Brighter Days For the Industry: A Conversation with Jeff Lobdell, Chairman of the National Restaurant Association and Lifelong Michigan Restauranteur

Jeff Lobdell is a local restaurateur with a national impact. Recently named the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Restaurant Association, Jeff has also made a name for himself in the Michigan hospitality as the owner of over 20 independent restaurants and 2 hotels embedded in local communities from Grand Rapids to Traverse City. He’s also a former Chairman of the MRLA Board of Directors, and he joined the MRLA on the “What’s with the Pineapple” podcast to share about how his love for local communities inspires his advocacy at the national level.  

You’ve had quite the career in our industry. Can you tell us how you went from running a small bagel bakery and coffee shop in Grand Rapids to now owning over 20 restaurants and 2 hotels in Michigan?  

I grew up in a restaurant family, went to Michigan State with the hospitality business school, and I had some good experiences there. Then I started this bagel bakery and coffee shop on Michigan Street in Grand Rapids.  I wanted to have a chain of bagel bakery and coffee shops, and I was working with this restaurant consultant, he says, ‘Hey, I've got a friend that has this place called the Beltline Bar and wants to sell it.’ And next thing you know, I'm right at 28th Street and Division Street here in Grand Rapids.  
That became part of my group in 2001, and I fell into a niche of acquiring restaurants from retiring restaurant owners. It worked out well for them. They could ride off into the sunset, while the employees could stay on board. We didn't make a lot of massive changes, but we kept putting money back into the facilities and the people. It just worked well.  ​

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You’ve had quite the career in our industry. Can you tell us how you went from running a small bagel bakery and coffee shop in Grand Rapids to now owning over 20 restaurants and 2 hotels in Michigan?  
I grew up in a restaurant family, went to Michigan State with the hospitality business school, and I had some good experiences there. Then I started this bagel bakery and coffee shop on Michigan Street in Grand Rapids.  I wanted to have a chain of bagel bakery and coffee shops, and I was working with this restaurant consultant, he says, ‘Hey, I've got a friend that has this place called the Beltline Bar and wants to sell it.’ And next thing you know, I'm right at 28th Street and Division Street here in Grand Rapids.  
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That became part of my group in 2001, and I fell into a niche of acquiring restaurants from retiring restaurant owners. It worked out well for them. They could ride off into the sunset, while the employees could stay on board. We didn't make a lot of massive changes, but we kept putting money back into the facilities and the people. It just worked well.  
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Our industry can be challenging, rife with regulations and short on profit. But you have always operated with a belief that there’s a brighter day for the industry. Why is the hospitality industry so important to you?  

A lot of my places have been around for decades. They're kind of cherished community gathering places that are woven into the fabric of the neighborhood in which they operate.  A lot of them are great little breakfast and lunch diners, little neighborhood burger joints. There are six locations in Traverse City 15 in Grand Rapids. You know, the assets in the business aren't necessarily the secret sauce or the wonderful view of Grand Traverse Bay, or any bright shiny object. It's more the great people who are there.  
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Many of these restaurants are like family. Maybe not literally like family, but figuratively, because there's a sense of community in each restaurant.  
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How does your passion for local communities inspire your leadership of the industry at the national level?  
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I'm a second-generation restaurant person. My father, Wayne, was in the fast-food business, and now my brother Marty has taken over that company. My younger brother Greg has brew pubs in Ann Arbor and Traverse City area. I have some hotels in my group, so I feel like I can look at the industry from different perspectives. I can look at it from fast food operators and staff. I can look at it from your neighborhood diner or your fine dining restaurants or look at it from hotels or look at it from brew pubs. 
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The industry has been so good to my family, but, you know, so many families rely on this industry. This year they project nationally our industry will do $1.1 trillion in sales, spread over 1 million food and beverage service establishments supported by 15 million workers. So that's millions of families that really count on these businesses to grow and thrive. Those numbers don’t even mention all the consumers that come through, but 15 million workers is 10% of our entire nation's workforce. So it is a very important industry in our country.  ​

 
We know a lot of places around Michigan are special. Now, as chairman of the NRA, you get to see perspectives of states all over the country. What do you think is unique about Michigan hospitality?  
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I think Michigan is obviously a travel and tourism state. We’ve done a lot of great things in our state over the last 20 years, building our travel and tourism industry. The Pure Michigan campaign, I think, has helped build that up. Pure Michigan advances everybody across our state whether it's Lansing, Detroit, the Bay Area, or Northern Michigan. I remember being in Las Vegas for a conference and seeing Pure Michigan on my television screen, and that made me proud because I'm from Michigan, and I'm like, I can see why people want to go there with that campaign. I hope they continue that.  
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Michigan is unique because we have a lot we have a lot of industry in southern Michigan. We have a lot of tourism in northern Michigan. But I think there's a good charm of people in Michigan that really care about not only their fellow citizens but the tourism that come here. They want to share their beautiful state with people. You don't get that in a lot of states, but you certainly get it here in Michigan. 

​Listen to the full conversation at www.mrla.org/podcast