JBM Hospitality

Jim Koklas

Hospitality Operations Leader

Leading with Consistency and Adaptability

I grew up in this business. My parents owned diners, so I saw firsthand what it means to grind and do everything yourself. Later, I worked with restaurant groups in New York and Chicago that operated several concepts. I saw what proper service looks like and what guests expect. It was different from the diner service I grew up with and helped me perfect my craft. It also taught me that hospitality is not limited to one style of restaurant; it can translate to every concept and type of operation.

There is no single playbook that works everywhere. Each venue has its own guest, pace and personality. My job is to adapt our approach while keeping our core values and standards consistent. At the end of the day, we are serving food and beverage as hospitably as possible.

The best decisions come from two places: the dining room floor and the numbers. Financial strategy matters, but important insights come from working busy service alongside my team, talking with guests, and listening to team members. I try to lead from both places.

Consistency in leadership creates consistency in operations. Clear expectations and follow-through let teams focus on the guest. But consistency does not mean being stuck in your ways. The new generation of chefs and managers brings a different perspective that has benefited our operations.

Making Service Memorable

Consistency is built on clear standards. Recipe specs, menu cost-outs, steps of service and thorough training ensure the same quality on a slow Tuesday afternoon as on a sold-out Saturday night. Putting people on the floor with little or no training negatively affects both the guest and restaurant long-term.

Standards create the foundation, but memorable moments come from what cannot be scripted. Hospitality happens when team members feel empowered to personalize an experience, remember a regular's name or turn a problem into a positive. We listen to guests through reviews, looking for patterns and taking that feedback back to our teams.

Service recovery is part of the experience, too. How we respond when something goes wrong often matters more than the mistake itself. That is why managers need to be on the dining room floor. You cannot see what your service staff is doing from an office chair; you must be out there watching and listening.

Once, we forgot the chicken on a Cobb Salad, one of its key ingredients. When the guest let us know, our team drove to the nearest store, picked up a stuffed chicken toy and a card, and brought both to the guest's home with a brand-new Cobb Salad. It was our way of apologizing while having a little fun. Moments like that keep you humble. We are all human, and mistakes happen.

Knowing Where Efficiency Matters

Efficiency should support hospitality, not compete with it. The goal is to remove friction behind the scenes so our team has more time and energy for guests.

We let data inform our decisions, but do not let it dictate them. Scheduling labor to match demand and tracking the right metrics allows us to staff wisely without shortchanging service. We use common industry tools; it is really about what you do with the information. A well-engineered menu improves consistency, reduces waste and speeds ticket times, which guests experience as better food and service.

We understand where not to cut corners. Some efficiencies are invisible to guests, while others are felt immediately. Protecting guest-facing touch-points is non-negotiable.

Engaging Teams to Elevate Hospitality

Guests feel the culture before they taste the food. The way a team treats each other shows up in how they treat guests. We built our business on a culture-first approach because the profits will follow if the foundation is right.

Experienced, engaged team members deliver better service, and turnover costs more than recruiting and training. When our team members are happy coming to work, our jobs get easier. We can focus on the fun parts of the business instead of filling gaps.

Training is one area where we do not cut corners. Training, cross-training across our venues and clear paths for advancement give people a reason to build a career with us. We cannot hand a new server the menu, give them an hour to study it, and send them onto the floor. That is not fair to the guest. Guests have too many dining options, so we cannot afford to cut corners on training.

Trust is built by being visible, recognizing good work, and communicating openly. Our managers and chefs run pre-shift meetings before both sides of service every day. Team members cannot sell a new feature or bottle of bourbon if we never talk about it. We do this deliberately. The guest deserves that attention to detail.

Evolving Trends, Enduring Hospitality

Labor challenges are driving restaurants toward technology. Scheduling software, point-of-sale systems, artificial intelligence and analytics tools are becoming essential to daily operations. But technology should support the team and guest experiences, never replace human connection. That connection is what hospitality is all about.

Guests are also looking for experiences, not just meals. Celebrations, private events and destination venues are becoming a bigger part of how people choose where to dine, and we work hard to give guests that experience every time they walk through our doors.

Beverage programs are evolving, too. Demand for thoughtful non-alcoholic and low-ABV options continues to grow alongside craft cocktails, and guests expect the same creativity from both.

Finally, value and transparency matter more than ever. Guests are more price-conscious and want to feel they received real value for what they spent. Many also care about local sourcing, sustainability and waste reduction, and as an industry, we must take that seriously.

A lot has changed since I was growing up in my parents' diners, and more will change ahead. What will not change is the foundation: take care of your people, take care of your guests, and do it consistently. If we get that right, everything else follows.