This send is the first in a three-part series on high-volume restaurants, presented by Square — the technology company that makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible.
Where: Atlanta, Fayetteville, and Alpharetta, Georgia; and Birmingham, Alabama
The backstory: Kraig Torres opened Hop City Beer & Wine in Atlanta in 2009, working 12-hour days, six days a week, to run the retail store with the help of four employees. Torres realized that the margins were too thin to make his store successful, but expanding would allow him to take advantage of economies of scale. He opened a second location in Birmingham, Alabama, with a bar, and then paired new shops in Atlanta, Alpharetta, and Fayetteville with restaurant concepts. His business now employs 185 people and brought in about $14 million in revenue last year. Here, he discusses the training and planning required to manage his busy concepts…