Brick & Brand

He came to America as a teenager with nothing — and built a global steakhouse empire. Salim Asrawi left Lebanon as a teenager, chasing an opportunity in hospitality. Fast forward: he co-founded Texas de Brazil, opening the first location in Addison, Texas back in 1998 — and turned it into a global brand with locations across the U.S. and international markets. On this episode of Brick & Brand, Sal...

Most CRE founders build the brokerage. Kirsten Flory built that — plus a podcast, books, and an online course — at the same time. She's the Founder and CEO of Foundations Commercial Real Estate, based in Lawrence, Kansas. In this episode, we get into why she bet on herself, why she's teaching people to do what she does for a living, and what "winning" really means once revenue isn't the only score...

Boxing has always had an image problem. Spartans is changing that.  Boxing can feel intimidating. Like it's only for fighters, athletes, or people who already know what they're doing. Spartans Boxing Club flipped that idea on its head. "Boxing without bruises." This week on Brick & Brand, Russ Harrison takes us inside the thinking behind one of the most creative fitness concepts we've come across...

570+ locations. 17 countries. And Pepper Lunch is just getting started in the U.S. In this episode, we sit down with Dana Hathaitham, Director of Real Estate & Development at Pepper Lunch, to talk about what it really takes to scale a global restaurant brand in America. From picking the right markets and sites to winning over landlords, finding franchisees, and building a brand people remember — D...

Terry Montesi has spent 30 years and over $5 billion building the retail destinations people actually remember — and in this conversation, he tells us how. As founder and CEO of Trademark Property Company, Terry has developed 24 million square feet of some of the most celebrated mixed-use and retail properties in the country. But this isn't just a real estate conversation. We got into the bets tha...

Bagels aren't supposed to be pretty — Jeff Crabiel is proving that's exactly the point. From 20+ years in hospitality to founder of Nashville's buzziest new concept, Jeff joins Brick & Brand to talk building Ugly Bagel from farmers markets to 4 locations in under 2 years, why "ugly" was a brand strategy (not an accident), and the franchise plan that's about to take this concept nationwide. Ugly Ba...

Garrett Reed spent years helping grow Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, and Corner Bakery before developing 200+ restaurant locations across 37 states. So when he decided to take Layne's Chicken Fingers — a Texas A&M cult favorite with a fiercely loyal following — and turn it into a national brand, he wasn't guessing. He had a blueprint. This week we're getting into the strategy behind one of the most ex...

Silvina Petrate didn't set out to build a luxury empire. She started with a passion for handcrafted furniture and spent two decades quietly turning it into Nativa Interiors — a vertically integrated design company spanning custom manufacturing, interior design, and retail showrooms that redefine what a furniture brand can be. This conversation goes way beyond beautiful spaces. We got into what lux...

Danna Pyper Haydar left a career as an attorney for the Tampa Bay Lightning to build not one, not two, but multiple businesses from the ground up, completely on her own terms. From a wildly creative restaurant concept with a cult following, to a high-end full-service steakhouse she built and operated entirely solo, Danna has cracked the code on turning bold ideas into brands people fall in love wi...

What does it take to build a commercial real estate brokerage from scratch in one of the most competitive retail markets in the world? This week on Brick & Brand, we sat down with Avi Akiva, Founder & CEO of Momentum Realty Group, to talk about launching his own firm in NYC, and what it takes to win there. We cover why Manhattan retail is unlike any other market, the leap from top-producing broker...

Jay Siano is the Founder & CEO of SABRE Real Estate Advisors, the man behind some of the most iconic brand expansions in America. Chipotle. Starbucks. [solidcore]. Orangetheory. He was there before the hype, before the lines, and before the IPOs. In this episode, Jay pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build a brand that wins. How he spots the next big thing before the rest of the ma...

$2 billion in retail real estate deals. One conversation. Dave Lucas built one of the top retail investment sales careers in the country — 20 years, the nation's most sought-after assets, the industry's biggest investors. On this episode of Brick & Brand, he breaks down what actually separates top producers from everyone else, how he thinks like an investor before he thinks like a broker, and wher...

The best brands don't happen by accident. They're built over decades—one decision, one client, and one reputation-defining moment at a time. This week on Brick & Brand, we sit down with Michelle Harrison, founder of Michelle Harrison Design, to unpack what it really takes to build a business where your name is the brand. From knowing what your expertise is worth to why timeless design always outla...

Growth sounds exciting. Until it actually starts happening. This week on Brick & Brand, we're joined by Natalie Pebbles to unpack the uncomfortable reality behind scaling a brand. Why do some concepts explode while others fall apart? Why do so many operators say they want growth without understanding what growth actually requires? From expansion mistakes and retail strategy to social media, relati...

Most brokers think the solution is simple: work harder. Need more deals? Work harder. Need more clients? Work harder. Need to get caught up? Work harder. Until one day, that strategy stops working. In this episode, we're talking about The Broker Plateau — that stage where your business is growing, opportunities are coming in, and from the outside everything looks great. But behind the scenes, your...

This week, we sit down with the man who paved the way for us in the world of CRE — our dad, Vince Roche. Before he built one of the largest commercial real estate platforms on the West Coast, he was a college athlete scraping together tuition, getting loans from his coach just to stay in school, and leading teams despite being the smallest guy in his position. From going door-to-door in Bakersfiel...

This week we brought our sister, Liberty, B&B's very own CMO, onto the podcast and what was supposed to be an innocent sibling conversation turned into full-blown chaos. Growing up in a six-kid household meant everyone had a role to survive it — and in this episode, all of those roles show up again in real time. From wildly different childhood memories to why Gen Z can sniff out inauthenticity ins...

Brick & Brand is on the road to Vegas this week for the biggest retail real estate convention in the country! ICSC Vegas is equal parts networking event, psychological experiment, and endurance sport. In this episode, we unpack the chaos, ego, exhaustion, and strange energy behind commercial real estate's biggest week of the year. 

This week on Brick & Brand, the guest seat got flipped. Delaney Roche — commercial real estate broker, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Brick & Brand — opened up about what it actually feels like building two businesses in your 20's while trying to keep pace with an industry built on perception, confidence, and pressure. Growing up as the middle child — the "forgotten" child in many ways — meant ma...

This week on Brick & Brand, we sit down with Lauren Fields, founder of Fieldswell, to unpack how she's building a brand at the intersection of wellness, personal growth, community, and business. From coaching and content to The Wellness Sanctuary and live experiences, Lauren shares the real story behind creating a modern wellness ecosystem rooted in alignment, human potential, and meaningful conne...

This week on Brick & Brand, we sit down with Ryan Romo — co-founder and managing partner of RFP Homes. Ryan built RFP Homes through relentless cold calling, consistency, and a willingness to do the work most people avoid. What started as a wholesale operation has evolved into a fast-growing real estate company built around systems, recruiting, media, and scale. We talk about the realities of build...

This week on Brick & Brand, we sit down with Michael Ramsey — co-founder of STRONG Pilates. Michael didn't just build another Pilates concept—he redefined the category. From scaling top-performing F45 studios to launching a globally recognized fitness brand, this is a real look at what it takes to create something that actually cuts through. This is what it looks like when a brand goes from idea t...

This week on Brick & Brand, we sit down with Noelia Burns — founder of The Burns Collective. Noelia didn't start with a lease—she started with a point of view. From pop-ups to building a loyal community, to launching San Diego's first faith-based Pilates studio, this is a real look at what it takes to carve out something different in a crowded market. We get into the strategy behind going niche, t...

This week on Brick & Brand, we're doing something different. An exclusive conversation with our very own co-founder, Bretley Roche. No filters. No polished version. Just the reality behind building something from nothing. We get into the deals that didn't land, the uncertainty that doesn't go away, and what it feels like to build an empire in real time with no safety net. This is the side of it pe...

Donald Short on Leaving Coca-Cola, Building ROXOR, and Betting on Yourself This week on Brick & Brand, we sit down with Donald Short — former Coca-Cola executive turned founder of ROXOR Spirits. Donald shares what it really looks like to walk away from global scale and stability to start from scratch in one of the toughest industries out there. From navigating the brutal realities of distribution...