Lessons from Dime Store co-owners Larry Kahn and Ann-Marie Murphy, as featured in Authority Magazine
Running a restaurant is a rollercoaster, and nobody tells you how many loops there are until you’re upside down mid-shift with a broken dishwasher and 15 tickets in the window. In a recent interview with Authority Magazine, Dime Store co-owners Larry Kahn and Ann-Marie Murphy (that’s us) shared some of the biggest lessons we’ve learned since jumping into the business back in 2014.
You can read the full interview here, or stick around for the highlights.
5 Things We Wish Someone Told Us Before Opening a Restaurant:
1. Culture is everything.
You can’t fake a good team. From the beginning, we knew that how we treated people—our staff, our vendors, our guests—was going to be the heartbeat of Dime Store. Some of our team members have been with us for a decade, and that loyalty means more than any award.
2. Location matters.
We opened in downtown Detroit before it was “cool” again. The rent felt outrageous at the time, but we had faith in the city. That bet paid off. When we opened our second location in Rochester Hills, we took the same approach—believe in the people and build something worth showing up for.
3. Every restaurant is a snowflake.
Even two locations with the same name aren’t really the same. Different guests, different challenges, different vibe. There’s no universal blueprint. What works in one spot might totally flop in another.
4. Make decisions, then move on
You don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to act. Trust your partners, lean into each other’s strengths, and stop staring at the roast—just take it out of the oven already.
5. Treat people right.
We said it before and we’ll say it again. Being honest, fair and decent with everyone you work with builds the kind of relationships that keep you going when things get hard. And they will.
Bonus: Be flexible.
Because something will go wrong. Probably today. Being able to pivot without panic is a skill you either develop or regret not having.
For the full interview—including stories about Turducken confidence, a holiday party that got weird fast, and how our team helps keep us sane—click here to read it.
