New Melting Pot leader dishes on growth goals, culture lessons

Restaurant executive John Crawford, who has traveled the world opening franchise locations for brands such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House, traces his first industry lesson to a self-assured teenager and some bananas and ice cream in Central Florida. 

This goes back to the late 1970s. Crawford, the teen, was at his first job, working for a diner-style restaurant in his native St. Cloud, outside Orlando. Crawford started as a busboy. But he soon seized opportunities to pick up shifts in the kitchen, waiting tables and more. “I made the most amazing banana splits,” he says, marveling at the off-menu concoctions he put together. “They really were a work of art.”

Yet one day Crawford’s manager put a stop to the supreme splits, telling him about food costs. “That was a really big lesson for me,” says Crawford, who adds he always loved to work, going back to when he was 12 and helped wire his grandfather’s house.

Crawford, now 62, has utilized that lesson and more over his 40-year plus restaurant career. It includes running one of the busiest McDonald’s in Florida, outside Disney World, when he was 21 years old; two decades with with casual dining and pub chain Bennigan’s, where, among other roles, he oversaw global franchise operations with sales into the hundreds of millions; and heading franchise growth for Ruth’s Chris, where he doubled the franchise count in his tenure, from 43 to 88 locations. 

Crawford is also taking that knowledge into his latest role: president and CEO of the Melting Pot, a Tampa-based pioneer in fondue dining. The Melting Pot is known both for being an occasion-style restaurant destination and its variety of fondue cooking styles and entrées. The menu also has salads, fine wines, spirits and chocolate fondue desserts. 

Crawford joined the restaurant and its parent company, The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc., in 2020 as executive vice president. He was hired with an eye toward a potential succession for longtime CEO Bob Johnston, who has run the company since 1985. The first Melting Pot opened in 1975 in Maitland, outside Orlando, with three menu items: Swiss cheese fondue, beef fondue and a chocolate fondue dessert. 

Johnston and his brothers Mike and Bob opened a Melting Pot in Tallahassee in 1979; in 1980 they opened another location in Tampa. Then, in 1985, at 21, Bob Johnston dropped out of college and moved to Tampa to help run the whole business. "We saw this tremendous opportunity," Johnston told the Business Observer in 2008.

Photo by Lori Sax

Johnson will remain an owner and chairman of the board, and mentor to Crawford. The pair met for breakfast at a Lakeland First Watch in late 2019 — halfway between Tampa and Orlando — and chatted about leadership and culture in hospitality, among other topics, finding they were kindred spirits. But Crawford says he told Johnston it would take a “really great opportunity” to move out of Central Florida. Turns out Melting Pot was that opportunity. Crawford has since relocated to Apollo Beach. 

“Bob is a genuine leader. He’s always looking to see how he can guide, how he can help mentor anyone at any time in this organization,” Crawford says. “He really lives our culture and he expects everyone else to live it as well.” 

Head and heart

In a recent interview with the Business Observer, Crawford talked about his goals for the Melting Pot, industry challenges, leadership lessons and more. Edited excerpts:

Lovin’ it: Crawford worked for McDonald’s from 1982-1987, a stint that included running the International Drive location. His stint also included several classes at the fast food giant’s noted Hamburger University for budding restaurant leaders. One lesson from that experience was to constantly study the impact labor has on not only sales, but culture. “You can’t have too much,” he says, “but you can’t cut labor too tight.” His tenure there also showcased the power of cultivating A players. “If you look out for the needs of your guests and if you’re looking out for the needs of your All-Stars,” he says, “then you can really reach some big goals.”

Right fit: At Ruth’s Chris, Crawford learned a lesson about decisions. He recalls he promoted a manager from an existing restaurant to open a new one. Crawford really liked that manager, especially for his positive attitude. But the move backfired. “He just didn’t have the right set of skills to open a store, so I ended up doing a lot of that work,” Crawford says. “I learned that you can’t always lead with your heart, but sometimes you have to lead with your brain.”

Problem solver: When Crawford took the Ruth’s Chris role, he set out on a global listening tour. “I hit the road and went to every single franchisee,” he says. “I asked them to tell me the three challenges you have and asked them what their expectations were of me. Then I said, ‘what is one of these challenges I can help you solve?’”

Roy’s way: In between Ruth’s Chris and the Melting Pot, Crawford spent three years with Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, based in Dallas. Crawford’s role there included restructuring and mentoring the senior leadership team, in addition to working on business strategy. He also worked directly with Roy Yamaguchi, mentorship that included lessons in properly rolling sushi. “He has amazing culinary expertise. He can put together flavors that are just amazing and just pop in your mouth.”

Look around

Best spot: Crawford says one of his biggest overall challenges at the Melting Pot is to keep costs down as the company seeks to open about five new franchise locations a year for the next decade. That covers the restaurant industry gamut: site selection, construction, food costs, recruiting, training and more. He says the company has, for the most part, capped menu increases, realizing a night out for dinner already “can get very expensive very quickly.” For other challenges, Crawford seeks to use artificial intelligence more, like it does now with Tampa real estate and technology site selection firm SiteZeus.

Dinner out: One goal Crawford has is to expand the Melting Pot’s brand beyond a place thought mostly for graduations, birthdays and celebrations to include date nights and other ‘just’ nights out. One of the new promotions in that effort is “Thursdates,” on Thursday nights, which the company bills as a way to “make date night more romantic than ever while connecting with your special someone and sharing delicious fondue.” Adds Crawford: “We want to create more occasions, more events.”

This story was updated to reflect that Crawford's title is also CEO, in addition to president.