We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kevin Danilo. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Kevin, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
This is such an interesting question- and I imagine most people would say “an argument could be made for each of these”, but it’s a no brainer for me. Integrity is everything. I learned at a young age that our name, and our word, mean everything. I’m huge on culture, and loyalty/honesty/integrity are some of my core values that I’ve tried to imprint into every facet of our company.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Kevin Danilo, the founder of Batch Hospitality Group, a small local hospitality company with 4 restaurants (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach). I grew up in the Northeast, and I’ve been in restaurants my whole so after I finished college in the Midwest, I moved to Miami to work towards opening. I opened our first location in 2013 in Brickell, and went from there. We have two concepts, our pub concept (Miami), and our Southern Kitchen concept; both focus on being scratch kitchens with craft bars influenced heavily by whiskey & American spirits. The industry has been a challenge the last few years, but we’re pressing forward and hope to bring our concept to other areas in Florida.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
This is a funny question to ask someone who owns a business- theoretically the textbook answer would be signing a first brick and mortar lease, or making a first big decision as an owner. For me, it was actually when I was probably 14 or 15 as a server, and learned that a guest’s experience was in my hands I could make an experience amazing and something they never forgot, or if I dropped the ball I could really screw up a special occasion or moment in their lives. The gravity of recognizing that is probably what has led to the reverence I have for hospitality; I’ve always seen it as a privilege to be able to serve others and help make a bad day better, or a good day unforgettable. To me, THAT is power, being able to fire someone doesn’t make a person powerful…and I love that the power to make people around you happy isn’t exclusive to being a business owner or executive.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Trick question, I’ve never almost gave up 🙂 Life is hard, business is hard. But I firmly believe if you never give up, you can’t lose, ever. How do you beat someone who never taps out? You can’t. So, no matter how bloody and bruised you get, always stand back up. It may require a few detours, but you’ll never fail if you keep trying and give 110%.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in life is in most cases, you only have to be smart enough, the rest is hard work and how you treat/manage people. I’ve met a lot of people far smarter than me really screw the pooch because they think they can overengineer solutions, or they’re smarter than the situation. I tell my people all the time “an imperfect system executed perfectly, beats a perfect system executed imperfectly every time”. A game changer for me was when I realized my time was better spent with my people-coaching, teaching, motivating, holding accountability- rather than building excel sheets. It was one the big “a-ha” moments in my career, and one I’m very humbled and thankful to have learned before it was too late.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
My first landlord passed away a few years ago, and he was an incredible man. He took a chance on a 25 year old kid who had no business signing a deal that had multi-million dollar implication…but he did. I went to his funeral as a sign of respect, and I thought I was outside of a Walmart on Black Friday…the place was packed. So many people spoke about the man he was, and how kind, respectful, generous, and genuinely good he was. I hope when I finally kick the bucket, I’ve done enough to get 1% of that, because it was palpable how much of an impact he had on people, and how his actions and behaviors would carry on through others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.batchhg.com
- Instagram: batchmiami batchdelray batchftl batchwpb
