We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mark Moeller. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mark below.

Mark, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I grew up in hospitality, not in the truest sense of being in a restaurant working at 8 years old but at home. My parents often had parties or we would attend them in NYC, filled with family and friends and everyone treated one another terrifically. We were always treated as a guest and returned the treatment when people came to our home. I was taught at a young age that when people come to see you, you pay attention to them, you get them what they need (they shouldn’t lift a finger) and you make them so happy that they have the best experience. My parents taught us that strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet. Treat them you would a guest in your own home and they will feel amazing and looking for the time they can return.

I remember back as early as age 5 this saying, mantra if you will, that my Mom instilled in myself and my siblings – be happy, healthy and terrific. We found that in every birthday card, Christmas card and on notes in our school lunches as well as in daily conversation.

What she was telling us is that in order to be the best we could be, to have a direction we needed to be happy. Now happy has different meanings to different people but when it came to “work”, I knew that if I didn’t do something I was passionate about, I could never be happy. For me, going into the hospitality industry was natural and fulfilling. I have been in the restaurant business for 42 years and I haven’t worked a day in 37. I found my calling, my passion and I have been happy in every step along this journey I am on.

Being happy has led me to be healthy. I am so focused on eating right and putting myself in the best situations so that I can stay energized physically, mentally and spiritually. I have this uncanny way of cutting through the BS to find the root cause of something and I don’t stop until I find a solution. My mind is clear because of what I put into my body and this is especially important for me as many that I interact with, find this industry stressful. I need to be able to provide direction and solutions quickly and efficiently, if I cannot then I become obsolete.

Being happy and healthy enables me to be terrific, terrific not only in work but also at home. I have the most driven and incredible wife, six (6) amazing children and one grandson. I strive to be present for everyone I meet and am with on a daily basis. I never lose sight of my needs but by listening intently, I am able to delivers on what others need. This provides the foundation of meeting expectations others have and to be fair, gives me the opportunity to exceed what they might expect. My father was a devout Catholic who lived by the Golden Rule, I have upgraded that and I follow the Double Platinum rule – treat others in a way they don’t even realize they want to be treated.

Mark, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started in the restaurant business when I was 15 years old and all because of my Mom. Mom was a Director of Housekeeping at a local hotel and they needed a busboy one Saturday night. On the morning in question, she called my home and told me to have my father take me to the mall to buy a white shirt, black tie and black belt. she continued with – wear your black pants, your black socks and black shoes. Be here at four o’clock.”

I was like, I can’t Mom, I have a party to go to tonight, remember?’ She said, ‘Did you hear me ask you?’” Then repeated the above and thus I officially started my life in hospitality.

Fast forward to 2025, I own two business centered around hospitality – The Recipe of Success and The Restaurant COO. At The Recipe of Success, starting, growing, and rescuing restaurants is at the core of what we do. The Restaurant COO is very similar as far as core competencies. Instead of consulting, we join a company as a fractional COO to provide C-level support and guidance to growth minded hospitality concepts.

Regardless of where someone is in their journey, we are here to scale their business into profitability by smoothing operations, controlling costs, and of course designing a socially shared food experience.

We have worked with everyone from the person just starting out to national chains to Dylan’s Candy Bar and Ralph Lauren’s Rugby brand. Our passion and desire is a little “selfish”, we want to work with as many concepts as we can, all over the country, so that we always have a great place to eat, regardless of where we are. But truthfully, we love working along side of teams to aid in their success, however success is defined to them.

At The Recipe of Success, we provide expert consulting services tailored to your specific needs. Since 2000, The Recipe of Success has a legacy of success “menu” of over 400 major clients, we have the experience and expertise to help you achieve your restaurant dreams.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My integrity has helped me build my reputation in the restaurant & hospitality space. I am direct, honest, straightforward with one main goal in life – help others help themselves while minimizing mistakes and negativity.

A restaurant is a business and must be managed as such, but it is focused on hospitality. Those that we serve expect, even demand, instant gratification. We have little room to make mistakes and more importantly responding to them with ego. Once we do not listen, really listen to what someone is sharing with is, that is the beginning of the end. Steven Covey said it best “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

When we respond with an answer ready to go, most likely it is not the right answer. That’s because we haven’t been listening to what our guests is saying, we are stressed and frustrated so we respond in a way that blames others. By not listening, we do not take responsibility or be accountable to those in front of us. A guest, our spouse, friends and children just want to be heard and understood. Once we do that, we can turn a negative experience into a positive one in a blink of an eye.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Listen, understand and manage with empathy. It is that simple.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://recipeofsuccess.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recipe_of_success/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRecipeofSuccess
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therecipeofsuccess/