Opening Soon Presents: "The Build"

When I was running down my culinary goals I had hoped to head a NYC kitchen by the time I was 30. It seemed ambitious at the time and I was equally proud once achieved. But it pales in comparison to the drive and success of today’s guest. She can proudly say that she’s the owner of 3 restaurants with a fourth on the way, all at that same young age of 30.  Our guest today is Amelie Kang of MáLà Pro...

If you’re involved in hospitality then you have, or maybe should have, read Danny Meyer’s industry guidebook to success, Setting the Table . One of the things you’ll garner is the importance of understanding a neighborhood, and of building a group of restaurants with easy access to one another. Our guests today may have flirted with Manhattan expansion, but found their 2nd restaurant calling was t...

As most of our listeners know, we are also the founders and operators of Tilit , so we appreciate great style when it crosses our path. Our guest today, a longtime hospitality professional, had such style (and still has) when she first came into our showroom years ago. So we’re doubly excited to welcome her now to the podcast to hear about her growing group of restaurants. Our guest today is Natal...

Traditionally we chat with restaurant entrepreneurs who are in the process of building, catching a glimpse into the process and challenges that unfold during opening. Today we’re fortunate to be having a conversation from the other side as our guests are approaching their 1 year anniversary.  Our guests today are a fellow husband and wife team, Chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo of Esme Chicago...

Our guest today is just as skilled at facing challenges as she is at crafting Arab breads and more. Through the pandemic and an oven fire she has succeeded and grown, with plans for a new space coming soon. I was lucky to meet Reem Assil at FAB in Charleston this past June and was inspired by all she had to share and immediately invited her to be on the show. Reem, the founder of Reem’s California...

We are joined today by Jordan Rubin, who is the co-owner of Crispy Gai , and chef-owner of Mr. Tuna, and the forthcoming Bar Futo — all located in downtown Portland, ME. Jordan has always been drawn to Japanese cuisine and has spent his 20-year career working in some of the top sushi bars across New England. Marisa Lewiecki is the co-owner and director of operations at Portland, ME’s Mr. Tuna and...

Our guest today is no stranger to competition and no stranger to media notoriety. She’s one of the rare few that has managed to strike twice, first as an Olympian and more recently as an acclaimed chef, working through some of the best restaurants in Houston, past the competition on Top Chef Season 18, and now into the Innovation Community of Houston’s Ion with her own concept. We're excited to we...

How do you go from a few Taco carts in 2017 to an 11,000 Square ft. Warehouse complete with kitchen and counter service in just a few years? Not to mention the 60+ retail outlets and coffee shops where you can score an Austin style breakfast taco. We are about to find out! Today on the show we have founder Liz Solomon Dwyer of King David Tacos , the Austin-native responsible for NYC's now ubiquito...

Today’s guests join us from the restaurant opening soon you’ve heard nothing about, but will undoubtedly be talked about, once the secret gets out. Or it opens? Which will come first? The Noortwyck is an elevated neighborhood restaurant focusing on delicious food and warm hospitality set to open in NY’s West Village.  Helmed by a team of EMP Alums including Chef Andy Quinn, Director of Ops Cedric...

Over the years there have been many trendy methods of naming your restaurant, from street numbers to creative abbreviations. I personally like when a business is straightforward, a book title that clearly describes its contents. Cafe Spaghetti does that, in a playful way, while leaving room for the diner to be wowed by just how serious this neighborhood Italian spot is about its food.  We wouldn’t...

Ci Siamo means, we have arrived. And judging by the packed dining room and the buzzing,  expertly trained service team at Ci Siamo last month, we may have finally arrived into the post covid era of dining.  We’ve had the pleasure of knowing Chef Hillary since her time as CDC at A Voce with Chef Missy Robbins, to chef/partner at neighborhood favorite Vics and now exec Chef at Danny Myers's latest v...

At first glance, Hungry House reminds us of the experience we remember as a kid at the mall food court, the fantasy realized of having all of your faves available in one meal. However, Hungry House, its roster, and the way it works with its collaborators are much more than an indulgent trip to the mall.  Founded by Kristen Barnett this past Fall, Hungry House is a brick and mortar and delivery pla...

Opening a restaurant is a challenge. In the sense of the word that it’s hard, it’s expensive, stressful, and much more. Today’s guests are tackling that challenge, of course, but they’re also using their new restaurant as a challenge to the industry, to the norms that have been created, and the exclusions that have been present in their careers and throughout the industry. They aim to build an exp...

We were first introduced to Edith’s in the summer of 2020 when we joined the line of several dozen other hungry Brooklynites looking for hand-rolled bagels and hot latkes. Fast forward 18 months and Ediths has 2 permanent locations including a brand new flagship complete with café and grocery.  Founder Elyssa Heller is on a mission to highlight food of the Jewish Diaspora beyond the standard delic...

Every restaurant, no matter how hard they try to avoid it, ends up with food waste. Slow nights, weather impacted outdoor dining, pandemic surges and dips, and just the normal ebb and flow of running a restaurant can leave food on the table, literally. There have been options in the past, but how does a case of celery on the brink or an overstock of milk help by itself? ReThink Food tackled this p...

Are pop-ups here to stay? According to our guests today, YES! They are doing just that with their Eastern European cuisine, and building their pop-up and frozen Pelmeni business, Dacha 46 , from the ground up after a successful run of pop-ups, including a term at our previous guest, Libby Lark’s community space, KIT. Excited to welcome chefs Jessica and Trina Quinn to the show.   Heritage Radio Ne...

Our restaurant delivery system is broken. Can we all just agree on this? Restaurants are getting hammered with percent-of-sales fees, delivery drivers are hurting for fair pay, stability, and safety, and customers have been trained to expect faster delivery times and wider accessibility.  We are excited to welcome back to the show Josh Morgan, operating partner of Melt Shop and CEO/Co-Founder of S...

We’ve tried this once before - booking a guest the day before they opened that is. And last time? Well, we had a quiet line… Today, though, our guest has made the time to chat with us on how he, along with his partner plan to open their doors to their new concept housed in a 150-plus-year-old iron foundry outside Philadelphia.  We are happy to have Nicholas Elmi, former Top Chef winner and James B...

2 years ago, a restaurateur building out his outdoor patio before investing in his interior dining room would have sounded like some sort of farce to be balked at by the likes of Mr. Wonderful on the latest episode of Shark Tank. But today, it just sounds downright smart. Unless you're part of the lucky few with endless streams of cash, most folks, in getting their new venture off the ground have...

Daily Provisions from USHG is the kind of neighborhood spot everyone welcomes. It is true all-day dining, from the classic Bacon Egg and Cheese in the morning to the Roasted Chicken in the afternoon. Don’t pass on the addicting sweets like cookies and crullers. But even with the muscle from a seasoned team at USHG there can be unforeseen start-up challenges.  Welcoming executive Chef and friend of...

The last year and a half has, amongst a few other things, upended the way we eat. We’ve embraced eating at home, whether it be cooking for ourselves or feasting on a bevy of elevated takeout menus. Giant grocery stores still exist, but many of us are ordering our staples online and turning to local specialty stores: specialty grocers, butchers, delis, and cafes that hark back to the early 1900s. T...

We first planned to chat with James and Jessica on August 3rd, the day before they opened. Note to self, while it’s enticing to get a first-hand account of the finish line, we shouldn’t schedule a podcast the day before the restaurant opens. They may have other things to wrap up! Luckily we’re able to get another go at hearing your opening story. After nearly a year of looking for spaces, Chef Jam...

Quit your day job and open up a NY-style pizza shop. That’s the American dream, right? Since we can never get enough pizza, we’re talking slice shops with another growing food entrepreneur: this time we're South of the Mason Dixon in Atlanta, GA. Today we talk to Rob Birdsong, owner and pizzaiolo in residence at Glide Pizza in Atlanta GA. This one is special to us for a couple of reasons. Jenny gr...

Now more than ever chefs and entrepreneurs are finding new ways to get their business off the ground, being immensely creative to minimize their risk while generating a name for themselves. Working together and collaborating has been a way, in recent years, for the culinary world to grow and share audiences. A more permanent collaboration can be a way to share the burden of overhead costs associat...

Over the past year, we saw a lot of pivots from full-service restaurants to delivery-only, meal kits, and nationwide shipping. Now that things are opening up again, what about the reverse? Food businesses that have been operating in a digital space are going brick and mortar.  Our guest today is doing just that. With two decades of professional culinary experience, chef Surbhi Sahni brings home co...