Jorge Llapur is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Cuban Guys Restaurants, a vibrant eatery known for serving delicious Cuban fritas and authentic Cuban cuisine. With over 25 years of experience in multi-unit leadership within the restaurant industry, Jorge has successfully expanded Cuban Guys to five locations and a food truck, showcasing his commitment to culinary excellence and community engagement. Jorge’s journey from working at Burger King to leading Cuban Guys highlights his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for Cuban flavors.
Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:
- [01:24] What is unique about Cuban food?
- [02:28] Jorge Llapur’s journey into restaurants
- [05:23] The secrets to the Cuban frita
- [08:18] Lessons Jorge learned from starting his restaurant
- [10:32] How a food blogger boosted Cuban Guys
- [13:58] The key to restaurant expansion
- [20:40] How Jorge’s restaurants changed after the pandemic
- [22:30] Future plans for Cuban Guys franchising
In this episode…
The restaurant industry offers diverse opportunities for entrepreneurs to combine their passion for food with business acumen. How can aspiring restaurateurs leverage their experience to create successful fast-casual concepts?
According to Jorge Llapur, who co-founded Cuban Guys Restaurants, success in the fast-casual restaurant industry comes from blending culinary passion with operational expertise. Jorge’s journey from a part-time job at Burger King to founding his own Cuban-inspired fast-food chain demonstrates the value of learning from established brands and applying that knowledge to create a unique concept. He emphasizes the importance of understanding all aspects of the business, from marketing to facilities management, especially when starting a new venture.
On this episode of the Top Business Leaders Show, Rise25’s Chad Franzen welcomes Jorge Llapur, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Cuban Guys Restaurants to chat about his journey in the restaurant industry, the concept behind Cuban Guys, challenges of entrepreneurship, adapting to market changes, and strategies for growth and customer acquisition in the fast-casual dining sector.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Jorge Llapur on LinkedIn
- Cuban Guys Restaurants Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook
- Cuban Guys Radio
- Chad Franzen on LinkedIn
- SpotOn
- Rise25
Quotable Moments:
- “It’s a vibrant atmosphere where we combine the speed and simplicity of fast food with the flavors of Cuban food.”
- “Cuban food is very flavorful; it takes you to an island vacation when you eat one of our plates.”
- “I found out that I was the director of marketing, facilities, regional manager, and sometimes even did dishwashing.”
- “The experience is a very important key factor for any restaurant, so we want to create the experience of a Cuban, flavorful atmosphere.”
- “If you don’t do it now, you will never do it.”
Action Steps:
- Embrace continuous learning: By actively seeking new knowledge and staying curious, you can adapt to changing circumstances and continuously improve your business operations.
- Engage with all levels of your business: This direct engagement can uncover valuable insights and drive improvements in processes and customer service.
- Adapt to market changes: Being flexible and willing to adapt your business strategies to current market demands can help maintain and grow your customer base.
- Leverage strategic partnerships and influencers: Building relationships with influencers or strategic partners can enhance your brand visibility and attract new customers quickly.
- Invest in professional expertise: Recognizing when to delegate tasks to experts can enhance your business’s efficiency and allow you to focus on growth and innovation.
Sponsor for this episode
SpotOn:
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Whether you are a merchant or a consumer, SpotOn wants to be more than an average payment processor. SpotOn aims to exceed your expectations by valuing simplicity, maintaining flexibility, and celebrating innovative collaboration. Let SpotOn help you do business the right way.
Partner with SpotOn today! Visit spoton.com today to schedule your free demo or to view SpotOn’s products. You can also call SpotOn at 877.814.4102 at any time. Let SpotOn help you make the difference with your business!
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Episode Transcript
Intro 00:03
Welcome to the Top Business Leaders Show, powered by Rise25 Media. We feature top founders, executives and business leaders from all over the world.
Chad Franzen 00:20
Chad Franzen here, co-host for this show where we feature top restaurateurs, investors and business leaders. This is part of our SpotOn series. SpotOn has the best in class payment platform for retail, and they have a flagship solution called SpotOn Restaurant, where they combine marketing software and payments all in one. They’ve served everyone from larger chains like Dairy Queen and Subway to small mom and pop restaurants. To learn more, go to spoton.com. This episode is brought to you by Rise25. We help B2B businesses to get ROI, clients, referrals and strategic partnerships through done-for-you podcast. If you have a B2B business and want to build great relationships with clients, referral partners, and thought leaders in your space, there’s no better way to do it than through podcasts and content marketing. To learn more, go to rise25.com or email us at support@rise25.com.
My guest today is Jorge Llapur, co-founder and managing partner of Cuban Guys Restaurants. He is a seasoned restaurant entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in multi-unit leadership. His experience lies in driving sales through team building, effective communication, and commitment to excellence. Cuban restaurants. A popular Cuban eatery known for its delicious, fritas and vibrant atmosphere, is a testament to Jorge’s passion for food and community. Jorge, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you?
Jorge Llapur 01:31
I’m doing great. Thank you for having me.
Chad Franzen 01:33
Hey, I’ve never been to a Cuban Guys Restaurant before. If I did and I walked in the door, what kind of. What would I sense or experience?
Jorge Llapur 01:41
It’s a vibrant atmosphere where we combine the speed and simplicity of the old great American fast food industry, together with the flavors of Cuban food. We specialize in a line of Cuban sandwiches and Cuban bowls, and we serve it fast in a vibrant atmosphere.
Chad Franzen 01:59
How would you kind of describe Cuban food for those who maybe, maybe don’t live in a region where that’s terribly popular?
Jorge Llapur 02:08
Well, Cuban food is very flavorful. We have our typical dishes, but we use a lot of garlic, onion and a lot of spices to add flavor to our foods. Our popular black beans with rice or a pulled pork with mojo. And the mojo is made with sour orange. That gives it a nice kick. So it’s got a tropical flavor. It kind of takes you to an island vacation when you eat one of our plates.
Chad Franzen 02:38
Sounds fantastic. Tell me, what kind of drew you to the restaurant industry? How did you get started?
Jorge Llapur 02:45
Well, as I was going through high school when I was a teenager, I wanted a part time job. So I went into the work experience program at my local high school, and the teacher told me that, you know, if I found a part time job, I could be part of that program. So I went to the local Burger King and they were hiring and, you know, it was just a job. So I took on a part time job. I would leave school by one and go to work from 1 to 5 and, you know, had a little extra cash to take the girlfriend out, And I enjoyed it so much that, you know, I thrived on it. I remember as a 16 year old kid when I was making the sandwiches, the manager was doing inventory, and my curious mind says, what are you doing? Why are you counting everything? What is the purpose of that? And can I help you teach me how to count and I’ll do it for you. And my dad is a doctor. And you know, I wanted to be a dentist every time I did a career search through high school. Dentistry was my goal. And I enjoyed the restaurant business so much that, you know, when it was time to graduate from high school and move on to college, I said, you know what I’m doing with this business administration? I see myself doing this for a living. I’m enjoying every minute of it.
Chad Franzen 04:05
Very nice. So how many restaurants were you a part of before? Before Cuban Guys came about.
Jorge Llapur 04:10
I worked, as I said, with Burger King at the beginning of my career. I stayed with Burger King for ten years. I started as a Say. Simple. Whopper. Whopper, boy. Making the whoppers and the Whopper board and work myself up to general manager. I worked for a franchisee that only had three locations, so I kind of hit it top at that organization because he didn’t have any any multi-unit. So at that time, back then, Boston Chicken opened their first restaurant here in South Florida. And when I saw the concept, I liked it. And I went and applied for them and I got a position as a general manager. And 14 years later I was regional manager, running 36 restaurants in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties here in the South Florida area. I did that for a while until the entrepreneurial spirit came in and said, you know what? You’re working really hard and you’re doing a great job. It’s time to gather everything you’ve learned in the restaurant industry and try your dream of having your passion for food, which is the Cuban flavors, together with the systems that you’ve learned through working with great fast food companies and come up with something for your own. And that’s how Cuban Guys was born.
Chad Franzen 05:30
Yeah. Awesome. So you had kind of that entrepreneurial spirit kick in. What did you kind of come up with? Obviously it’s your background. How did you come up with the concept for your restaurant?
Jorge Llapur 05:40
Well, I always, you know, the three taekwondo, which is the Cuban hamburger, was my favorite on the go. I would travel in my job as a regional for Boston Market. I would go from store to store making visit and even I had free chicken at my destination. I would make a quick stop at a mom and pop restaurant Cuban restaurant to have a Cuban frita, which is a hamburger because I loved it and every time I was eating there, I would say, man, one day I’m gonna gather everything that I’ve learned and I’m going to make a frita Cuban restaurant with my experience. And, you know, and that was in my mind forever, until one day I said, you know what? If you don’t do it now, you will never do it. And I have my. My co-founders are Isaac Sklar and Enrique Santos. Enrique Santos is a local, well, not local national now, because his show is syndicated. It’s a radio show host and a radio personality. And I said, you know what? I’m going to talk to my friend Enrique and see if he wants to join me and be a part of this. And I went to rent my first restaurant. And Mr. Sklar, my other partner, when I presented my business plan of a Cuban fast food, he said, man, I love the idea. I am Cuban and I would like to be part of this project. So Enrique Santos is Cuban, I’m Cuban and Isaac Sklar is Cuban. So we said, okay, let’s call it Cuban Guys and move on. And here we are ten years later with five restaurants and a food truck.
Chad Franzen 07:12
Nice. Wow. That’s a great story. So you obviously probably start. How did you start out with one restaurant?
Jorge Llapur 07:18
Yes. We started with a brick and mortar in Hialeah. Isaac Sklar is an architect and a businessman, and the location I had that he was — actually he was renting. He was the broker renting a location that I went to look at. He told me, listen, now that we’re partners, I don’t like this location for our restaurant. This is a Cuban restaurant. And if it’s going to work, it’s going to work in Hialeah, which is the city that has the most Cuban population outside of Havana. So we said, let’s open the one in Hialeah. And then we opened our first location at our Hialeah location, which is ten years old. And from there we did great. The first year says, let’s open the second one. We did great. Let’s open the third one. And we are happy with what we’re doing. We do great business in the communities that we are. And the long term vision is to continue growing the brand and maybe franchising one day.
Chad Franzen 08:18
Yeah. Very nice. So what did you learn? So you obviously had a huge background in restaurants with Burger King and Boston Chicken. But then you — this is your first time kind of running your own, your own ship. What did you learn on maybe in those early days that even despite your extensive experience, you didn’t know?
Jorge Llapur 08:35
Well, you never stop learning, especially in this industry. They always say that you never stop learning. And that’s so true. You know, when I worked for a big corporation and my sales were diving a little bit, I would pick up the phone, call the corporate support center and say, hey, I need help in marketing. And they had marketing experts that would come up with a marketing strategy, implement it, and boom, all I needed to do was operations and make sure that we had enough whoppers or we had enough rotisserie chickens to cater the demand. If I had an equipment problem and the equipment wasn’t working well, I would run the ops department and say, listen, this equipment is just not cutting it. We need to come up with a different way of doing this and they will take care of it. So my job was to operate. When I opened the first Cuban Guys, I found out that I was the director of marketing, I was the director of facilities, I was the regional manager. And on weekends, sometimes I even did dishwashing because the guy didn’t show up. So having to wear those many hats was kind of a wake up call for me, because having the organizer structure of a big corporate with 3,000 restaurants, you have so much support to do your job that it makes it a lot easier. Once you open your own restaurant and you’re it. And you know, I tell you that I thrive on those challenges and some decisions are made were great. Some decisions I made, I used them as a learning experience because they weren’t that great. And, you know, little by little I was able to grow and then all of a sudden leave my marketing role and hire somebody to take care of my social media, because now we have five restaurants. There’s a little bit more of a marketing budget. I can let somebody that knows what they’re doing. And all of a sudden you see my Instagram account going from a mom and pop looking Instagram account to looking to a more professional, better images, better photography. And, you know, that’s how he I see it. Once I can afford it, I move on and give the job to the people that know how to do it.
Chad Franzen 10:39
Yeah, that’s the sound. Sounds like a good plan. How did you go about getting customers in those early days? Was it just location? Location was key. What else was important?
Jorge Llapur 10:49
Well, marketing of course. Getting customers, putting out specials, sending out mailers, sending out coupons, having somebody at the traffic light, passing out free, free sandwich cards. And I. It’s worth mentioning that I reached out to a local food blogger, Burger Beast. Burger beast was very popular because he goes to restaurants and he writes on his blog about restaurants, and I reached out to him and he happens to be Cuban, and he happens to have a special heart in parting his heart for Cuban freedom. So I said, hey, this is a new restaurant coming up. I think you should check it out. And I remember the first day we opened, we sold like $700. The second day we sold, like, $750. And I’m going like, this is not going to cover expenses. I’m worried. So I think my kick, my kind of good luck kick was given to us by Burger Beast because he came over, he had our food and he loved it. He wrote about it in his blog. Following day we hit $2,000 in sales. I’m going like, okay, this is what I need to happen. And, you know, all of a sudden he never I never look back.
Chad Franzen 12:00
Wow. That’s nice. So what kind of led to expansion and how did your first expansion go?
Jorge Llapur 12:07
Well, the view was always to be more than one unit. I wanted to have multiple units. And we when we saw that we have all our systems in place, we iron out all the kinks. We had all our procedures, all our recipes, all our vendors, that everything that I planned for that first location was already in clockwork. I could step out because back then I was, as I said, I was the general manager, I was the district manager, I was the everybody. So at the point that I was able to step out and leave the team doing the work, I said, okay, we’re ready for number two. We went out, we looked at another one and boom, we implemented all our systems and all our procedures on that second one and boom started off. Then when we were fine on that one, a third opportunity came up. The broker that was looking for spaces for us says, hey, this is a great space. You shouldn’t leave it. We loved it. We got it and we moved on. Then we were able to open the ones we have. Unfortunately through COVID we closed two because two of those leases were pretty hefty leases. And the way things were going, we were ready to renew the leases and the landlord wanted to increase the rent. And you know the thing, the way things are going and the uncertainty that we have, we decided not to renew those leases. And we closed two locations. And right now we are in the process of adjusting to the new restaurant structure. I remember prior to COVID, we had 70% dining business and 30% to go business. Right now. It flopped. Right now our dining rooms are never full and are to go and delivery business are 70% of our income. So we’re trying because those delivery businesses are not as profitable as a lot of restaurateurs know. They’re not as profitable as regular sales because, you know, you have the fees, you have the commissions, you have the chargebacks, you have the and, you know, we’re trying to get better at that and, and continue our road to growth.
Chad Franzen 14:15
How would you know, you said you’ve basically held every possible responsibility you can hold. What does your day-to-day kind of job look like right now?
Jorge Llapur 14:24
Well, it’s what I enjoy doing. I go to the restaurant, I get up in the morning and visit the first restaurant. I don’t have a set schedule. I go where the wind takes me that morning, unless I do have meetings, or unless I do have a specific duty or a specific follow up item. But, you know, I just pop into the stores and, you know, work shoulder to shoulder with the hourly employees. I’ve learned, and a mentor of mine, the one that kind of taught me a lot of it, tells me, you know what? Because he was the CEO of Boston Market and he had a beautiful office in Colorado. The corner office overlooking the golf course. And he says, you know, I’m never in my office. I’m out here at the field working shoulder to shoulder with you guys because, you know, you guys are the ones that know what the pulse of the business is. And, you know, I cannot take that pulse from my corporate headquarters. And I’ve taken that to heart. And, you know, I’m out in the restaurants every day. I go spend four hours in one store, go spend four hours in another store, drive to the next store on my way home, stop at the one closer to me and I learned a lot from the guests. The ones that say, oh, how are you doing? I love this place. This is great. Or oh, I was here last week and this didn’t happen. And you know that this is an area. So I take what they tell me is great. I strengthen on it. And when they tell me there’s opportunities, I look on ways to fix it. Same thing with the employees, because at times I feel there’s a good way of doing something. So I come up with a recipe or I come up with a procedure and the employee taught me how to do it.
So being engaged with the customers, being engaged with the employees, being engaged with the vendors. It’s what I enjoy doing.