Rami Ykmour - Serial Entrepreneur
Rami Ykmour is the founder of well-known restaurant chain RASHAYS. Rami has spent decades in the hospitality industry, initially working as a delivery driver for Pizza Hut, before working his way up at Domino's to eventually run three franchises.
In 1998, Rami founded RASHAYS with his partner Shannon. Over 20 years later, he's expanded the brand to over 30 restaurants across Australia's east coast – including 18 franchised locations.
Rami Ykmour on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rami.ykmour
RASHAYS: https://www.rashays.com/
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“Matt, honestly guys, I've never done a podcast before, never listened to one, so I'm a virgin in so many ways.”
“Let's go, let's try and make the most out of this situation. People are going to close down, let's keep our staff employed.”
“If you're stealing from your staff, you're stealing from me, the franchisor, you're stealing from your suppliers.”
“Do not go into hospitality if you're gonna go in it for the bottom line. You're not gonna succeed.”
“Your gut doesn't lie, you know. Your head gives you mixed messages.”
“It's not, it's not just a job. Honestly, I never look at it like that, and I don't think my staff do.”
“I went all the way to Year 12. I still can't read and write. I'm borderline illiterate.”
“We're not hungry, we're okay, we're going to be fine... I think it's the hunger. I think that's the biggest thing.”
How should a business handle delivery platforms like Uber Eats?
Use delivery apps only as a temporary necessity; push customers to order directly by promoting your own phone number/call centre, since platforms take ~30% and the business can't legally be stopped from directing customers elsewhere.
How do I build a successful hospitality business?
Don't go into hospitality purely for the bottom line; lead with generosity, control food cost/labour cost/occupancy cost from day one, and build real business knowledge (courses, TAFE, university) since it's not just about cooking or service skills.
Should I start a restaurant with borrowed money?
Don't borrow money to get into hospitality — have your own cash, because margins are extremely tight (3-6%) and the failure rate is very high; you can't afford to be partners with the bank.
How do you find and hire the right people for a growing business?
Look for people who 'lead from the heart' — prioritise passion and commitment over pure skill, and trust gut instinct over an overly analytical hiring process; acknowledge it's genuinely difficult and there's no magic formula.
Rami recounts being out on the town the Friday before Australia's COVID dining shutdown, sensing the city was quieter than usual and realizing Monday would bring 'a different world.'
Rami describes beginning his career as a Pizza Hut delivery driver while failing his HSC, working his way up through management before opening Domino's franchises.
Facing a potential $120k/week loss, Rami decided to keep restaurants open and convert them to delivery, buying 30 cheap MG cars and redeploying front-of-house staff as drivers rather than closing.
Rami describes opening his first restaurant in Sydney's western suburbs with no money and no fit-out, spotting a gap for large-format cafes, then slowly borrowing small amounts (starting at $20,000) to grow based on customer demand.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
Founder Rami Ykmour converted all Rashays restaurants to pickup and delivery, set up his own call centre with a 13000 number, and bought 30 cheap MG cars so front-of-house staff could deliver food directly to customers instead of relying only on Uber Eats, which charges around 30% commission.
From episode 785→He warns against going into hospitality for financial gain or with borrowed money, saying you need your own cash, strong business knowledge (he recommends courses/TAFE/university), generosity, and a deep understanding of food cost, labour cost and occupancy cost, because margins are razor-thin and most restaurants fail.
From episode 785→He says he hires and leads 'from the heart,' prioritising passion and commitment over skill or qualifications, relies on gut instinct over data/KPIs, tolerates workplace 'family blowups,' and treats the business more like family/life than a traditional job.
From episode 785→Every episode featuring Rami Ykmour on The Daily Talk Show.
