Groot Hospitality Founder: David Grutman – Miami, Hospitality, & Why You Should Take It Personal

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0:39So when the plates are empty and the sink is full, use Palmolive Ultra. Palmolive's most powerful formula removes up to 99.9 % of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. And the new convenient pump makes cleaning even easier, so you can spend less time tackling dishes and more time together. Shop now at palmolive.com. What's the reward? Is it the money? Is it this? Is it that? No, it's the look on someone's face when you create a great experience for them.

1:04The Gstaad Guy:Dave, you're the man that has the key to Miami. You ready? I'm ready. Entertainment plus meal. So I like to call it festive. It's very South of France as well. Well, it's very Miami. It's very Miami. What it takes to be a great guest at one of your restaurants? You know, I think to be a great guest, you have... Tipping doesn't just have to be financial. Even just a word of acknowledgement to the person. Okay, that sounds good. You know what you do? Great, just give them a little bit more money. That's your verbal tip. That says everything. People are often lining up outside the door at many of your establishments and trying to get in.

1:33The Gstaad Guy:And they try to use status, name dropping. People come to me before at the front door and they go, I know David Grumman. And I'm like, really? You do? Tell me about him. Good guy. How does that feel to have people bet on you versus on the concept? It feels... Around the world with your host, the Stardguy. We welcome you back to the Stardguy podcast. podcast sharing stories of excellence with those in the know for those who just know Dave you ready I'm ready okay it feels so good to be in your home today thank you I'm so happy you got to we got to do this here and it feels good yeah it's it's like uh well it's home so that's always the best feeling but to be able to talk with you here in the house it's great it's better you know it's meant to only be a house to me and not a home right but it feels like a home it's a very homey place right i like i like what you've done with uh with the space it's really it's a little warm right very very cozy i uh recently spoke to a friend on the podcast enrico buonocore who's the founder of langostaria and he was talking about when he expands restaurants his number one priority is to find the people that have the keys to the cities right of course he expands them and you're the man that has the key to miami well it's very nice for you to say i i love the city as you know i am always out there pushing pushing miami but miami's coming to its own now i don't really have to push so much everybody kind of knows that this is the place now which is great it is i feel it it feels good here yeah it's the best yeah i saw something last night i know you're a very hospitable person right and it really runs through your blood to make sure everyone's having a good time you actually didn't even sit down while everyone was seated and eating and enjoying their dinner you were just making sure everyone's happy yeah listen um so excited to have all these people in gecko and for me i love serving man i'm here that's what i love to do i want for people ask what's the reward is it the money is it this is Is that, no, it's the look on someone's face when you create a great experience for them.

3:41The Gstaad Guy:I love that. And that's what kind of feeds my energy. Has that always been the case for you? Always. From when I was a bartender to now, I'm in this business because seeing the look on someone's face when you really deliver on an experience for them is something that money can't buy. It's just, it's really special. I feel that in your house. As much as in your establishments. I like that. I mean, our home is set up for hospitality. I always wanted to be an extension of Isabel and I. Well, right before we started rolling, you'd mentioned how important the gut feel you get from people is. Right.

4:23The Gstaad Guy:I'd love to know more about that. So it's a great question. People always will come to me that I've met and been like, oh, this person's amazing. and I'm always like, I sometimes don't get that same feeling. And being in the nightclub business, you have to size up people super quick and you have to really get a read and a feel on people. And I feel like because I've been in nightlife for so long and every scammer, every bot has tried to whatever, I feel like I have a pretty good sense of people now. Now, I've been wrong many times where it's not always and people have proven me wrong and people have proven me right.

5:03I just feel like I get a little tingle right away when I feel like something's not right.

5:08The Gstaad Guy:And do you get an opposing tingle when something feels very right? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The way my energy works is if I feel very comfortable with somebody very quick, I know it could be something that I feel really good about. And I'm lucky enough that I get to come across so many people. And there's so many great, great people out there in this world. but once in a while there's and maybe it's not coming from the place where i think it's coming from maybe it's coming from their place and i also know now that people get a little bit anxious around me or getting you know so they're not always their true self and that's not right for me to not that i okay i judge it's not about judging someone it's just about is this person going to connect energy wise with me or not for those listening today who don't have that as an innate skill who actually want to work on practicing it are there any things you can tell them to look for to get that i mean i always look to see if someone's giving you rapid compliments from from the first second they meet you yeah uh i also look to see if people are trying to play the name game with me like oh you know i know okay i'm i'm so happy uh that you know all these different people that you see on my social media all the time uh but all good listen i think it's not it's kind of bad for me to say because people are out there trying to connect and you know in that effort to connect with people they're trying to find every angle doesn't mean every angle is going to be right i um and i listen i've have i been guilty of it to myself for sure guys so like i get it but i do it i try to connect by just finding out what the person's story is like what's what's their story why are we here together what's going on so you've really experienced many different lives many different roles as an entrepreneur but also even before that phase of your life but always people facing is that right so people not people facing in the nightclub meaning i was never always the i was never the front man before live um but because of my work ethic and what I was doing behind the scenes and all that and to make the events and all this stuff happen uh I definitely had a a name out there let's say and but I wasn't always so forward with it Liv was gave me the first opportunity where I said listen you know what it's it's all on my shoulders this one so I better be the front person for this and what did you see in the category that excited you to double down over and over again in hospitality I really thought I was pretty good at it.

7:52But over time, you have some misses like everything else, not everything's rainbows. But it's something that I think is in my blood and I have a really great gut instinct. And here's the thing, because I've made so many mistakes in my business, at least I've learned from my mistakes and I'm seasoned now where I could kind of see those mistakes coming a mile away usually. And I'm pretty good at identifying what the next, what the trends, I'm pretty good at setting trends. So I've always been a student of what's coming out of the underground because that's what becomes pop culture super quick. And also by taking advantage of it before it hits, because if I don't set the trend, I miss it.

8:34Things move so fast, as you know.

8:36The Gstaad Guy:Can you give us an example of one of those underground things that you helped? Yeah. I mean, like I went to Ibiza for the first time and experienced Luciano and Marco Carolla. I came back and I did a residency with Marco Carolla called Music On and stuff like that, and that was way before the time. I've always been into what the next new sound is. When I first opened Liv on Wednesdays, Diplo and Steve Aoki and all these kind of DJs were kind of like underground-ish kind of guys in their own genre. So we did something called Dirty Harry, and we put them in our big shiny box at Liv, and it took off forever.

9:11Now, as you know, all these DJs are very mainstream DJs, but back then it was very cutting edge to take that step. Live on Sunday is one of the most iconic hip-hop nights in the world. And at that time, you did a hip-hop night when the club was already going down and there wasn't much life back. And instead, we did it pretty close to the opening. we said, let's create this Sunday party with Michael Gardner, our partner on it, called Live on Sunday. And it's been one of the most rewarding weeklies I've ever been a part of.

9:47The Gstaad Guy:And you slowly transitioned into restaurants after the clubs, right? Yeah. So for me, it was about creating an ecosystem. I was doing a dinners for 30 people, 20 to 50 people before Live and trying to gather everybody together. And those restaurants were becoming very hot. And I've always loved the restaurant business and the hospital, of course, just a natural part of the hospitality. But I saw the ecosystem, how the restaurant fed the night club. And if I'm going to be the person to make this restaurant hot, I might as well be doing it for myself. So that started Komodo and my entry into restaurants.

10:24The Gstaad Guy:Why Komodo is the first concept? It was in an area that really, there was only one other restaurant that was in that area, which was Brickell at the time. All these condos had just been built and it was where everything fell apart. And so all these condos that everyone thought they were going to make millions of dollars on by getting the pre-construction contract, my hairdresser had four of those. When your hairdresser or the taxi cab driver says, I just got pre-construction contracts that I'm going to flip, you know it's time to pause. But what that did is it made it available for young professionals to then move to to brickle and seeing that from live that a lot of our bottle guests and our guests that were going to live were starting to move in this area i thought komodo and brickle would be a great place to be able to activate and this was in the 2010s or so so so komodo is 10 years old almost 11 years old and so 24 no not 24 14 sorry 2014 and with komodo it sounds like you were quite set on location first versus concept first we were looking at spaces no i knew i wanted to do asian that's for sure uh because i'm obviously like like everybody just a huge nobu fan but we also wanted to have ducks and we i want to i love peking duck and i love that whole experience of sharing that um the indoor outdoor of this space is something that i'd never seen before um you know i had to raise a lot of money to do the space my friends would walked through and they're like, this is DOA.

11:56That's dead on arrival. There's no way you're going to be successful here. And I was able to raise the money. And I think my friends gave me the money, not betting on the restaurant, but betting on me.

12:08The Gstaad Guy:How does that feel to have people bet on you versus on the concept? It feels good, but then it also makes you question yourself. You're like, am I doing the right thing? Why don't they, they're not excited about the actual concept. They're excited about getting in business with me. And these are, you know, which is a great compliment, but you also want to know that your business plan or your idea is the right idea. Now, it didn't start off great. Not a lot of people showed up, you know, but we got the food right. I guilted everybody. I made sure every DJ that was going to DJ for me at Liv would have dinner with me there.

12:42I was in the restaurant six, seven nights a week hosting people, and it just really kind of took off. It was one of these special things where usually when I open a restaurant, it starts up here, and then over years it goes down. This one started down and went skyrocketed. And a few years ago, it was the highest grossing independent restaurant, which made me very happy. Wow.

13:03The Gstaad Guy:That's awesome. Yeah. And now we have a location in Las Vegas at the beautiful Fountain Blue Resort in Las Vegas. And that Komodo to me is like the next generation of what Komodo is. Would you say this is the baby you're proudest of of all the hospitality projects? I'm proud of a lot of things. And I'm also not so proud of a few things. But that being said, I think one of my biggest things that I'm proud of is poppy steak because I was able to do with a friend of mine that had never been a restaurateur. And it gave him a platform to really skyrocket and really show how much of a star he really is.

13:37and anytime you're able to help give somebody a platform to increase their life, but also listen, not selfishly, but you know, I get the rewards of it too, but I get to also witness a friend of mine become a star.

13:52The Gstaad Guy:That's a beautiful thing. Yeah. I know that with restaurants like Puppy Steak and in Miami in particular, there's a certain energy that you see at restaurants that's quite rare around the world of entertainment plus meal it's not just great food that you're having there's also a a theater around the whole thing so i like to call it festive uh there's more of a festive atmosphere that goes on i'm like the only club guy that wants low music in my restaurants and of course i know as soon as i walk out they've they turn the music up a little bit uh but for me people don't always want to go to a nightclub they don't always want to be out till three o 'clock in the morning so that restaurant might be give them that more of a nightlifey kind of feel and it's like it's like anything people want to feel like they're going out too without having to go the extra mile and i think what's great about my restaurants is everything's shareable everything sat in the middle everything comes when it's ready it creates energy at the table people are excited It'd be all tasting the same flavors.

14:53And I think it's really an experience.

14:56The Gstaad Guy:It is. It's very south of France as well. Wow. I don't want it. You're not a good thing, credit. It's very Miami. It's very Miami. But growing up, my parents, they got married quite young. So they would love to go out and have fun while we were young kids. And when I started going out myself, I'd tell them, like, oh, we had a bad night tonight. Let's say, tell me what went on in the night. And whenever we'd have a bad night is because one of two things would happen. We'd either switch locations too often. My parents say, just find a great place and stick to a great place. Oh, you like to hop around?

15:30The Gstaad Guy:As a kid, I used to like to hop around. Okay. And my parents quickly told me one of the great rules of having a great night is just find a great place and stick to a great place. And I think one of your establishments is perfect for that because you can satisfy all the emotions in one place. yeah like you know we've really we like to build lounges connected to our restaurants or make you feel like you're in a lounge later on at night so of course like any theater it starts off here lighting energy music everything starts here and as the night gets gets gets later everything starts to rise a little bit uh well no the lights go dim but the music goes up the vibe goes up the sound it's not the same kind of music that you'd hear from like seven to nine nine on it's a little bit more vibey crowdy whatever and then hopefully that takes you to that next level and also second rule that would give me is leave when it's good really leave when you're having a good time so you're like okay that's it I'm out don't wait for like things to slow down to go home leave on a high I like that you know so that was another piece of advice they gave me and I stuck to these two things and they worked out pretty well.

16:45So that was, I'm going to be honest with you, my parents never taught me things like that. That they never gave me these kinds of advice, nothing. That's right.

16:55The Gstaad Guy:Is there any advice your parents did share with you that has stuck to you for life? My parents really pushed me to like explore, to really try to seek out and learn what's going on. I never, they never envisioned me being in the hospitality business, that's for sure. But I've always, I'm an only child and my parents got divorced when I was six. So I've always been around adults and I've always loved adult conversation. And I feel like that's one of the reasons why I'm successful is because I feel very comfortable sitting in any room. And it's been very helpful for me. Did you have mentors growing up?

17:28I've had some great mentors. But like any mentor, you take good parts from people and then there's parts that may not resonate with you. I think that's okay too in life. that not every, if you're seeking mentors, which you should, because why not get knowledge from someone that's already been there before? They bang their head against a wall and they found the solution. So you don't have to maybe bang your head as much against a wall. But I think there's qualities in everybody that you think are appealing and some that you don't, but make them your own and learn from them. Everyone's like, you have to have mentors and life.

18:02I'm like, okay, I get it. And yes, there's so many great people that I have in my life that I'm able to call for advice.

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19:13What would you say is a healthy mentor-mentee relationship

19:17The Gstaad Guy:if someone wants to approach you as well? Well, I don't want to be a mentor. I always tell people, listen, I teach a college course, I'm doing my book. That's what I can give. I cannot have the time to be a one-on-one mentor. Now, of course, I have friends that call me for advice all the time and I'm happy to give. And you want to give without seeking a return for it too. I think that's very important too. And I think that's where a lot of people go wrong is they're trying to help her connect and they try to get something out of it. I think you have to give unconditionally. And those are the people that I tend to love the most.

19:53The Gstaad Guy:The title of your book, which is sitting right in between us today for those who are watching and not just listening, is take it personal take it personal what does that mean to you what does it mean to you take it personal sounds like it could mean get offended on the negative but on the positive it could mean this is constructive feedback by the way i love that and that's that's a great thing to say like i have friends that come to me and give me say listen i just want to be honest with you this is this and this and I'm like you know what I'm taking that super personal but I'm so happy you said something to me because I can learn from it exactly but I also think some of the best ways I've learned is by people by stuff that I really took personal and it really gave me a fire to fix that and those are the things that I think has made me successful in business I agree with that are there moments that you can I know everyone's gonna have to read the book to get the full the full picture.

20:51Yeah, but there's a lot of stuff in there. There's also stuff in there that I've, again, you want to talk about mentorship. I've taught this college course for five years at FIU Hospitality. In doing so, you have to do a syllabus on your life, basically. All the things that are so simple to you to break down your life and put it as a part of a course really makes you dive in and think about those things. But I always think about what's the stuff they don't teach you in college that I wish I would have known about. Intellectual property, IP, stuff like that. And just playing the long game. So many people today just think about right this second, instead of saying, you know what?

21:28We talked about this earlier today. There was a very big tennis player that didn't show up to my party last night. And somebody that I have an amazing relationship with. Would I get mad, pissed? No. Am I disappointed he didn't show up? Yeah, I'm probably a little disappointed, but he'll come to the next thing. And I said, listen, don't stress this. There's no pressure. I know you had a busy day, whatever it is. People will say, oh, they didn't come. I'm never talking to them again. What are you talking about, man? Like long game. Not always everything is going to go exactly how you feel with that relationship, but that's why it's over so much time and you go long game, long game, long game.

22:02And eventually, as long as you're doing good and you're not trying to take advantage of the relationship, good stuff comes and that's all you have to know.

22:10The Gstaad Guy:So ultimately you did not take it personal last night. No, no, no. I took it very personal, but that doesn't mean I have to project that onto the person. So as you know, from my Instagram account, I love to poke fun at people that act in ways that I think to be a la poubelle, but that's just in the perspective of a customer. I'm sitting with one of the most iconic restauranteurs in the world right now. I'd love to know what it takes to be a great guest at one of your restaurants? You know, I think to be a great guest, you have to have gratitude that someone's serving you. I think people take for granted that this person's serving them and they think they could talk to them or downgrade them or take out any of their frustrations they had out on the day because they're actually paying this person.

22:51And maybe people aren't used to say, oh, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm paying for this person's salary. And they think they could be abusive with it. When you think, when you're so thankful and you show gratitude that they're bringing these things to you and that they're helping guide your experience in the restaurant i'm telling you right now that changes the whole experience for the server and for you and it makes you feel good too when you see the look on their face when you say thank you wow this blew my mind be that person that not you're not just there to have your meal but make that server's experience great you turn that around and you make their experience like to be able to be able to take

23:28The Gstaad Guy:care of you even greater think of them as a person not this establishment not just a person How do you make this person that's spending time focusing on you, how do you make that person happy? And in practice, how do you think that looks? Great. I'm telling you. It's the best. When a server knows that they're doing a good job and you're telling them, wow, that dish you recommended really blew me away. Thank you. Or thank you for making sure that my glass was never empty once. People are often lining up outside the door at many of your establishments and trying to get in. if they have a reservation of course it's no problem sometimes they don't and they try to use status name dropping of course do you know who i am david's an old friend we're childhood best friends let me in right my team is very used to saying wow you have a lot of friends that you have no idea who they are they call it uh fo fo g's friends of grutman they like they have their own term on the mic fo g fo g people come to me before at the front door and they go i know david grutman i'm like really you do tell me about him good guy that's so funny so in in the scenario where someone doesn't actually have a pull what do you think the best approach is i think the best approach is just to come in there saying hey listen i don't have a reservation i really want to eat in this place i know you know i know how busy you are if there's any way you could squeeze me in or figure out a way to get me and I would really, really appreciate it.

25:00I think that goes a long way. I really, you know, I've heard about this place a thousand, like I'm dying to try it. I didn't get the reservation. Can you please, and I'm patient. If you need some time, whatever it is, please.

25:14The Gstaad Guy:Honesty is the best policy. Always. I agree with that. I actually had that happen to me in practice at my first time at Chiltern Firehouse in London. Wow, good. Just told them, listen, I don't know anyone here. Just three dudes. when I have a good time. Three dudes too. Three guys. Three dudes. Three guys. There's no girls coming to meet me. No girls. Three dudes. Three guys. Nothing. Maybe at that place it's okay. Yeah, they let us slide. Yeah. They let us in. They love the honesty. They found it rare. By the way, I think everyone appreciates honesty. Yeah. I have recently figured out what archetype of person I end up admiring the most.