ON THE DELO: Arizona Restaurant & Hospitality Stories

In Episode 219 of On The Delo, Delo sits down with Manny and Rick from Nightlife Security Consultants to expose the security failures, operational mistakes, and liability risks that cost bars, restaurants, and nightclubs hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. From a $248,000 lawsuit over an $8 bar tab to a man stabbed on a dance floor the night before his sister's wedding, this episode r...

Step into Episode 217 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Laura, founder of Laura's Gourmet — a woman-owned, Arizona-based granola brand that went from a "happy accident" recipe to 22 years on the shelves of AJ's Fine Foods, Whole Foods, and United Airlines Hawaii flights. From culinary school career changer to food service powerhouse, Laura's journey is a masterclass in tr...

Step into Episode 217 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Corey and TJ from inKind to break down one of the most innovative financing and marketing models in the restaurant industry today. Built by operators for operators, inKind gives restaurants upfront capital at zero interest — and a 5-million-user marketing engine to back it up. From a D.C. restaurant incubator 11 years ago to over 8,000 re...

Step into Episode 216 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Roland Wood III — a Phoenix-born, west-side-raised finance veteran who went from staff accountant to CFO across some of Arizona's most recognized restaurant concepts, including Grimaldi's and Square One. Roland pulls back the curtain on what a CFO actually does, why the best ones never win a popularity contest, and how "if th...

Step into Episode 215 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Scott and Josh, co-founders of Craft Culture Draft Solutions, to pull back the curtain on one of the most overlooked profit leaks in the bar and restaurant business — your draft beer system. From foamy pours and dirty lines to bad CO2 pressure and undertrained bartenders, these two Arizona-based draft pros break down exactly why money is...

Step into Episode 214 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Jeremiah, Air Force veteran, mortgage broker, and multi-unit franchisee of Jeremiah's Italian Ice, for a candid conversation about building multiple businesses, staying grounded through discipline, and why family-focused frozen treats are a surprisingly powerful vehicle for entrepreneurship. From opening his first location next to Cor...

Step into Episode 213 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Cianna and Mike, the husband-and-wife team behind ATL (All the LUV) Wings, to unpack how a commercial cleaning company pivoted into a growing Arizona wing brand built on “all the love.” From losing contracts when the economy crashed to opening their first Chandler location with zero restaurant experience and a whole lot of faith, they sha...

Step into Episode 212 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Rudy and his son Thomas, the father–son team behind Strictly From Scratch, a 31‑year bakery that quietly supplies breads and pastries to hospitals, hotels, airlines, and big‑box retailers across the country. From New York City nightclubs and an Acapulco sabbatical to relaunching a bakery in Arizona in 1995, Rudy walks through how a career...

Step into Episode 211 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Ted Golden — Arizona craft beer veteran, former Four Peaks sales director, and founder of AZ Locale Brewing — for a wide-open conversation about what it really takes to leave a 25-year career and bet on yourself. From skateboarding in Southern California and busing tables at a Manhattan Beach boutique hotel to building one of Arizona'...

Step into Episode 210 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Mark Miller, a five-decade veteran of Arizona's beverage and food industry, whose career took him from delivering beer on a Hensley truck in 1978 to serving as VP of Sales for the state's largest Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, leading the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance (AFMA), and now heading BACIC Arizona — the industry-backed organ...

Step into Episode 209 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Chef Kyle, the James Beard Award finalist and Executive Chef behind Chula Seafood — one of Arizona's most celebrated seafood concepts. From bussing tables at a small-town steakhouse in Payson to earning the culinary industry's highest honor, Kyle's journey is equal parts discipline, humility, and an unwavering commitment to le...

How do you build a clean-label snack brand from scratch? In Episode 208 of On The Delo, Shannon shares how she turned a home kitchen idea into The Best Bar — a handcrafted snack brand now sold across Arizona, from AJ’s Fine Foods to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. What started with a $2,000 investment, a Vistaprint logo, and Arizona’s cottage food law has grown into a six-year jou...

Step into Episode 207 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Matt and Brian of Iconic Cocktails to talk about building an Arizona mixer brand over the last decade, from farmers markets and small-batch production to wholesale growth, hospitality partnerships, and a 10-year anniversary worth celebrating. What starts as a fun catch-up turns into a sharp conversation about partnership, product pivots,...

Step into Episode 206 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Rick Miller of RLM Hospitality to talk about what really happens when a lifelong restaurant operator shifts from running the floor to helping restaurant groups understand their numbers. From growing up in Scottsdale and building his career in New York and Austin to returning to Arizona to launch RLM, Rick shares the experiences that shape...

Step into Episode 205 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Mat Snapp and Cortnie of Barter & Shake, the team behind some of Arizona’s most immersive cocktail concepts, to unpack what it really takes to build hospitality spaces people want to come back to. From Mat’s years helping open dozens of restaurants with Sam Fox concepts to Cortnie’s path through Starbucks, Nespresso, San Francisco bar...

Step into Episode 204 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Teddy, a fifth-generation Arizona native and co-founder of Pretty Decent Concepts, for a wide-ranging conversation about music, grit, marriage, and building one of Phoenix's most creative restaurant groups from the ground up. From touring the country on $7 a day with his rock band Hollywood Heartthrob to winning a million-dollar raffl...

What happens when the host becomes the guest? Ina very special Episode 203 of On The Delo, Eric Walters of A Taste of AZ flips the mic to interview Delo and his father Ed DeLorenzo—the original "Delo"—in a rare, unfiltered father-son conversation about legacy, fitness, sales, and what it really means to build something that lasts. From Ed's Mr. Colorado bodybuilding titles and his 50...

Step into Episode 202 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Dan Bogert, 10-year Government Affairs veteran at the Arizona Restaurant Association, to pull back the curtain on the policy battles, legislative wins, and behind-the-scenes advocacy that protect Arizona's restaurant industry every single day. From a viral "Free the Scoop" ice cream bill to negotiating directly with the gove...

Step into Episode 201 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Riley, Director of Pickleball, and Casey, General Manager of Dink & Dine — a brand-new pickleball-anchored eatertainment facility that's rewriting what a night out looks like in the Valley. Four months in and sitting at a 4.9-star rating with over 110 fully organic reviews, this isn't a pickleball gym with a menu tacked on — i...

Step into Episode 200 of ‘On The Delo’ as Delo celebrates a major milestone by sitting down with fellow "Delo" Dave Delos, a 30-year bar industry veteran, owner of six neighborhood dive bars, and president of the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association (ALBA). From growing up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and building homes with his hands to buying his first bar from his father-in-law Tony Ma...

In Episode 199, Delo sits down with Michael Merendino, the founder of Crust Simply Italian and a fixture in the Arizona hospitality scene. Born and raised in New York, Michael shares his incredible journey from waiting tables at Mastro’s Ocean Club—where he made $1,000 a night during the golden era of steakhouses—to buying a 7-foot pizza oven before he even had a lease for his first restaurant. Th...

Meet Chef Patty, a food entrepreneur who turned homesickness for Nigerian food into a thriving food truck empire. In Episode 198 of On the Delo, Delo sits down with Chef Patty to explore how she traded healthcare administration for authentic West African cuisine, built Lasgidi Cafe from the ground up with just $50K, and is now planning a brick-and-mortar location to scale her vision. From selling...

Step into Episode 197 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with chef Beau MacMillan for an unflinching conversation about what happens when 30 years of grinding finally collide with reality. Beau has lived the highlights—celebrity chef status, Iron Chef wins, cooking for Steven Tyler, Jerry Bruckheimer, Adam Sandler, and building Sanctuary into a 23-year Arizona institution. What often goes untold is...

Step into Episode 196 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Arizona PR powerhouse Melissa DiGianfilippo, founder of Proof Publicity, for an honest conversation about building credibility, navigating crisis communication, and what it really takes to grow a business on your own terms. From firing clients who waste time to leveraging AI for faster content creation without losing the human touch, Meli...

Step into Episode 195 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Chris Nelson, founder of Nelson's Meat + Fish , for an intimate conversation about the ocean, sobriety, and what it really takes to build a specialty food market that refuses to cut corners. From growing up on the Connecticut coast and falling in love with the water to navigating decades in hospitality while battling addiction, Chris...