Brian Fauver, Partner at Hargett Hunter Capital Management, joins Zack Oates to share how investors evaluate restaurant brands through the lens of guest experience. Drawing from nearly two decades of investing in hospitality, Brian explains why authenticity, hospitality, and emotional connection matter just as much as unit economics when building brands that last.

Why Restaurants Are Worth the Risk (1:26)

“I got a taste of how loyalty is created inside the four walls, and I couldn’t get enough.”

Brian explains that while restaurants are often viewed as a challenging investment category, the emotional connection guests form with brands makes them compelling. Early exposure to restaurant investing showed him how powerful loyalty can be when the experience truly resonates.

What Investors Look for Beyond Unit Economics (2:43)

“Unit economics matter, but that’s not the end all be all for us.”

Brian shares that financial performance is only the starting point. Hagen Hunter looks for concepts that are approachable, clearly differentiated, and built around a strong reason for existing. Brands designed for broad appeal tend to create stronger guest relationships.

Why Authenticity Cannot Be Faked (3:51)

“You know it when you see it, and when you do, it’s really powerful.”

Authenticity is central to Brian’s investment philosophy. He explains that the most compelling brands are rooted in genuine stories and cultures that guests can feel immediately. That emotional clarity is difficult to replicate and critical for long term success.

The Difference Between Service and Hospitality (7:20)

“Hospitality is how it makes you feel, not just what gets done.”

Brian distinguishes operational execution from true hospitality. While service ensures tasks are completed, hospitality focuses on creating memorable feelings. Brands that intentionally design moments of warmth and care tend to leave a lasting impression.

Creating Meaningful Guest Interactions (10:18)

“It’s about increasing the intensity of connection, not just the volume.”

Brian discusses how some brands go beyond transactions to build relationships. Personalized outreach and unexpected gestures help deepen guest loyalty and extend engagement beyond a single visit.

Why Feedback Protects the Brand (12:16)

“You’re only as good as your last experience.”

Guest feedback acts as an early warning system. Brian explains that while mistakes are inevitable, brands that listen and respond quickly can recover trust and prevent long term damage to guest relationships.

Who Deserves an Ovation? (15:22)

Brian gives an ovation to leadership teams within his portfolio who are opening their first locations in new markets. He highlights the discipline and care required to expand thoughtfully and praises the operators leading those efforts.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-fauver-1639471/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hargett-hunter/about/

https://hargetthunter.com/

Transcript

00:00:00:12 – 00:00:26:07

Zack Oates

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

00:00:26:08 – 00:00:51:06

Zack Oates

Learn more at ovation up.com. And today I’m really excited because we have Brian Farber here who is a partner at Hagen Hunter Capital Management. Go check out their website to see their portfolios. But they got a ton of different restaurants on there. One of my favorite. Maria Gama udon. What a cool brand. And also love me some chop shop there in, every time I go to Arizona.

00:00:51:10 – 00:01:00:18

Zack Oates

Got to get some chop shop anyway, but along with a ton of other brands and you’re doing some great stuff, Brian, and excited to chat with you about the guest experience in restaurants. And welcome to the podcast.

00:01:00:20 – 00:01:03:14

Brian Fauver

It’s great to be with you. And, yeah, excited to talk shop.

00:01:03:16 – 00:01:25:23

Zack Oates

So first of all, tell me, as an investor, not a normal investor, he’s a cool investor, everyone. So he’s just looking to make that point as an investor. Like why restaurants? It’s one of the things that so many other investors look at and they’re like, this is too hard for us. What made you look at it and say, yeah, let’s go.

00:01:26:00 – 00:01:48:01

Brian Fauver

Yeah, it is true, right? It is an industry that oftentimes is tasked with that way, that it isn’t the best place for investment. I got introduced to investing in the space of, gosh, it’s coming up on almost 20 years ago. But I was with a group and we invested in a concept called Bojangles. It was 400 units at the time, and man, it was hook, line and sinker for me.

00:01:48:01 – 00:02:06:03

Brian Fauver

I was that annoying person who was just all over the CFO asking dumb questions. I’m high on the test kitchen all the time, and I got to see firsthand how the experience that you have in the stores and you know, the loyalty that was created by that brand, along with many others, is done.

00:02:06:03 – 00:02:13:05

Zack Oates

And, well, I mean, when you have a chicken biscuit like that, it’s pretty tough to not have a loyal following.

00:02:13:07 – 00:02:32:02

Brian Fauver

Yeah, I’m obsessive about biscuits. It’s been a nickname that people have called me over the course of my life. So. Yeah, I’m. I’m right there with you. But. Yeah, but that’s the brand, you know, again, like many who, figure out a way to make people extremely passionate about what it does and seeing that and be a part of that and getting a taste of that figuratively, literally.

00:02:32:02 – 00:02:38:03

Brian Fauver

I couldn’t get enough. And so my career since has just been trying to find that again and again and again.

00:02:38:05 – 00:02:43:22

Zack Oates

And when you’re looking to invest in a restaurant, what are the biggest metrics that you’re looking for?

00:02:43:24 – 00:03:07:15

Brian Fauver

Everybody’s looking at some of the same stuff. We all know it and talk about it. The unit economics, right. So it’s kind of starts and ends there in terms of what the first look is. But that only says so much. And honestly that’s not the end all be all for us. We’re looking for brands. And our goal as a group of mission is just to be the best possible partner for emerging brands out there.

00:03:07:17 – 00:03:28:24

Brian Fauver

And, in order to do that, we do try to find brands that have potential. For us, it comes down to a couple things. One, we love, you know, approachable concepts. We we love concepts that appeal to many, not the few. I grew up in North Carolina, redneck down here in the South. And I don’t need to be a New Yorker or Chicago to experience great food.

00:03:28:24 – 00:03:51:22

Brian Fauver

We have it here, and that’s because I’m accustomed to approachable concepts. We love differentiation. And, you know, it’s that can be done with convenience and experience. But brands have it a why for why they exist. Admittedly subjective, but something you can see firsthand. The last piece that’s big for us is on authenticity. Super hard where to define the kind of know it when you see it.

00:03:51:24 – 00:04:11:19

Brian Fauver

But brands that have a true foundational background for why they exist, that connects with people in an emotional way, you know, you’ve seen it, you’ve been a part of it. It’s happened to you. It’s out there, and when you see it, you know it. And then when we find and get to know founders and brands that have built that, I wish I could figure that out.

00:04:11:19 – 00:04:19:05

Brian Fauver

Like, I wish I could do that. I can’t, but I can see it. And when you do, it’s really exciting and we love to partner and be a part of that process.

00:04:19:06 – 00:04:42:13

Zack Oates

I think that that authenticity is something that people are looking for up and down the spectrum, and I think the authenticity means that it just feels so real and people don’t want the fakeness anymore, and they don’t want everything to be this just cookie cutter, this cookie cutter thing where I’m just a number and you don’t care about me.

00:04:42:15 – 00:05:00:02

Zack Oates

I wanted to feel personal. I want to feel like I’ve got a relationship. I want to feel like I know you. And that’s a huge demand of consumers nowadays. And if you’re yourself like we were actually talking before, we hit record about how we dress at trade shows and about how I felt like I needed to dress a certain way.

00:05:00:02 – 00:05:23:24

Zack Oates

And so if you look back at my the first trade shows I went to, I’m there wearing like a white shirt, slacks, dress shoes, and it’s just like it wasn’t me. And then just being able that we were talking about you and I just we decided to start dressing the way that we normally dress. And it’s so much easier to be you, as the old saying goes, in a world full of someone’s like, there’s only you, so just be you.

00:05:23:24 – 00:05:49:13

Zack Oates

And I think that’s really key. And I think that leads me to feel like the brands that when I look at them and I feel like I get that brand, it’s usually because there’s someone there who is just the heart and soul of that brand. And look at Nicole, the founder of swig. She is the heart and soul of that brand, and you could feel it when you go to a swig or auto with show.

00:05:49:16 – 00:06:00:01

Zack Oates

You go down to a pink show in Florida, in Texas, and it’s like you feel that there’s something different there. And that’s like the secret ingredient of brands that are making it versus brands that aren’t.

00:06:00:03 – 00:06:27:21

Brian Fauver

Without a doubt. You mentioned Morgan. So Morgan, they originated in Japan. It was started by a turtle. They’re the largest foodservice operator in Japan. And they have this amazing brand. There’s 1100 of them worldwide. And when we partnered with them, they were four units in the US. And before we partnered with them, we went to Japan. Right. We saw we went to the Kagawa Prefecture, where udon originated way longer than the life of our country.

00:06:27:23 – 00:06:45:12

Brian Fauver

This is something for a long time. And you see the building blocks like where it comes from. And then you come back to the US and you walk in the store and you see that a lot of the same processes are followed. Similarly, a lot of the team, many of which had spent time in Japan learning the craft, are there.

00:06:45:14 – 00:07:04:15

Brian Fauver

You can’t fake it, right? You can’t just make that up. You and I probably couldn’t come up with that, right? It just exists. And so that’s a superficial thing. And it’s tough because, you know, it is hard to create from scratch. That’s why I have so much respect for founders that can do it and that build teams that that are authentically associated with the brand connections they make with.

00:07:04:15 – 00:07:07:04

Brian Fauver

Yes, but man is powerful when you see it first hand.

00:07:07:04 – 00:07:20:20

Zack Oates

Well, and authenticity, I think we’re talking here about that strategy of authenticity and how that’s a very critical part of the guest experience. Anything else that you would say is an important aspect or strategy that people should be thinking about with guest experience?

00:07:20:22 – 00:07:48:21

Brian Fauver

I’m not the first person to say it right. This is, I think, pretty well known out there, but there is such a huge difference between service and hospitality and so we often talk about service and step service and everything, but the distinction between the two and the way that that hospitality makes you feel inside the four walls and even through off premise, that’s where a lot of our focus and attention is today and has been maybe more recently than in years past.

00:07:48:23 – 00:08:09:12

Brian Fauver

And so a lot of our conversations are being real, purposeful about that side. And so something as simple as surprise and delight, right? We all know it. We all talk about how that’s a great way to go above and beyond what people’s expectations are. And you feel great when you get something dropped on your table that you didn’t expect, right?

00:08:09:14 – 00:08:31:09

Brian Fauver

Well, a lot of brands, and we’re guilty of it too. We sort of talk and pay lip service to the concept, like, let’s do it. But it does take an extra step to put it into the format that you execute within your four walls. So we have a breakfast and lunch concept that’s amazing. It’s out in Indianapolis called Cafe Pod Issue.

00:08:31:11 – 00:08:48:12

Brian Fauver

One of their signature items is Cinnamon Toast, believe it or not. And you know, that might sound simple to you, but it is amazing. And so when you go to Cafe Pot issue, it’s not uncommon for you just to get some dropped on your table. And that’s not just because someone thought of it or that day they were feeling friendly.

00:08:48:12 – 00:09:12:04

Brian Fauver

It’s really part of what the team and culture is built around. It’s purposeful. And so I think that may be part of the distinction, and we certainly are in more conversations about things like that now, because it is a sentiment driver. It does get talked about when people talk about your brand, they do speak to things like that, which isn’t a make sure the ticket time is within seven minutes.

00:09:12:06 – 00:09:21:03

Brian Fauver

It’s different. It’s a different approach. And so we’re certainly had a lot more conversations with our teams and our brands about things like that. And we were probably 2 or 3 years.

00:09:21:03 – 00:09:41:01

Zack Oates

Yeah. And I think that’s so important that those the little things matter because they are the little things. And that sounds kind of like obvious. But at the end of the day, it’s hard to fake those little things. It’s hard to dropping off that cinnamon toast, that cinnamon French toast. It’s like a cinnamon toast. It’s like, that’s hard to do.

00:09:41:02 – 00:10:04:01

Zack Oates

That’s hard to like. Keep that a consistent thing unless it’s ingrained in who you are in your DNA. I think that’s so important. And I think about, you know, brands that I consistently feel welcome, that they give their team latitude and expect them to do those little things, and they share it and they celebrate it. And I think that’s so critical.

00:10:04:07 – 00:10:18:18

Zack Oates

Besides that, are there any other you like answering my questions before I ask that me or Brian? But like, I think that’s great because what a great tactic to think about. But is there any other tactics that you would say are important about improving the guest experience?

00:10:18:20 – 00:10:40:04

Brian Fauver

Yeah, I think where our brands really shine and maybe this isn’t just lately, maybe this is just in general, but it’s almost like a volume game of like maybe a volume of interactions or intensity of interactions. We have a brand on the West Coast called bakery. It’s a mediterranean tapas, restaurants. Amazing. The founders, they’re just obsessive about the guests experiences.

00:10:40:06 – 00:11:02:17

Brian Fauver

It’s almost clinical with them, but they’re so good at it and they never fall short of what they really spend a lot of time, effort, energy on is genuine interaction with guests, not just inside the store. So there are avid OpenTable users, right? So they use the platform not just for reservations. They communicate with guests directly and it’s not just in service recovery.

00:11:02:19 – 00:11:27:04

Brian Fauver

So they’ll reach out. If you’ve come a couple of times they’ve gone through and said, oh, who are the folks you know, what are the top 20 folks that visit our stores? And they’ll send them gifts. So they use the concept of like, hey, we’re going to create a relationship with you inside our four walls, but what else can we do outside of your visit to make sure that you are hearing from us and connecting with us directly?

00:11:27:06 – 00:11:56:05

Brian Fauver

It really creates that kind of bond. And they’re true. People don’t treat the restaurants as just places to go eat. And that in that way, I think in figuring out ways to increase your connection, like you mentioned, chop shop to Jason’s, a big fan of ovation. And, you know, he talks about how they used to just get Google reviews, or he had 18 or 20,000 Google reviews, and he switches over to ovation, and all of a sudden he’s got 60, 70,000 touchpoints with guests.

00:11:56:07 – 00:12:15:24

Brian Fauver

We all know that the restaurant industry is numbers everywhere, data everywhere. We’re data rich here, and that’s nice. But you do have to focus on what does lead to the right decision making. And I think increasing the intensity or the frequency of where you connect with your guests at times looking beyond your four walls can help you do it.

00:12:16:01 – 00:12:38:01

Zack Oates

I think that’s so right, because you’re only as good as your last experience. And if your last experience, if there was a mistake, that’s okay as long as you have that safety net. And so that’s why we always talk about how there’s value in the volume. Because the more people you talk to, the bigger your safety net is to protect your brand.

00:12:38:01 – 00:13:03:18

Zack Oates

And that is the most important thing that you have nowadays. Yes, it’s critical that you have good food and that you serve it up right. But we all know that there’s going to be mistakes, so you can’t operate off of the assumption of perfection. You operate off of the assumption of mistakes. And how are you going to make sure that you are there at that moment to provide an amazing experience?

00:13:03:20 – 00:13:24:16

Zack Oates

A local shop here, aubergine, they are phenomenal brand. I went in there this week and guess what? I ordered my bowl with no onions and there were onions on my bowl. I didn’t even have to get up. Someone walked by. The woman who took my order came up, said, I’m so sorry, there weren’t supposed to be onions on it.

00:13:24:18 – 00:13:48:20

Zack Oates

Took the ball back and they fixed it. I didn’t even have to tell them about it. And what does that do for me that increases my trust in that brand. So I’m so much more likely to go back now because I know that they care. And knowing that they care means that I know that my money is going to be well spent in the experience, that I’m going to get what I pay for.

00:13:48:20 – 00:13:55:17

Zack Oates

And I think that’s something that is just so critical nowadays, because the switching costs have never been lower.

00:13:55:19 – 00:14:22:19

Brian Fauver

Yeah, it’s competitive out there. That experience is driven culture. Yeah. Sabrina probably knows knows. We talk about know thyself, know thyself. Right. Like we we talk about understanding why people interact with your brand and why they’re connected to it, why they’re making those emotional connections with your brand. And, I mean, it’s hard. It’s not uncommon for us to sit around in a room and have opinions, subjective opinions about why people come and associate with our brands.

00:14:22:21 – 00:14:52:00

Brian Fauver

But when you get in a small room of people, you have a tendency just to maybe have the wrong perception of what it is. When you go actually talk and spend times or speak to people directly, hear from directly primary research re reviews, you know, really get into what is out there and what the perception actually is. It can be it’s humbling, but it can be surprising that the experience is like you had a really what’s driving it, not what I know potentially you in a boardroom or somewhere else were saying is behind the brand.

00:14:52:00 – 00:15:09:03

Brian Fauver

And so uncovering that is hard to do and takes work. But, we’ve seen it really be empowering and get everyone around the table, leadership team, store teams able to clearly articulate the why behind the brand. And then that’s when that happens. You know, let’s go.

00:15:09:06 – 00:15:22:02

Zack Oates

Yeah. Amen. And I think there’s so many key things that we’ve talked about here and so many great tactics and love the strategies here. Now, who is someone that we should be following? Who’s someone that deserves an ovation?

00:15:22:04 – 00:15:24:13

Brian Fauver

Oh man, can I do more than yes.

00:15:24:13 – 00:15:27:10

Zack Oates

Because you just there’s too many people. Yes.

00:15:27:12 – 00:15:45:15

Brian Fauver

Yeah, yeah. Well, well. So I gotta throw it to a few of our leadership team. So this is a really fun time for us right now because we have three brands, all who are in the span of this like 60, 70 days. We’re in right now are are opening their first new store in their first new market. So not their home market.

00:15:45:15 – 00:16:04:11

Brian Fauver

These are frontier markets. So, Danny and Bobby currently in New York, allow founders of bakery, as I mentioned earlier. And they’re getting ready to open in San Diego. So first store in a new market two weeks ago, cafe Potter Shoe Home and the cinnamon toast and the Shelly Anderson and her team just opened a new store in Lexington, First New Market.

00:16:04:11 – 00:16:27:06

Brian Fauver

And then literally tomorrow I’ll be at K 38, another brand of ours. It’s a Baja Mexican brand that’s opening their first store in New Market. And Brian Brennan’s. I think we all know this is one of the hardest things that a brand does go into the new market, you know, you don’t know. Yeah. You’re new. You’re kind of coming out party and you have to get people’s attention and start lead with that right foot.

00:16:27:06 – 00:16:38:19

Brian Fauver

And that group of folks that I just mentioned, they’re doing an amazing job of leading their teams and their brands and leading into these new markets. So gotta throw it to them. Exciting time. For all those.

00:16:38:20 – 00:16:44:17

Zack Oates

That’s awesome. Where you go. So, Brian, how do we find and follow you and your brands?

00:16:44:19 – 00:16:59:16

Brian Fauver

Yeah. Yeah. Of course. So so target Hunter. We’re on LinkedIn. So LinkedIn and then WWE with that target hunter.com obviously. And then and then yeah. So check us out there. Let’s see what we’re up to. And but I’m also on LinkedIn as well. So reach out and love to connect.

00:16:59:16 – 00:17:09:04

Zack Oates

Awesome. Well Brian for reminding us that authenticity bleeds into everything we do from food to fashion. Today’s ovation goes to you. Thank you so much for joining us. I’m give ovation.

00:17:09:06 – 00:17:11:08

Brian Fauver

Awesome Zach. Appreciate it buddy.

00:17:11:10 – 00:17:33:23

Zack Oates

Thanks for joining us today. If you like 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.