“Back to Basics” with Rachael Nemeth

“Culture isn’t built through policies. It’s built through people.” Heather McKeon , COO of Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen , joins Rachael Nemeth to share her unconventional journey from hostess to executive leadership and the lessons she’s learned helping grow one of Texas’ most beloved restaurant brands. After nearly three decades with Gringo’s, Heather has experienced almost every part of the business...

“Growth doesn’t break businesses. Weak systems do.” Julian Barnes , Co-Founder and CEO of BFS Network, joins Rachael Nemeth to unpack what’s happening across the boutique fitness industry and why many of the challenges operators think are unique are actually shared by almost everyone trying to scale. With visibility across thousands of fitness, wellness, and self-care businesses, Julian brings a p...

“When consistency is the product, simplicity becomes the strategy.” Chris Griebe, COO of VASA Fitness, joins Rachael Nemeth to break down what it takes to deliver a consistent, high-quality member experience across a rapidly scaling fitness brand where thousands of daily interactions determine whether members stay or churn. Stepping into 70+ clubs and 3,700 frontline employees mid-expansion, Chris...

“When the product is the experience, service isn’t support — it’s the show.” Jason Thompson, COO and Co-Founder of Sounds Fun Entertainment, joins Rachael Nemeth to unpack what it really takes to scale experiential brands where technology, energy, and frontline teams collide in real time. As the parent company behind Activate Games and Breakout Games, Sounds Fun operates 50+ locations with plans t...

EP18: Great Service Isn’t Expected in Recreational Sports and That’s Why It Works “In service businesses, the win isn’t the task—it’s the relationship.” Gary Archer is CEO and President of a leading indoor soccer facility with 19+ locations across 9 states, built on a simple idea: great service is relational, not transactional. In this episode, Gary joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down wh...

“Modern franchising isn’t about more support—it’s about smarter, scalable support.” Jenna Henderson has spent nearly two decades inside franchise systems, operating across field ops, brand services, development, growth, and tech. After almost 15 years at Saladworks, she stepped into SaaS as COO at WorkMerk (helping build the ServSafe Ops platform), then returned to franchising leadership as Group...

"Brand building starts with your P&L, not your logo." Josh Halpern has one of the most unconventional careers in the industry: P&G, Clorox, Anheuser-Busch, CEO of Big Chicken, and now Chief Business Officer of Craveworthy Brands—leading strategy across 19 concepts while still running Big Chicken. In this episode, he joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down what brand buildin...

"If you want to scale hospitality, don’t add more tech—make people feel seen." Anthony Valletta, CEO of bartaco, started flipping pizzas at 13 and spent two decades across QSR, premium casual, and Michelin-level dining before taking the helm at bartaco. In this episode, he joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus Training CEO) to unpack how he delivers full-service hospitality at fast-casual labor cos...

"If you want people to move fast, you have to make it easy for them to do the right thing." Kelly Saunders, SVP of Restaurant Experience at Smashburger, has spent 14 years transforming how one of America’s fastest-growing burger brands trains, communicates, and executes. In this episode, Kelly sits down with Rachael Nemeth (Opus Training CEO) to unpack how she migrated 200 locations to O...

"Most people build for average, but new stores almost never open at average." Jason Morgan, former CFO turned CEO of Original ChopShop, has spent decades in the restaurant industry learning the hard truths of growth—and watching others get crushed by them. In this episode, Jason sits down with Rachael Nemeth to unpack what separates scalable operations from overbuilt failures, why he won...

"District managers are the brand—they're the stamp for everything we stand for." Elle Piper learned this truth the hard way, starting as an undertrained district manager who had to ask her own direct reports to teach her the basics. Now as Senior Director of Operations at 7 Leaves Cafe, she's helped grow the brand from a handful of stores to 41+ locations by focusing on what mo...

When you open your second location, everything changes. You can't be in two places at once, and suddenly you realize: you need to shift from operator to CEO. Carl Bachmann learned this lesson as a 12-year Ruby Tuesday franchisee before leading turnarounds at Smashburger and BurgerFi. Now as President and COO of Riko's Pizza, he's building franchise infrastructure from scratch. In th...

Etkin Tekin left his corporate strategy position at AB InBev's innovation arm to co-found one of the Northeast's fastest-growing restaurant concepts. While most operators struggle with an expensive recruiting cycle—hire, train, lose people, repeat—Haven Hot Chicken broke this pattern. In this episode, Etkin reveals how they built an internal pipeline that promotes 40% of store leadership...

In this episode of Back to Basics, Rachael Nemeth sits down with Suzie Tsai, CEO of Bonchon, who brings a rare and refreshing perspective to restaurant leadership, with over 25 years of experience in brand and marketing at companies like Chili’s, On the Border, and Brinker International. Now leading Bonchon through explosive growth—from 150 to 500 locations—Suzie shares how marketing instincts hel...

In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Fassio, Chief Retail and Operations Officer at Verve Coffee Roasters—a 14-unit third-wave coffee brand based in Santa Cruz, known for its relationships with growers, surf-town roots, and quality-first approach. Anthony’s specialty is taking craft brands from cult-favorite to national name without losing their “soul”. From Shake Shack to Salt & Straw to...

In this episode of Back to Basics , we sit down with Aaron Noveshen, Founder and CEO of Starbird Chicken, and one of the leading innovators in fast casual dining. Aaron shares how Starbird is rethinking people development in one of the most competitive hiring markets—from building an internal leadership pipeline, to implementing transparent pay bands, to offering unique education and ownership opp...

In this episode, we sit down with Blake Buchanan, Founder and CEO of Bahama Buck’s—a 100+ unit Midwest-based franchise known for its tropical shaved ice and culture-first approach. Blake started the business as a college student in a 240-square-foot snow shack, and by store #2, he was already franchising—a bold move that sparked what’s now a 35+ year legacy. Blake shares how Bahama Buck’s has sust...

In this episode, we sit down with Andy Hooper, restaurant industry leader and former CEO of Hart House, to talk about how people development drives long-term success in hospitality. With experience scaling mission-driven brands and advising operators across the country, Andy offers a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to build teams that deliver consistently excellent service. Hear Andy’s tak...

In this episode, we sit down with Darren Spicer, Co-Founder and CEO of Clutch Coffee Bar, to explore how his brand is revolutionizing the drive-thru coffee experience. With a focus on speed, service, and personal connections, Clutch Coffee has grown to 15 locations across the Carolinas, with plans to double by 2025. Darren shares his journey from barista to CEO, the operational strategies behind C...

In this episode of Back to Basics, we explore the findings of the 2025 Hospitality Training 360 Report, focusing on the current state of learning and development (L&D) in the hospitality industry. To practice what we preach, we leveraged Google's NotebookLM to transform our written report into an audio format (yes, these speakers are AI-generated!) to demonstrate our commitment to accessi...

Celton talks about his leadership journey from store manager to CEO at CC’s coffee, the importance of maintaining a people-first culture (a la southern hospitality + mentions to qualities he looks for in candidates), and the challenges of training and developing employees in the service industry.  Celton shares insights from his recent store visits, emphasizing the need for effective training and...

Get ready for a dynamic conversation as Rachael Nemeth and Gregg Majewski dive into the game-changing impact of AI on the restaurant industry. They break down the biggest challenges—shifting consumer habits, soaring costs, and ongoing labor shortages—while exploring how AI is reshaping everything from customer service to operations.  Timestamps: 00:02 Introduction 00:32 Guest Introduction 03:53 Th...