2024 Top 100 United States Restaurants
Yelp has just released its 2024 list of the Top 100 United States Restaurants which you can read by clicking HERE.
Coming in at the top spot is Tumerico in Tuscon, Arizona. Owned by James Beard Award semifinalist Wendy Garcia, Tumerico is known for its Mexican vegetarian menu that event meat eaters love. Yelper Kate S said, “(This is) not vegetarian food that happens to be great—it’s great food that happens to be vegetarian.”
This top-rated dining establishment teaches us four lessons as we attempt to lead our own organizations.
Never Waste Your Experiences. Leverage Them.
Many people discount, minimize, or even despise their upbringing or past experiences. The most successful leaders have learned to view these events as foundational and something to be leveraged.
Garcia, who also serves as the restaurant’s top chef, was raised on a farm in Hermosillo, Mexico. She said, “It’s all about those recipes I made with mom, dad, and grandma—tamales, chilaquiles, enchiladas, barbacoa—whatever Mexican dish you can think of, we can make [a vegetarian version] at Tumerico.”
What is something from our past which is painful or difficult to revisit that could be redeemed and turned into a positive moving forward?
Think Long-Term Effort, Not Short-Term Expediency
Smart leaders embrace long-term thinking. They know the best things often take a long time to come to fruition.
For instance, Tumerico’s mole sauce is especially popular with Yelpers. This blend of dark chocolate, local mesquite flour, cashews, and spices takes four hours for Garcia to prepare each day but her effort is worth it.
What is something you can do which would require a lot of time and effort, but when you put in the work would delight your customers?
Be Willing To Change
When you visit Tumerico, you will notice the chalkboard menu which changes daily. This is because Garcia serves seasonal food. Garcia says, “I like to use what we have.”
This allows the patrons to have a new experience every time they visit the restaurant.
What is something you can change which would give your customers a new experience?
For more on the subject of change, read 6 Things Which Make Change Worth Doing.
Treat Customers Like Family
The most successful organizations do not see their customers as patrons or a means to an end. They have a deep kinship with those they serve. In essence, businesses and customers are on a common journey and do life together.
Garcia said, “I love my customers. I love my regulars. It’s all about making them feel like family—like home.”
Do you love your customers?
Conclusion
The following are four lessons we learn from Tumerico, Yelp’s top-rated restaurant in 2024:
- Don’t waste your past, leverage it.
- Think long-term effort, not short-term expediency.
- Be willing to change.
- Treat customers like family.
What is one thing you can implement from this list which can make you a better organization?
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