Started as a waiter at Benedict and became CEO of the group within 13 years: "It's my life's work"

It was a little over a year ago. The CEO of the Benedict group since its inception left the company after 18 years. Dan Ben Shmuel, who was then the deputy CEO, felt that the position could be his, but the owners, Yair Kindler and Alon Par, chose to bring in a manager "from the outside." It took a few months until Ben Shmuel's phone rang. Par was on the line.

"He told me he wanted to meet with me in the evening, and not at our restaurants but at another restaurant, where we would eat something and have a drink," recalls Ben Shmuel. "When we met, he said: 'We tried, it's not working. We made a mistake, I take responsibility.' That was the thing that gave me the biggest satisfaction.

He also said, 'We should have promoted you, but I don't think it was entirely wrong, because you gained more experience and tools from someone else, after all, you only worked with one person all the time,' and he was right. Of course, I told him I was interested. I've been here 13 years not to end up as number 2."

And so, the one who arrived as a waiter at the Rothschild branch at the age of 23, and made his way up in a world full of "good morning" greetings (the group's trademark, serving breakfasts all day), became CEO last January.

Identity card

Dan Ben Shmuel

• Personal: 36 years old, single, lives in Rehovot.

• Professional: Started his way as a waiter at the Benedict branch on Ben Yehuda Street, and from there advanced to the position of deputy CEO. In January, he was appointed CEO of the group. Holds a bachelor's degree in economics and management from the College of Management.

• Something else: A sports fan, and especially yoga (twice a week).

Under his responsibility are 13 Benedict branches, six branches of Good Morning Sunshine, two Picnic branches in Yarkon Park and Ra'anana Park ("we are examining a third point, in the Modi'in area"), and a Shamiraz branch in Tel Aviv.

"I don't like being in the office," he says about the new role. "If I stayed there all the time, I would wither. I came from the field, and I will continue to be in the restaurants. I've been here all my adult life, this thing is all I am. It's my life's work."

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"No holidays, and no Saturdays"

Benedict was founded in 2006 by Yair Kindler and Alon Par, with a concept that was considered innovative at the time: breakfast only, all day and all night — because the branches were open 24/7, a matter that ended following the pandemic and the war.

Ben Shmuel joined after moving from Ness Ziona to Tel Aviv, "and I needed to pay rent. A friend told me she works at a restaurant that operates 24/7 on Ben Yehuda Street, so they would surely have shifts to give."

Did you aim yourself at the point where you are today?

"At first, no. It's not considered a professional field, no one wants a career as a waiter, it's a transit station before a trip after the army, a first or second degree. But I enjoyed what I did, and then they offered me to move to the bar, and after that to manage a shift. At a certain time, there was a security operation, the floor manager was sent to reserve duty, and the restaurant manager decided that I would replace him."

When that manager moved to headquarters, it was already clear — Ben Shmuel began managing in her place. The flagship branch was located on Rothschild Street, and Ben Shmuel's formative years were when he managed it. "The 24/7 was a central event," he says. "There is an operational issue here — you don't have to open and close lines during hours when there is no income, and it makes the business more efficient, you always have people, and we also always had work."

Benedict Group

• Field of activity: Restaurant business.

• History: Founded in 2006, and is currently owned by Yair Kindler and Alon Par. Includes 21 branches in Israel, two in Berlin, and one in Athens opened this year. The group employs 750 workers.

Managing a 24/7 place is very intense. "It's living inside the place with a sleeping bag. You get up from a phone call at 12:30 at night because the hot line didn't arrive, put on your Blundstones and go out. There are no holidays and no Saturdays, you are always in the business. Only on Yom Kippur was I at home."

Why did you end this format?

"We operated it in Herzliya, Bilu, and Rothschild, and then the pandemic arrived. By the time we managed to return to it with our main restaurants, October 7 arrived, and since then there is none. But we will return to this model because it is part of our values, and it contributes to the strength of the brand."

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Competition for employees

One of the issues that bothers the restaurant industry is the protection racket. "I think that every citizen and every business owner would want to live and work in a safe country. It's an important issue, but I am not the right person to offer solutions," says Ben Shmuel.

Three years ago, Benedict owner Yair Kindler shared that the profitability of restaurants has eroded by 20%-30% net over the last decade. And what now? "The figure has worsened," says Ben Shmuel. "Raw materials are rising all the time, and in Israel even more, because we are an island state that depends on imports."

You stopped the free bread. There were complaints about it online.

"True, and I take responsibility. Now the model is that you can take a dish as a full breakfast at an attractive price, to bring back the value-for-money issue. The world has also changed."

What is your message to colleagues?

"In the face of employee theft, togetherness is important. We need to work in partnership, because it's a difficult field."

First aid from the state

This week, the Ministry of Health announced a food business reform, the essence of which is a reduction in regulation and cost savings. "This is first aid from the state," says Ben Shmuel. "We are not used to receiving help from the state, and there is still a long way to go, but this is a first swallow in a positive direction."

These days Ben Shmuel is busy with the next move: a hybrid model, which includes both a restaurant and a self-service bakery. "This model is intended to provide an answer to the changing needs of the public. We invested a lot in business development, and that's where we will go in the coming years — we will copy this concept to the rest of the restaurants."

Where did you go wrong, and how did you fix it?

"In the way of giving criticism to a staff member or a franchisee. The ultimate goal is to make him improve, and not to give criticism for the sake of venting. Sometimes the amount of emotion I have doesn't play to my advantage, and I have to clean up after myself."