How Post-COVID Hospitality Changed Everything: Kim Halloran’s Industry Insights

Anthony Codispoti (00:00)
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Cotaspodi and today’s guest is Kim Halloran, managing partner at the Capital Grill. This upscale dining restaurant founded in 1990 is famous for its comfortable elegance, dry aged steaks, fresh seafood, and award winning wines.

They create extraordinary dining experiences by focusing on exceptional ingredients and world-class service. Kim has been with the Capital Girl since April 2010 and brings over three decades of experience in hospitality leadership. She has held leadership roles in notable restaurants, showcasing her strong background in restaurant operations, team management, and customer service. She actively supports local families as a child advocate.

and has joined groups addressing restaurant challenges during COVID-19. Additionally, Kim is a board member of the MRA, working closely with fellow hospitality leaders to enhance the dining experience throughout her community. Now, before we get into all that good stuff, today’s episode is brought to you by my company, Ad Back Benefits Agency, where we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that are both great for your restaurant team and fiscally optimized for your bottom line. Imagine.

being able to give your employees free access to doctors, therapists, and prescription medications. And here’s the fun part. The program actually puts more money into your employees’ pockets and the company’s too. One recent client was able to increase net profits by $900 per employee per year. Now results vary for each company and some organizations may not be eligible. To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today.

Managing Partner of the Capital Grill, Kim Halloran. Thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Kim (01:56)
Absolutely nice to finally meet you kind of in person.

Anthony Codispoti (02:01)
Yeah, let’s go. This is going to be fun today. So how did you first get your start in the restaurant industry? How old were you? How did it unfold?

Kim (02:10)
So my first start, mean, I like to say I started when I was five. I used to operate a menu out of the house and cook for my mom and give my parents options. I kind of started then, but my actual first paying job was at Sonic. So we had moved to the Midwest, Kansas City’s great, get my first job and I’m at Sonic two, three nights a week.

At that point, I’m too young to work, you know, too late. And a few weeks in, they said, hey, you want to make 10 extra bucks a shift and wear roller skates. And at that point, $10 was king. So I was that girl cruising around on my roller skates, delivering sodas around the, around the curb.

Anthony Codispoti (02:59)
And so from there, you were kind of hooked. Did you stay consistently in restaurants and hospitality?

Kim (03:02)
Yeah.

I stayed in restaurants. I don’t know if I knew that it was my path until closer to when I turned 21. I remember a very eye-opening moment. I had started Waiting Tables. Gilbert Robinson is a huge local restaurant group, and Bristol was opening in Leewood, and I had started working there as a server. And the partner there, the GM,

who the manager that was running it was a female. And it was the first time I had worked for a woman in that capacity. And ⁓ she definitely motivated me and challenged me. about a year or two into that, she left to go open a different restaurant. And I remember thinking to myself, you know, this is what I love to do. Why don’t I do this?

And I left there to manage a small restaurant that was coming to the city. They’ve since closed and moved on, but she was definitely who I looked up to and thought she’s a standup person. She leads a great team. I had never really thought of it. And then I moved into it. And it was at that restaurant that they were building the first Chipotle that was coming into the area.

We had some random ridiculous story. I was in the dining room managing the floor and all of leadership for Chipotle before they were ⁓ public. So this was the original crew were at that restaurant having dinner and a mouse went running across the floor. And Gretchen who, you I later got to know very well, made eyes with me. And I remember I was so embarrassed. I thought, my goodness. They think that we are.

And so I approached the table and apologized profusely and I said, they’re doing a lot of building next door to us. I’m so sorry. This never happens. It’s never, and she laughed and said, well, that building is us and you handled this so well. She said, you know, we want you with us. You’re great, but I understand you have a job, but here’s my card. And if you ever change your mind, I love your energy and you know, we’re opening.

Anthony Codispoti (05:12)
Ha ha ha ha ha

Kim (05:28)
dozens of restaurants in your city and growing and all of the things you want to hear as a young adult starting out in the industry. I had made an alternate plan and decided to move shortly found out I was pregnant with our son. And so I called her and I said, I think I’m ready to make a change, but I’m having a baby. So let me get through this.

first stage, you know, I don’t want to jump in with two feet when I might have one and a half for a few days. And she said, you can come now or you can come later. We’ll take you either way. And so we had our son. I waited a couple of months and I went and started working with them. And I opened multiple restaurants and, know, kind of followed that career, which quick service is completely different than full service. And I loved it. I learned so much with that.

brand and watching them evolve from a small, know, passionate, artsy, cool burrito shop to something so grand was really cool.

Anthony Codispoti (06:35)
That’s really ⁓ fascinating and hysterical that this job opportunity came about because a little Mickey Mouse will call him running across the floor and the way that you handled it. Had you had, were you the one interacting with them all evening or was that your first interaction with them was coming over to apologize for that mouse?

Kim (06:39)
Yeah.

Sure.

That was the first. They were only there probably five minutes. So I think the server had stopped by to greet them, but I had not had any interaction. I mean, thinking back, I think it was a group of seven or eight. So it was enough people that they all noticed. It was good.

Anthony Codispoti (07:13)
Okay.

And you handle that short interaction so well that they’re like, hey, we want you part of the team. And so when you became part of the team, your role was what and grew into what.

Kim (07:25)
So I was a store manager and quickly, think because of my full service experience, I really kind of had my hands around all of it. And I started doing restaurant openings. did multiple, I went 10 or 12, traveled around a day or two. One good thing with them is they never, some restaurants take you away for months. ⁓

they would take you away for days at a time. And so it made it really convenient for me at that point to still do all the things and learn from them. So it was pretty awesome.

Anthony Codispoti (08:05)
And like you said, quick service is way different than full service. What is something key that you learned there at Chipotle that you’re able to bring forward into the full service world of the Capital Girl today?

Kim (08:17)
I would say I look back at those days. I was so lucky to be there at the time I was. But the main thing I learned is how long does it take from when you walk in the front door until you leave and was that time worth it? Right. So throughput, right. That’s kind of a quick service phrase. And it really gets in your head when you look around. You don’t ever lose that. ⁓

The other thing that they did extremely well was cultivate relationships. So their teams, I taught English classes, we did, you know, family meal together on Saturdays, which we do at Capitol Grill every day. But then when I had started with them, I had never worked in a place that was so passionate about their employees. And that was really cool to have.

a different type of role with my team besides a little bit more of a here’s what I need you to do. Okay, great. Thanks. High five. So it encouraged us to look at our team more like people.

Anthony Codispoti (09:29)
And then how did that segue into an opportunity with Jay Gilbert?

Kim (09:35)
So when we had our second child, about a year after, I said, I think I want to get back into full service and it’s time. I had great relationships with everybody. We had at that point gone public with Chipotle. So they were already seeing a lot of change. Some of the little things that I really loved were starting to change. So it felt like the right time and it was okay for me to go.

Jay Gilbert’s is operated by the same company that I was with prior with Bristol. It’s their sister brand, their steakhouse. So ⁓ I went with them, you know, met with the leaders we had before, got back in, and then I was moved to Ohio. They had an opening for a managing partner. They had lost someone due to a lot of internal drama that was happening.

they really felt like me going there or specifically a female would be helpful because they had an all male team and they were not getting through to the team based on what had happened. So we went up there and it was a great time.

Anthony Codispoti (10:51)
⁓ And I’ll kind of read between the lines of maybe what unfolded there and kind of leave that where it is. But ⁓ you know, you were there for a little more than four years and then somehow the door opened for you to join the Capitol Grill and you’ve been there almost 16 years now. How did that opportunity come about?

Kim (10:56)
Sure.

go.

So if you go back in my story, I tell you about the leader that opened my eyes to wanting to be a tremendous leader. She retired from Darden after 30 years in December. So when the Capitol Grill was looking for a manager, a dining room manager, my name had come up and I called Mary and it’s the company she worked for. And she said, I want you to look up the tree.

of leaders and not just the person you work for, but their boss and above them and so on. And those are the people that are going to impact you every day. So think about where you are and think about where you’re going. And is that the direction that you feel suits you? Are you putting your heart into something? And it was really powerful for me because that gave me the answer I needed.

that I wanted to work for a company that was looking for some of the things that we have here at Darden. And obviously the growth and change that we see is always happening, but the people I work for and the leaders above in multiple layers, I believe in. And I believe that they truly are focused on what I’m focused on. And that to me at the end of the day,

I have a saying in the restaurant that I will work as hard for you as you will for me. And I need that commitment and you need it too. And I feel that way from my leaders as well.

Anthony Codispoti (12:48)
Can you say more about what it is that you have there? You found what you were looking for there. What is that?

Kim (12:55)
Sure.

I’m looking for a culture that employees can come to work and thrive, that it’s fair, it’s respectful. Restaurants, there’s a lot of personality, there’s guests coming in, there’s people that we don’t know, right? So we’re kind of opening up the doors and taking what comes.

So when you’re surrounded by great people and you’re given the opportunity to bring great people in, it gives you just a different power, a different edge on what we do. Not everything is black and white in restaurants. There’s some gray. And learning through leaders who have done it for decades, know, the director I had when I started this role,

was the original opening partner of this restaurant. So the people they stay and the culture is strong and it allows you to go a little bit farther and a little bit, reach a little bit farther even in the community, honestly. I think our guests, our wine locker holders, they have a relationship with us that is special. And people who haven’t been here before,

You know, they have an idea of what the picture is when they walk in the door that they’re going to be taking care of. And for our team, they take great pride in it, just like I do.

Anthony Codispoti (14:35)
So for somebody who’s never been to a Capital Girl location, paint us a picture. What’s the customer experience like? What’s the menu like?

Kim (14:44)
So you walk in the front door, it’s beautiful lights and colors. You’re greeted with a smile. And really the feeling in the restaurant is comfortable. It’s definitely elegant. It’s a country club. You’re coming in and everybody knows each other and there’s a little bit of a positive energy. There’s music in the background and you can…

sit in the lounge, is a little more casual and lively, especially on a sports day or something. Kansas City is pretty active, but in the dining room, it’s calmer. You have background music, but your server is going to really cater your dinner to what you want. So some people want to come in, have business and not a lot of interaction. And some people come in and they want to know the menu story. They want to know that our dry aged steaks are aged in house and

butchered every morning and hand-carved and grilled to put on their plate, or that the pastry chef is here before anybody baking the pastries fresh for the day. So there’s sides of it where you think, ⁓ you just walk in the door and it’s all ready, but we get to tell the story when you come in. We can all stop by the table and tell you happy birthday or happy anniversary or make it special.

But on the flip side, it’s special for us. We have a great time when we’re celebrating with people. It keeps it fun.

Anthony Codispoti (16:18)
So how many locations the capital grill now?

Kim (16:22)
We’re just over 70.

Anthony Codispoti (16:25)
Okay, and so you’re managing partners specifically at the Kansas City location, is that right? Yeah. Talk to me about the impact that you think COVID has had on the business, maybe the larger industry, and how you think it’s kind of brought you back to your roots in a way.

Kim (16:30)
I am, yes.

You

For me in the city, I was lucky enough to be on the board with the mayor when we were getting restaurants reopened. And I got to hear so much concern and so much excitement all at the same time, right? There was just a lot of fear and a lot of our industry, in my opinion, really had to make a decision. Do they want to do this or do they not? Right? And so that crossroad was hard.

because so many industries did not have to make that choice right away. And we did. And I think that the employees who were back and working hard and together safely really pulled us together. I can’t explain it in words. It was maybe more of a feeling, but just that team feeling and that camaraderie that everybody had with each other was very strong. And we came out of it.

a better team. But we also brought a few people in during that time that had left their cities. One of our servers, he came from New York and he’s just an incredible part of our team. He does restaurant openings. He’s a song by trade. He’s such a wine lover and advocate, but we would have never met him had his city not completely shut down. there are

And there’s another story of an employee from Chicago, but it just created such a different expectation and trust. On the flip side, they wanted to trust us that we were going to protect them, right? So that we weren’t going to, you know, open the flood gates, that we were going to listen to the direction and follow it and do our best. But it just, created a different layer of trust between us.

Anthony Codispoti (18:39)
Do you think it was just the fact that you all went through something incredibly difficult together? of, ⁓ you know, almost like a retreat that forces people into these kinds of situations to stress them out and that creates that stronger bond.

Kim (18:50)
Yeah.

I think that that is part of it. And I think the other part that was kind of weird at the time is we were an essential worker. And we very much felt that way, that we had an ability to provide something, you know, as stores or other places were running out of food or whatever was happening. You know, we were in this category with nurses and police officers and in this important field.

Now we’re not here saving lives every day and I don’t want to, I just want to serve a great dinner and pick a nice bottle of wine, help the team. But it also kept us in a really relevant category. And I don’t know if everybody always understood or felt that way, if that makes sense. You know, there’s always that feeling of, ⁓ you’re in restaurants, you know, is that your career? it? Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (19:53)
Almost like it’s, we don’t, like, that’s, ⁓

extra. Like, that’s a nice to have, not a must have.

Kim (19:58)
Yeah,

sure. And it became more real, I guess I would say. I remember my mom saying to me one day, she said, the people are so lucky to have you and have you go and open and get food, you know, because we were in here butchering steaks and selling them from day one, even if it was just to go just to get food.

you know, out in the community. And of course it’s a business, right? But this is our city and these are our people. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (20:31)
Sure. Yeah,

you feel a sense of responsibility. It’s your community, your friends, your family, your neighbors. You talked about this before, but you’ve had a hand in launching a lot of new locations for different restaurants you’ve been involved with. What strategies do you think are really important for generating excitement and success when you’re

Kim (20:35)
Sure.

Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (20:56)
opening a new location or maybe just introducing a new menu at an existing location.

Kim (21:02)
I think you have to have diversity. I think that you have to reach out to different people that are attracted to what you do for different reasons, whether that’s menu diversity, team diversity, you’re not going to include people if they don’t feel like they already have a seat at the table. So seeking that out ⁓ at the front, I guess by that I mean,

employees, I don’t want everybody to be alike. want personalities and ideas and they’re all relevant. We may not all want to set the table the same way, right? But everybody respects each other and finding a group of people that can come together or create a menu or put that to life is awesome. But their buzz and their excitement

It feeds into the guest. Absolutely. I mean, we opened four Chipotle’s in a row back, I want to say in 2002 or three in each one I opened, we beat the last one. And I think it’s because we just kept getting better with our team. And I remember our SVP Matt would walk in with exactly the coffee I liked. And he was always so awesome at reminding me.

you take care of everyone else, I’m going to take care of you. Right. So it’s just one of those things that you create that energy and you and I, we both know it. You walk into a business and you see, you know, deflated, frustrated employees. It’s not exciting. And not every day is rainbow and sunshine, but we all want to enjoy what we do. We want to have fun when we’re here, leave it at the door. You know, there’s

Cool people coming in here with great stories that we don’t know yet, so find them out.

Anthony Codispoti (23:02)
So what’s so interesting about your answer there, Kim, is I was expecting ⁓ some talk about the marketing aspect. Here’s how we promote it. Here’s how we get the word out. We run these ads here. We do this community event there. And I wonder, maybe that’s just sort of not traditionally been your role, or maybe it has been part of your responsibility, but it’s even more telling that you focused your answer on what’s going on inside the four walls.

how it is that you’re building, motivating that team, taking care of them, getting them excited, getting them the tools that they need to be successful.

Kim (23:32)
Sure.

Our team as a whole does marketing and outreach. And without them, I’m just one person. My salesperson is one person with my service team. You know, we’re, we’re 60. That that’s, there’s a lot in that and they have to share that excitement. They have to want that with you. You know, it’s, like watching the same ad over and over and you think to yourself, I’ve never used that company. Well,

If 20 people are talking about it in different ways or through word of mouth or on a post or various ways, it’s going to create a little bit more excitement. Like, you know what? They had a great time. They can’t stop talking about it, but that is going to motivate you to go more than you seeing something on paper. think that, I think that getting information out on events or, you know,

things that matter to your restaurant at that time are completely relevant. But the team being excited about it, it’s completely different.

Anthony Codispoti (24:45)
Now, tell me what a family meal is in the context of your team and why it’s so important to you.

Kim (24:55)
So we do family meal every day at the restaurant. So midday, right? So you can stay after lunch or you can come in before your dinner. And I just think it’s a way to nourish each other. We have a couple of guys, well, Martha does it one day a week, but the guys, really enjoy it and they actually will look and see who’s working. know, these two people don’t eat pork. This person’s vegetarian and they take pride in it.

And I think that it’s just a nice way to do something nice for the team and whether they come in, you know, and sit together or they come in just to have something before the shift starts. think it’s just a way to show that we’re committed to them and that the team wants to take care of each other, honestly.

Anthony Codispoti (25:47)
which I’m gonna guess spills over in exactly the way that you guys treat your guests too, right? Noticing with your regulars or even somebody new comes in, just noticing something that’s going on in that moment. What can you do to sort of elevate their dining experience? I’m sure that you have ⁓ a long list of examples. Could you pull maybe one or two?

Kim (25:53)
Sure.

Anthony Codispoti (26:12)
of a way that you or your team are able to really take somebody’s dining experience and take it to another level just by giving attention to some of those details.

Kim (26:22)
think that it’s more than when they’re just with us. You know, there’s a story of a regular who comes in often and when he travels, he’ll let me know where he’s going so I can make him a reservation and I do. But he’s always greeted with a crushed ice Kettle One Martini because that’s what he drinks. And it’s just that it’s the little things like that. I can tell you big stories.

I can tell you engagement stories and photos and team. have team members that will cut flowers out of their garden to put on the table and make it special because they’re regular, you know, as a new mom or they’re coming in for a girl’s lunch. I mean, there’s so many incredible stories, but what blows me away every day is sometimes it’s the little things. They really matter. And I think that.

In life in general, we forget that sometimes. So when we’re here, it’s nice. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (27:22)
Attention to detail. Yeah,

the small things do mean a lot. But go ahead, give us one big example, because those are fun to hear too.

Kim (27:29)
I would say,

well, we had a proposal and again, this was COVID timeframe. So it was after COVID and everything had been pushed back. you know, there’s this defeated bride and the family and they really were trying to make the most of it. I think everybody was, and he had really gone to every level and

We worked with him. We got a musician to come in and serenade her in the room so that she could just have this out of world experience. And I remember she just couldn’t stop crying, right? Because finally something was great. But I remember all of us at the time were crying because we were so excited for her. You know, she’s young. I’ll cry talking about it. But she’s young and this is the biggest day of her life. And

He found a way, so he just started over. He proposed all over again. He made it super special. And they did their rehearsal dinner here. They had a beautiful wedding. They’ve been married now four years. But it’s cool because working with people to do something huge to change their life, it sticks with you forever. You know, they come in, they become part of the family.

Anthony Codispoti (28:52)
Yeah, chills from that story. Thank you for sharing it. It’s clear that mentorship is really important to you. You had a really great mentor yourself coming up through the ranks. ⁓ How is it that you’re able to deliver mentorship? Can you maybe pull a specific example of the time that you’ve mentored one of your team members and how you saw it have a positive impact on them?

Kim (29:19)
I think that mentorship is what it’s all about. I truly do. think that if there isn’t somebody to help you along the way, even if it’s for a period of time, that you need to find somebody. So if you haven’t found that person, and that person can change. You know, I talked about mine. I have others. But I think for me, I can talk about people I’ve helped become managers. I can talk about peers that are partners that I’ve helped through.

positive and negative situations. I can talk about relationships with my bosses, but I’ll tell you the most important one was an hourly employee that worked for us about 10 years ago. And she was really struggling in her personal life. She was very kind and she was going to school for her master. She’s very intelligent, but she just could not hold it together. She couldn’t. And all of the managers, the team,

Everybody was just over it. When are we going to get rid of her? This has to stop. And she would come in one day and everything was awesome. And the next day it was a mess. And I remembered telling my boss, I wasn’t promoted yet. So it had to have been 13 years ago. Let’s go back further. And I said, I want her to be my one-on-one until she gets better. And I’m going to work on it every week.

And I did, and I met with her every week. And my only goal was for her to make it. And she did. And she turned that corner and she became incredible because she already was, but nobody believed in her. All she was hearing is what she was doing wrong. Right. And so shifting it and looking at her situation different than everybody else made such a difference.

To this day, when we see each other, we don’t talk often. She’s thriving. She’s got her master’s degree. She’s a lawyer. She’s very successful. But her situation to me was really important because somebody, she came here for a reason and we hired her for a reason. We owed her the respect to try to make that great, right? That’s how I felt. And I think that sometimes it’s just easy to dismiss people or walk away.

I think that sometimes we have to lean into it. I have a manager right now. remember two, three years ago before she became a manager talking about her position. She was an hourly hostess and she was incredible. And she was about to embark on buying a home by herself with her children, right? So looking at this new life that

was going to be real for her. And I remember her looking at me saying, I need more skills. I need to know how to do things. And I said, okay, then we’re going to do it all, top to bottom, every position until you understand every role. And she did, and she took it serious. She worked in the kitchen. She did everything and she loves it, but she’s a dining room manager. She’s passionate. She’s caring, but

I felt like in that moment, that was an honest conversation saying, I’m walking in and doing great at the same thing every day. I don’t know what I don’t know. And I thought, I owe you that respect. You’ve been here so long. You’ve never wanted to, but you do today. And because you do today, we’re going to do it. Right. And so I think that sometimes the time’s right and sometimes it’s not. And so when you can be a mentor, when it’s important.

It matters and not everybody wants to be mentored every day. They don’t want a story every day. They don’t want you telling them, you know, all the reasons they can do it. They might not want it that day.

Anthony Codispoti (33:22)
So I want to go back to the woman that you made sort of your mission. Hey, I want this to be my one-on-one every week. What were you doing in those weekly meetings with her to help her bridge from where she was to where she ended up going?

Kim (33:28)
Sure.

We started out by writing down what she was doing well and what she wasn’t. The number one component that we had to get through was her seeing what we saw. You know, it’s like that story, I tell it all the time, but I’ll say it in summary. If you have a tale, right? If someone says, hey, Anthony, you have a tale, you’re gonna be like, no, I don’t. My boss would always…

Bart would always tell me this story. But if you go upstairs and your family tells you, and then you leave the office and you’re at the coffee shop and everybody’s looking at you, at some point you have to realize you might have a tail and maybe you can’t see it, but everybody else does, right? So there’s just that reality of how do we bridge what we see and what you see.

And how do we get on the same page? And I think in our industry, we feel like in restaurants, there’s so much, you know, outside noise because we’re dealing with the general public that what they say or what we see isn’t always valid. can be dismissed versus that’s valid feedback. Thank you. I think that ⁓ we’re in this online social media world where we are given so much information.

that we don’t know what to accept as reality or just a story. And so for her, it was sitting down and saying, what do we need to do to do X, Y, Z, right? Don’t make this bigger than dinner. And we just focused on that. We focused on what she needed to do here because outside of work was mayhem and it was just spilling in. So we had to…

Anthony Codispoti (35:31)
Mm.

Kim (35:33)
really work on separating it.

Anthony Codispoti (35:36)
sounds like there was at least a fair bit of positive affirmations as well. So not just raining down on the things that needed work on, but hey, let’s shine a light on some of the things that you’re doing well too, because everybody needs that confidence boost when they’re going through something.

Kim (35:41)
Sure, absolutely.

Well, and finding peers that could mentor her and she could work with was really helpful also surrounding her by people that were, you know, more ⁓ pillars of the restaurant. So scheduling her on shifts where we knew she would be supported and just surrounding her with people a little more intentionally or putting her on a large table with, you know, a trainer or somebody who had more.

skill or ability at certain things helped her a lot.

Anthony Codispoti (36:23)
Hmm. Kim, tell us about the child advocacy work that you do.

Kim (36:29)
So I think that years ago, I realized that we all have the ability to impact our community. And through lots of life, right, you learn that sometimes you need somebody there to say, hey, this is what this child’s trying to say. This is what they need. And…

I started CASA work and I remember even my husband went to my graduation because, so CASA is court appointed, court appointed special advocate. So it’s a liaison between a child that’s been taken from their home for abuse or neglect and the court. So it’s the person that meets with the child and

Anthony Codispoti (36:59)
Sorry, what is CASA work? You’ll need to unlock your iPhone first.

Kim (37:22)
make sure they have dental, books, clothes, anything they need because they don’t have parents at that time. And it was just, I don’t know, it pulled to me because of life and people and what it was, but I felt like it’s such a way to help, especially a voiceless child in a big courtroom who needs someone to say,

I know that’s what you’re thinking and that’s what you’re thinking, but here’s what we are thinking. And it was really impactful. And honestly, I would say the social workers and the judges I worked with showed me how important that role was. I felt like I made a personal impact on each child.

Anthony Codispoti (38:13)
How many children do you think you’ve worked with? Any idea?

Kim (38:17)
So my first family ⁓ was two, the second was five, and then I had three others. So I would be a total of about 15.

Anthony Codispoti (38:27)
Is this work that you continue today or is this a previous season of life?

Kim (38:35)
It’s a previous season. I’ll definitely get back into it. I left it when I had gotten promoted here. And so I moved on to doing some different things, but I’ve encouraged, I probably have five or six friends that do it. And I kind of stay close to them as well as some of these girls that I met in the past. So, you know, once they leave the system, you have to remember, or at least I remember that

They don’t, you know, their parent is the judge and then they venture off and some of them are just alone. It’s just them. So some of them are mothers now too. And some it’s gone really great and some it has not, but you know, just to have a person if they need to talk.

Anthony Codispoti (39:24)
That’s really kind of you. Let’s shift gears into talking about a serious challenge, Kim, that you’ve overcome in your life, whether it’s personal or professional. How did you get through it and what did you learn in that process?

Kim (39:39)
You know, ⁓ I look back and there’s always this one pivotal time in my life and maybe this is why I did CASA work, but I’m very close with my parents. And when I was young, my parents divorced and this was in the generation of divorce was not extremely common. Little did we know it was going to be, you know, everywhere.

We were kind of the first. My mom comes from a big family. She was the youngest. I was the youngest. And so here my stay at home mom is with my dad. And they don’t know what to do. They’ve been together since high school. They’ve had kids, you know, they’re in their mid twenties and they made what I considered to be a huge mistake by asking each of us where we wanted to go.

And so I went with my mom and my sister and brother went with my dad and it was just a horrible decision. And I don’t think, sorry, mom, when you listen to this, you already know, but in dad too, I don’t think they knew what they were doing because nobody was giving them the advice. Nobody was talking to the kids. They were so wrapped up in the moment that nobody was kind of taking a step back. But fast forward.

years later, my parents remarried each other and they have a great marriage and you know, they, I don’t know what they would do without each other. My dad has stage four cancer. She takes great care of him. I mean, they, they’re just great, but they had to go through this hard time, right? And we went through this hard time and I just have a very strong feeling that everybody deserves a second chance.

You can come back from things, you can make it better, but you have to have the tools to do it, right? You have to work hard towards it. have to mend relationships and you know, it was a lot, but I look at everybody, my team, guests, and I think you don’t know their story. You don’t know what they’ve been through. You don’t know, you know, if they have a roof over their head or…

If they’re bouncing from apartment to apartment with a mom who’s never worked and you’re sharing a bed or a couch at a friend’s house, you you’re just figuring out ways to survive, right? But ⁓ it also can teach you to thrive. It can teach you a difference or to look in the mirror and say, Hey, I don’t want that for myself. So what can I do to impact others? How can I help others have what they need?

to thrive, right? You just need somebody to kind of point you in that direction. And luckily I had some people who did. I had some mentors and hopefully I can mentor others and not all of them will be extreme or bad situations. Maybe it’s getting their master’s degree or doing something awesome, but sometimes you just need somebody to say, Hey, you left there because of this, but you deserve a second chance. Let’s focus on it. Let’s, you know,

overcome it and be great.

Anthony Codispoti (43:08)
Wow, that’s quite a story. I appreciate you sharing that, Kim. I’m curious as you were going through that, at what point did your parents remarry each other? How much longer down the road was that?

Kim (43:21)
About eight years. It’s pretty significant time. So it ended in elementary school, which I kind of thought that, you we didn’t have two pennies to rub together. were, you know, getting a Christmas tree donated from the neighbor, right? So there was hard times, but then they got back together, middle school, high school. So a lot of

Anthony Codispoti (43:23)
Okay. ⁓

Kim (43:48)
important years had happened during that time. Yeah. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (43:51)
a lot of your formative years, you were going through a lot of

missing your dad, missing your siblings, struggling financially. And it sounds like it puts you in this mindset of being able to understand and appreciate hard times other people are going through. And you put it really well, and you don’t always know when somebody is going through a hard thing, right? You’ve got a lot of coworkers, a lot of people showing up. Maybe they’re showing up late. Maybe they’re showing up in a bad mood.

Kim (44:07)
Sure.

Anthony Codispoti (44:19)
You don’t know what it is that they were walking through that day. You don’t know what’s going on in their life. by giving them some grace and support, ⁓ think probably a lot of people who look back at their time working with you and with gratitude because of the kind way in which you approach them.

Kim (44:41)
And I think you have to be careful with it. I think you have to be honest with the conversation of here’s the expectation, right? We still have a business, but you’re still a human being. And we can’t forget that when we deal with people, that we’re dealing with people.

Anthony Codispoti (45:00)
Do you ever find yourself getting involved or wanting to get involved with the struggles that are going on outside of the restaurant? Somebody has a particular situation in their home life that, you know, it’s hard to hear about. But is that something where you feel like it’s stepping over the lines to help there? You kind of keep to your domain inside the four walls?

Kim (45:26)
I am very resourceful, right? And I think that honestly, being a part of the Missouri Restaurant Association or the Kansas City Association, I’ve learned, yes, of course I want to help and I want to give resources. As a company, we have something called Daze, which is darting at your service. And it’s a book of resources for our team, whether it’s bankruptcy, divorce, depression,

text, phone calls, luckily for me, we have that in place so that I don’t have to get too personally. Of course, my team is going to call me at 11 at night in tears because something’s going on and they trust me and they are, I’m the first person they thought of to call. Yes, I’m going to take that call, but I feel grateful that I can help them find the tools they need. And sometimes it’s the opposite. They don’t want me to know.

because they respect me so much or they see how hard we’re all working and they feel like that’s a distraction or they feel bad. And so sometimes having those tools helps to say, hey team, maybe you don’t wanna call me and maybe you don’t wanna talk today, but here’s all these things. And we celebrate together, right? Weddings, babies, all of that, but.

When you’re going through something hard, you have to have a way to get it off your chest. There’s no, there’s nobody listening to this or in this restaurant or eating here that doesn’t have something going on that we can’t see. You know, and I feel that way with guests, know, employee might say, ⁓ this table, Kim, what is going on? I said, we don’t know. They may have put their dog down today. They may like, let’s give them the benefit.

start service, let’s get some food in their belly, let’s give them a toast, let’s see what they need. And it’s interesting to see it shift, right? To watch them kind of release that stress over time. Because people walk in here with, know, burdens, business acquisitions, know, important things.

Anthony Codispoti (47:32)
Hmm.

You you hit on something important there that when you’re going through something hard, you need a way to get it off your chest, right? You need somebody that you trust that you can open up to and get support from. When you were going through that really hard time of your parents splitting up, you your mom is obviously, you know, having her own hurt and pain and trying to navigate the world. Where did you go for support? Who was there for you during that difficult time?

Kim (48:11)
Really, nobody, not a lot of people. So my dad’s mom, who was kind of our pillar, had passed. And I think that’s when everything fell apart. I do think that’s why I became who I was. I became that middle person in so much of life of saying, OK, there has to be somebody looking at things rational, because it’s not all this big. And there was definitely people along the road who kind of leaned in.

But I’ll tell you the people who pulled me out of not knowing what to do are the mentors I still have that said, hey, you can do this, you can do this, you can do that. And ⁓ I don’t think I thought of that, right? Because I was so busy figuring out life. My husband and I bought our first house when we were 18. When I started working when I was 14, I just wanted a home. I wanted somewhere to go.

to say that was my home, right? That’s it, that’s all I wanted. So if that meant two jobs, three jobs, whatever I had to do, I was gonna have a home and that was gonna be it, right? So you think about those days and how important it was, but then you needed people there to say, okay, you’ve been doing this, have you thought about that? Because I hadn’t, I had not thought about those things. I just knew I had to work.

And I know I wanted to work with great people, right? Like who I was in my core stayed the same, but I was lucky to find people to pull pieces out, which was awesome.

Anthony Codispoti (49:50)
What’s your superpower, Kim?

Kim (49:53)
well, I’m calm. I just think that I don’t know if it’s the empathy I have for people, you that I can feel highs and lows so much, I just don’t let things impact me greatly. I just don’t think that it’s rational. You know, I think that we’re going to go through good, we’re going to go through bad. You’re allowed to feel and

And I let those around me do that. But ⁓ at the end of the day, just think that giving back is who you are. What you give back to your community and the people around you are having, you know, safety. You can work for me and have a great job or you can come to my house. You know, if you’re my neighbor’s kids and have breakfast, you’re always safe. You know, it’s always going to be calm. I’m always going to.

earn your trust based on what I believe, right? So there’s, I think something to be said for that when you’re appreciative every day of who you’re surrounded by. I mean, I think it’s part being humble, but also realizing sometimes people just need consistency and safety and structure.

Anthony Codispoti (51:19)
Yeah, there’s a lot of.

Kim (51:20)
and a nice steak.

But it sounds silly, but it’s true. I mean, it’s just fun.

Anthony Codispoti (51:29)
Comfort food at its best, huh?

Kim (51:30)
Yeah.

I love to cook. Yeah. I love and I pretty much only cook comfort food. So maybe that that’s it.

Anthony Codispoti (51:39)
Kim, I’ve just got one more question for you, but before I ask it, I want to do a few things. Anyone who wants to get in touch with Kim directly, you can find her on LinkedIn. It’s Kim Halloran, H-A-L-L-O-R-A-N. Search for Kim Halloran in the capital, Grill has an E on the end of it, folks. We’ll have links in the show notes, but in case you’re listening. And you can also find the brand at www.thecapitalgrill.com. Again, Grill with an E on the…

on end of it, thecapitalgrill.com. And as a reminder, if you want to get more employees access to benefits that won’t hurt them financially and carries a financial upside for your company, reach out to addbackbenefits.com. Finally, if you take just a moment to leave us a comment or review on your favorite podcast app, we will be forever grateful. So last question for you, Kim, as we look to the future, a year from now, you and I reconnect and you are celebrating something big.

What’s that big thing you hope to be celebrating one year from today?

Kim (52:43)
Well, a year from today, I’ll be state president for the Missouri Restaurant Association. So I’ll have a chance to give back to this great industry that’s given me so much. And ⁓ I’m so appreciative. love, I love using my free time to give back to students and managers and peers alike. But I also hope to have people working under me that are building new lives for themselves.

setting up goals and becoming restaurant managers and growing their career, as well as the managers that we have helping them to become managing partners and run their own restaurants and, you know, plan for their next steps. think that opportunity is incredible in anything that we’re doing. So that’s what I hope that everybody’s moved forward, including myself.

Anthony Codispoti (53:41)
Kim Halloran from the Capitol Grill. I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us today. I really appreciate it.

Kim (53:48)
It was great. appreciate you very much and it was nice to see you on the screen, but anytime you’re in Kansas City, I’d love to have you in.

Anthony Codispoti (53:57)
I appreciate that. I’m going to put that on my bucket list. Folks, that’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.

Kim (54:01)
Perfect.