Awards, buzz and packed dining rooms can validate a restaurant, but they don't guarantee longevity. In a panel titled Star Power: Achieving and Maintaining Excellence, Providence's co-owner Donato Poto talked about whether or not a great review or award changes his headspace. As he puts it: “Actually, excellence starts the day after. Once you start tomorrow morning, you say, ‘How are we going to do it better?’” Panelists from the “It” Factor talk echoed that idea from a different angle: restaurants have to keep improving even after they've found success. Johnny Ray Zone described his daily practice of the Japanese Kaizen philosophy (the idea of continuous small improvements) at Howlin' Ray’s to make it “1% better each day.” The common thread: Don't chase the next big breakthrough; focus on making the restaurant better, consistently, over time.

Systems create consistency, but culture gives those systems meaning. In the Star Power panel, SingleThread’s Kyle Connaughton said every instruction is followed by an explanation of "why”—from how to slice a fish to decisions about opening another restaurant. Over time, employees absorb those principles and begin embodying them themselves. Meanwhile, in the “It” Factor panel, Anajak Thai’s Justin Pichetrungsi described Anajak as “99% culture, only 1% systems,” while acknowledging that the restaurant is increasingly building systems as it grows.

One of the clearest themes across the conference was the power of personal and cultural identity in creating meaningful food. In the Origin Stories panel, chef Ki Kim of the namesake L.A. restaurant described realizing that he was trying to tell someone else’s story through Japanese cuisine before discovering the connection he felt with Korean food. Gilberto Cetina similarly described Holbox as a combination of traditional Yucatecan cooking, his love of diving and fishing, his experience as an immigrant and his life in Los Angeles. For Mish’s Eric Greenspan, memories of his grandmother’s matzo brei eventually led him to open a diasporic Jewish deli after years of cooking just about everything else. Nostalgia doesn’t have to mean recreating the past—it can become the foundation for something distinctly personal.

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(L to R) - Moderator Nyesha Arrington (Native by Nyesha), chef Ki Kim (Ki Restaurant), Holbox's Gilbert Cetina, Hilltop's Issa Rae, and Eric Greenspan of Mish Deli. Photo credit: Nicholas Gingold

The best guest experiences go beyond just good food. In the Origin Stories panel, Issa Rae described creating spaces like Hilltop and Somerville to make people feel represented that are rooted in their community, but that also transport the guest somewhere else. As she put it, some of her most memorable restaurant experiences weren’t just about the food, but “the ambiance, it was everything that we wanted.” And at the Star Power panel, Hayato’s Brandon Go reminded the audience that excellence is decided by the emotions that your customers feel — how “talented” you are at your job is in the hands of those you are serving: “You don’t decide that. A customer decides that,” as he puts it.

Katina Connaughton similarly emphasized that the restaurant “isn’t about us,” but about the people who make it possible and the memories guests create there. Ultimately, excellence isn’t just about what a restaurant produces—it’s about what it teaches, who it brings together and the legacy it leaves behind.

Across the panels, longevity came back to relationships: with employees, guests, family, mentors and the communities restaurants serve. Gilberto Cetina learned work ethic from his parents and the power of storytelling from his father, who used stories about Yucatecan food to build lasting connections with customers. Perhaps the most compelling idea across the conference was that successful restaurants ultimately become bigger than their founders. The “It” Factor panel made a similar point about collaboration, mentorship and learning from peers. Last Word Hospitality’s Holly Fox emphasized culture as a means to reduce turnover and build longevity. “It’s been our dream to build equity for as many restaurant people as possible. I want to give people lives to look forward to and careers to look forward to. Investing in people is the ‘why’ for us.” As restaurants grow, the goal isn't simply to preserve what the founders created — it's to build something other people can carry forward.

Above: Moderator Shane McCall (OpenTable), Holly Fox (Last Word Hospitality), Justin Pichetrungsi (Anajak Thai), Jon Shook (Jon & Vinny's), Johnny Ray Zone (Howlin' Ray's). Photo credit: Nicholas Gingold

The Prep’s Take