Anthony Valletta, CEO and President of bartaco, joins Zack Oates to explore how guest expectations are evolving and what restaurants must do to keep up. Drawing from years in the industry, Anthony focuses on consistency, recovery, and the reality of modern guest behavior.

Moments That Stick (01:54)

“I want to create the moments that live in people’s minds.”

Anthony traces his passion back to childhood experiences dining with his grandfather. Those early moments shaped his belief that restaurants are not just about food, but about creating lasting emotional connections.

Return on Time (04:32)

“Every yes is a no to something else.”

Anthony shares how he manages his time by reassessing commitments regularly. He focuses on what delivers real value, both personally and professionally, and applies that same clarity to leadership.

The Expectation Gap (06:51)

“The gap between digital expectations and reality has never been wider.”

Guests arrive with expectations shaped by reviews and social media. The challenge is not just delivering a great experience, but aligning it with what guests already believe they are walking into.

Why the Floor Matters Most (08:16)

“The floor means more than the ceiling right now.”

Peak hours are not the problem. The real test is consistency during slower moments. Guests judge brands on reliability, not just standout experiences.

Train for Recovery (10:03)

“That moment after something goes wrong defines the brand.”

Instead of focusing only on perfect service, Anthony emphasizes training teams to handle mistakes. Empowering staff to fix issues quickly builds trust and long-term loyalty.

Make Guests Feel Better (10:03)

“Your job is to make that number bigger when they leave.”

Anthony encourages teams to focus on how guests feel, not just what they receive. The goal is simple: every guest should leave in a better place than when they arrived.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyvalletta/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bartaco/

https://bartaco.com/

Transcript

00:00:00:10 – 00:00:24:14

Zack Oates

Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation, the Restaurant Guest Experience podcast. I’m your host, Zack Oates, and each week I chat with industry experts to uncover their strategies and tactics you can use to create a five star guest experience. This podcast is powered by ovation. The AI feedback and operations platform built for multi-unit restaurants. Learn what’s actually happening in your restaurants and exactly how to improve while driving revenue.

00:00:24:15 – 00:00:47:19

Zack Oates

Learn more at ovation up.com. And today I’m so excited because not only do I consider this guy to be a mentor and someone who is just an absolute incredible leader in the industry, but a friend, Anthony Valletta, he’s done some amazing things. He’s CEO and president of Bar Taco. He recently launched a podcast called Check Please and he is all over the place.

00:00:47:19 – 00:00:58:11

Zack Oates

You could find him speaking. You could find him on LinkedIn posting great content. And obviously you can find him at Bar Taco running a crazy, amazing ship. So what’s up Anthony?

00:00:58:17 – 00:01:03:20

Anthony Valletta

It’s so excited to Zach thanks for having me man. That’s a very generous info. The intro you gave me. Thank you.

00:01:03:24 – 00:01:24:22

Zack Oates

Well, you know, it’s pretty easy. You just got to read the LinkedIn and it’s like, wow, this guy’s that a lot of stuff. So talk to us about the restaurant industry. How did you fall in love with it. Because you’ve been in the restaurant industry for a long time, and you’re someone who can be doing anything, anywhere. And you’re here in the restaurant industry, talk to us about that.

00:01:24:24 – 00:01:37:14

Anthony Valletta

Yeah. You know, it started at a young age. I was it was funny. I was like the pickiest eater as a kid. I like chicken fingers and mac and cheese. And when I was six, my parents like, we want you when you get older, I’m like, I’m on a restaurant. Like, well, you’re nuts because you don’t need any food.

00:01:37:14 – 00:01:54:13

Anthony Valletta

And like, that requires you in a restaurant. And the reason I wanted to you is my grandfather. He was a blue collar guy in appliance store in upstate New York. And every time I’d go out with him and he was a mentor to me, he’s passed. But every time I go out with him, we go to these small Italian restaurants, like the ones the red and white checkered tablecloths.

00:01:54:15 – 00:02:19:14

Anthony Valletta

But he would walk in and it was like the president walked in. Everybody knew him. They were giving hugs and exchanging gifts. And it just it sunk in with me at a young age of how powerful a moment that was in to today, I can still visualize. And that was a 10 or 10 years old. I can still visualize those moments, and I remember how it made me feel as a young child in something about that moment never left.

00:02:19:14 – 00:02:45:01

Anthony Valletta

And as I got to really get involved in food and all that, anything I said, I want to do this for people, for the rest of my life. I want to create the moments that live in my brain of my mentor, my grandfather, who’s passed. I want everybody else to have those in place as I work. So I jumped in the restaurant space and I did it when I was 13 and just never look back and couldn’t be happier that I have because I think it’s such a fun industry, but it’s challenging the same time and I enjoy it.

00:02:45:03 – 00:02:48:16

Zack Oates

What was it that drove you that that attracted you to Bar Taco?

00:02:48:18 – 00:03:03:24

Anthony Valletta

So I always kind of had my eye on the Bar Taco brand. I Barcelona Bar Taco. I think they always looked at things differently, and I was one of them right out in Colorado and one day back to the northeast for some family reason, my family’s all here, and a mentor of mine, Jeff Kokura, was the previous CEO.

00:03:03:24 – 00:03:25:22

Anthony Valletta

He took it over from Andy, who’s original founder, and I knew a lot about like, the inner workings of the brand. I thought it was really cool that they had kind of thread this needle of casual, fast casual, yeah, beach vibe, like they were doing things just differently. And the more I kind of researched on how it was founded and Andy and Sasha’s principles and they started and all these things, that there’s something really interesting.

00:03:25:22 – 00:03:43:14

Anthony Valletta

They have something new, which doesn’t happen a lot in our industry. It’s usually a recreation of something that just is maybe a better version. I really thought the thread a great needle when I got to meet the whole team when I was interviewing like, man, this is where I need to be home. This is it. And I fell in love with the people, you know, first, in the brand second.

00:03:43:14 – 00:03:47:04

Anthony Valletta

Now I’m trying to lead them in the future and stoked could be any happier.

00:03:47:06 – 00:04:25:04

Zack Oates

And you know, I mean Bar Taco does some incredible volumes. I mean, like, it’s just it’s insane. Every time I’ve gone to Boston, it is packed to the gills. I mean, it is just like incredible. But what’s also incredible is that you have and this is kind of like, I just want to take a quick sidetrack here because you’re also are really involved with a lot of other groups, like you’re on advisory boards, you’re giving back, you’re involved in the community and in different groups like Ypo like from a leadership in a time perspective, what advice do you have for people who are trying to manage their calendars and trying to do all this stuff

00:04:25:04 – 00:04:32:01

Zack Oates

and say like, oh, I don’t have time to be involved in this group, or I don’t have time to give back because I’m just too busy right now. How do you manage it?

00:04:32:03 – 00:04:49:14

Anthony Valletta

It’s a great question, and honestly, every quarter my team knows I delete my calendar every quarter. Like literally every piece on my calendar. I look at every single thing I’m involved in, whether it’s advisory or groups, and I reassess every quarter because so much changes in, I really make sure I have what I call return on time, because that’s really what it is.

00:04:49:14 – 00:05:06:13

Anthony Valletta

It’s not about an investment. So turn on time as I’m giving my time to someone or something else, whether that’s business or other things. What I can say about the other things I do, whether it’s advising for Boston University or helping startup companies or ypo, the thing I fell in there is honestly, that’s where I get my inspiration from.

00:05:06:15 – 00:05:21:01

Anthony Valletta

It’s talk to other business leaders in other sectors or other people in the industry, and it’s like going to a good conference, right? The conference content’s fine, but it’s usually what happens at happy hour at the bar where you really get the good ideas, the good connections. To me, it’s the same thing with the IPO or with the use.

00:05:21:03 – 00:05:38:03

Anthony Valletta

I’m getting exposed to things I wouldn’t be exposed to in the four walls of our taco, but I’m constantly learning ways I can make my business better. So especially at, you know, our level, I think it’s just as vital to have those moments to make your business better as it is. As you work on the business inside the four walls of your team is executing for you.

00:05:38:03 – 00:05:46:19

Anthony Valletta

So it’s not easy. But when you enjoy it all and you look at the return on your time, it makes it easier to say no to things versus just saying yes to everything that comes on your plate.

00:05:46:21 – 00:05:48:14

Zack Oates

How do you say no to things?

00:05:48:16 – 00:06:04:16

Anthony Valletta

The way I look at every yes is a no. Yeah, right. It’s true. You said yesterday on this podcast I’m saying no to meeting with, I don’t know, somebody on my team or whatever it is. So to me I just be honest with them like, hey, listen, I really appreciate it. Also, right now I’ve got a lot of commitments and I want to honor my time to them.

00:06:04:18 – 00:06:19:18

Anthony Valletta

And at some point, maybe I’ll be able to ring back and let you know and that’s the truth. I always feel like if I’m going to be a part of something, I want to be able to give you everything that you need from me. Yeah, and I can’t do it right now. And that’s brutal honesty, right? It’s the best way to go, I think.

00:06:19:20 – 00:06:41:22

Zack Oates

I think that makes so much sense. And I think that that goes too with when you look at like creating expectations for other people or creating expectations for the guest. Right. And because those expectations are the things that are going to really propel the experience, because if you’re creating an unrealistic expectation, then they’re going to be disappointed when they come.

00:06:41:22 – 00:06:51:12

Zack Oates

If you don’t create a good enough expectation, then they’re not going to want to come, right? So when you think about the guest experience, what do you think is the most important aspect of guest experience nowadays?

00:06:51:14 – 00:07:11:23

Anthony Valletta

It’s an interesting question, and there’s always the generic answers of what’s on there. But what I actually think is really fascinating with this experience today is, I think the gap between like the digital expectation, meaning what they’re reading before they walk in and the actual physical delivery has never been wider, in my opinion. So I actually think that the floor means more than the ceiling right now.

00:07:11:23 – 00:07:40:12

Anthony Valletta

And you’re seeing guests are going online and you know, but anybody with ovation, their expectations are preformed by Rizzi or Instagram or Google. And like they’re reading all these things saying that’s what I expect when I walk into Bar Taco. But a lot of those experiences, especially the ones that write more elaborate detail, are the extremes. They’re either the extreme bad and they make it a bigger deal, or they’re these moments of like it was a birthday and anniversary, or like they see the extreme polar’s typically the ones that come in have a great time.

00:07:40:12 – 00:07:52:20

Anthony Valletta

They’re not writing excessive content, but like, yeah, it’s good. So they walk in thinking, I picked this restaurant because man, I read these three reviews and holy crap, that place is unreal. So when they walk in, they’re expecting.

00:07:52:20 – 00:07:57:03

Zack Oates

They’re expecting like a not a dinner but an ayahuasca. Right, right. And and we’re.

00:07:57:03 – 00:08:16:15

Anthony Valletta

Doing it today. And I say this a little sadly, like with the least experienced crew in history, because the talent pool has been challenged recently. Right. So you’re trying to provide above what they ever expect with a challenging, you know, entry level component. And I think that’s where the floor people are set to me is what’s most important.

00:08:16:15 – 00:08:39:23

Anthony Valletta

My guest experience then the ceiling because Saturday at 7:00 everybody can operate pretty well unless there’s exception every rule. But like that’s the easy part. Restaurants are easy. Start at seven. You’re fully staffed. The restaurants, they’re like, everything’s kind of cranking. It’s Tuesday night at nine or Wednesday at 230 when the floor drops out and I think right now guests are so specific in what they want.

00:08:39:23 – 00:09:01:06

Anthony Valletta

And because some are pulling back, quote unquote, as you see, they’re just selective. I think they’re pulling back. There’s being selective and if your floor is too low, even if they select you for a cocktail and it’s not that five star Yelp review, I think the guest experience suffers. I think that is where I put more of my time is like, how do you close that gap and create more of those moments for your guests?

00:09:01:08 – 00:09:11:00

Zack Oates

And speaking of that, like in terms of tactics, what have you found that has been successful in trying to do that and trying to actually meet the guests where their expectations are?

00:09:11:02 – 00:09:27:01

Anthony Valletta

Yeah, it’s funny, but I challenge my training team all the time. A great training director in. But she’s she’s very methodical, which is great. But to me, I think so many places are looking. They call these like back to basics. You hear us all the time the industry. And it’s we’re going to go back to our spiel into our steps of service.

00:09:27:03 – 00:09:45:17

Anthony Valletta

That’s important. But tell me the last time you’ve gone in and had an exceptional time in a restaurant, like laughing, joking, the vibe is great and you recognize that your water wasn’t full. It doesn’t happen because you’re not focused. But when your water is not full and you notice it’s cause you’re not having a good time because you’re not experiencing everything, right?

00:09:45:17 – 00:10:03:12

Anthony Valletta

So people forgive little missteps in service. And oftentimes I think, actually don’t even notice them when they are so engaged and having a good time at your restaurant. So to me, there’s two components. It’s like you got to sell the fun. Like you just have to tell them, do whatever it takes to make sure the guest leaves better than they arrive.

00:10:03:12 – 00:10:09:20

Anthony Valletta

I tell my team the guests have a number above their head when they walk in. You don’t know what the number is, but your job is to make it bigger when they leave, right?

00:10:09:22 – 00:10:13:00

Zack Oates

And what does that number represent?

00:10:13:02 – 00:10:33:06

Anthony Valletta

Yeah, the other way I think that we do that that is very different as opposed to focusing on the steps of service. The big pieces go train for recovery. Somebody comes in, has a good time. It’s fun. That’s the easy part. But that 90s after something goes wrong, that’s the moment that turns a mediocre restaurant into a great restaurant and train them and empower them to do whatever it takes.

00:10:33:06 – 00:10:59:06

Anthony Valletta

Because I actually was comment on someone was like the other day, they post this whole thing about managing comps and setting a ceiling for comps, and you have to call someone for approval. I’m like, that’s the worst thing you can do, because now you’re literally lobotomized the person from taking care of the guest. So for us, we work more on train for recovery, given the ability to do whatever it takes with a manager, I guess left a restaurant because wait was too long or pissed off, they bought their dinner at another restaurant.

00:10:59:08 – 00:11:13:20

Anthony Valletta

Oh wow. We didn’t know that was like, no problem. That’s a great point. If you felt they were that upset and you feel bad about it, I don’t care how much the dinner costs. And I think training on those moments that like, that’s what we really expect you to do. Yeah. I want you to spiel somebody. I want you to clear the table.

00:11:13:20 – 00:11:31:03

Anthony Valletta

Of course, that’s all table stakes, no pun intended. But it’s those moments. And you, I’m sure you see all the reviews you guys are analyzing. Those are the moments people write about. That’s the stuff that gets you the accolades that you really want. Not I wouldn’t have had a great restaurant, you know, great meal, great food, great ambiance.

00:11:31:05 – 00:11:36:12

Anthony Valletta

Okay. I’m happy for that. But like, that’s not giving me anything above and beyond.

00:11:36:14 – 00:11:58:06

Zack Oates

You know, it’s wild is we did some studies that showed that the value of a recovered guest so upset guests proper service recovery. The value is actually 24 times more than the average guest. And that’s when you look at intercepting that negative review, putting out positive reviews and all that stuff. But if you just look at the dollars like, let’s remove any fluff, let’s remove any of the marketing.

00:11:58:11 – 00:12:36:04

Zack Oates

Gary Vee, they know it’s supposed to be important, but it’s hard to measure stuff. And let’s just look at the dollars. They spend five times more money per year than the average guest, so that recovered guest literally five times more. Why? Because they come in more frequently. They spend more money every time they come in and they’re more likely to share it with their friends and more likely to bring people in, more likely to do catering orders, more likely to think about you when they need something because they say, I know that I can trust this brand, that they’ve got my back if anything goes wrong, and that trust means dollars.

00:12:36:04 – 00:12:41:12

Zack Oates

And so people say, what’s the value of trust five x? That’s the value of trust.

00:12:41:14 – 00:13:05:14

Anthony Valletta

Yeah, I fully believe that. And I’ve seen it back to when I was a GM. Some of my regulars I still talk to today from 20 years ago, where people that I can remember the experience when I screwed up, I remember I’m like, I tell them like I remember like it was yesterday. We can joke about it. But the point was, those are some of my best regulars, because you spend all that time being like, God, I just I failed you and I want to make it right.

00:13:05:16 – 00:13:15:23

Anthony Valletta

And they realize, I think deep down, like who your brand really is, you try to recover a guest. I won’t share the brand. It wasn’t a restaurant brand, but I an issue with the customer service thing. And it was like, well.

00:13:16:03 – 00:13:17:20

Zack Oates

Was it American Airlines?

00:13:17:22 – 00:13:19:12

Anthony Valletta

No. God, that’s.

00:13:19:14 – 00:13:20:09

Zack Oates

Better.

00:13:20:11 – 00:13:34:07

Anthony Valletta

Like I call like, well, we can’t really help you, but you can call the manufacturer and they can help you. And I was like, I just bought it from you. I just think I’m confused. I’m like, well, that’s just what we would do. So I’ll just give you the number to call direct. But it told me about their brand, who the customer service is.

00:13:34:07 – 00:13:49:05

Anthony Valletta

At the core, it’s just a function where it’s in a lot of restaurants, unfortunately act that way. Right. So function like, oh, I have to go to that table and I have to take the steak off. It’s cooked wrong and I’ve done my job. I checked the box and I did versus like, is part of your brand DNA.

00:13:49:08 – 00:13:57:12

Anthony Valletta

This is a gift I can if I do it right. To your point, I get 24 x return. I’ll take that every day.

00:13:57:14 – 00:14:20:05

Zack Oates

And so many brands are so worried about getting they worry about getting screwed over. They’re worried about like someone taking advantage of them and that complaining Karen or Ken who comes in there and just is looking for the free thing, the free thing, the free thing. But when you actually boil it down and you look at how what percentage of people are actually trying to take advantage of you, it’s like less than 1%.

00:14:20:09 – 00:14:41:15

Zack Oates

But yet our gut instinct is to treat everyone like that 1%. Unless you have a leader like you who actually instills that in others. I think that’s is so powerful. Anthony. Yeah, you’re right. So as you think about this industry, I know that, you know, you know, so many people who is someone that you feel like deserves an ovation in the restaurant industry, who’s someone that we should be following.

00:14:41:17 – 00:14:43:03

Anthony Valletta

Can I give you two.

00:14:43:05 – 00:14:48:19

Zack Oates

Oh, you know what? Yes. Because you have such good suits. I’ll give you two.

00:14:48:21 – 00:15:04:14

Anthony Valletta

Well, the first one is somewhat self-serving, but I want to preface is like, there’s a few great people on the street right now. It’s not me, no guy. There’s so many incredible people. And sure, I could give you a laundry list of names that I’m sure you’ve heard on your podcast a million times. I don’t need to tell someone to follow these amazing leaders in the industry.

00:15:04:16 – 00:15:28:19

Anthony Valletta

The two I want to give is one where I think the real magic happens in our in our restaurants, as at the store level, we talk about all these leaders that like people are inspiring their brands, but the ones that really make it happen are the ones that are doing it every day. And I have a general manager in the wharf at my restaurant, Tom Haley, some of you over ten years, she went from a multi-unit to taking over my most troubled store in the wharf has dealt with the most adverse ever seen in my life.

00:15:28:21 – 00:15:52:17

Anthony Valletta

Make sure that bar taco rings through and through is leading my brand. Being up 20% this year in a city that is really messed up now. And I call her out not to be a self-serving for my brand, but because it’s people like Dom that exists across the country. They do it. Every brand has someone that don’t get the credit and the ovation they deserve, because I can say whatever I want in this podcast and preach him.

00:15:52:17 – 00:16:08:09

Anthony Valletta

But but if they do it, those are the ones I want to follow. I want to find more gems that do that and understand what is it in the four walls that really drives you to do that? So that would be my like somewhat plug, but I think that’s important to get on a bigger scale just to play the game.

00:16:08:11 – 00:16:26:12

Anthony Valletta

The one thing I would say is like, I’ve never stepped foot in a restaurant. If you’ve heard of these guys out of UK, they’re entering the US the first time in New York. I’ve never been stepped foot in this restaurant, but I can tell you what the lighting feels like, what the voice of the menu sounds like, their Bombay Cafe story.

00:16:26:12 – 00:16:47:05

Anthony Valletta

I know that’s the ovation these guys, I follow them so closely. They’re in the UK. I want to go. I want to go to London to go to the restaurant. That’s how wild it is. But they’ve done such an amazing job in Dakar. The founder who leads the marketing, I think just has done an incredible job of storytelling without having to walk in the restaurant.

00:16:47:05 – 00:17:04:20

Anthony Valletta

And I’m actually really excited to walk in one in New York when they open. I think it’s like a year out to see that connectivity and like to me, that is the brand, the person I am watching most closely because I’m an advocate for a brand. I’ve never eaten it, which is like I have a hard time saying that is a restaurant tour, but it’s true.

00:17:04:20 – 00:17:08:02

Anthony Valletta

So like that would be my bigger picture ovation I would give.

00:17:08:04 – 00:17:25:16

Zack Oates

Man, that’s powerful. I think what all of those are that fake restaurant they open up in London. We could be a few years back. I could just think about that. And like, I think it’s amazing that you could build a brand that you can show people who you are and what you’re about without that, without even having to taste the food like, that’s powerful.

00:17:25:16 – 00:17:34:01

Zack Oates

If we can get there and then have the food to match it to an unstoppable Anthony, how do people find and follow you and Bar Taco?

00:17:34:03 – 00:17:53:22

Anthony Valletta

So you find me at Bar Taco across the board website bar Taco become my website. Just my first and last name.com on LinkedIn. My email. Anybody can get in touch with me. I’m very public about that. It’s my first initial hey, my last name at Bar Taco I like to hear from the guest is I think, you know, I got my phone number and email or prints on the bottom of every receipt asking for feedback.

00:17:53:22 – 00:17:55:07

Anthony Valletta

I make sure if I share that with you, but oh.

00:17:55:07 – 00:17:56:08

Zack Oates

No, I know that.

00:17:56:10 – 00:18:03:22

Anthony Valletta

So like I invite guests to text me and call me. I get calls every day, but I’m not going to give you the number here because I want you to go to Bar Taco to get it, but it’s on. You can see it.

00:18:03:24 – 00:18:12:22

Zack Oates

Awesome. Well, Anthony, for reminding us the power of taking time to take care of the guest, today’s ovation goes to you. Thank you for joining us on Giving Ovation.

00:18:12:24 – 00:18:15:00

Anthony Valletta

Thanks for having me, Zach. I appreciate you.

00:18:15:02 – 00:18:37:14

Zack Oates

Thanks for joining us today. If you liked this episode, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite place to listen. We’re all about feedback here. Again, this episode was sponsored by ovation, a two question, SMS based, actionable guest feedback platform built for multi-unit restaurants. If you’d like to learn how we can help you measure and create a better guest experience, visit us at ovation up.com.