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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Mike Bausch<\/a> used to crash on the floor of a friend\u2019s condo just to attend Pizza Expo. Today, he cannot walk ten feet through the convention center without getting stopped.<\/p>\n The founder of Andolini\u2019s Pizza<\/a> has become one of the loudest, funniest and most recognizable voices in the restaurant industry, but Bausch did not enter the business looking to become a content creator. Or even the face of his own brand.<\/p>\n \u201cI was 23, scared as all hell when I first came here,\u201d Bausch said about his first Pizza Expo. \u201cIt was a deluge of information.\u201d<\/p>\n Back then, he was taking the monorail and trying to absorb every piece of information he could. Now, operators line up after his sessions to seek advice on marketing, AI, systems and restaurant growth.<\/p>\n Somewhere along the way, Bausch realized something most independent operators <\/a>still resist: a single restaurant is no longer enough. Real growth means thinking beyond the kitchen and into the brand.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to be the brand,\u201d Bausch says. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re afraid of that, get out of your own way. Because everyone wants you to win, you just gotta let them.\u201d<\/p>\n That shift changed everything.<\/p>\n Instead of treating content like polished advertising, Bausch started using social media to teach, entertain and document what restaurant life actually looks like. The approach felt less like marketing and more like a conversation with operators trying to figure it out alongside him.<\/p>\n Oddly enough, the blueprint came from Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy\u2019s. <\/p>\n \u201cI thought of my patron saint of restauranting, Dave Thomas,\u201d Bausch said. \u201cAnd he still was the best thing to ever happen to that brand.\u201d<\/p>\n Keeping the brand at the center of every decision helped transform Andolini\u2019s from a local pizza shop into Andolini\u2019s Worldwide,<\/a> a hospitality company that now includes multiple pizzerias, food hall concepts, food trucks, catering, an airport location and a fine dining restaurant in Tulsa.<\/p>\n The irony is that the thing Bausch once resisted becoming became what separated him from everyone else in the room.<\/p>\n Bausch thinks most restaurant owners are making the same mistake: they\u2019re trying too hard to look like restaurants \u2014 polished to the point of feeling corporate, with social media that looks more like ads than a real place people actually eat.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one goes to social media to watch a commercial about your restaurant,\u201d Bausch says. \u201cThey want a story, and they wanna be entertained.\u201d<\/p>\n That simple philosophy sits at the center of everything he builds online. Including his videos, speaking gigs and YouTube strategy. Bausch approaches content less like marketing and more like hospitality. He breaks it down as: <\/p>\n His favorite tactic is what he calls the \u201cdid you knows.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo to your voice recorder and just talk your happy ass off about all the \u2018did you knows,’\u201d Bausch said. \u201cWe cold ferment our dough. We do this. We buy this organic. We go to this. And then just tell that story.\u201d<\/p>\n It sounds easy, but Bausch believes most operators overcomplicate content because they are afraid of being visible. They hide behind logos, menu photos and generic promotions instead of putting themselves into the conversation.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the restaurants actually winning online feel human.<\/p>\n \u201cExperiential dining is the path,\u201d Bausch says. \u201cDiscounting is not.\u201d<\/p>\n For Bausch, content is not about chasing vanity metrics. It is about creating demand. Making people feel they have to visit because the restaurant has an identity beyond its food.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause if it\u2019s not impressive by default, it\u2019s unimpressive,\u201d Bausch says. <\/p>\n It\u2019s also how he runs his business internally. Bausch is obsessed with delegation, systems and removing low-value tasks from his plate. It\u2019s just as important for a restaurant to run smoothly as it is to make great food. <\/p>\n \u201cMy job as an owner is to create revenue,\u201d Bausch said. \u201cIt\u2019s not to be the junk drawer of my business.\u201d<\/p>\n The phrase sounds like a joke, but it doubles as his entire philosophy: stop hiding, stop doing everything yourself, build systems, tell stories, create experiences people talk about \u2014 then get out of your own way.<\/p>\n Restaurant Influencers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is 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.<\/p>\n Toast \u2014 Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about\u00a0Toast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nStop hiding online<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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