SHAZ KHAN of Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks on Navigating Friendship + Business

Shaz Khan knows the adage of not mixing friends and family with business or money. But when he started a restaurant company he learned how to mix all four. Listen to this interview with the co-owner of Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks to learn about scaling a business and combining friendship and business.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN on this episode of the Restaurant Influencers podcast, sponsored by the Toast point of sale and restaurant management company? Let us know by leaving a YouTube comment below!

• Improve Your Restaurant with Toast

CHAPTERS:

[01:38] - Tono 2-Minute Drill

[02:51] - Opening Business with Best Friend

[08:51] - Challenges of Scaling

[11:45] - Toast Customer Advisory Board

[25:48] - Have a Great Team

Shaz Khan is a Restaurant Influencer —

Shaz Khan was an electrical engineer by trade before taking on the restaurant industry with his best friend.

“The challenges are many, and I think I was underprepared for many of them,” Shaz Khan says of going into business with his friend, Antonio Gambino. “So we got very clear on what questions we need to ask and what style of communication we needed to implement in order to convey everything.”

The duo began their restaurant journey by opening Andrea Pizza and Frank from Philly separately. Tono Pizzeria & Cheesesteak combines the two cuisines under one roof, and places the focus on the dining experience in a fast-casual environment.

The Minnesota-based restaurant now has four locations across the state, and Khan has used his engineering background to implement effective growth strategies.

“Part of the scaling conversation is logistics and systems,” Shaz Khan tells Restaurant Influencers podcast host Shawn P. Walchef of CaliBBQ

One of those systems was to handpick employees to ensure the business scales productively. Deciding to go with friends that possess a specific skill set that could be used to further the brand.

“We knew these two people were not only really good friends of ours, also having great acumen, but also bringing a piece of the puzzle to the team for us to continue to expand and scale.” says Shaz Khan of the people he chose to begin forming his team.

As strategic as they may have been, the company still faced challenges when growing and adding restaurants. Again, Khan’s knowledge of processes due his formal training has made him pliable enough to understand that those processes are not written in stone. They may need to be tweaked as business needs change, including the implementation of Toast products to help the systems put in place become more efficient.

Shaz Khan’s ability to provide valuable feedback has helped Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks expansion and allowed him to be invited to sit on the Toast Customer Advisory Board.

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EPISODE LINKS:

• Tono Pizzeria & Cheesesteaks on Facebook

• Tono Pizzeria & Cheesesteaks on Instagram

• Tono Order Online

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ABOUT TONO’S PIZZERIA AND CHEESESTEAKS:

Tono’s Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks has multiple locations in Minnesota. With recipes going back decades, Tono offers Authentic Cheesesteaks and Brick-Oven Pizza in a cozy, family-friendly atmosphere. The restaurant honors award-winning family recipes that have been handed down for generations and prepared fresh. The business follows a simple credo passed on from Papa Andrea “to give people flavors they want paired with an experience they won’t forget.”

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS:

Welcome to the Restaurant Influencers podcast series. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn P. Walchef talks with leaders in restaurant and hospitality about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling and how to show up and engage where customers are spending time online.

The entire team at Restaurant Influencers is thankful for Toast (@toasttab) for being the primary sponsor of this show and allowing us to share the stories of successful digital first restaurateurs all over the world. Schedule a Toast Demo

• Entrepreneur Media

• Yelp for Business

• Cali BBQ Media

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RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST:

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

Toast Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about Toast at