Tom Hanson laughs when people describe him as one of the Northland’s most influential business leaders.
“I still think I’m just a restaurant guy,” he says with a smile.
The statement sounds almost unbelievable coming from the man who transformed a struggling diner into one of Duluth’s best-known restaurants, helped ignite the revitalization of Lincoln Park, and built a family of businesses that has become woven into the fabric of the community. Yet the humility is genuine.
Hanson notices everything – the employee greeting customers, the cleanliness of the dining room, the pace of the kitchen, the conversations taking place between coworkers. Years of experience have taught him that great restaurants are built on details, but even more importantly, they are built on people.
“I think leadership is leading by example,” Hanson says. “My wife and I have always been willing to jump into the dish room or pick up the parking lot. Those jobs are just as important as mine.”
Unlike many executives who learned leadership in business schools, Hanson’s education came on restaurant floors, behind bars and in kitchens. He credits three mentors with shaping him.
The first taught him street smarts and how to understand people. The second introduced him to the organizational discipline of corporate restaurant management. The third showed him that true hospitality means always doing what is right for the customer.
“I’ve always looked at leadership as being somewhere between coaching and inspiring people,” Hanson says. “You’re trying to get people to become something they didn’t think they could become.”
What motivates employees to stay in an industry known for long hours and hard work? For Hanson, the answer isn’t complicated.
People want to know they matter.
He has watched teenagers washing dishes grow into managers, managers become partners, and part-time college students become business owners.
Three of his partners started exactly that way.
“They came to us looking for weekend jobs,” Hanson says. “Now they’re owners.”
Stories like those are among his proudest accomplishments.
Restaurant success, Hanson believes, isn’t measured only by full dining rooms. It is measured by whether employees can build meaningful careers and stable lives.
Hanson is intentionally stepping away from being the person with every answer. Instead, he is creating opportunities for others to lead.
“It’s more advising now,” he says. “Listening more. Helping people think through things instead of just telling them what to do.”
Like many entrepreneurs, Hanson admits there is satisfaction in being involved in every decision. But experience has taught him that organizations become stronger when leadership is shared.
Recognition, Hanson says, is often the simplest leadership tool.
He recalls recently walking into one of his restaurants when an employee enthusiastically welcomed him through the front door without realizing he owned the business.
After introducing himself, Hanson thanked the employee personally.
“You can see people light up when they’re recognized,” he says. “That’s what leadership should be.”
The gardens surrounding Duluth Grill, the investment in Lincoln Park before most people saw its potential, and the countless careers launched within his restaurants all reflect a leader who has consistently looked beyond the next quarterly report.
For someone who insists he’s “just a restaurant guy,” that’s a legacy that reaches far beyond the dining room.
