Brad Fitzgibbons is the fourth generation of Fitzgibbons in the family pub trade.
His parents handed him and his sister Anita the keys to Fitzy's Toowoomba — a 25-year-old iconic Queensland venue with restaurants, bars, gaming and retail across one massive site.
By late 2021 he was running the whole thing into the ground. Trading was a mess. He was pouring drinks behind the bar to save $30 an hour. He'd hidden the numbers from his own team for so long that when his hotel manager finally found out, he said, "Boss, I didn't realise. We could have helped." His relationship with his head chef had broken down to the point where they were passing each other in the hallway without speaking. And his plan was to sell the business, exit, and walk away.
He called Foodie Coaches looking for someone to save him. Three years later, Fitzy's is 267% more profitable. He projects 400% by end of financial year. He's barely on the roster anymore. And his entire core team — including the chef he wasn't speaking to — is still standing beside him.
In this episode, Brad sits down with Tim to talk through the turnaround in his own words. The mindset, the team, the spreadsheets, the gym at 4:30am, and the brutal honesty about how he himself was the biggest problem.
This one is for anyone reading the numbers at midnight and wondering if they should just sell.
You'll hear: 00:00 – Generational pub: taking over from Mum and Dad 03:00 – Where Brad was when he first called Foodie Coaches 05:00 – 267% profit growth — and the call that was meant to be an exit plan 08:00 – Why his entire core team stayed through the turnaround 11:00 – The chef relationship that had completely broken down 13:00 – How working on himself changed everything in the business 21:00 – Diversification, bottleshops and the next chapters at Fitzy's
Key takeaways: No one is coming to save you. The first move has to be yours. Hiding the numbers from your team is hiding the problem from the people best placed to fix it You can't lead a business out of duress if you're not leading yourself out of duress first The team you have right now may be more capable of the turnaround than you think Spreadsheets aren't boring once Monday is the day you find out you made money
If you're reading the numbers at midnight and wondering whether to sell, book a free Profit Finding Session with the Foodie Coaches team at https://discover.foodiecoaches.com/bac
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