685: Restaurant Trends and Resiliency with Resy CEO Pablo Rivero

0:00This episode is brought to you by Resi and American Express. Resi is a digital platform that connects restaurants to restaurant lovers by elevating dining experiences, providing original industry content, and helping to fill some of the country's most exciting dining rooms. Because restaurants have always been more than just places to eat. The amazing world of restaurants is just a few taps away in the Resi app and at resi.com.

0:31I'm originally from Venezuela, born and raised there. I moved over to the U.S. for college. During the summer jobs, I was a waiter, I was a server, which I honestly think everybody should have the privilege because I do think it's a privilege to do once, right? It's a masterclass on hospitality, customer experience, thinking on your feet, right? You're moving so fast. This is Taste. I'm your host, Matt Rodbard.

1:23places to dine around the country. I hope you enjoy this episode.

1:31Pablo Rivera, welcome to This Is Taste. How are you? I'm good, Matt. Thank you so much for having me. Well, we're going to have a great conversation. I've been wanting to have this for a long time. You're the CEO of Resi. I have a lot of questions to ask you. Well, and I'm excited to be here, to be honest, and thanks for creating the space for us to have that conversation. So you are out and about in New York and you travel often. You're in Miami. And I just want to know just from you as CEO of Resi, where are you dining out? What are some places that are popping in your feed right now? Yeah. It's tough, man, to choose one restaurant or two or three, right?

2:06I love every single place where we go and our partners are our family, right? So sometimes it's hard to pick. But I can tell you about a couple of places that I've been to lately that I've had memorable meals. I cannot get enough of Sonny's in Miami. It just fits every single bill. For large parties, for date nights, for drinks, for great food, for ambience. It just has everything. What else? A couple of weeks ago, my family came with me to New York. We did a couple of pit stops across a couple of restaurants. and had a great meal at Resdora. Stefano, he just cooks with so much love. You feel like you're walking into your grandma's house and it's just a very cozy space.

2:56And it was my kids and I and my wife and great dinner night. I take my kids out to restaurants a lot. As you should, yeah. No iPads, no phones. We actually carry a deck of Uno cards and we just play Unos. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Stefano sat down with us and, you know, shared the meal with us. So it was really cool. La Natural in Miami as well. Great pizza spot. Recoveco, which was just featured in Bon Appetit as well. I mean, there's just so many places. Yeah, Stefano's pasta, it's gorgeous. Yeah. I mean, I just love Residora. Totally. It's such a great, great spot. Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got to Resi.

3:38You have a really interesting career, and it feels like it dovetails with some previous experiences. And did you work in restaurants before? Yeah, so I'm originally from Venezuela, born and raised there. I moved over to the U.S. for college. During my teenage years, my mom used to have a bakery. So I spent summers and after school working there, a bakery cafe. move over to the States and, you know, I, during the summer jobs, I was a waiter, I was a server, which I honestly think everybody should have the privilege because I do think it's a privilege to do once, right? It teaches you so much. It's a masterclass on hospitality, customer experience, thinking on your feet, right?

4:25You're moving so fast. So I did that, went through college, joined American Express 13 years ago, I've had a number of roles across marketing and strategy. I live in New York, London, and eventually found my way to lead the lounge business. So the Centurion Lounges, which is our airport lounge business, part of our membership strategy. Ran that business along with lounge partnerships. And during that time, we decided that we wanted to get into the city lounge space and create a very special spot in the city for some of our car members. and so partnered with Daniel and Sebastian on Dynex and built Centurion New York.

5:07And you and I were talking about this earlier. Yeah, yeah. You built it from the ground up. Yeah, it showed up. It was like brick and mortar spot on Midtown on the 55th floor in Juan Vanderbilt. And it was like, here's the job. Like, let's build this place. And, you know, got really involved into the construction, the design, the art, and seeing Daniel, you know, setting up his team and how he thinks about hospitality and seeing him go through friends and family and every single detail about what he wants that experience to be. That was really cool. I bet you learned some moves from him. I mean, learned from a master, man.

5:43Yeah. I mean, unbelievable. Let's go back to the time working at a bakery. You come from the industry. As a young child, you must have felt the pressures that an owner of a restaurant or a bakery have That must give you some empathy for the restaurant industry. Listen, my mom, you know, my parents got divorced when I was really young and grew up with my mom. And she wasn't a baker by trade. She just, she basically, you know, learned a recipe from her grandma and her pound cake was really good. And then her pineapple, upside down pineapple cake was really good. And so she got into it and she opened her cafe.

6:18And, you know, I saw her do everything from baking, from, you know, staying at the register because somebody didn't show up. I saw her going to the major food distributor to pick up 50-pound bag of sugars. And, you know, she had to do it all. And that was a very small scale. But restaurateurs today have to do that and more. And so I have a ton of empathy for what it takes to run a business like that. Yeah, I agree with you, too. Just back to your earlier point, I feel like if you can work in a restaurant, you're going to get so many life skills. 100%. You could go into accounting. You could go and work in any industry and take away those skills.

6:59It's like thinking on your feet, right? You don't know how every day is going to be. You don't know what customers are going to come in. You don't know what's going to be short. And so I think it's a great master class experience in hospitality and strategizing in the day to day. So I think some of our listeners, you know, may wonder about this relationship between American Express and Resi. And I think like we're Amex cardholders like myself, we get a credit here and there, and that's nice. But how do you describe this relationship? It's – listen, dining – I always start from the point that dining is just so – such a core component of the card member value proposition and the lifestyle, to be honest with you.

7:41Like, you know, one of the first transactions on American Express card back in 1958 was at a restaurant. So amazing. So cool. You know what? We have an archivist at the company, and he came in to talk to my team, and he showed us, like, all these old advertisements and how dining. And it's crazy to think that it's been 60, 70 years, and that's still such an important component of what we talk to car members about. And so it's always been part of that. Amex is a supporter of small businesses. So restaurants are small businesses, always been a champion on that. And so the dining component was always an important passion area of our car members.

8:20And the company decided to go even deeper on that with the acquisition of Resi in 2019. And talk about a time to acquire a company, a dining business, right before the pandemic. And so at the time that we're doing that integration, restaurants are shut down. But it was a great opportunity for Resi and Amex to show up for them, right, and provide relief. And we didn't charge fees for a while. And it's provided a lot of marketing support. And so that relationship is great because we have a big umbrella company that really cares about dining, really cares about merchants and supporting their growth.

8:53And at the same time, connects car members with something that they're really passionate about. I mean, restaurants is culture. I mean, it's what everyone talks about. You go on like a list of podcasts, sports podcasts or film podcasts, they're talking about restaurants. A hundred percent. And we see like great traction on that. Like you said, like Platinum or many of our car members have a ResiCredit and you can, we have credits in there, but we also create unique experiences for you to go have dinner at great places or secure tables for you. And so we try to combine what we say experiential value and rational value.

9:25Like, yeah, sure, I want you to go out there and have dinner on us, not only because I want you to enjoy the benefits, but I also want you to support small businesses. Well, let's get into that a little bit more. I'd just like to get a sense how Resi is supporting restaurants at the restaurant level and then also supporting diners, diners trying to find the next great restaurant, maybe going back to old favorites. How does Resi kind of serve both in equally powerful ways? Yeah, so we, you know, for those that are not so close to how we operate, but we have two sides in marketplace. On one side, we have, you know, great diners that are really passionate about restaurants and they want to find out what their next meal is.

10:04And sometimes they know where they're going and sometimes they don't, right? And our job is to inspire them and find out that really great neighborhood spot that you might not know of, right? Because they're still important and great meals. And then on the other side, we have the restaurants that we want to make sure that are getting the demand that they need. And for us, if the restaurant is doing well, we are doing well. We're not charging restaurants for covers. We're not. As long as you are in our network, we want to support you. We want to drive great demand for you. So we do that in multiple ways.

10:35We highlight you in all of our marketing campaigns. I mean, for many restaurants to be on the Ressi headless or to be featured on the Ressi editorial articles that we produce. It's a great marketing tool. And then we combine that with the power of American Express. So just last month, as a company, we refreshed the Platinum card, and we included in there a$400 annual resi credit. And it has been outstanding what it's doing for restaurants. I mean, the amount of restaurants that have written to us and say, thank you so much, the demand that we're seeing. And it's basically us incentivizing people to go out to do something that they already love doing.

11:14But if you think about it, in the platinum card, it's$100 a quarter, and you go out to dinner. If you know that Amex is covering$100 of that, you're probably going to order an extra drink, maybe an extra dessert, maybe an extra appetizer. And that's direct revenue that goes to the restaurant. And they don't have to do anything. They just have to be part of Resi. Yeah, it's an amazing thing. And I think also from day one, Resi has stood for restaurants that mean something to culture. Restaurants, you could say the word buzzy. You could say the word cool. I mean, there's lots of ways, but Resi has always had a knack for bringing, I think, the most interesting restaurants across a diversity of cuisines.

11:53Thank you. I agree with that. And I think, you know, that's why I'm also very excited about the acquisition of Talk. So for those that don't know, Amex, you know, Resi also acquired Talk, which is another reservation platform. And they have very complementary features. But most importantly, they have a very strong network of restaurants that are James Speed Award winners, Michelin Award winners, that are neighborhood spots in other cities. And so I'm very excited about the combined power of the brand. And so to be clear, for those who don't know, talk is typically it's like a ticket in a sense, right?

12:25You're prepaying for the experiences. That's one of their features. But they also have, you know, regular reservation management system, stable management system, notified system. So ticketing and experiences is part of it. That's what differentiated them. But they have a great set of tools to help restaurants that want to deliver a very specific experience. So maybe add-ons, maybe specific tasting menus. Talk has great capabilities for restaurants like that. Yeah, it's nice when you can prepay. Yeah. And you buy it like six weeks ahead of time. And it's great for the restaurant because they know the revenue that's coming in.

13:03They do, exactly. That's my next point. Like, it's wonderful for both sides. I think you save up, you buy the ticket, no bill at the end. And then, yeah, the restaurants get the revenue and they can operate with that. So I want to talk about this, the year end. I mean, we're approaching it. And Rezzy just released a trends report. And we're going to go over some of the points that have been highlighted in the report. And we're going to link to it in the show notes as well. So make sure to check that out. But first, how do you describe the year in dining? It's been an interesting year to say the least, right?

13:38And I think, you know, if you think about being a restaurant owner today and what restaurants had to endure this year, it's been rough, right? Everything from floods in North Carolina to fires in LA to economic uncertainty, right? And many other factors. And it's also very different in city by city. That's another point. Like, it's not a blanket experience across the country. Every city is different. And, you know, even in Miami, when I think about, you know, there's a decrease in tourism, right, that impacts restaurants during the summer. Oh, absolutely. So it's been an interesting year where restaurants have had to adapt more than they have had to adapt to before.

14:18It also has shown that restaurants are really about whether or what's actually happening in the country because the effects of what's happening in the city are amplified for a restaurant. And so, but despite all of that, restaurants continue to be this sacred place that everybody still wants to go to, right? It's that place where the table is where the human connection is actually happening outside of your home. And so it's been really interesting to see how restaurants continue to adapt to be able to be the sacred place where people want to connect. Yeah, it's a great point about restaurants serve many purposes, celebrations.

14:55Sometimes it's just blowing off steam. after a rough day. 100%. I mean, some of the best family moments that I have had or friend moments that I have had have been across a table at a restaurant. I like how in the report you identify the table captain as a personality type. I can absolutely relate to this. Are you the table captain in your house? I mean, it's on my job description in LinkedIn. When you're like a food writer, I feel like it's not just that I am it, but I have to be it. It's like required because I think when I dine out with friends, we call them civilians sometimes when we're not in the industry.

15:34Love my civilian friends. We are looked upon as the person to give a recommendation. Yeah. But, you know, so when you read the report, you'll see the table captain is the person that takes control, takes over, right? They know the restaurant. They know what to order. They can accommodate dietary restrictions, how big the plates are, right? But what has been interesting to me is that, you know, I can be a table captain. and I'm at my home, but when I'm out and about with the recit team, like I'm renegated, and like the table general comes over and he's the person that actually takes, like, yeah, you're in control.

16:07And that's fine. But it feels good in some ways. Oh, absolutely. It's such a relief. It's such a relief. Yeah, because like when you're out with the civilians, as I said, they're like, you know every restaurant. You know every cuisine. Totally. You know it's good at this restaurant, even though I'm literally going for the first time like everyone else, but they want you to assess it right away. Yes. I think identifying that is important. And honestly, like you kind of like want to anoint the table captain before you go out. Yes. I think that's really fun. Well, there's more trends. And I think one that we've talked about a lot on the show is this rapid merging between restaurants and wine bars.

16:40Wine bars are where we're finding some of the most interesting food in America. We've covered many. Lay is one of them and just a terrific place where it's called a wine bar, but we know we're getting incredible food and the chef should be celebrated for it. What is your assessment of this movement? I think it's been great because, first of all, it just has given restaurants even more revenue diversification, to use that word, right, people? You know, restaurants just, they operate on a 5 % margin, right? And, you know, any opportunity that you have to provide even more value to that diner is great.

17:12So I love that. You know, places like Penny, for example, great wine place, but the food is just fantastic. And it just continues to elevate the game. Like, even Coat. You go in, like, it's a Korean steakhouse, but, I mean, Victoria is one of the most respected wine people in the industry. And so you know that you're going to go in and have a phenomenal wine experience. And it's not pretentious. That's the other thing that I love about the movement. It's like you don't have to be a wine connoisseur to go in and be all intimidated about what you're going to order. Like the place combines great wine selection with great food so that you feel good about it and you still have a great wine bottle.

17:56Yeah. I think when you're speaking to Gen Z and millennials, you can't be the stuffy wine bar anymore. It just doesn't work for that demographic. It doesn't. And I think all are benefiting from it. Another trend you identify is the spoil of riches of pizza around America. Love this topic. It's controversial. Yeah. You and I could like talk all day about our favorites and our not favorites. We're not going to do that. I just want to hear about your assessment from like 30 ,000 feet about the American pizza scene. Yeah. So we're not going to go into deep dish versus like New York style. We know which one's better, by the way.

18:33I'm not going to comment on that. But I can tell you that, you know, I did live in New York and I love, you know, my time here and the love that I developed for pizza, right? Like nowhere else. And then I moved to London and then, you know, now I'm in Miami and I spend my time, you know, traveling across the country. But it's great to see that you can find now great pizza everywhere. Miami, for example, La Natural was just named one of the top pizza spots in the world. And what they are doing is just outstanding. You go in and it's also a wine bar, if you haven't been to a natural wine bar. Two trends.

19:08Yeah, two trends in one restaurant. And so you go in, you can have a phenomenal natural wine, outstanding pizza to a point where you don't even believe where you are actually having it because they're doing such a good job at it. So it's great to see, and it's not just in Miami. You can find great pizza now everywhere, and that's awesome. Yeah, it's super awesome that you're seeing pizza, you know, transcend the pizza parlor too, and it's being served in these really unique spaces, wine bars, for example, in cool backyards. You know, it doesn't have to be in that pizza shop. Agreed. Another trend that I think is really cool is this rise of regional cuisine.

19:48And I think that's a broad term, but I think what it means is that regional cuisine is like when a chef is thinking not about country, but region. And thinking about a little bit like zooming in more. And I think it relates to how diners just education is greater. We publish cookbooks about regional cuisine. There's lots I've written about regional cuisine. Tell me about Rezi's take on regional cuisine. I think it's also a reflection of diners are now more exposed to even more information, right? And more exposed to different cultural trends. And so what we're seeing is restaurants going a double click right into the food.

20:26So it's no longer an Italian restaurant, but it's an Emilia-Romana restaurant like Rezora. or it's not a French restaurant, but it's a French diaspora restaurant, like Maison Passerelle. And I love how Gregory has really connected his roots, like his Haitian roots, but also trying to highlight, you know, the different French colonies cuisine. So it's no longer about, oh, this is a Polynesian food or this is Haitian food. It's like French diaspora. So that's really cool to see. Yeah, and I think it's allowing chefs to cook their culture and express it. And not the, it doesn't have to just be an Italian restaurant or, you know, a Japanese restaurant, but it could be from Kyoto or Hokkaido, you know, and that's where they grew up.

21:14You know, the chef grew up and it allows diners to tell a little story. And like story is what restaurants are all about in many ways. A hundred percent. And I think it just allows the chef also to really display who they really are, that they're not confined to like, Like, oh, it just has to be this type of pasta, right? Like if I'm an Italian chef and I really love how my grandma used to cook it and she's from this very small town in Italy, like I want to celebrate that, right? So it frees them up to do even more what they love. Speaking of regional cuisine, putting you on the spot, is there a Venezuelan restaurant we should know about?

21:48Oh, there's a couple. You know, not necessarily. So in D.C., we have Mita. Miguel and the team have been doing a phenomenal job. They are, he's Venezuelan. They got a Michelin star. And to see that type of recognition for somebody from, for me, like from my home country, like it's really special. Recoveco in Miami, I mentioned earlier. They were featuring in Mon Apetit. I wouldn't call them a Venezuelan restaurant. But Watere, who is one of the chefs and owners, and her husband, Nico, she is Venezuelan. And so you do find certain dishes that highlight, you know, Venezuelan dishes. And one of my favorite ones that Tere was working on is this ice cream that is a celebration of this water-based grape ice cream that we used to have as a kid in Miami.

22:39Sounds delicious. And she was working on that as a dessert for the restaurant, and I absolutely love that. So, I mean, Venezuelan chefs are now rising even more and getting more attention. So, those are places that are pretty special to me. I love that. Well, I have to ask you, where are you dining tonight? I use a lot of our Discover tab to really understand, especially when I'm traveling in a city that I don't know much. I go look for the Discover tab, see what's rising. Tonight, I'm not sure. I have a couple of notifies. So we'll see. That will be the surprise for tonight. But I have an upcoming reservation at Claude.

23:16So I've been to Penny, having had a chance to be to Claude. And so having the chance to go and visit those guys and try that specific restaurant and see, you know, how much people love it. Like, I want a personal experience. Cloud is terrific. So the Resi CEO is in the Notify queue. Oh, I am in the Notify queue. I set out my own Notify for sure. I know you. I mean, of course. And I think with Notify, we live in a Notify culture. And we're just, like, hoping that we get that ping, right? And even if the time is weird, we still hit it. And I love what it, like, yes, you're on the list and all of that, but what I love is how spontaneous can your day be if that happens, when you cannot already find this for tonight.

23:58You're like, great. I didn't know I was going to that place tonight, and I'm so glad I am. It's truly a genius product for Rezzy. Pablo, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much for catching up on This is Taste. I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to come and talk, and thank you for all you're doing for the industry. I think, you know, creating spaces like this where diners can find out more of what's actually happening, you know, getting recommendations for restaurants. And, again, I think a lot of people are really focused on the bussy type of place, and that's great. And I celebrate that.

24:33I want every restaurant to be full all the single time, every single time. But I also want to make sure that people know that you can find a beautiful neighborhood spot where you can have a phenomenal meal and that can become your go-to place next. So thank you for creating a platform where people can find out what those places are. We appreciate it. And I love your sentiment. It echoes what John Bonet said in his episode, a managing editor of Resi, food writer extraordinaire. You got to support your restaurants that are open two, three, four, five years. It's not always about the new. Agreed.