[Mistakes Were Made] The Day You Learn Your Place — A Million-Dollar Disaster, a Doombox, and the GM Who Got Fired

🎙️ MISTAKES WERE MADE — Special Series on Hospitality Strategy Lab

Three hospitality veterans walk into a podcast and share the moments that humbled them.

Alex Strange, bar manager at Holiday Cocktail Lounge, takes us back to 2004 when he was a green bar back who accidentally started bartending on a rooftop — and nearly got fired for it.

Ben Potts spent a million dollars building Boombox in Miami, a soulless black box that pulled $15K a week in high season. He tore it down, rebuilt it as The Sylvester, and turned it into one of the city's best cocktail bars.

Rob Morton hired his first-ever GM at Paul's Oak Island in North Carolina, watched a clique form, endured scorched-earth drama, and then eliminated the GM position entirely — resulting in a $500,000 revenue increase.

Each story hits different, but the through line is the same: operational disasters that became breakthrough moments. These are the lessons nobody teaches you — you have to earn them. Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. Revenue followed.

Featuring: Alex Strange (Holiday Cocktail Lounge), Ben Potts (The Sylvester, Miami), Rob Morton (Paul's Oak Island, NC)

🔗 Follow Jason: jlittrell.com