FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

As a business, creating and living by core values is a full time job. It's a choice that changes the very genetic code of our restaurants. When done right, they answer every question and create a roadmap to the future. Today we chat with John Cappasola, a culture-first leader who spent the pandemic doubling down on his commitment to living and leading by Del Taco's core values. Today we unpack how...

For 50 years, Randy's Donuts has been a Los Angeles staple. The iconic giant donut seated above the restaurant can be seen for miles and on the big screen. One man, Mark Kelegian, saw more than a restaurant, he saw an international brand that could transform this tiny restaurant into a global phenomenon. Today Mark shares the tactics and tools he's using to take Randy's Donuts from one location to...

Do you remember the transition from employee to manager? For most of us, the boss just handed us the keys one day and asked us to lock up. Within a month, we have a title, a lot more responsibility and a lot less money in our pocket. What do you wish you knew before stepping into that role? A lot, right? Ken McGarrie set out to document every lesson he learned along the way to help the next genera...

When we reflect upon the overall failure rate within our industry and when we look at the current labor crisis we're facing, it easiest question to ask is "Who's to blame?" The hardest answer to stomach is "us". To one degree or another, as an industry, we've dug the hole we find ourselves in.  But that's just the bad news. The good news is that means we're in the drivers seat. Today we chat with...

Why won't our people come back to work? What do we need to do to get them back and get them excited about rebuilding this industry together ? Restaurateur Michel Falcon has been asking the same questions and has come up with really useful answers. Today, we dive deep into the recipe he uses to create and manage world class teams and the tactics he uses to keep those teams inspired. For more on the...

What if we could create great businesses by doing good?  The biggest hurdle I've faced as a restaurateur is the unpredictability of sales week to week and month to month. I believe Jacob Bindman may have created the solution to not only that problem but also how to feed the hungry at the same time. Today, we're discussing the San Francisco New Deal. A charitable organization that's paying restaura...

The truth: unvarnished. That's what this moment requires. As an industry, we need to take a hard look in the mirror and determine what's working and what isn't. Today's guest, Robert Greene did just that but, instead of tackling an industry, he chose to tackle the human condition at large. Robert is a NYT bestselling author who's dug deep into the motivators and essential elements of power, master...

How do we overcoming the obstacles in our life?  Rarely we succeed by holding our ground. To overcome, we must push forward. That forward march can look different for each of us. For serial restaurateur Victoria Freeman, it looks like opening another restaurant. Today we discuss how her restaurant group managed to survive the pandemic and how they intend to come back stronger than ever in 2021. Fo...

I've dedicated most of the last year of my life to asking these two questions: How did we get here? Where are we going? Believe it or not, one of the most frequent question I get is: How did you get here? It seems many of you are curious as to how and why I started the show and exactly what is the nature of my relationship with Yelp. Today I tackle those questions and many more with the help of St...

We've spent a ton of time talking about pandemic pivots, but what about the evolutions that have resulted from this apocalyptic disruption? What about the permanent changes operators have made that are having a lasting positive impact on their businesses. Ian Pomerville and the Spruce Peak Lodge are having their best year ever. Why? They didn't pivot, they've evolved their concept to meet the chan...

I often wonder what the next generation thinks when they look at the way we do business. They grew up with the internet as a part of their daily life and they go to work in restaurants with POS systems older than they are. Well, it appears they've had quite enough of that... Alex Canter is a new breed of restaurateur working to fix the problems he sees within the industry by creating the solutions...

We live in a polite society. We're taught the importance of asking for permission. But what happens when you don't. What happens when you decide one day to start a restaurant. No investors, no permit, no publicist, no permission. You just start. Today we chat with Logan Sandoval who created Zef BBQ, a trendy BBQ joint on the edge of Los Angeles located in his parents garage. We discuss the inspira...

I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When I was in college, there was a guy just a little bit order than me working the fry line at a small fried chicken joint that he opened on the edge of campus. That guy was Todd Graves and that fried chicken joint has become the $2 billion dollar Raising Cane's empire. Today Todd and I run through what it takes to found and lead a restaurant to tha...

We've all got a lot going on. Sometimes it's hard to figure out how the headlines we see on the news directly affect our restaurants. But the truth is, what's going on out there does matter in here. Few see this more clearly that Celebrity Chef Nyesha Arrington and restaurateur Philip Camino. These two have decided to bridge the gap between what's happening in the world and what's happening in our...

You've heard me say it before, as an industry I think there's a ton to be learned from the experts outside of our industry. Today we chat with Afsheen Afshar, who proves me right. Afsheen is in the business of taking good companies and making them great and in recent years, has turned his attention to the restaurant industry. Today we run through the tools and tactics he uses to take restaurant co...

If an amazing restaurant opens and no one knows about it, does it have a chance at survival? Today we chat with media maven Max Block of CarvingBlock PR. He runs us through the tools and tactics he uses to get his clients the exposure they deserve and need to survive in a digital world. For more on CarvingBlock go to www.carvingblockpr.com ________________________________ Sign Up for Our Weekly Ne...

The chai tea latte you ordered at Starbucks this morning was made possible in no small part to the Shah family. Many believe that, Devan Shah, the prolific tea importer, is directly responsible for creating the American tea market as we know it today. In this episode we chat with Devan's wife and daughter, Reena and Bianca. Together they own Chado Tea Room, a 4 location tea salon based in Los Ange...

Who's excited to talk about cleaning products? Anyone? Anyone? What if I told you that the products we use to clean directly relate to our labor margin? As it turns out, innovation in cleaning products could result in hundreds, if not thousands, of labor hours saved over the course of a year. Excited yet? Today we chat with Paul Edmondson of Proctor & Gamble who will walk us through what they'...

We see headlines everyday about immigration but there's very little talk about the immigrants themselves. The story I bring you today isn't a story about overcoming adversity, it's a story about enduring adversity. Tee Tran represents the best our industry has to offer. Instead of fighting for the survival of his businesses over the last year he's fought for his community, working with the World C...

Creating and maintaining a great and profitable wine program at my restaurant proved an impossible task. Folks spend their lives working to understand the intricacies of wine and I don't even drink wine. I know I'm not alone and, as we all begin the process of reopening, I wanted to bring in a friend and an expert to offer best practices. Greg Martellotto is the guy. He's got his own winery. He's...

We idolize the trailblazers...those heroes with enough courage to do something truly original. It's easy to romanticize their struggles or attribute superhuman qualities that make them seem different than us. But they're not. Celebrity Chef Mary Sue Milliken is just a person, like you and me but through patience, grit and the belief in a better future she has overcome overwhelming odds to become a...

What does it mean to be a chef? Chef have long been known for high standards, attention to detail and an unparalleled work ethic. But they have also been know for big egos and bad tempers. Slowly things seem to be evolving. Today we chat with Erick Williams of Virtue who is redefining what it means to be a chef. Erick's standards are as high or higher than most but he leads with a grace, warmth an...

What do Ryan Reynolds, P Diddy and The Rock all have in common? They've all partnered with and/or donated to Another Round Another Rally, a nonprofit organization devoted to bailing out and building up hospitality workers during and after the pandemic. Today we chat with founder Amanda Gunderson who looks back on what was accomplished in the last 12 months and what the long road ahead look like fo...

We all open restaurants with the noble goal to serve our communities something they want. Zak Wallace of Local Green took a different path. He set out to serve his community something they needed. Local Green provides healthy, plant based food within the food desert that Zak calls home. Being a social entrepreneur in the restaurant industry makes for a great mission but it also makes for a great b...

I'm obsessed with massive growth. Though I have no desire to own dozens of restaurants, I think there's a ton to be learned from the folks that do. Randy Dewitt is a scaling mastermind. From a single cafe, he launched an empire that includes Twin Peaks, Velvet Taco and countless other national brands. Today Randy shares the essential elements that have enabled him to create hit after hit. For more...