Tommy “Tommy Tech” Giraux pulls back the curtain on how Honest Burgers scaled fast, kept the vibes, survived chaos (rain-soaked 600-burger giveaways, voucher meltdowns), cooked on a billionaire’s yacht, and is now using AI to free managers to do real hospitality.

Tommy Giraux is Head of Systems at Honest Burgers. He joined 12 years ago when there were 3 sites, helped open through the boom to 45 pre-COVID (now 39), and shifted from GM/Ops to building the tech stack that powers speed and consistency. He also helped pilot Smash + Grab after Honest crowdfunded £3m.

He explains:
◼️ Why 600-burger launch days worked (until they didn’t) and what he’d change now
◼️ How an Oxford Circus voucher fiasco became a live lesson in crisis comms
◼️ Why brunch flopped three times—and how focusing on “one thing done well” saved the brand
◼️ What COVID taught them about redeploying “superstars” and running 5-person teams
◼️ How an in-house AI bot (“Pickle”) cuts admin, answers staff questions 24/7, and keeps forecasting steady
◼️ What a billionaire’s yacht service revealed about standards, improvisation, and team chemistry
◼️ How stagecraft from his pop-punk band days still shapes pre-shift and leadership

Timestamps
00:00 Intro — Tommy Tech, 39 sites (50+ now)
00:12 Abu Dhabi billionaire’s yacht: building Honest on a boat
01:28 Culture at scale: slips, fixes, and values in practice
02:50 Joining Honest (2012): training at King’s Cross, opening Site #6
05:19 Launch giveaways: 600 burgers, rain, and queues round the block
07:14 Why the big giveaways stopped
07:40 Scaling 3→45→39: COVID whiplash and moving “superstars”
08:56 Brunch attempts (x3): great beans, bad fit—lessons learned
11:07 Smash burgers + Smash & Grab; £3m crowdfund; Liverpool St pilot
12:23 “Tommy Tech” origin story
12:36 AI at Honest: killing admin, boosting manager insight; the “Pickle” bot
16:00 Forecasting, personalisation, and keeping the human touch
17:42 Managers out of the office: from coaching to laptops
19:59 Into systems during COVID: best-of-breed stack and partnerships
22:17 Tech vs culture: what tools can’t fix
24:01 Hiring, first 90 days, promoting from within
32:04 The legendary opening team
33:44 Pop-punk to hospitality: stagecraft, confidence, and service
35:33 Wrap