Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates

Send us Fan Mail Andrew Martino is the founder of Ghost Truck Kitchen, the world's first digital food truck lot. He's on year three of running the 12 concept concept out of his 800 square foot location, is the owner of Martino Hospitality Services, is starting a New Jersey co-op, and knew Zack in high school. What a guy! There was a lot of great info on this episode, but here are a few o...

Send us Fan Mail Chip Klose is the owner of Chip Klose Creative and works with brands to promote their unique value proposition to the right people as a restaurant consultant. He made a name for himself in operations, and went on to learn the in's and out's of marketing. Now he mixes both in his work with restaurants and on his podcast, the Restaurant Strategy podcast. On this episode of...

Send us Fan Mail Amy Mills is the Owner and Chief Strategist at 17th Street Barbecue, one of the "best BBQ brands on earth." She is also an author, speaker, consultant, and has judged on numerous cooking channel and food network shows. Unfortunately, many storied restaurants have had to close their doors due to COVID-19, but 17th Street Barbecue isn't on that list! Amy tells their s...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of Give an Ovation features the final interview as part of Table for 10, an e-book focused on technology transformation and collaboration. Kelly MacPherson, former CIO at Burger King, Popeye's, and a current Advisory Council Member at USHG Acquisition Corp, oversaw the creation of the e-book and interviewed 10 different innovators in the restaurant space. She and...

Send us Fan Mail Christy Lamagna is a dynamic keynote speaker, author, and coach who uses her 30+ years in strategic planning to help people overcome challenges and press forward. She's also the MarCom advisor at ShedWool, a smart scheduling platform that works with many restaurants and other businesses. She and Zack discuss:  What strategy means Making it about the guest Cleaning the bathroo...

Send us Fan Mail Molly McGrath is a culinary innovation leader with over a decade of experience in strategy, menu execution, and operational efficiency. She's worked at The Chopping Block, CSSI Marketing, Roti Modern Mediterranean, and is now teaching how to transform everyday cooking into light work as the Founder and Chef at Light Work Kitchens. On this episode, she and Zack discuss:  Tips...

Send us Fan Mail Not only is Shawn Walchef the owner of the award-winning Cali Comfort BBQ and the larger Cali BBQ Media, he is also the man who beat us to naming a podcast "Digital Hospitality" - a video podcast that he has hosted since 2017. As a pioneer in the digital restaurant space, Shawn brought expertise and insight to this episode of Give an Ovation where he and Zack discuss: Ho...

Send us Fan Mail Matthew Smith is what you could call a CMO squared - being the Chief Marketing Officer at The Madera Group and one their brands, Tocaya Organica. Matthew has seen tremendous success in building Madera's brands (Hailey Bieber wears their to-go bag??) and we were lucky to have him on this episode. He and Zack discuss:  Importance of branding vs product Matthew's "Ever...

Send us Fan Mail Andrew Boryk is the Co-founder and CTO at Lunchbox, a next-gen digital ordering platform for restaurants to improve their relationships and retention, and one of Ovation's favorite partners. Andrew and Zack discuss why restaurants need their own ordering platforms, what loyalty looks like today, and their honest thoughts on if 3rd party DSP's are truly as "evil&quot...

Send us Fan Mail Miguel Ortiz is the VP, Marketing Leading Product Management and Marketing at Transact Technologies and the creator of BOHA (Back Of House Automation), a tool that automates time-consuming tasks for restaurants. Miguel brought great insights to this episode that touched on automation, data, the state of the restaurant industry and more that you can't miss. Thanks Miguel! 

Send us Fan Mail Steven Simoni is the CEO of Bbot, a company that started by producing robots that would deliver food and drinks to tables and transitioned to a software service that helps restaurants and hotels run more efficiently with happier staff and guests. With a flourishing company and an highly technical background, Steven brought unique expertise to this episode of Give an Ovation where...

Send us Fan Mail Chris Rumpf is the Founder, CEO, and El Conquistador oficial of Flyght, a company that unifies restaurant technologies. He and Zack Oates talk the four must-do's of 3rd party, technology integration, and how your restaurant can unify the guest experience in 2021. Thanks Chris!

Send us Fan Mail Kevin Seo is the CEO/Co-founder of FoodFest Live, a pandemic-born digital events and media company that helps restaurants thrive. Kevin brought energy, insight, and his absolutely contagious laugh to this episode where he and Zack discuss restaurant social media, data, and what marketing looks like today. And no, unfortunately this episode doesn't touch on S earch E ngine O p...

Send us Fan Mail Sam Oches is a musician-turned-foodie who is currently the Editorial Director at Food News Media, the company behind the QSR and FSR magazines. As one of the top people to follow in the food and beverage industry and the host of QSR's Fast Forward podcast, he brought so much value to this episode. He and Zack talk about 2021, and what will stick around in the industry post-CO...

Send us Fan Mail The only thing that may make you hungrier than listening to this podcast would be taking a look at the @utahgrubs Instagram page, which is run by our guest, Olivia Gochnour! Olivia's food photos have attracted over 65K followers, and on this episode she teaches how restaurants can boost their social media feeds with gorgeous pictures, work with influencers, and more. Thanks O...

Send us Fan Mail What does a conversation between two podcast hosts in the same industry sound like? A lot of energy and well-spoken advice! And good sound quality on both ends. Jen Kern is the current CMO at Qu POS, a company reinventing the POS system for the modern age. She has over 20 years of experience in marketing and tech, and also brought many valuable insights from her podcast, Restauran...

Send us Fan Mail Christopher Sebes brings 30 years in the hospitality industry and whole lot of expertise to this episode of Give an Ovation. As a board member of Valyant AI, ShiftPixy, ItsaCheckmate, and Results Thru Strategy, advising restaurants is kind of his thing. So don't miss his thoughts on S.A.A.S., P.O.S.'s, and more (not just acronyms). Thanks Christopher!

Send us Fan Mail Gonca Esendemir is the real deal! She is a co-founder and the Chief Marketing Officer of Flatbread Grill, a fresh casual Mediterranean bakery based in New Jersey. Flatbread was started by Gonca and her two sisters and has gone on to experience wild success and press attention from the New York Times, Inc. Magazine, and others. On this episode she tells her story and gives some tho...

Send us Fan Mail Devon Harris is one of the founding members of the Jamaican Bob Sled Team (yes, the one you are thinking of ) and a three-time Olympian who is now a published author, accomplished speaker, and the founder of The Keep On Pushing Foundation. You don't want to miss the inspirational stories and advice he shares on this episode of Give an Ovation. Thanks Devon!

Send us Fan Mail Kevin Tinsley has been helping restaurants with their print and digital media for 23 years. He got his start in the industry working at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago (along with Steve Carell) and now specializes in ghost kitchens and online ordering. He and Zack talk all the above and more. Thanks Kevin!

Send us Fan Mail After he and his wife experienced the frustration and hassle of running fundraisers as Slim Chicken franchisees, Charley Donaldson co-founded DonationScout to make the process seamless. He and Zack Oates talk why restaurant fundraisers are important, some best practices, and how DonationScout can help. Thanks Charley!

Send us Fan Mail Jordan Mellul is the VP of Operations at Qwick,  "an on-demand staffing as a service platform that connects service industry Professionals with food and beverage shifts in real-time" (Qwick.com). He also helped grow Uber for five years during their early stages, so he brings an experienced perspective on the gig economy to this episode of Give an Ovation. Thanks Jordan!

Send us Fan Mail Marqii is a booming tech company helping restaurants manage their menus and other digital information across all online platforms and free up employees to do what they were hired for. Their co-founder and CEO, Avi Goren came on talk why they've seen success in the pandemic, and give his insights as to how restaurateurs can succiid right now. Tune in for some great content. Th...

Send us Fan Mail CJ Ramirez is the Executive Vice President and Marketing Director at The Absolute Brands, a flavor-packed collection of off premise brands, powered by the fan-favorite Dog Haus. He and Zack Oates discuss listening to your customers, syncing marketing and operations, and a little bit about Ovation. Thanks CJ!

Send us Fan Mail President and CEO of Return On Ingredients, author,  and educator Mark Kelnhofer is back making his second appearance on Give an Ovation! This time, he and Zack talk innovative ways of lowering expenses on ingredients, labor and more. Thanks Mark!