We recently connected with Geoff Russell and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Geoff, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
That’s a great question. For nearly 20 years, I was in outside sales. I had to visit clients’ homes and present my product/service in the greatest light possible. One of the sayings in sales is “make a friend, make a sale” so I made a lot of friends.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Our small family restaurant started in 2008. Our family wanted to escape the high taxation of the Chicagoland area, and we discovered that Tennessee had a lot more to offer for raising our family. However, when we relocated to the area, we quickly realized that our usual food choices were limited. We didn’t realize how very regional our beloved Italian Beef sandwiches, hotdogs, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, etc. was. So we decided to pour everything into opening a Chicago style restaurant in the Nashville suburbs. We strove, and continue strive to make it the best, most authentic, Chicago food experience in and around Nashville. In the past years, we’ve been the recipient of numerous “best of” awards, and we were recently invited to showcase our food samples in Nashville’s annual Iron Fork event. Upcoming, we will be featured on an episode of America’s Best Restaurants, and we’ll be involved in an upcoming Nashville Pizza Fest hosted by Chicago’s Steve Dolinsky, operator of @pizzacityusa on instagram. We’re hopeful to expand to other parts of the Nashville area, as our customers pour in from hours away to enjoy our food.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My wife, Jessica and I worked in tandem when I was in sales. She was an integral part of my journey as we constantly bounced ideas off of each other. When the restaurant started, her mother Debbie and Step-Father Rob were the ones that began the restaurant with Debbie’s Grandmother’s recipes used as the base of her dishes. Once they came closer to retirement age, Jessica and I stepped in and took over. Jessica had a prior background in baking/cooking so we took the reigns as if nothing had changed. I utilized my sales ability to take a 30,000 foot view of the business to see where we could improve. We re-designed the interior look of the restaurant so that when you enter, you’re instantly transported to Chicago, but the recipes and traditions still remain the same. If someone is just starting out in the restaurant industry, building their brand, they should realize that you are in sales. The moment someone steps through you’re door, you’re being judged. The initial interaction is key. Getting the person engaged in what your concept/food is about is paramount. Especially if you’ve got a foreign food concept like ours. Chicago style food is unique to the region, so selling someone on trying an Italian Beef sandwich can be a hard sell. We’ve found a unique way to overcome this obstacle by offering a sample piece of our signature sandwich. I couldn’t tell you how many sandwiches, repeat customers and take home kits we’ve sold because we’ve handed out a sample piece.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
In a word? Growth. We’re bursting at the seams. It’s a great problem to have! However, it’s still a problem. We’re a small family restaurant on the outskirts of the Nashville suburbs. People for miles and miles have heard of us. However, since we’re on the outskirts, those same people have yet to try our restaurant. Those customers that do come in and support us, come in in droves. Each one of them asking to put a restaurant location in their back yard. We’ve worked extremely hard to build a brand in the area, and we’ve become very well known. If we are able to place a location in a new town, it would almost certainly be a success. We don’t have the capital to put up in order to buy/build a location ourselves. We would love the help of investors, however since we’re so busy we don’t have the time or extra energy to do that, so we’re in this weird position of growth without “growing”
Contact Info:
- Website: campionestasteofchicago.com
- Instagram: @campionestasteofchicago
- Facebook: facebook.com/tasteofchicago
- Youtube: @theoriginalcampiones
Image Credits
Myself
