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As We've Grown Bigger, Our Investments Almost Need to Be Bigger

Reinvesting: A Marker of Success

You put everything into your business. So why does reinvesting — especially when it looks like the right move — feel so daunting? The Way Up shares lessons on how to strategically boost operations for the long-term by doubling down on both their operations and their employees’ futures.

Grow Your Employees, Grow Your Business

You can hear the pride in Chef Edgar Rico’s voice when he talks about the team at Nixta Taqueria. Most of the team has been there since it opened, seeing the now-celebrated brand through both boom times and crises.

That’s why he and co-owner Sara Mardanbigi feel it’s so important to invest in their employees’ futures.

To foster staff growth, Nixta Taqueria offers employees $1,500 to fund an educational experience after their first year on the job. They recently had employees use the funds to participate in a wine harvest in Sonoma, California, and to learn about cuisine in the heart of Mexico.

“Having them go get that visceral experience of actually feeling that and seeing certain [techniques in action], they're going to bring back [that experience] to the restaurant and then share that with everyone,” Rico said.

“The No. 1 characteristic we're looking for [in an employee] is a lifelong learner,” Mardanbigi said. “So I think we've implemented some things on our side to help cultivate that.”

31%

of restaurant leaders said they were establishing career paths for employees as a way to retain staff and grow their skills.

Source: The 2025 Square Future of Restaurants Report

Key Takeaway

Your business may not be ready to pay for employee experiences today, but learning your team’s interests or niche skills beyond their core duties – and then finding ways to incorporate those into your business – can create win-win situations. Start by asking about additional skills and goals during one-on-ones with your employees, pay close attention to how they respond, and then consider how their answers could be used to both improve your business and raise team morale.

Franchising Made
(A Little) Easier

One recurring topic during “The Way Up” conversations was franchising. The Sports Bra and Charles Pan-Fried Chicken are developing franchise plans. And they’re each looking to lean on Square to streamline the process.

“Square is very popular, and so when we put that in our restaurants, a majority of servers [and] bartenders will have experience with it,” said Jenny Nguyen, founder of The Sports Bra. “Another thing, too, is the ability for our POS and all the menus to transfer over.”

Chef Quie Slobert of Charles Pan-Fried Chicken was also optimistic because of the Square all-in-one system’s ability to scale. He anticipates the software will create a smooth onboarding experience for future business partners as their operation diversifies and expands.

“When we franchise, it’ll be easy to teach the franchisee how to use this Square tool to help their restaurant [grow].”

Making Investment a Core Value

We talked earlier about Vala’s Pumpkin Patch’s prolific growth over the last 40 years. But that growth doesn’t happen without a specific mindset.

“One of our core values is reinvestment in the business,” owner Tim Vala said. “We're in the same category as major theme parks. … They're always adding and reinvesting into their business, and that's a key thing for a business like ours.”

And those investments – especially when you grow to a Vala’s-sized operation – require careful risk assessments.

“It does seem like as we've grown bigger, our investments almost need to be bigger,” co-owner Kelsey Vala said. “We're always assessing that as a family. We talk a lot just as a family about what some of the risks are and what we want to invest in next.”

Kelsey said most decisions come down to the amount of value an investment will bring to the customer experience without taking away from the core mission. For example, they once experimented with using part of the farm as a wedding venue. After a few events, it became clear that line of business wasn’t a good fit.

“I think from that experience, we decided [to] focus on who we are and what we're really good at, and just do that to the max,” Kelsey said.

Key Takeaway

Every operator we interviewed for “The Way Up” talked about consulting mentors or trusted peers before making a major investment. Want to hold yourself accountable for doing these gut checks beyond ad hoc situations? Schedule twice-a-year conversations with your closest advisers to catch up on how the business is going and to discuss any significant moves on the horizon.

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