Meet Jimmy Herrera | Co-Owner of Red, White & Brew

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jimmy Herrera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jimmy, what do you attribute your success to?
The three pillars that I always attribute success to are a thriving culture, people, and performance-driven recognition. Without these three things, I think an organization is doing a disservice to its overall success.

The bulk of my career started with Peter Piper Pizza. It was a great business, and I was able to work there for over 22 years. Towards the end of my tenure with this company, I focused on the franchise operations and was the liaison between corporate and the franchisees. Corporate was creating strategies for the brand and business, but I had to translate this in many ways for the different types of franchisees. Some had a corporate structure with many leaders. Others were smaller organizations that needed more individualized support. Finding ways to adapt the strategy for each franchisee made the job both challenging and rewarding.

Needing to know the ins and outs of the company was important to be able to creatively come up with solutions for the franchisees. I was lucky enough to be exposed to so many aspects of the business. Exposure to strategy, marketing, operations, and additional areas helped me to paint a full picture of how to run a hospitality business. I really enjoyed working through the high-level strategy and then honing in on the tactics to create a successful plan. Establishing credibility with the franchisees by explaining how these tactics could benefit them and creating a great relationship with them was very important for my role within the company.

It was through this role that I realized I wanted to be a business owner and have a direct hand in forming the company culture. In the case of a business that was already established, I also wanted to have a positive influence on the direction going forward. My knowledge and experience in franchise operations transferred well when I became co-owner of Red, White & Brew, and I was able to establish credibility and build a great relationship with the Team to grow the business. The positive relationship with my Team is what creates the culture of my business. I want a high-performing culture where my Team Members are empowered and not afraid to bring great ideas to the table. I also want them to be rewarded regularly through on-the-spot recognition and of competitive salaries. By strengthening these core principles, there was a direct correlation to where my company was headed and our future success.

I also attribute the success to the relationship that I have with my business partners. There is a lot of trust because I have known them for years. We are all very passionate about our niche: established neighborhood brands. If I’m passionate about something and believe in it, I give it my all and my business partners are the same way. We all try to instill this mentality into how our Team Members perceive our brands as well.

Going back to our brands, these are all very experiential. Our goal at Red, White, & Brew is to make sure that our guests have fun and enjoy their time with us so much that they also fall in love with our five sister brands. We have many customers that have been dining with us for years and as their own family begins to grow, they begin to bring their own children as well. All types of life milestones are always celebrated with us. The mantra for our company is “Local Places. Happy Faces.” which stems back to investing in our Team, the culture, and the recognition of positive impact. All these combined have helped to contribute to the success of the business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Red, White & Brew was founded in 2002 and to this day is a staple in both of its Mesa and Prescott neighborhoods. As an ode to our menu, our BOLD American entrees are of the highest quality and are to be enjoyed with our curated selection of red wine, white wine, and beer. At RWB, you’ll appreciate that most everything is made from scratch onsite in our kitchen. You’ll also find a warm, welcoming dining room complemented by a full bar and patio where you’re treated as family and friends by our amazing Team Members.

For me, co-owning a brand that has been around for over 20 years is special. It means that people truly love coming to visit us, eating the food, and sharing their lives with us. We have many guests that tell us that they feel like we are all a family. They have also said we are like the show “Cheers”! It most likely stems from our commitment to the type of warm hospitality that we have made a part of our brand throughout the years.

Getting to this point with our guests did not come overnight. It took a lot of dedication, hard work, and commitment to our brand, our Team, and our guests. It was not an easy path for me either. This was the first time I owned a business, so I was relying on my past experiences while also navigating new territory. It was important for me to not only know every detail inside of our four walls, but to also understand what is happening in the restaurant industry, with the economy, the labor market, etc. Learning what is happening outside in the world is important because there are many aspects that can affect a restaurant or hospitality business. No matter how much experience or education that you have, you must remain flexible, willing to learn, and nimble in case you need to adapt to a new trend or react to a change in the overall market.

I also learned many lessons along the way. One of the biggest lessons that I learned was that as a leader you need to support the people that work for you in many ways. As a leader, you always want the best for someone that works for you. For example, sometimes a role or position that a manager thinks will be best for their Team Member may not be what they are passionate about or wanting to do in their career. No matter how much you cheer them on, we must remember that we can help to define a path, but ultimately the Team Member must want to take it. Sometimes what is best for someone’s path, is not the best for another. By recognizing this, I’ve learned how to help my Team Members identify what they want out of their careers and how they want to grow. By looking at performance and results, and separating this mentorship from emotion leads to the ultimate growth.

I’ve also learned that it’s important to be humble and to receive feedback. As I grew into different roles, I learned to embrace this lesson as I went through my journey. I’m naturally an optimistic, high-energy person that looks at the glass half full. This allows me to look at situations differently without heavy negativity and find a way to make it better. I learned quickly that I may not always be right, but I can learn from these situations and make myself a better player, leader, and business owner.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Naturally, I’m a foodie so I love eating out at different places. When out, I truly enjoy engaging with other people and hearing their life stories. A must stop for me when a friend is in town would be 32 Shea in North Phoenix. I love grabbing a glass of wine and a charcuterie board to relax on their quaint and cozy patio. It’s a converted 1980’s drive thru photo mat, if you can believe that! If I’m in a mood for nightlife, I always love to stop by Rusty Spur Saloon in Old Town Scottsdale. It’s the oldest bar in Scottsdale and the walls tell all kinds of stories. It’s a little piece of history while listening to their live country music. The Verde Valley Wine Trail is a favorite of mine, with local wineries in Cottonwood and Paige Springs. I love weekend getaways there!

The outdoors is one of my favorite escapes and I enjoy hiking Camelback Mountain, exploring the Desert Botanical Gardens and biking to a local coffee shop near my house.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m thankful to have had many mentors over the years, but one that continues to shape my career is my business partner, Bill Toole, co-owner of POV Foods. Bill has always been one of my biggest supporters- a mentor, a coach, and my champion during different stages of my career.

What I appreciate most about Bill is the way that he challenges me to gain success and increase the development of my skills and mindset. He finds ways to make me uncomfortable so that I grow as a person and a leader. Even though it can be hard work, I truly appreciate this constant nudging and coaching because becoming stagnant in a business or industry is something that you never want.

Even when I wasn’t fully ready, Bill always encouraged me to preview what he was working on, discuss difficult scenarios that could arise, and how they could play out. He coached me to have difficult conversations with people that would ultimately better me as a leader and create a stronger business.

I also appreciate the candid, straightforward feedback that Bill gives. It allows me to really understand where I’m at in my career and gives a clear understanding of how I can get to the next level. By being transparent with expectations, people can define a path to success quicker and easier.

I truly believe that a leader should identify the skills of their Team and guide them, challenge them, and put them in situations that they are uncomfortable with. At the same time, Team Members should be recognized and celebrated for both small and big wins. My own experience has crafted this mindset and it is how I run my own Team today.

I also enjoy reading leadership books. I gravitate towards titles and authors that focus on real life experiences and not just the principles behind actions. A favorite author and businessperson that I admire is David Novak. I refer to Taking People With You often!

Website: https://www.rwbaz.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwbaz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redwhiteandbrewaz/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-white-and-brew-mesa https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-white-and-brew-prescott