EPISODE 52

Exploring Alternative Income Streams For Restaurants

Listen: ON SPOTIFY

Watch: ON YOUTUBE

Running a restaurant is already a tough way to make a living. Margins are tight, hours are long, and the work never stops. So it’s no surprise that plenty of operators look for side hustles—little ways to bring in extra cash outside the four walls of their dining room. But here’s the catch: the wrong side hustle can cost you more than it makes.

In this episode, the crew sits down to chew on what “alternative income streams” really mean for restaurants. Weddings and functions sound tempting, but closing your doors for private events can quietly drive your regulars away.

Merch can work, but only when it fits the story—no one wants a fine-dining stubby cooler, but for a beachside dumpling joint, it makes perfect sense. Out-catering? It’ll stretch your team thin and test your ability to deliver your food and service without the tools of your own kitchen. Festivals and street parties? They won’t make you rich, but they can keep you stitched into the fabric of your community.

What comes through is a simple but hard-earned lesson: protect the core. Your restaurant is the engine that pays the bills, and every side hustle should serve that, not distract from it. Do the math, weigh the costs, and ask yourself if it strengthens your brand and your relationship with your customers. If it doesn’t, walk away. That doesn’t mean there’s no upside. Done right, these projects can become powerful marketing—moments where people taste your food in a paddock, wear your shirt down the street, or tell their friends about the time they shared a free glass of wine you poured them just because.

Those moments build a kind of loyalty no ad can buy. This episode is full of stories from the trenches—events that went sideways in summer storms, merch experiments that actually hit, and the reality of trying to be everywhere at once.

It’s honest, it’s blunt, and it’s a reminder that the best side hustle for any restaurant is still doing the main job well, every single day.