Welcome to Morsels, your go-to newsletter from MAJC✨, breaking down hospitality insights into bite-sized chunks.
This week lands differently for everyone. Some of you are in a rare pause. Some are still deep in service mode. Some are finally coming up for air after weeks of pressure. Wherever you are today, this issue is designed to meet you there.
Instead of adding noise, this Morsels is about setting yourself up for steadiness. Fewer reactive decisions. Clearer expectations. Systems that support you and your team when the year gets busy again.
Here is what we are listening to, watching, reading, and using this week.
🎧 LISTEN: Colin Lynch on Building Loyal Teams That Last
Chef and restaurateur Colin Lynch has spent two decades building restaurants in Boston that prioritize fit, trust, and long-term team development. In this conversation, he breaks down what actually keeps teams together.
Takeaways:
- Hire for personality and values. Skills can be taught
- Build loyalty through trust, opportunity, and long-term relationships
- Teach financial literacy so teams understand the business they are helping build
📹 WATCH: Ari Weinzweig on Using Visioning to Imagine a Better Future
When the future feels unclear, many leaders default to reacting instead of deciding. In this episode, Zingerman’s co-founder and longtime hospitality leader Ari Weinzweig shares his Hot Pen visioning technique, a simple writing practice designed to help hospitality leaders access clarity, direction, and long-term intent.
Takeaways:
- Reveal true intentions through unfiltered expression
- Use free writing to tap into subconscious vision
- Write continuously to bypass overthinking
📖 READ: The 2026 Restaurant Playbook
The start of a new year creates a rare pause. Before things speed up, there is a chance to decide how your business will actually run. This new article breaks down the systems, standards, and leadership habits that reduce chaos, protect margins, and make the rest of the year easier to manage. Built from dozens of operator conversations, it is grounded in what actually works in the real world.
Takeaways:
- Culture is built through systems people can rely on
- Financial systems should surface problems early, not explain them later
- Clear operations reduce dependency on any one person
✏️ USE: Systems Documentation Starter Pack
If the new year always feels chaotic by March, the issue is rarely effort. It is missing structure. This starter pack helps you document the systems that create consistency across shifts and units. Use this template to set your systems now so they hold up all year.
Use it to:
- Lock in standards before pressure builds
- Capture how work actually gets done
- Train new hires faster and more consistently
Cheers,
Your Friends at MAJC
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