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Rise to the Top - The Story of Wow Bao's Geoff Alexander
In this podcast episode, Geoff Alexander, President & CEO of Wow Bao, talks about his journey in the restaurant industry, embracing technology while balancing human touch, using NFTs in restaurants, the importance of nurturing restaurant staff, and more.
Geoff Alexander
President & CEO, Wow Bao
Geoff Alexander is the CEO of Wow Bao, an Asian food brand based in Chicago, Illinois. He has been with Wow Bao since 2009. Prior to his tenure at Wow Bao, Alexander held various executive positions at several restaurant chains of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants Group such as Frankie’s Scaloppine, Vong’s Thai Kitchen, Shaw’s Crab House, and Big Bowl.
Are you curious about the secrets to running a successful restaurant business? In this episode of F&B Talks, we welcome Geoff Alexander, a seasoned professional in the restaurant industry, to discuss his journey into the hospitality industry, the lessons learnt, and interesting insights.
Geoff Alexander began his career as a fry cook, grill cook, bartender, and chef supervisor. He worked his way up from a number four manager to a number two manager at Big Bowl, a small Asian concept restaurant in Chicago, before eventually becoming the CEO of Wow Bao, a fast-casual Asian restaurant chain that specializes in steamed buns, dumplings, and other Asian dishes.
In this interview, you’ll learn about,
- How Alexander adopted the self-ordering kiosk technology back in 2008, way before it was a common thing,
- How embracing technology helped Wow Bao increase its check average, triple its flow through, and reduce payroll costs.
- Why Geoff considers the concept of ‘hospitechality’ important which emphasizes balancing technology with the human touch,
- How he went against the norm during the pandemic by ripping out all the machines and going back to counter service, and
- How Alexander plans to use NFTs to create a community and a direct relationship with customers who invest in the restaurant by buying an NFT.
Wow Bao hopes to restore the connection between the restaurant and customers by offering different tiers of customers with corresponding benefits and creating a dialogue with owners of the NFT. Additionally, via NFTs, restaurants can exchange ideas, share feedback, and offer a personalized experience to a select group of loyal customers.
If you’re interested in learning more about nurturing talent in the restaurant industry, then this podcast interview is perfect for you. Alexander talks about how to properly nurture staff, create a nurturing work environment, and provide effective management. You’ll also find out about his vision for the future of Wow Bao.