Working in restaurants was not just “something to do” until Chad Munsey landed a “real job.”
Hospitality is his chosen career and he wishes more people took it seriously.
“I always use this analogy. When somebody says, ‘Well, I’m just doing this until I get a real job,’ I ask them if this job puts gas in your car and pays your rent and puts groceries in your refrigerator? It’s a real job. And you need to treat it like a real job,” he said.
Munsey, 52, is the co-founder of The Bearded Pig barbecue restaurant. There are two locations, at 1808 Kings Ave. near San Marco and 1700 S. Third St. in Jacksonville Beach.
The restaurant was founded in 2016 in a smaller location along Kings Avenue, moving in August 2021, and the Beaches restaurant opened in March 2021.
Before opening The Bearded Pig, Munsey launched The Grotto wine bar in San Marco in 2001. He sold his portion of ownership in 2008.
It was the fulfillment of a promise he made to himself.
“When I was 25, I set a goal that by 30 I’m going to open my own business. I turned 30 in September 2001 and in November (I opened The Grotto),” he said.
He then detoured slightly. After selling his Grotto interest, he moved to Santa Barbara and Sonoma in California to work for Bill Foley’s Fine Wine Group as director of education and retail operations.
Foley is chairman of Fidelity National Financial Inc. and owner of Foley Family Wines.
He returned to Jacksonville in 2011 where he started a boutique wine distributorship, was part of the team that bought Bistro AIX and in 2015 began developing The Bearded Pig concept.
In developing The Bearded Pig model, Munsey wanted to serve the best quality product at the lowest price possible, similar to Lewis Barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina, and Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas.
Having been in the restaurant business most of his life, Munsey was used to the old school life of low wages and long hours. He changed that model by hiring more manager positions than other restaurants because it allows for managers to work more traditional hours.
Instead of a 60-hour workweek, Munsey wants his managers to work 40 to 45 hours. He keeps detailed work charts to reach that goal.
Keeping his staff fresh allows for a better work atmosphere and a motivated crew, he said.
“We have to keep our foot on the pedal at all times. We have to make sure every day we’re doing our best possible and we can’t let up. I never want to rest on past laurels. I tell them to treat every day like it’s our first day.”
Munsey opted for the fast-casual model. Instead of table service, customers order at the counter and food is brought to them by food runners. Those who chose to sit at the bar have orders taken by the bartender.
This method allows him to hire fewer people and pay them above minimum wage.
Munsey has 110 full- and part-time employees at both locations. They have a benefits package with health insurance for those working more than 30 hours a week.
However, that cost has risen from $6,000 to $9,000 per month.
Perks like that couldn’t happen if he had a larger staff, he said.
“With fast casual in the front of the house, I have six food runners and two bartenders. I would need 20 people out front if I was full service,” he said.
He has some control over labor costs but product costs are less flexible. Menu changes are inevitable as price spikes during the coronavirus pandemic have remained.
“The reality is that the post-COVID price is the new norm,” he said.
Then there are other costs. The cost for liability insurance rose 30% last year without making any claims. Garbage collection and recycling at the Kings Avenue store costs $15,000 per year.
Paper products, napkins and paper towels — a must at a barbecue restaurant — continue to be more expensive.
Munsey is aware that if prices rise there could be a loss of volume as the casual diner may decide to save the expense and not eat out.
He said he won’t change purveyors or purchase lesser-quality ingredients.
“The challenge we find is how do you get that point across to the general public when you slowly do have to make price increases? You know, we’re in a precarious place because we use premium food and we make everything scratch,” he said.
“We’ve been open a total seven and a half years and we’ve probably taken three subtle price increases and when I say that, like our brisket sandwich has gone up $1 in total.”