulder. The second, the third, the fourth, you’re removed.
Josh: Yeah.
Suzanne: And, and that’s even a different, you know, relationship.
Tanis: Well, then you’re having to really be a manager, you know, and learning to be a manager instead of a co-worker is tricky.
Josh: Yeah. And, and in that same, in that removal process where, uh, you know, I was the brand originally….
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Right? And, and now I’m not. Now, now, I mean, there’s our first two places, there’s still a connection with some of that customer base to me. But, I mean, that was 20 years ago, and a lot of these people have moved or gotten married and have kids, and they’re not hanging out in the bar or the restaurant anymore. But so there is some connection. You know, there’s a joke at our, at North 45 on our anniversary every year. They, they made shirts one year on the back that said, “Yeah, we know Josh, too.” Cuz there was a lot of there’s a lot of that kind of name-dropping neighborhood community vibe. But I mean, most of our places I, I walk in, and people don’t know who I am.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Absolutely.
Josh: Unless they’re looking for me.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Tanis: So, that, that kind of leads nicely to our next question, which is, how then do you build teams? Like what kind of leaders are you looking to plug in to, and I know, like the restaurant business, you’re the first person from this industry, I think that we’ve spoken to, and it’s, it has like, kind of unique cultural demands. So um.
Josh: Yeah.
Tanis: So, you know, I’d be curious to hear how you’ve been successful at building teams.
Josh: Well, I, successful is a generous word.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Uh, I would say that it’s, it’s a constant work in progress. Um, our workforce is predominantly younger, and we’re a, we’re a pretty stepping stone kind of career for a lot of people.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: So, we’re going to get a lot of young people in the door. Um, some of which it might been their first job. Some people have been working professionally in the restaurant industry for a long time. And you know, I’m a, I’m a Gen X kid. And so, I’m very much in the camp of not everybody gets a trophy, and you know, we’re getting this done. And the, the younger workforce, um, you know, without being rude is, is just a little more narcissistic and entitled and, and so figuring out from a communication standpoint how to constructively motivate and teach and develop is, is challenging. And, uh, and finding, and I can’t do that all. I mean, between we buoy anywhere from you know 150 up to 200 employees in the summer and, and I, I work really hard to know everybody but I don’t because we have turnover, And, and, um, so I’m, I’m constantly reasking people their names and trying to, trying to know who people are. But, uh, you know, so we really do have to rely on other people to, you know, translate that culture that I think is important up here down to the front line. And finding those leaders is, is hard.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: Um, uh, you know, we always try to hire for character first. Um, and because we can teach process.
Tanis & Suzanne: Right.
Josh: And we can teach our way to do things, but without that character, it’s tough. Um, especially in a, in a hospitality business…
Tanis: Right.
Josh: Where, where everything needs to bleed hospitality down to the customer.
Tanis: Mmhm. How do you, how do you screen or how do you try to ascertain, like, you know, is it just through interview, or, you know, what is your process?
Josh: Well, I would say it’s, it’s a little different at each kind of level at, at the frontline level. You know, who, someone who’s going to be customer-facing, a bartender, a server, or whatever. Uh, honestly, it’s, it’s not a hard job if you have the right character, right?
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: So, do they show up on time? Do they follow directions? Do they dress? Do they look clean and professional? Do they make eye contact? Do they smile? Can they, can they interact with me in any sort of, you know, rapport-building manner? Then I’m going to give that person a chance cuz I can teach them the rest. And we’ve hired, I’ve hired people with zero experience just based on that and had huge success with it. I’ve also hired people that have been in the restaurant industry a long time, and, and they’re not great.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Uh, and you’re, you’re hiring sometime, you know, those are sometimes those mistakes you make, and you’re like, well, this is a really impressive resume. They must be great and, and then they’re just not the right fit for your culture.
Suzanne: Well, and you talk about that, and that’s such a good segue that I do believe it is tone at the top. It doesn’t matter if it’s a restaurant or a high-tech firm that you and your partner are really driving what is acceptable and what’s not. S,o what are the, some of the values that you really want to incorporate into the organization, and then how do you operationalize those?
Josh: So, when we got to, I want to say four stores, we realized that, you know, I and my business partner, he and I kind of split the baby. He’s, I call him my spreadsheet jockey, and he’s we also call him Keyser Soze, so everyone’s heard of him, but nobody ever sees him. So, he’s, he’s like my numbers guy, and then I’m much more the operational kind of sales and marketing front of the business. Um, and….
Suzanne: I just have to say, I love that movie.
Josh: And, you know, so we, we got to a point we said you know we need to, we need to get better at communicating to our, to our staff what, what it is they do. What, what is the company working towards? What is our, what is our purpose? Um, you know, what is our expectation and so we, you know, went through the process of a mission statement and core values and that sort of thing and, and the mission statement is really to be, be the favorite neighbor. Right so, uh, we want somebody that feels comfortable coming in, you know, like, you know, like you would your neighbor, right Like you could walk in any, any day and, and just sit down and have a drink. I’m in my shorts and flip-flops. It’s somewhere safe where you could bring you know on date night. It’s somewhere to, uh, you create an experience where you’re getting together with family or friends. And so it was, it was always about having that warmth and intimacy and social connection in our space as a, as a kind of a, a gathering place in the community.
Um, as far as, um, uh, what was I saying? Uh, as far as our core values go.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: They’re pretty simple and straightforward. They’re uh, you know, work hard, be nice, be safe. Um, you know, that’s take care of our customers, take care of each other, work hard, show up every day, be flexible, be nice, right? Kind of kind of important.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Be nice to your co-workers, be nice to your customers. And then, uh, the other two, one’s be memorable and embrace community. So.
Tanis: Oh.
Josh: Uh, and, and embrace community. You know, we believe that we’re not, we’re not the ones that came in and posted up, you know, in town and, and are just looking to make a buck and take profit. We feel like we have to give back and support our community because they support us, and it’s,
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: You know, it’s an ecosystem, and we could almost hire a part-time person just to respond to in-kind requests. I mean, there’s a lot of people that….
Suzanne: I’m sure.
Josh: And it’s funny because the restaurant industry is such a low-margin business….
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: But everybody always hits us up for gift cards.
Tanis: It’s true.
Josh: But you know, everybody wants an experience, right?
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: It’s just it’s, it’s valuable. And um, you know, so philanthropically a ways back. We try to say yes whenever we can, but you can’t we can’t say yes to everybody.
Suzanne: Right.
Josh: And so we had to kind of philanthropically get a little more strategic, and we started to align each restaurant with one main community partner.
Suzanne: How awesome.
Josh: But then we’re also, you know, anytime that the local schools hit us up, we say yes. And anytime, uh, you know, somebody in our organization has a cause that’s important to them, we try to say yes.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: And so, um, as far as embracing community, that’s….
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: That’s our, our approach. And we built some very wonderful, uh, long-lasting, uh, relationships in the community that way.
Suzanne: Absolutely.
Josh: Um, and then be memorable is the one that I, I really try to get through the entire organization in, in kind of the blood of everybody. Uh, because, you know, Portland’s a, Portland’s a really great food town.
Tanis & Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: And there’s a lot of competition, and everybody makes a great burger and everybody makes a sexy craft cocktail, and everyone’s got a Instagrammable bathroom.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And, and you know, and so we really have to, we really have leaned in in this age where people are shaving labor and going to counter service and trying to stay alive. We’ve kind of leaned in on our people and said, you know, our people are what are going to make the difference for us. And knowing that regular’s name and learning about them or what they drink or, or all those kind of connections is what’s, um, kind of drives that memorable experience to us.
And you know people, there’s four ways for us to grow sales. We can increase our frequency, get our guests to come more often. We can increase our check size, right, with upselling and suggestive selling, and really guiding the customer on their experience. Uh, we can increase the party size. Hey, bring your friends.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: So, those are three ways. And the fourth one is get a new customer.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: So, three out of the four ways for us to grow sales is with the people that already are coming in our door. And, in, you know, when, when I got started in this industry before, before these cell phones or iPhones, uh, you know, you would, you would have somebody come in the door and you would everything would be great. You would really nail it. Great first impression. Wow, what a great experience. And they’d leave, and they’d say my favorite three words, which was, “I’ll be back.”
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: And they’d come back, and that’s how you would build that frequency, and they’d bring their friends, and they’d start spending more, and all those things. Well, now what happens, um, and this is, this is old information I haven’t looked lately, but you know, 10 years ago, uh, they were talking about the, the millennial mindset, and you know, they have the largest purchasing power dollar in our, in our society and they’re also the, the pickiest and least loyal consumer.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Interesting.
Josh: So, we can still, and I mean this is only if we nail it, right? I mean, we screw it up a lot, but if we’re nailing that first experience, and we do everything right, they still will say, “I’ll be back.” And the second they walk out our door, their phone starts buzzing at them. And it’s this kind of new shiny penny, like, “Oh, I want to see. Oh, I want to see this new place and this new place and this new place.” And so, it’s it’s really hard to build that loyalty quickly. They’ll still come back, but it might take months.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And so we can’t afford to screw up that first experience and that, that memorable connection of, of building rapport with the customer we think is our, our path to do it.
Suzanne: Well, I will say out of that list, what really struck me was the be nice part
Josh: Right.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: It’s amazing how simple that is in a service industry, but, yet you don’t get it very often in service industries.
Josh: It, It’s wild. In Portland in particular, um, and I think, I think this ties back to that um, kind of entitlement piece we talked about, is it’s one of the highest minimum wages in the country, right? And you go somebody like, somewhere like Atlanta, and you’re blown away by the service level.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Look, because the, the business owners can afford to have more staff on, um, because the, the way the tip credit works in conjunction with minimum wage is their labor is a lot cheaper, and the employee is much more motivated, uh, to work hard because it’s more per performance-based, right?
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Where here, you can kind of just show up and, and you’re still making an okay wage.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And so, you get, I mean I’ve it’s happened multiple times over the years, where we’ll walk into a place and, and get to the counter. It’s counter service. So, I got to wait in line. I get up there, and I said “What’s on, you know, what beer do you have on tap?” and they don’t even say a word. They don’t say hi. They don’t say they just, they kind of, just go….
Suzanne: Yep.
Josh: And they push the menu.
Tanis: Jeez.
Josh: And I go, you know what, I’m going to have my beer and I’m never coming back.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Right.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Josh: I mean, because that’s my experience.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: There’s there’s, there’s no hospitality in that. There’s no being nice in that. That’s just an order taker.
Suzanne: Well, and you’ve got it really hard because we do live here, and, and, and everybody’s been talking about how expensive and, and unaffordable it is to not just live in Portland area, but to be a business owner. That’s my number one complaint is how expensive it is.
Josh: Yeah.
Suzanne: And I haven’t thought about that, that minimum wage, which gives a quality of life, but then it also limits the number of people you can hire.
Josh: Oh yeah.
Suzanne: It limits again that whole experience that you’re trying to do, and I don’t think I’ve ever thought of it that way.
Josh: Right.
Suzanne: Yeah. So how are you balancing again the cost of where we live and love as a business owner? And I know that’s a loaded question.
Josh: Right. Yeah. I mean, I, I, you know, and I get phone calls all the time from friends from other parts of the country, “how is it there? Oh my gosh. How’s…” You know, and I keep telling them, I said, “You know what, the homeless problem is not the problem you think it is. The number one problem in Portland is the tax burden.”
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Absolutely.
Tanis: 100%.
Josh: You know, and I listened to another podcast, which I’ll send to you, but it was a conversation about, uh, as a, you know, as an innovative new entrepreneur, if you could open up a business in Portland versus Austin, and the business case for doing so.
Tanis: Totally.
Josh: It’s a no-brainer.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Oh, absolutely.
Tanis: Even, we’re having like a social experiment, or you know, a fiscal experiment right here because nine miles north is one of the lowest tax burdens in the country.
Josh: Right.
Tanis: And, and, and where, where is industry growing? It’s, it’s there.
Josh: It’s wild.
Tanis: So it’s crazy. Yeah.
Josh: And the, um, you know, I talked to a, a big developer in town and he was uh telling me about a series of meetings he’s had with the governor lately. And they were pushing on them for building more housing. And his response to her was you, you know the thought that you have a housing shortage is a misnomer because you’ve had negative population growth in in Multnomah County for the last x amount of years.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And if you don’t lower your tax burden to, to attract businesses here….
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Then….
Suzanne: Right.
Josh: There’s no jobs, and people are going to continue to leave, and in a couple more years, you’ll have a housing surplus. What do you want to do?
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: So it’s a I and I, you know that’s a bigger different conversation.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Yeah, I know. I probably should not answer my question.
Josh: Well, I have opinions on it. To answer your question, we kind of, you know, when March 18th, the day before St. Patrick’s or, you know, March 16th, I guess, the day before St. Patrick’s Day, when they shut us down, and we had to lay off 200 employees, including ourselves.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And we didn’t know what to do. Uh, once that dust settled a little bit, our, our business strategy was well, we’re let’s, let’s lean in and you know, let’s invest and, and let’s just outlast our competition.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Right.
Josh: So, you know, our, our big, our big mantra is we’re still here.
Tanis: Yeah. Right.
Josh: And sooner or later, you know, we’ll ride that wave and, and start to see some growth back and we’ll, we’ll have some goodwill and, and a head start on everybody else.
Tanis: Well, you just bought another restaurant, right, out of….
Josh: Yeah. We’re not smart all the time.
Tanis: No, there’s always a need for good places. I think, you know, I’ve been fortunate to go to a number of your different venues, and there, there really is um, I think a very nice sense of, uh, like they each have a kind of unique flavor.
Suzanne: Yeah.
Tanis: And I think that there’s
Josh: We like to say we’re really good at going into debt.
Tanis: Well, I know that you’ve also kind of balanced out some of those endeavors with other entrepreneurial ventures. You’re welcome to speak on those if you’d like to, or we can just kind of keep it to….
Josh: I I can brush on them lightly. I mean, again, as I mentioned that, you know, it’s kind of the McDonald’s strategy. They’re not in the hamburger business. They’re in the real estate business. So, and maybe that’s because I grew up in a, in a real estate household. I, I know nothing about the stock market, but I I have a big belief in real estate long term and, uh, and so we have a, a real estate holding company, uh, and have been acquiring our properties um as well as some additional commercial properties. And then we have this other business, which is more lottery-focused, which I won’t go into too much. But it kind of just dropped in our lap, kind of a who-you-know thing, and we were able to capitalize on it because we were in the restaurant business and the way the lottery works being tied to a retail licensey. And uh, we’ve really leaned into that and, and that, you know, that’s been a big piece of keeping us alive through, through this downturn also.
Tanis: I bet. Well, um, I, I think it’s fun when you, you know, we’re also Gen X, so you know, one of the things that I like asking our guests is what advice would you give to your younger self? Like if you could go back in time to that kid in college or, or just out, you know what? Yeah. What would you say?
Josh: I have one. He’s 18.
Tanis: Okay. Yeah.
Josh: I have a younger self, right?
Tanis: No.
Josh: Um, you know, well, my first piece of advice is don’t go in the restaurant business unless you want to work really hard for low margin. Um, and I, you know, if I wasn’t as passionate about it, then I would, I would absolutely not still be doing this cuz it’s hard.
Um, I probably would not open a small business in Oregon if I knew 20 years ago. And under I, just didn’t know, right? Um, I just didn’t understand how big a deal, uh, kind of the the politics of a region can define how easy it is to be a small business owner.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: And uh, Portland in particular is just not small business-friendly right now.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: Um, I would, what else would I say? Um, you know, I, I, I kind of chose for, for passion and for fun and thank god I had a business partner that, who is still one of the smartest guys I know, and uh, but I certainly didn’t know what the heck I was doing from a, from a, from a business standpoint. So, you know, understanding, uh, you know, what a P&L is and how to use that and how powerful that is and how important cash flow is, and it doesn’t matter what your revenue is. If you don’t have any cash to pay your bills, you’re out of business.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: So, um, some of that real important business 101 stuff. I mean, I had somebody ask me about uh opening a bar the other day, and I was just kind of, and he’s not in that industry.
Tanis: Yeah.
Josh: He is a small business owner, but he mentioned to me, you know, I said the word P&L, and he said, “What’s that?” And I went, “Oh my god.”
Tanis: Oh my goodness. Yeah.
Josh: And he already has multiple businesses, and he doesn’t have a P&L. So, you know, that scares the heck out of me.
Tanis: Yeah.
Suzanne: Absolutely.
Josh: But I didn’t know that 20 years ago. I didn’t know I didn’t really know how important that was, that tool.
Suzanne: And it’s interesting learning on the job, isn’t it?
Josh: Yeah.
Suzanne: You know, you go, “Wow, I wish I would have figured that one out sooner.” But that’s the entrepreneur, you know.
So, looking back, I mean, this podcast is called Hiring for Good. And I know it’s nuanced, but what does hiring for good mean for you?
Josh: I think if I’m looking at that word, that statement, as how am I hiring for good? I would say I’m hiring for character. Number one.
Um, I would say from a bigger picture, why am I hiring for good? Is it who’s going to, who’s going to build community, really? Um, who’s going to, uh, build our business, our brand, and that piece of the community, but who’s also going to be uh, you know, how are you treating people when you’re not at work, right? Are you, are you a part of that community? Are you, are you building the community as a whole up or not?
And those are the people we want. We want those people that, um, you know, that are motivated to, to leave the world better than you found it.
Suzanne: Absolutely.
Tanis: No, that’s wonderful. I don’t I think that’s like the perfect sentiment to end on. Honestly, thank you so much for coming today.
Josh: Yeah.
Tanis: This was delightful.
Suzanne: Yeah, Josh. I tell you, I’m excited to see what the next 20 years, and how big and powerful you all are.
Josh: Oh my. Oh my.
Suzanne: Thank you.
Josh: No promises. Thank you for your time.
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