The Post Shift Podcast with Shawn Soole

In this episode, Shawn Soole sits down with legendary bar designer and hospitality innovator Tobin Ellis, founder of Studio Barmagic and one of the most influential thinkers in modern bar design. With more than three decades in hospitality and decades designing bars around the world, Tobin shares how smart design, workflow, and ergonomics directly impact profitability, staff performance, and guest experience. From designing cocktail stations to consulting on luxury venues and high-volume operations, Tobin’s philosophy is simple: great bar design isn’t decoration — it’s operational strategy.🧠 What You’ll Learn• Tobin’s journey from bartender to one of the industry’s leading bar design specialists• Why bar design should start with workflow, ergonomics, and staff efficiency before aesthetics• The biggest mistakes operators make when building or renovating bars• How equipment, layout, and design influence speed of service, guest interaction, and profitability• Live Q&A: building bars for modern cocktail programs, staff health, and long-term operational success⏱ Timestamp Highlights (Approximate)• 00:02:30 – Tobin’s background and the evolution from bartender to bar designer• 00:14:00 – Why modern bar design must prioritize ergonomics and workflow• 00:28:00 – The intersection of design, profitability, and guest experience• 00:42:00 – Live Q&A: renovation tips, layout mistakes, and operational strategy• 00:58:00+ – The future of bar design: innovation, equipment, and evolving guest expectations🎯 Who It’s ForBar owners, restaurateurs, beverage directors, architects, designers, and operators planning new builds or renovations who want bars that look great but also perform at the highest level operationally.✅ If You Loved This Episode• Hit Like• Subscribe and tap the 🔔 for more conversations with hospitality innovators• Drop your biggest bar design takeaway or question in the comments• Share this episode with your team, partners, or anyone planning a bar build

In this episode, Shawn Soole sits down with Christin Marvin — hospitality leadership coach, author, and founder of Solutions by Christin — to unpack the realities of leadership in modern restaurants and bars. From opening multiple venues to coaching multi-unit operators, Christin shares hard-earned lessons on how leaders grow, how teams scale, and why burnout is often a leadership systems issue rather than a personal failing.
This conversation dives into what it actually takes to lead people well in hospitality today — from self-awareness and communication to building teams that can thrive beyond the founder.

🧠 What You’ll Learn
• Christin’s journey from starting as a line cook at 15 to opening multiple restaurants and becoming a leadership coach.
• Why many hospitality leaders struggle with burnout — and the systems that can prevent it.
• The leadership mindset needed to scale teams and multi-unit operations successfully.
• Why communication, self-awareness, and boundaries are critical leadership skills.
• Live Q&A: leadership development, training frameworks, and navigating industry change.

⏱ Timestamp Highlights (Approximate)
• 00:02:30 – Christin’s origin story and early hospitality career
• 00:14:00 – The leadership gap in hospitality training
• 00:28:00 – Burnout, boundaries, and sustainable leadership
• 00:42:00 – Live Q&A: managing teams and scaling operations
• 00:58:00+ – The future of hospitality leadership and personal growth

🎯 Who It’s For
Restaurant owners, bar operators, general managers, and hospitality leaders who want to build stronger teams, reduce burnout, and lead with clarity rather than chaos.

✅ If You Loved This Episode
• Hit Like
• Subscribe and tap the 🔔 for more conversations about leadership, culture, and hospitality business
• Share your biggest takeaway or leadership challenge in the comments
• Share this episode with your managers, partners, or anyone leading teams in hospitality

In this Post Shift Shot crossover with the Bread & Butter Collective Podcast — a series created by restaurateurs Sam Jones and Calen McNeil to share the real, non-scripted side of running hospitality businesses — Shawn Soole sits down with the hosts to dig into what it really takes to build, grow, sustain, and lead in this industry.
From cash flow realities to brand identity, team development to strategic decision-making, this is hospitality business talk without the hype — rooted in experience, accountability, and real-world frameworks.
The Bread & Butter Collective Podcast pulls back the curtain on hospitality business secrets — from financing and licensing to culture and community building.
🧠 What You’ll Learn
• The foundational business principles every hospitality operator must understand
• Lessons on building a business that can endure staffing swings, market fluctuations, and consumer behaviour shifts
• Why survival isn’t strategy — and what strategic sustainability actually looks like
• How community-driven brands (like Big Wheel Burger and 2% Jazz) are rethinking performance, culture, and purpose
• Practical business tools and mindset tweaks that separate operators who survive from those who thrive
⏱ Timestamp Highlights (Approximate)
• 00:02:30 – Introduction: why hospitality business talk still matters
• 00:10:45 – The basics of business fundamentals — cash flow, margins, and runway
• 00:23:00 – Culture as currency: hiring, retaining, and defining values
• 00:36:15 – Strategy over hustle: building systems that scale
• 00:48:30+ – Live Q&A: real business scenarios, pitfalls to avoid, and leadership takeaways
🎯 Who It’s For
Operators, owners, general managers, beverage directors, and hospitality leaders at any stage of “business thinking” — from concept validation to multi-unit scaling. This isn’t theory: it’s grounded in lived experience.
✅ If You Loved This Episode
• Smash the Like
• Subscribe and ring the 🔔 for more real discussions on hospitality business and culture
• Drop a comment with your biggest business takeaway — or your toughest question for operators right now
• Share this episode with your team, partners, or anyone building in hospitality
About Bread & Butter Collective: A peer-driven podcast and community led by restaurateurs Sam Jones (2% Jazz) and Calen McNeil (Big Wheel Burger), focused on sharing the honest realities of hospitality business ownership, from financing and licensing to culture, collaboration, and long-term sustainability.

In this conversation, Shawn Soole sits down with hospitality veteran Richie Barrow — renowned bar leader, culture builder, and mentor — to unpack what it truly takes to run great teams, build resilient service cultures, and lead with clarity and purpose. Richie brings rich perspectives from decades in high-performing venues, blending operational wisdom with a people-first approach that elevates the entire team.
Whether you’re managing a floor, designing systems, or leading staff, this episode delivers insights that help you operationalize culture — not just preach it.

🧠 What You’ll Learn
• Richie’s hospitality journey: lessons from the bar, the floor, and leadership roles
• How intentional systems create consistency, trust, and team autonomy
• Why leadership is more about influence and clarity than authority or title
• Real talk on accountability, feedback, and evolving service standards
• Live Q&A: practical approaches to team growth, conflict resolution, and sustaining excellence

⏱ Timestamp Highlights (Approximate)
• 00:02:45 – Richie’s origins and early lessons in service and leadership
• 00:15:00 – Designing systems that empower staff and drive consistency
• 00:28:30 – Leadership frameworks: clarity, influence, and accountability
• 00:43:10 – Live Q&A: real scenarios, practical tools, and leadership roadblocks
• 00:58:15+ – What’s next: personal leadership growth and sustaining culture

🎯 Who It’s For
Bar managers, general managers, operators, trainers, and hospitality leaders focused on building teams that perform with purpose — not by command, but by shared clarity and commitment.

✅ If You Loved This Episode
• Tap Like
• Subscribe and ring the 🔔 to catch more strategy, culture, and leadership conversations
• Drop your biggest Richie insight or question in the comments
• Share this with your managers, trainers, or anyone invested in building strong hospitality cultures

In this Post Shift Shot, Shawn Soole pulls back the curtain on the reality of owning in hospitality. No hype. No Instagram fantasy. Just truth.
Entrepreneurship in this industry isn’t just cocktails, creative freedom, and packed Friday nights. It’s pressure, payroll, people problems, and personal sacrifice. And if you’re not prepared for the weight of it — it will expose you fast.
This episode lays out five harsh truths every aspiring hospitality entrepreneur needs to hear before signing a lease, taking on investors, or quitting their day job.

🧠 The 5 Harsh Truths
1. You don’t get freedom — you get responsibility.
Ownership doesn’t reduce pressure. It multiplies it.
2. Your creativity now answers to cash flow.
Cool ideas mean nothing if they don’t pay rent.
3. You will outgrow people — and people will outgrow you.
Leadership means hard conversations, not just inspiration.
4. Nobody cares about your struggle.
Guests want consistency. Staff want stability. Vendors want payment.
5. It’s lonelier than you think.
The higher you climb, the fewer people truly understand the weight.

🎯 Who It’s For
Bartenders thinking about opening a place.
Managers dreaming about “doing it their way.”
Operators in year one wondering why it feels heavier than expected.
This isn’t discouragement.
It’s preparation.

🔥 The Real Question
Do you want applause…
or do you want accountability?
Because entrepreneurship gives you one far more than the other.

✅ If This Resonated
• Hit Like
• Subscribe for more Post Shift Shots on leadership, ownership, and industry truth
• Drop a comment: Which truth hit you hardest?
• Share this with someone romanticizing ownership