Restaurant Survival in the Age of COVID-19

Restaurant owners with decades of experience will discuss how they pivoted their businesses to survive the pandemic.

This talk will be of interest to large and small restaurants alike. Chambers of commerce are encouraged to invite their members!

The PowerLunch 2.0 series is proudly sponsored by Bank of America.

Speakers are provided by the Small Business Development Administration and the SBDC of California.

Speaker Bios

Kevin McVearry

Kevin McVearry has spent the last fifteen plus years opening and operating numerous restaurants, bars, and nightclubs around the country, including the past 11 years here in the Los Angeles Market.  With his strategic vision, leadership ability and operational expertise, Kevin has positioned himself as one of the most effective operators in the industry.

McVearry offers a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of restaurant, bar, and nightclub management, operations, and profitability controls.  He consults with SBDC clients in these areas:

• P & L projections and review
  
• Budgeting
  
• Staffing requirements
  
• Scheduling controls
  
• Venue design review
  
• Concept review
  
• Inventory controls
  
• Menu development and cost analysis
  
• Promotions
  
• Marketing
  
• Public Relations
  
• Management training
  
• Employee handbook development
  
• Construction overview
  
• Profitability analysis for new and existing venues
  
• Customer outreach and retention

Dr. Eric Zackrison

After 25 years as a restauranteur and manager, Dr. Eric Zackrison returned to school to get his MBA and his MA/PhD in Organizational Communication. His research focuses on leadership, team dynamics, organizational relationships, and coordination. He has been teaching, training, and consulting in Santa Barbara and Ventura for the last five years, with a heavy focus on team building, leadership, and strategy. Throughout all of these pursuits, a common thread has been the power of managing relationships positively. His published research indicates that workplace relationships are at the core of coordinated teams and organizations. His work embraces the understanding that we have diverse ways of interacting and empowers people to manage those differences to be more successful.