Nick Sarillo

Founder & CEO of Nick’s Pizza & Pub, Author, Business Culture Innovator

Travels From Travels From:
Chicago, IL, USA
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Nick Sarillo Biography

Nick Sarillo is a successful business owner, author, and speaker on topics such as business culture, entrepreneurship, leadership, and customer loyalty. His own businesses exemplify how embodying a company’s purpose and values leads to a world-class culture with award-winning customer service, higher margins, and an engaged, productive workforce.

Nick Sarillo is the founder and CEO of Nick’s Pizza & Pub and The Trust & Track Institute. Established in 1995, Nick’s Pizza & Pub ranks among the top ten busiest independent pizza companies in per-store sales in the United States, boasting margins nearly twice that of the average pizza restaurant. In an industry where the average annual turnover rate exceeds 150 percent, Nick’s Pizza & Pub maintains a turnover rate of less than 25 percent—a notable achievement given that more than 70 percent of his employees are under 25. The Trust & Track Institute provides hands-on experiential learning and offers both one and two-day classes as well as online training courses.

An active member of the Conscious Capitalism and Small Giants Communities, Sarillo also serves on the board of directors for San Francisco-based DABBA Restaurants. Prior to founding Nick’s Pizza & Pub, he worked in the construction business as a union carpenter and a general contractor, running a custom home building company for 11 years.

Nick Sarillo's business success is attributed to his purpose-driven culture, which he explores in his book "A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business" (Portfolio; 2012). He also contributes to The Business Journals Small Business Works. A two-time TEDx speaker, Sarillo frequently addresses topics like business culture, entrepreneurship, leadership, and customer loyalty at various meetings and conventions. His Trust & Track Leadership™ model, which focuses on building trust and tracking team performance, is highly regarded.

Sarillo’s insights and business methods have been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Economist, Inc. Magazine, and Fast Company, and he has appeared on NBC’s Nightly News in a segment that showcased his “It’s a Wonderful Life” story. Authors and scholars have visited Nick’s restaurants to study his management style, as documented in several business culture publications.

Committed to his community, Sarillo donates five percent of all sales from his restaurants to charitable causes. His operational practices include the use of recycled barn wood in constructing his restaurants and creating "safe spaces" within his team environments. Nick’s restaurants have won the National Restaurant Association/American Express “Good Neighbor Award” four times and have been highlighted in Chicago’s Best for having “Great Pizza and [a Great] Company.”

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 04/17/2024.

Nick Sarillo Speaking Topics

  • Millennials and GenZ CAN Be the Best Leaders: How to Benefit From Your Youngest Employees

    Millennials and Gen Z (under the age of 19) has brought unique workforce opportunities. They expect to “feel” heard and want a spot at the table. They expect to be mentored and recognized. At Nick’s Pizza & Pubs restaurants, millennials lead the way – not only do they represent more than 70% of the workforce, they are great leaders and strongly contribute to the bottom line. Nick’s operates a “Business as a School” with processes based on company purpose and values for hiring, onboarding/training, feedback, recognition and more. Come and learn how you too can successfully integrate millennials into your workforce.

    As a result of participating in this program, participants will be able to:

    • Use their company’s purpose and values to give a sense of “why” and connect employees to their work.
    • Increase the value of their team by cross training and providing a clear process for solving issues.
    • Motivate and hold employees accountable using Nick’s Trust-and-Track Leadership style.
    • Tap into their employee’s full potential by giving them a clear path of development.

    Perfect Audience: Entrepreneurs, retailers, business owners, corporate leaders who believe in their people and want to learn how to rally their team to achieve more innovation and better fiscal performance.

    Program Format: 45 • 75 minute keynote. (For something different, please note that Nick does offer a full day customized University program that includes sessions with his leadership team and time in his restaurants.)

  • Trust & Track Leadership™: A Proven Method For Achieving Purpose And Profitability

    Today’s ever-changing business environment requires a new type of leader to be more effective in the way we communicate and develop our people. In this session, be inspired to shift from the dated command-and-control style of leadership and join the Trust and Track Leadership™ movement. The restaurant industry is known for having 150-200 percent employee turnover rates. With almost 200 team members, Nick’s Pizza & Pub maintains less than a 25 percent turnover annually. How can that be? Being a Trust and Track Leader means operating in an environment of trust and having the ability to lead company culture, not just tell people what to do. Using real life experiences, Nick shares how to create a meaningful place to work where leaders are coaches that build and inspire their team.

    As a result of participating in this program, participants will be able to:

    • Implement a “Recognize the positive” (over the wrong or off) behavior to support building and retaining team members.
    • Take home coaching tools, such as the “certification feedback loop” form, that they can implement immediately to be a better coach.
    • Surrender the old perception of “boss and micro manager” and become a high-performing servant leader operating in an environment of trust and open communication.
    • Understand how to make employees feel “accepted, supported, and successful” through onboarding, training and celebrations.

    Perfect Audience: Entrepreneurs, business owners, association or corporate leaders who believe in their people and want to learn how to inspire their team to achieve more innovation and better fiscal performance.

    Program Format: 45 • 75 minute keynote. (For something different, please note that Nick does offer a full day customized University program that includes sessions with his leadership team and time in his restaurants.)

  • Customer Loyalty: A Family Recipe For Success

    Have you ever tipped your server a $1000 for a $35 restaurant bill? At Nick’s Pizza and Pub restaurants this has happened four times. Nick Sarillo’s compelling and surreal “It’s A Wonderful Life” story about an everyday business that was able to rally and unite an entire community serves as a great example of how clearly defining your company’s purpose and values can create a world-class culture of customer service in any organization and any industry. Enhancing customer service starts with turning your employees into leaders rather than followers. At Nick’s, the word “customer” is actually not part of the language; instead the goal is to create meaningful “guests” relationships and experiences that go beyond a single monetary transaction. Similarly, Nick’s does not have a “staff” hired to perform mind-numbing tasks. Instead Nick’s dynamic “team” of leaders work together as a dedicated family, utilizing their purpose and set of values to find solutions on their own. In this session, gain Nick’s real-life examples of how to set your team up for success and provide “Unforgettable Guest Experiences.”

    After attending this session, attendees will:

    • Be able to specifically define what A+ service is for their company.
    • Have an “Art & Science” process and tool for defining which elements of any given task are non-negotiable and which may vary based on an employee’s performance.
    • Make use of five techniques for creating, training and measuring unforgettable customer experiences.
    • Employ an effective training system that measures performance every day as well as recognizes and rewards milestones.

    Perfect Audience: Entrepreneurs, retailers, business owners, association or corporate leaders who want to build a culture of world class customer service by engaging their team members in company results. Retailers and companies looking to provide customer service training for their employees.

    Program Format: 45 • 60 minute Keynote to a 75 – 90 minute workshop.

Nick Sarillo Videos

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwwX1SSZKME
  • NRA 2010: Nick Sarillo of Nick's Pizza & Pub - YouTube
  • The Big Little Business : Nick Sarillo at TEDxNaperville - YouTube

Nick Sarillo Books

  • A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business
    A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business

Speaker Lists Featuring Nick Sarillo

FAQs on booking Nick Sarillo

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  • What topics does Nick Sarillo speak about?

    Nick Sarillo is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Business, Business Growth, Business Leadership, Customer Experience, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Motivational.
  • Where does Nick Sarillo travel from?

    Nick Sarillo generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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Nick Sarillo is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Millennials and GenZ CAN Be the Best Leaders: How to Benefit From Your Youngest Employees, Trust & Track Leadership™: A Proven Method For Achieving Purpose And Profitability and Customer Loyalty: A Family Recipe For Success. The estimated speaking fee range to book Nick Sarillo for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Nick Sarillo generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Nicholas de Wolff, Robert Kriegel, Bill Rancic, Mark C. Thompson and Art Turock. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Nick Sarillo for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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