An Inspired Chat with Robert Ancill of Los Angeles

Robert Ancill shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Robert, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
What makes me lose track of time, and at the same time find myself again; is writing my books. Once I start, I can disappear into the process for hours without even noticing. It feels like stepping into a time machine, going back to the very beginning of my career and reliving all the lessons, challenges, and triumphs along the way. Writing becomes more than just putting words on a page, it’s a way of reconnecting with why I do what I do, and the passion that has fueled me throughout my journey.

The greatest joy is in gathering all those years of restaurant, food, and design knowledge then shaping them into something lasting. Condensing it all into three books, each more than 250 pages, has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. It’s like taking the threads of a lifetime’s work and weaving them into a story that not only tells where I’ve been, but also reminds me of who I am. Writing lets me lose myself, but in doing so, it always brings me back to my center.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Robert Ancill, and I’m a restaurant consultant and designer with more than 35 years of international experience. Based in Southern California, I specialize in creating and scaling restaurant concepts, operations, and designs, helping brands stay ahead of emerging food trends and navigate the challenges of today’s fast-evolving hospitality industry.

Over the course of my career, I’ve been involved in the launch and operations of over 89 brands and more than 800 restaurant and café openings or remodels across 24 countries, from the U.S. and U.K. to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. This global exposure has given me a unique understanding of franchising and development, as well as the risks and opportunities in diverse international markets.

What makes my work exciting is the combination of creativity and future strategy development, blending design with operational know-how to build restaurant brands that not only look great but also perform successfully.

My background includes time with some remarkable companies such as Aroma Café Group, Planet Hollywood, Panera Bread, and HMS Host, as well as experience in fine dining with the House of Albert Roux.

Today, through my design firm The Next Idea Group (TNI) and consulting work at Heritage Restaurant Consultants,
I continue to help entrepreneurs, operators, and investors bring their visions to life. I also forecast insights regarding global food trends and the future of dining for clients, helping them navigate an ever developing industry.

At the heart of what I do is a passion for hospitality and the belief that restaurants are more than businesses, they’re cultural experiences that connect people around the world.

Presently I am working on 3 books, The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant Marketing, The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant Design and The Ultimate Guide to being a Restaurant Consultant. see: https://www.robertancill.com/

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed I wasn’t very smart. I was an academic disaster, performed horribly at school, barely scraped into college, and never achieved high exam scores. Teachers and tests constantly reinforced that message, even suggesting my future path might be something as limited as becoming a janitor.

Fast forward to today, and I’ve helped make many millions of dollars for my employers and clients, built my own consulting and design company that generates substantial revenue and employs around 35 people, and authored five books.

Looking back, I may not have been quite as “dumb” as I was led to believe.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear of failure has been the greatest obstacle in my life. When I lived in the UK, failure in business often meant the end of your career, it carried a stigma that made me hold back on many of my creative ideas because I couldn’t reconcile risk with the possibility of failure.

That perspective completely changed when I moved to the United States. For all its challenges, the U.S. truly is the land of opportunity, and one of the key reasons is its cultural view of failure. Here, failure is seen as education, it’s respected as hard-won experience rather than something to be ashamed of.

Since then, I’ve failed many times, but each one has taught me something invaluable. Today, I’m no longer afraid to try bold ideas, this is because I know that every failure is simply a step toward success.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The biggest lies restaurants tell themselves are surprisingly simple but deeply damaging. First, “Everyone is our customer”, in truth, if you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one. Second, “Good food is enough”, today’s guests come back for the full experience: service, design, atmosphere, and story. And third, “We don’t need marketing”, in a crowded market, relying on word of mouth alone is a fast track to invisibility.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’m writing. Capturing my experiences on paper, often alongside photos and images, gives me a deep sense of calm. It allows me to reflect on the journey, and it reassures me that the work I’ve done has had meaning for people at many different levels within their companies. Writing turns those memories into something lasting, and that brings me real peace.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Robert Ancill
The Next Idea Group Inc

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