Matty O'Reilly

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For many years, I managed restaurants for other people. After successfully opening 11 restaurants, I knew I was ready to take the next step. Today, I own and operate my own restaurants and work a lot less and make a lot more money.

I am the owner of 318 Café in Excelsior, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis), and the Republic restaurant in Minneapolis. Between the two restaurants, we have a total of 75 employees and generate almost $3 million annually in revenue.

Working for myself has many benefits. I make a good living and have a perfect work/family/life balance.

Here’s a bit of what we can cover in our PivotPlanet session(s):
• How to trust and follow your vision.
• How to empower employees so they believe in you and your business.
• How to balance your work and personal life – this is really important.
• How to be unafraid of trying something new and different – be creative.
• How to be patient - good ideas take time to mature.
• And anything else you want to ask about the profession I love.

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I have been working in restaurants since I was 16 years old. Before opening my own restaurants, I worked with many different types and sizes of restaurants. My area of expertise is implementing new concepts that breathe life into existing or old places.

I've learned a lot about what to do and what not to do in the restaurant business. Most of my what-not-to-do moments were all about partnership mistakes and administrative issues.

I have also realized the creative side of the business is my forte and what I really like to do. So, I have learned to balance by likes and dislikes to be successful in working for myself.

I get most excited about the creative freedom my work provides and being able to make changes immediately when something really needs to change.

I've won some "best of...", awards, and I was nominated for my college's "entrepreneur of the year" award. However, my biggest feel-good moments are when I over hear people talk about or compliment my restaurants in random places (i.e. grocery stores, etc.). They don't know who I am, and they're just talking about how good the restaurant was or how good a particular this dish was. I feel like the classic “fly on the wall”, and it feels great!