THE HIDDEN ARCHITECTURE OF GREAT HOSPITALITY
Written by Jessica Murray
The hospitality industry can be a great teacher.
What do I mean?
The top operators in the game teach us what it looks like for a business to consistently deliver experiences that feel flawless, frictionless and human. The kind that makes people leave thinking, “wow.”
The thing is, while the customer sees “effortless,” everything experienced is often the byproduct of highly intentional systems, training and design.
In Edition 049 of The Empower Edit, I highlighted Will Guidara’s TED Talk. His book, Unreasonable Hospitality, has become the latest “go-to” for businesses seeking to elevate experiences and culture through differentiated hospitality.
When I was younger, I was enamored by Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table. He built New York City icons, weaving intentionality and systems into everything so his standards for hospitality could expand.
The importance of personalization and elevated customer experiences is something I’ve written about here and presented on before. While the concepts may be intuitive and simple, the orchestration requires a lot behind the scenes. Every activity and interaction required to support those moments must work together to consistently perform at the level your growth demands.
Setting the standard in Nashville
Why am I talking about this, again, now?
Because recently, there’s been one restaurant in Nashville that’s really delivered on those surprise and delight moments—from first touch to when I’ve walked out the door. It’s called Noko. I’m not bringing this particular place up because I enjoyed a couple of meals there. It’s because after my last visit, it dawned on me for the first time in a while, “Wow, this is a place really setting the standard.”
Not just once, but according to my OpenTable records, seven times. Enough to recognize patterns.
My observations on what sets Noko apart
The small details
Beyond the food being great, there are several small details worth noting
Noko defines a core purpose, which you can feel while you’re there. You can tell it’s not words; it’s operationalized.
The mission?
“To create a happy, sustainable workplace where people thrive — with more time for friends and family, deeper human connection, and the chance to explore the world through travel. By living fully and with gratitude, we become better versions of ourselves and stewards of a stronger community, changing hospitality for the better, forever.”
Consistent staff and service. Everyone is upbeat, knowledgeable and ready to serve. There’s intentionality in who’s recruited and how they’re trained. I was so impressed on my last visit that I motioned the owner over to tell him I noticed.
The restaurant is always buzzy, but never overcrowded. They manage the room well.
I never feel rushed, which is becoming rarer as restaurants try to maximize nightly covers.
The water pitcher
This is one of my favorite observations. If the owner is present (which he often is), he’s the one walking around the restaurant with the water pitcher. He greets each table and seems to know who’s visiting for the first time and which tables are regulars.
If he’s not there, the assistant general manager takes over the pitcher. If you’ve been there multiple times, she may throw in: “[owner’s name] wanted to make sure I came by to say hello tonight. He’s sorry he’s not here to do it himself.”
Such a small gesture, but genius, seriously.
The special occasions
In October, I visited twice.
The first: my 5th wedding anniversary.
When we checked in, the hostess greeted us warmly and promptly wished us a happy anniversary. Subsequently, every single staff member who came to our table acknowledged our anniversary and wished us a great evening. At the end of the meal, we received a complimentary dessert with a “Happy Anniversary” note attached to the top of a soft-serve swirl.
The second: when a close friend from NYC came to town.
I returned a week later with a girlfriend, and there were more surprises. A table nearby was celebrating a birthday, and someone in their party serenaded the room (he was a good singer).
Jokingly, my friend said to our server, “When’s it our turn to get a song?”
The server replied, “Well, what song do you want sung to you?”
My friend, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
Well, we didn’t get the musical interlude, but we did get this:
Enough said.
At the end of the meal, I had to ask: “Does the owner make Unreasonable Hospitality mandatory reading for the staff?”
The server grinned and said, “Well, it’s not mandatory, but he does have quite a stack of them in the back.”
I thought so.
The phone call
I’m not sure if Noko still does this, but it “wowed” me after the first three times. The following day, the owner called and left me a voicemail, thanking me for stopping by and hoping I enjoyed the experience.
“ME? He’s calling me?” is what went through my mind. I’m not a celeb, influencer, special guest or VIP. I’m a regular person who decided to eat at his restaurant the night before. But he took the time to pick up the phone and make sure I enjoyed it.
All of this is architected
None of this happens by accident. This has been carefully constructed and supported by strong alignment across people, process and systems.
The consistent execution that customers experience night after night, no matter the table or who’s on shift, only happens when the operational foundations are built for it.
What are you doing to elevate how customers interact with you and your business?
Perhaps reading this provided a spark of inspiration.