Photo: Courtesy of Marissa Hermer
Listen to the full episode here.
No industry was hit harder by the COVID crisis than the restaurant industry. More than 110,000 restaurants closed last year, either temporarily or for good, and more than 2.5 million restaurant industry jobs disappeared.
But, despite the devastating stats, restaurants have shown creativity and resilience throughout the pandemic, adapting to ever-changing mandates in order to keep both their patrons and staff safe.
And Marissa Hermer’s establishments are no exception.
The Los Angeles-based restaurateur and co-owner of the Boujis Group has successfully pivoted every step of the way, ensuring her restaurants, the Olivetta and The Draycott, not only survive but thrive.
In this episode of WorkParty, Jaclyn Johnson chats with the restauranteur about how she’s seeing her restaurants through this challenging time and what she believes the future holds for the restaurant industry in 2021 and beyond.
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On running a restaurant during a pandemic…
“Every single thing about our business had to change.”
On giving back to the community during COVID…
“We created a program called you give, we cook, they eat.”
“It started it out because I have a girlfriend who works in Cedar Sinai Hospital and she said, ‘I'm so tired at the end of the day I can't even make myself lunch.’”
On loving food and being passionate about feeding people…
“Food is fuel but it's also one of my biggest joys in life.”
On the business of the restaurant and hospitality industry…
“It's a business. It's not fun and fabulous, and if you're going into this to wine and dine your friends and hold court seven nights a week, you are going to fail.”
“It's like any business, you need more money than you think you ever will.”
On taking the plunge and starting a restaurant in Los Angeles…
"When I was a kid, my dad's motto was always, which I've now taken on for better for worse, is ready, fire, aim."
On being business partners with her husband…
“We wear different hats in the business and we stay in our lanes, mostly.”
On the advice she’d give to her younger self…
“If you prepare for the worst and hope for the best, then you're going to be okay.”
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