Mike Rypka's guest appearances

Mike Rypka

Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore

QSR Uncut

MVP Business

Patrick Terry

Spencer Rubin

Zaid Ayoub

Hagop Giragossian

Eric Cacciatore

Jae Kim

Ari Weinzweig

Mike Michalowicz

Jason Harris

Wiz Khalifa

Andrew Freeman

Horst Schulze

Michael Dorf

Rebecca Miller

Rich Brooks

OwlTail

From fry cook of a fast-food chicken joint to king of a Texas taco empire, Mike Rypka started Torchy’s Tacos, in 2006 from a single food truck. The restaurants, now in 75 locations in five states, have a colorful and super fun atmosphere. Mike is a down to earth, honest and transparent guy he's rarely seen dressed in anything other than shorts, sneakers, and perhaps a fedora because he's not a formal guy and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. From what we can tell, he's passionate about two things...cars, and damn good tacos.We recorded this episode live at a Torchy's location in the Mueller development in East Austin so the sound is a bit challenging, but the content is awesome. Mike talks to us about the struggles and challenges of starting and growing a regional restaurant chain while growing a loyal following of brand enthusiasts and empowering his employees to deliver on the promise of the best damn tacos one can find.

From fry cook of a fast-food chicken joint to king of a Texas taco empire, Mike Rypka started <a href="https://torchystacos.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Torchy’s Tacos</a>, in 2006 from a single food truck. The restaurants, now in 75 locations in five states, have a colorful and super fun atmosphere. Mike is a down to earth, honest and transparent guy he's rarely seen dressed in anything other than shorts, sneakers, and perhaps a fedora because he's not a formal guy and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. From what we can tell, he's passionate about two things...cars, and damn good tacos. We recorded this episode live at a Torchy's location in the Mueller development in East Austin so the sound is a bit challenging, but the content is awesome. Mike talks to us about the struggles and challenges of starting and growing a regional restaurant chain while growing a loyal following of brand enthusiasts and empowering his employees to deliver on the promise of the best damn tacos one can find.

Mike Rypka, founder of Torchy's Tacos on the challenges of growing a regional restaurant chain

Hailing from Virginia, just outside Washington DC, Mike Rypka got his start in the restaurant industry as a fry cook at Popeyes. He found his passion for cooking during his time working at a country club in Springfield, VA. From there he attended Johnson and Wales University in North Miami, FL. This experience earned him a place with Marriott, which took him to CA, and eventually TX, where he worked in corporate settings until he left the corporate scene for Chuy's in the mid-2000s. Two years later, at the age of 32, it was time for Rypka to do his own thing. In 2006 Torchy's was born. 14 years later Mike serves Torchy's as Founder and Chairman and the brand has scaled to 17 locations in the Austin Metroplex area and over 75 locations in all. Check out The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey as mentioned in today's episode. Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!  Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)  Favorite success quote or mantra: "The Devil is in the details." In today's episode with Mike Rypka we will discuss:  The details and why they're important Why you should move on from a restaurant after 2 years Working in different areas of hospitality Letting your team be a part of the creative process Gamifying work Giving your people room to be creative and add value to your organization How much better the culture is when the owners are fewer places removed from the bottom of the heigherarchy Do something unique to stand out Guerilla marketing give lots of food away- get it in their mouth Know your lane and trusting others who are strong where you're weak Ego - get rid of it Catering for Disney and MTV  Today's sponsor:  Toast - A POS built for restaurants by restaurant people Adapt fast with Toast's cloud-based restaurant POS system that updates to evolve your POS along with changing industry trends and guest expectations. Toast is built exclusively for restaurants of all shapes and sizes, with over 2/3 of our employees having restaurant experience to serve you better. Online Ordering - Let guests easily order directly from your restaurant for pickup or contactless delivery to keep revenue flowing during these uncertain times. Toast Delivery Services Dispatch local drivers through an on-demand network to keep your community fed and revenue coming in.   MarginEdge is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead.  QuickBooks for Restaurants a Bookkeeping and Accounting Guide. The back-office restaurant accounting guide you’ve been searching for! Zac covers the accounting fundamentals, including sales tracking, purchasing, bill paying, invoicing, managing day-to-day liabilities, gift certificate tracking, cash management, detailed reporting, and more. Ultimately, Zac show owners and operators how to create the accurate financials and reporting that will enable them to make better informed, data-driven decisions.    Knowledge bombs  Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?  Tenacity   What is your biggest weakness?  Impatience   What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?  "If I could drive to El Paso and back with the person and not want to throw them out of the car I think I could work with them on a daily basis."   What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?  Maintaining the integrity of the brand   Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.  Respect, honor, integrity   What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?  Treat customers like family   What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?   One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM    What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?  Don't focus enough on the food   Name one service you've hired.  T3 for marketing   If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?  Treat people with respect Be the best you can be Follow your dreams and your passion    Contact info: torchystacos.com Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Mike Rypka for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!   Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!

Hailing from Virginia, just outside Washington DC, Mike Rypka got his start in the restaurant industry as a fry cook at <a href="https://www.popeyes.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Popeyes</a>. He found his passion for cooking during his time working at a country club in Springfield, VA. From there he attended Johnson and Wales University in North Miami, FL. This experience earned him a place with Marriott, which took him to CA, and eventually TX, where he worked in corporate settings until he left the corporate scene for <a href="https://www.chuys.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chuy's</a> in the mid-2000s. Two years later, at the age of 32, it was time for Rypka to do his own thing. In 2006 <a href="https://torchystacos.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Torchy's</a> was born. 14 years later Mike serves Torchy's as Founder and Chairman and the brand has scaled to 17 locations in the Austin Metroplex area and over 75 locations in all. Check out <a href="https://amzn.to/2CaTK59" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey</a> as mentioned in today's episode. Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! <ul> <li>Subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJSERtxnAE3V7T9PQ19w_Og" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel</a></li> <li>Join the private <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/493649961457862/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unstoppable Facebook Group</a></li> <li>Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)</li> </ul> Favorite success quote or mantra: "The Devil is in the details." In today's episode with Mike Rypka we will discuss: <ul> <li>The details and why they're important</li> <li>Why you should move on from a restaurant after 2 years</li> <li>Working in different areas of hospitality</li> <li>Letting your team be a part of the creative process</li> <li>Gamifying work</li> <li>Giving your people room to be creative and add value to your organization</li> <li>How much better the culture is when the owners are fewer places removed from the bottom of the heigherarchy</li> <li>Do something unique to stand out</li> <li>Guerilla marketing give lots of food away- get it in their mouth</li> <li>Know your lane and trusting others who are strong where you're weak</li> <li>Ego - get rid of it</li> <li>Catering for Disney and MTV</li> </ul> Today's sponsor: <a href="https://pos.toasttab.com/lp/restaurant-unstoppable-1?utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_source=audpo&amp;utm_campaign=tpos-b2bsmb-paid-profilepag-unstoppable-acq-audpo-cousa_wmql" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Toast</a> - A POS built for restaurants by restaurant people Adapt fast with Toast's cloud-based restaurant POS system that updates to evolve your POS along with changing industry trends and guest expectations. Toast is built exclusively for restaurants of all shapes and sizes, with over 2/3 of our employees having restaurant experience to serve you better. Online Ordering - Let guests easily order directly from your restaurant for pickup or contactless delivery to keep revenue flowing during these uncertain times. Toast Delivery Services Dispatch local drivers through an on-demand network to keep your community fed and revenue coming in.<a href="https://pos.toasttab.com/lp/restaurant-unstoppable-1?utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_source=audpo&amp;utm_campaign=tpos-b2bsmb-paid-profilepag-unstoppable-acq-audpo-cousa_wmql" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://me.marginedge.com/restaurant-unstoppable" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MarginEdge</a> is completely free for new customers until September. No setup fees. No integration fees. No commitment. Take your back office paperwork down to 2-3 minutes a day while creating real-time financial views to inform your path ahead. <a href="https://me.marginedge.com/restaurant-unstoppable" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://zacweiner.com/unstoppable/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">QuickBooks for Restaurants</a> a Bookkeeping and Accounting Guide. The back-office restaurant accounting guide you’ve been searching for! Zac covers the accounting fundamentals, including sales tracking, purchasing, bill paying, invoicing, managing day-to-day liabilities, gift certificate tracking, cash management, detailed reporting, and more. Ultimately, Zac show owners and operators how to create the accurate financials and reporting that will enable them to make better informed, data-driven decisions. <a href="https://zacweiner.com/unstoppable/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Knowledge bombs <ol> <li>Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success? <ul> <li>Tenacity</li> </ul> </li> <li>What is your biggest weakness? <ul> <li>Impatience</li> </ul> </li> <li>What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview? <ul> <li>"If I could drive to El Paso and back with the person and not want to throw them out of the car I think I could work with them on a daily basis."</li> </ul> </li> <li>What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it? <ul> <li>Maintaining the integrity of the brand</li> </ul> </li> <li>Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team. <ul> <li>Respect, honor, integrity</li> </ul> </li> <li>What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff? <ul> <li>Treat customers like family</li> </ul> </li> <li>What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner? <ul> <li> <a href="https://amzn.to/3iwvKu8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson</a></li> <li>GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT <a href="http://audibletrial.com/unstoppable" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AUDIBLE.COM </a></li> </ul> </li> <li>What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough? <ul> <li>Don't focus enough on the food</li> </ul> </li> <li>Name one service you've hired. <ul> <li><a href="https://www.t-3.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">T3</a> for marketing</li> </ul> </li> <li>If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be? <ul> <li>Treat people with respect</li> <li>Be the best you can be</li> <li>Follow your dreams and your passion</li> </ul> </li> </ol> Contact info: <a href="https://torchystacos.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">torchystacos.com</a> Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/restaurant-unstoppable-eric/id834368356?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes</a>! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/restaurant-unstoppable-eric/id834368356?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes </a>to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Mike Rypka for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!   Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!

728: Mike Rypka on the Devil is in the Details

By the time he turned 30, Mike Rypka boasted a resume that chefs three decades his senior could only dream of, having served as the head chef at organizations like the World Bank, MTV, Disney, and Dell. So when he decided to open his own project in Austin, Texas, in 2006, he surprised more than a few loved ones by opting to do a taco truck. That taco truck, Torchy's Tacos, gradually became a beloved Austin institution, and now has more than 60 fast-casual locations, with "Damn Good Tacos" as its star. In this conversation with QSR editor Sam Oches, Rypka tells the fascinating story of how Torchy's came to be—and he explains why a passion for your product must always be priority when launching your own restaurant.QSR Magazine informationFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedInQSRmagazine.com Have feedback or interview suggestions? Email us at sam@qsrmagazine.com.

By the time he turned 30, Mike Rypka boasted a resume that chefs three decades his senior could only dream of, having served as the head chef at organizations like the World Bank, MTV, Disney, and Dell. So when he decided to open his own project in Austin, Texas, in 2006, he surprised more than a few loved ones by opting to do a taco truck. That taco truck, Torchy's Tacos, gradually became a beloved Austin institution, and now has more than 60 fast-casual locations, with "Damn Good Tacos" as its star. In this conversation with QSR editor Sam Oches, Rypka tells the fascinating story of how Torchy's came to be—and he explains why a passion for your product must always be priority when launching your own restaurant. QSR Magazine information <a href="https://www.facebook.com/QSRmagazine/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/qsrmagazine?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/qsrmagazine/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/11125625/admin/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> <a href="http://www.qsrmagazine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">QSRmagazine.com</a> Have feedback or interview suggestions? Email us at sam@qsrmagazine.com.

8 - Torchy's Tacos' Mike Rypka