Webinar/Podcast
Kyle Gardner with Currito and CityBird
Welcome to the Corner Booth!
Join host Chris Tripoli and guests for a podcast for anyone who is starting a restaurant business, growing an independent restaurant business, or dreaming about starting an independent restaurant business.
Learn from successful restaurateurs who share their stories WHY they got into the business and HOW they created and built their winning concepts.
Corner Booth is a production of RestaurantOwner.com. So grab your favorite beverage, have a seat, and listen in!
Kyle Gardner has spent the past 16 years growing with Currito, rising from assistant general manager to Vice President of Operations for Thunderdome Restaurant Group's fast-casual brands, Currito and CityBird. Along the way, he's gained a front-row view of what it takes to build strong restaurant teams, develop future leaders, and support growth across multiple locations. In this episode, he shares the lessons he's learned about leadership development and why investing in people remains one of the most important responsibilities of any operator.
One of the biggest challenges growing restaurants face is building a reliable leadership pipeline without losing the culture that made the business successful in the first place. Gardner explains how his team approaches promote from within opportunities, why they restructured the assistant general manager role, and how exposing rising leaders to different stores and teams helps prepare them for greater responsibility. The conversation offers a practical look at developing managers before they reach the general manager level instead of waiting until a position opens.
The discussion also explores the difference between managing tasks and leading people. Gardner shares why consistent coaching, structured management training systems, and ongoing training and development have become central to the company's success. For operators focused on employee development, stronger manager retention, and creating sustainable growth, this episode provides an honest look at the systems and leadership habits that help teams perform at a higher level.
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Key Takeaways
Create a structured path for internal advancement - Currito and CityBird emphasize promote from within opportunities by giving team members a defined progression from crew positions to shift leader, AGM, and GM roles, supporting long-term employee development.
Expose future leaders to multiple environments - Moving AGMs across locations helps strengthen the leadership pipeline, reduces reliance on a single manager for development, and prepares candidates to lead unfamiliar teams.
Treat training as a continuous process, not an event - Ongoing coaching, daily teaching moments, and formal management training systems help reinforce skills long after onboarding is complete.
Lead through presence and relationships - Gardner believes strong leadership development requires regular store visits, personal connections with team members, and genuine interest in employees' career goals.
Build accountability with transparency and ownership - Sharing financial results, reviewing performance metrics, and linking compensation to profitability encourages managers to think like business leaders while improving manager retention and engagement.
