Tableside Talks: Beau Sturm of Starlite Management Company

Beau Sturm is co-owner in Starlite Management Company which includes Somerville’s Trina’s Starlite Lounge and Parlor Sports, Boston’s Audubon, Newburyport’s The Paddle Inn and Plum Island’s The Sunset Club.

Born and raised in West Virginia, he has worked in restaurants for as long as he can remember. Throughout the years he has bartended and managed restaurants including the Metropolitan Club(s), Salamander, City Bar, Saint, East Coast Grill, Highland Kitchen, The B-Side Lounge and Silvertone.

Beau has a deep love for the hospitality industry and it has loved him back by giving him his wife, Trina along with the incredible work family and business partners Josh Childs, Suzi Maitland, Emma Hollander and J Bellao. Today he lives in Newbury with Trina and their two daughters, Presley and Vivien.

Welcome in, Beau!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Cassie Francisco (Tableside): Beau, reflecting back on your leadership career. What is one moment you would change and why?

Beau Sturm: When I was a young manager and newly married, for a couple of years, I put work before my marriage and my wife. And once I made that change and recognized that, I swore that it would never happen again. I think that's a constant struggle, especially if you love what you do for a living, really want to be in it, you want to be able to be involved in every decision and in every operational day-to-day dealing. But you can't, and you need to learn that. And there are priorities that are above and beyond work. There are very few for me, but my marriage and my children are one of them. And I had to learn that lesson the hard way. 

Probably the second, and it's an ongoing thing, but it was very pivotal for me to stop talking and start listening more. I'm an obstinate person. I'm very opinionated. I'm not the loudest or the most vocal, but when I do say something, I have conviction in saying it and I'm very hard to sway. I've really worked hard over the 20 plus years that I've been doing this to listen more, take feedback more, and take criticism more, and to be more open to changing my opinion.

Cassie: How has learning and development impacted your leadership in hospitality?

Beau: Learning is growth, and growth is essential for our industry. [Our industry] is changing rapidly. It's becoming more automated. It's becoming more expensive. The margins are lower. Labor is more challenging. Everything's become more of a challenge, and it's a completely different thing than when I started 25 years ago. If you're not trying to learn, if you're not trying to stay ahead of it, and you're just letting the momentum take you, you're in real trouble.  

I enjoy this business immensely and I've learned to enjoy the business side of the business even more as I get older. The real impetus for trying to know so much and trying to lean on so many different vehicles of learning is because I don't want us to become complacent. I don't want us to get behind the curve. I want us to stay ahead of it.

Cassie: So, Beau, where do you find inspiration?

Beau: I think you can find inspiration everywhere. And if you look around, you can see how people are doing things and how other industries or other companies approach hospitality or service, or learn from the lack thereof in those industries. If somebody is not doing something, why are they doing it that way? And why does it seem so clunky? And why do you seem so disconnected from this? And how can technology make you more connected or feel like you have more of a say in your experience? All these things are learning opportunities.

Cassie: And maybe the toughest question of all, you have one condiment in your refrigerator, what is it and why?

Beau: That’s like picking your favorite kid or just picking your favorite song. How do you do this? I'm going to have to say the one that I just use the most, which is Trader Joe's green sriracha, the green dragon sauce. That's the one I use the most, so I'm going with that. It's gross how much I use it.

 Cassie: Thanks, Beau, for sharing your lessons in hospitality leadership. Follow along for more interviews with other industry leaders.