Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrei Stern.
Andrei, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Andrei Stern, I’m originally from Mexico and have been living in Miami for almost seventeen years. I joined the SuViche project almost ten years ago while I was a sophomore in college. We viewed it as a niche opportunity considering the Miami restaurant marketplace at the time. We stressed to create a concept that would be affordable, would create value, and would offer consistency and unique flavors.
We had zero experience in the industry. At first, this was scary, and it did mean we probably had to work twice as hard to make up for it. But what started as a disadvantage actually helped us come up with innovative solutions and a unique way of doing things. We’ve always been highly analytical and have leveraged technology from the beginning, always looking at the company like a startup and not simply a restaurant. Needless to say, there are certain hard skills and soft skills required in order to manage a restaurant– for this, we had a very intense crash course in the first three years and continues up to this day.
Today, almost ten years later, we have opened five SuViche restaurants, one food truck (Chifa Street @ Veza Sur), acquired three Novecento restaurants and opened two additional Novecento locations. We also operate non-traditional locations for our different concepts in the Hard Rock Stadium, Marlins Park, Miami Boat Show, and Miami Open.
Has it been a smooth road?
From the outside in it might look like it – but it is never a smooth road. Over the last ten years, we’ve had many ups and downs as most companies do. Periods were you don’t know how you will survive but you simply do. Periods were working 15 hours days are the norm. Periods were everything seems under “control”, until it isn’t.
Obviously, a big obstacle at the beginning was our lack of intricate knowledge of the industry – this meant we learned many things the hard way, by making mistakes and learning from them. We are appreciative of this, however, as it meant we’ve HAD to learn every position, every step, and every process along the way regardless of the position within the restaurant.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the SuViche Hospitality Group story. Tell us more about the business.
Today I am the CFO & Partner at SuViche Hospitality Group. Albeit, we’re still a relatively small company and thus we still wear many hats. I’m involved in everything from the accounting/finance to HR to the operation at the restaurant level. We’ve tried to create a Hospitality group with a strong presence in South Florida that focuses on its people. We strongly believe that if we have happy team members, we will have happy guests.
We try to complement this ideal with great food! Today, we have three brands under our portfolio including SuViche, Novecento and Chifa. We have five SuViche locations, five Novecento locations, and one Chifa food truck. In addition, we also operate non-traditional locations for our brands at the Hard Rock Stadium and Marlins Park. We also participate in events such as the Miami Open and Boat Show.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think the restaurant industry is entering a very interesting and evolutionary phase. In the past, we’ve seen innovative companies disrupt industries such as Netflix did in the entertainment world, Airbnb in the lodging industry, and today we see Uber doing the same in the restaurant industry.
There has been a huge shift in consumer behavior since we started out, and Uber is a reflection of this. I think consumers are increasingly moving towards comfortability in how and when they consume food. The restaurant industry is moving away from simply “serving food” and moving towards creating experiences. It is the only way for us to survive, especially in markets such as Miami where real estate prices are so high.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2175 NW 24th Ave
Miami, FL 33142 - Website: www.suviche.com
- Phone: 954 675 5155
- Email: andrei@suviche.com
- Instagram: @suviche
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