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Anaheim restaurant interview with Scott Slater of Slater's 50/50
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When Dorothy and I followed up on a recommendation to try Slater’s 50/50, I had the pleasure of meeting the young owner, Scott Slater. He’s accomplished a lot in his 27 years. Slater grew up in the La Crescenta area of Southern California, near Pasadena. He attended San Diego State where he graduated with a BA in political science. His previous partner got his degree in philosophy. He said it’s fortunate he’s single because he works seven days a week since opening.
Slater Started in the Restaurant and Food Services Industry Early
He started in the food services / restaurant industry at 15 years old when he began working as a dishwasher. After college, he and his best friend started selling hot dogs outside Home Depot. They eventually built it up to 36 locations, including Las Vegas, the San Francisco Bay area, New York and Los Angeles. When the economy started to drop in 2008, they sold off the business.
Initially he wanted to open a bar in Redondo Beach. Just before the scheduled closing, the sale fell out of escrow. Then his former partner found this location for him. It was previously Alvarado’s Kitchen, a high end California cuisine restaurant. The kitchen was pretty much intact so he didn’t have to do much there. He wanted a youthful feel to the restaurant and a more contemporary look so in addition to painting the place, he added TVs, booths, and beer taps. Because he was able to transfer the alcohol license, he opened in 30 days. He bought the restaurant in May and opened on June 3rd, barely over five months ago.
Origin of the 50/50 Burger
Slater said that he loves bacon. One day he asked his local butcher to grind up some bacon so that he could make bacon burgers for a Chargers’ tailgate party. However, when he decided to make a product to serve in his restaurant, he decided he needed to make it a 50/50 combination using half hamburger and half bacon. Because I found the 50/50 Burger tasted so lean, I asked if he orders special meat. He said no. First off, most of the grease cooks out. The salt in the bacon also tends to absorb the moisture. He just uses standard 80/20 chuck and regular bacon.
There's More to Location than Being Visible from a Major Street
Real estate people will tell you – and generally I will too – that the three most important things about opening a business, especially a restaurant, are location, location, location. Scott Slater managed to fly in the face of that sage advice, at least on the surface of it, because three days after they opened they had a waiting line. As they've continued to have waiting lines on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, it’s fortunate that Slater hired staff capable of handling high volume while maintaining their warm, welcoming attitudes. In reality, he did carefully select his location to match the crowd he wants to attract. Slater’s 50/50 is casual yet upscale, the ideal place for a date or party with people who live in an upscale neighborhood like Anaheim Hills. So he located in a neighborhood that would appreciate his approach.
Upcoming Article Will Look at Slater's Marketing
Using my sales and marketing professional expertise, I’ll be commenting on Slater’s 50/50’s marketing approach later this week so please watch for that review if you are interested in the business end of things. If you like grill + bar reviews, please check out my other restaurant reviews http://tinyurl.com/yjxlam3.
A Loyal Clientele Will Ensure Slater's 50/50 Thrives
I was really impressed with Scott Slater. For a young man, he has the training and the experience that he needs to make a success of this business. More importantly, he seems to have a feel for what his clientele want. And from what I saw, he understands the importance of systems to ensure consistent quality and cost control. I look forward to watching him thrive with the support of loyal patrons.
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