Episode
Letting go of the day-to-day: Tom Schmidt's journey from busser to leader | 073
- Podcast
- The Pre-Shift
- Published
- Jun 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1680
- Processing state
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Summary
The Pre-Shift Podcast is back! Tom Schmidt, co-owner of Salt + Smoke BBQ, talks with host D.J. about shifting from hands-on restaurant work to leading an eight-location, 550+ employee business, a transition he says truly began around the fourth location and felt like a “phantom limb” loss of how he measured success. He explains how delegating to partners and leaders—especially co-owner Haley, a director of operations, and later hospitality, HR, finance, and catering roles—enabled growth while...