FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

Cross-training to composting, there's a new breed of restaurateur out there. They're leveraging the newest restaurant tech and strategies from outside of our industry to create entirely new companies. Chef Camilla Marcus is leading the charge for change and today we run through several of her endeavors including a restaurant focused tech conference, a nonprofit for hospitality workers and her zero...

I am not a great leader but I certainly aspire to be one and I've gotta believe that's half the battle. Any improvements I've made over the years can be traced directly back to the great coaches I've had and the great lessons they've taught me. One of the greatest coaches I know is Howard Solomon. I reached out to him because, in this moment, I think we could all use a little coaching. In today's...

Today, I might come off as a little hypocritical. I've had the good fortune of having my brands grace the pages of almost every food publication in the country. But I also spent years out of the spotlight and I remember how cold and frustrating those days were. When you're in you're in. When you're out, you're out. Those days and that kind of journalism need to be done. Today we chat with Antonio...

We have several new projects launching in 2021. Here's a preview! Restaurant Marketing School Hosted by famed digital marketer Eric Siu and Michelin-rated restaurateur Josh Kopel, RMS provides daily digital marketing tips, giving restaurateurs the tools they need to communicate with their existing customers and reach an entirely new customer base. Each episode is only 4-7 minutes, providing bite s...

In Season 3, the restaurant revolution is taking a new shape. As we see our way out of the pandemic the new ideas and strategies we've implemented have taken root and blossomed. We have entered the Restaurant Renaissance. Season 3 focuses on the revolutionary ideas and leaders that have thrived during this difficult time, empowering listeners to walk a similar path. Sign Up for Our Weekly Newslett...

No different than Season One, I find it impossible to pick out my favorite episodes from Season 2.  Having said that, I do have my favorite lessons.... We've got much more planned for Season 3 which launches January 5th. Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter: https://pineapplepost.news Book time on my personal calendar: https://bit.ly/3otQm8z Download our restaurant recovery guide: https://bit.ly/2ZAc...

For many of us, wine is hard. It’s a world with a language all its own and there’s just something about it that’s always made feel foolish. Whether by design or not, that uneasiness…that inaccessibility needs to change.  One of the soldiers leading the charge towards diversity and inclusion is Julia Coney. Her mission is to bring the world of wine to underserved groups and bringing diversity to th...

We all do it. We look at someone else’s restaurant in awe, wondering how they got a custom shoe deal or lines out the door. When does a restaurant transcend food and beverage and become an idea?  John Seymour of Sweet Chick seems to have cracked that code. Today we discuss how to build a brand, culture and community. We also discuss how those efforts translate into survival in tough times like the...

2020 has been the most educational year of my life. It’s amazing what you see when you take a moment to look around. I’ve spent the last 20 years in this industry, blind to the struggles of so many. Well, my eyes are open now and I’m ready to become part of the solution. I sat down with Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage to discuss the inequities in our industry and what we can do to change them. To...

Can good, nutritious food be reasonably priced? Can it be cheap? Is healthy food is a human right? Sam Polk thinks it is and he’s putting his money where is. Sam created Everytable, a company dedicated to offering nutritious food at a low price point…and he intends to make a profit while doing it. Today we discuss how Sam is bucking convention and using the big corporations playbook to make a big ...

Vulnerability is the superpower that can change the world and, in the moment, is changing the face of the hospitality industry. When Chef Irene Li opened her books revealing that her busy, award-winning restaurant Mei Mei was breaking even, the news went viral. Diners were shocked and restaurateurs were forced to take a hard look in the mirror. The jig was up. Today Irene opens her books again, gi...

I bought into the same dream you did: build a restaurant, make it successful, rinse and repeat. How well did that work for you? It took me down the path of exhaustion, frustration and, ultimately, failure. Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, took a different path. He created a community of businesses, each supporting the next. He stayed small and strategic, investing h...

You can’t talk to Robert Egger without asking yourself one simple question: What have I done with my life? Robert has dedicated his life to supporting the hungry, sustainability and those in desperate need of a second chance. He’s weaponized food in the fight to end hunger and build community. Today we discuss his revolutionary ideas around charity needs to change and how we, as restaurateurs and...

Stalking is illegal but I don’t know how else I would describe the process I used to book Chef JJ Johnson for the show. Why? Because he has something important to say. JJ sees food as a common language and uses it to educate the masses about who we are and where we come from. Today we delve into his culinary education and the path that led him to where he is today. Click here to sign up for our we...

If there’s only one lesson to be learned from helping someone open a restaurant it’s that it would be a bad idea to open up one yourself. Max Sheets spent his professional life helping restaurateurs scale their businesses to massive proportions. At some point along the way, he caught the entrepreneurial bug and decided to strike out on his own to create Chick N Max. Today we discuss the tools and...

Here in America, we don’t know what the winter will bring. But we can look to Australia, who’s just coming out of the cold winter months, for indicators of what’s to come. Today I sit down with Shaun de Vries of Open Pantry Consulting. In this episode we discuss how the Australian Hospitality Industry fared during the winter and what we can do stateside to prepare for the colder months. For more o...

When you hear truth, it resonates. The first time a read a book by Seth Godin, I knew in my heart he was speaking the truth. I just read his newest book, The Practice, and I had to talk to him about it. I believe the right mindset is what will help us prevail in these difficult times and this book has helped get me back on track. We talk about The Practice and much more in today far reaching conve...

Working in hospitality is a calling. I felt called to serve people and, as a restaurateur, I’ve done just that. Chef’s have a different calling, to feed and nourish the masses. Today we chat with Dan Giusti, the former executive chef of Noma. Dan walked away from the prestige of fine dining to serve a bigger purpose. Through his company Brigaid, he’s committed his life to turning school cafeterias...

Restaurateurs tackle many problems, but money problems always make it to the top of the list. If we’re going to rethink the whole industry we need to start with financing. We start these passion projects deeply in debt and spend the first several years trying to dig our way out. That’s no way to run a business! My search for innovative ideas to avoid debt financing led me to Johann Moonesinghe. On...

Twice a week, I show you the world I see. The world I want to live in. It’s filled with big names, big stories and bright futures. But there’s something to be said for the small stories...The independent restaurateur fighting the good fight in a forgotten neighborhood. There’s hope and inspiration there as well. Today we chat with Andrea Abdallah, owner of Barcito in Downtown Los Angeles. Andrea i...

Everyone has a different definition of success. But, if we all had to pick one, we’d probably pick Sam Nazarian's. His company, SBE, owns 36 hotels and over 200 culinary and nightlife venues globally. He’s worked with everyone from Philippe Stark to Jose Andres. And even in the midst of a global pandemic he’s expanding, opening Citizen’s a 40,000 sq foot eatery later this year. Sam has dominated e...

No one could have seen the utter decimation of our industry coming, right? Granted there were signs we were on shaky ground but I, for one, was too busy to see them. Michael Tingsager, on the other hand, was not. I reached out to Michael after pouring over the content on his website. The issues we’re tackling today, he was discussing more than a year ago. He’s a hospitality futurist. He can clearl...

The greatest lesson I’ve ever learned is that personal development is professional development. I learned that lesson and countless others from Verne Harnish and the platforms he’s created. Verne has spent his life trying to support the endeavors of Entrepreneurs just like you and me. In these difficult times we need guidance from the best teachers out there. That’s why I asked Verne to be on the...

We’ve covered countless pivots on this show but I wanted to try something different. Today we chat with Krystle Mobayeni, founder of BentoBox. Krystle and her team created a plug and play website design service designed for our industry. She’s been touting the importance of the online experience for restaurants since long before the pandemic. There was no need to pivot! Retail, online ordering and...

If you own and operate the best restaurant in the world does that make you the best restaurateur in the world? If I didn’t believe that Will Guidara was the best before our conversation I certainly do now. His love of craft and of industry inspired him to create not only a restaurant empire, but to create the Welcome Conference: a platform whereby the hospitality industry can come together to char...