R365's David Mortensen Discusses the Joys of Problem Solving in Restaurants

Tell us about your time working in a restaurant. 

I first worked as a cook at Mazzio’s Pizza in Austin for two years. This job taught me how to be the best, most efficient cook on the block and really helped me perfect those skills. This was also my first time seeing inventory management in action and how important it was. 

From there, I entered one of the most formative chapters of my career at Johnny Carino’s. I started there as a dishwasher and, over the course of almost nine years, I worked my way up the ladder to eventually become a general manager. This job taught me so much throughout my journey as an entry-level-hourly-employee-turned-manager, including the ability to turn CoGS into a craft. So much of the knowledge I carry with me and still use to this day is a testament to the management at this restaurant. One of my proudest accomplishments remains the work, commitment, and tenure I gave to this company! 

Following Johnny Carino’s, I took on a position as a chef at Silver and Stone for about eight months. This was the first time I officially called myself a chef, a change that took place during my stint at Johnny Carino’s. There, I realized that the amount of cooking I had done over the last near-decade was enough to put me ahead of any run-of-the-mill culinary school graduate, which was a proud realization for me. I did not attend school to learn how to cook, prepare menus, or run a successful restaurant – I learned on the job and I was able to really come into my own working as a chef at Silver and Stone.  

After another short chef gig, I ended up as a kitchen manager at Pluckers in Austin. At the time, this was my favorite place to eat, and I thought working there would be a really neat thing to do. At this job, I learned how sales can mask your CoGS and how to depend on my knowledge of restaurant data. Up until this point, I was managing a slower-paced restaurant. When I arrived at Pluckers, I quickly saw how to manage a busy, fast-paced restaurant that had a wait throughout most of the day. Volume was the name of the game. I was there for a few years before I became an executive sous chef at Touchpoint Services.  

I spent another several years at Touchpoint, where my chef title really took off. I was tasked with being the kitchen’s facilitator by putting all the executive chef’s ideas into action. Over the course of my tenure, I learned how to develop an ambitious menu and execute it in different ways. I eventually parted with Touchpoint Services to pivot my career into restaurant technology, and later arrived at Restaurant365 as your resident senior customer success manager. 

How did your career path lead you to Restaurant365?  

My career path didn’t lead me here, the people I met along the way did. While I was at Touchpoint, working some pretty brutal hours away from my family, I met Kris Lake, our Senior Manager of Integration Support, at a wedding party with my wife. 

I started talking with Kris and restaurants came up. At the time, I thought it was a strange topic for party conversation, but I engaged and he said I’d be a great fit at Restaurant365. He called me the next day, and the rest is history. I was so excited to find an opportunity where I could use my restaurant skills without having to clock in at 4 a.m. Since then, my life has completely changed and I’m so happy to have married my passion for the restaurant industry with a stable, rewarding job that allows me a work-life balance.