Opening Soon Presents: "The Build"

With spaces closing, adapting or sadly: empty and many chefs on the move,  never has there been a better time to collab. And we have indeed seen a ton of really great pop ups. But how do the economics of a pop up work out and how can you translate a successful pop up to a permanent business? If you feel like you have seen our guest today everywhere lately, thats probably because you have.  Excited...

This season is all about finances. This week we talk about what it takes to parlay a successful pop up into a permanent home. Because sometimes there is a less traditional path is the one with taking. Our guests today are doing just that. Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski have been operating Dame , a small English Restaurant as a long term pop up in the West Village since the beginning of the summe...

Long before we closed our dining rooms, many chefs had opened Fast Casual concepts as a way to increase their revenue stream and ease growth expansion vs the weighing costs associated with full service casual and traditional fine dining. There are obvious drawbacks to Fast Casual, like the need for a dialed down menu, different style of service experience, and piles on piles of togo containers. So...

Lien Ta , managing partner of All Day Baby and the former Here’s Looking at You in Los Angeles,CA. She recently shared the struggle of operating Here’s Looking at You and launching All Day Baby in the midst of the pandemic with LA mayor Eric Garcetti, that was aired during the Democratic National Convention. Her story is not singular, it is shared by many.  Since this season is all about money, to...

Today, we’re excited to announce that season 5 of Opening Soon will be devoted to our most listened to and most response inducing topics, you guessed it - money. How to get it, how to spend it, (in today’s pandemic world: how to save it) and depending on your future goals, the most important: how to make it.  Our guest today is Jason Goodman, he is the co-founder of Bathhouse in Williamsburg Brook...

Restoration is defined as the act of returning something to its former condition or, in this case, grandeur. The team behind Gage & Tollner worked tirelessly throughout 2019 and into 2020 to restore a legend of the Brooklyn dining scene. They were slated to open on March 15th (dare I call into conversation the famous Julius Caesar line?). We all know what happened next. While the world is anxiousl...

Our guests today, Keavy Landreth and Steph Gallardo are all about being scrappy. For their newest concept Love, Nelly they capitalized on a nearby space, used their already owned equipment, and put their own sweat into a new colombian bakery concept. We first sat down with Keavy and Steph on March 3rd. To chat about their then-upcoming venture, Love Nelly. They opened July 22nd deep into the pande...

We first chatted with Ben, Jason and Josh the team behind Giant in Chicago and now Chef's Special Cocktail Ba r on January 14th in the midst of staff training. As you will soon hear one of the key reasons for opening Chef's Special was to provide new growth opportunities to their team including bringing over new partners from the Giant team; Aaron, Tom, and Chase. Today we catch up with Chase Brac...

Weeks after opening their newest restaurant Laser Wolf, Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook found themselves immersed, like all of us, in the pandemic. This episode spans nearly 6 months. We first spoke to Chef Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook on January 28th as they were about to host friend’s and family at their newest restaurant, Laser Wolf in their expanding Philadelphia restaurant empire. And we caugh...

There’s a lot more to consider when re-opening your restaurant or business then just when the local government says it's ok to do so. Namely the health and safety of your staff and your family. Not to mention the logistics of converting your space for outdoor only dining. Our guests today are Leah Cohen and Ben Byruch. Leah is the the chef/owner of Pig & Khao and Piggy Back Bar in NYC. Ben runs th...

This week we’re airing an episode that starts back in January where we caught up with Ben and Kate Towil of Basic Projects and Post House Tavern & Inn on thier unique approach to design. The follow up conversation to the first was recorded at the Charlseton Wine and Food Festival in early March days before lockdowns first went into place. Today Ben and Kate have completed their renovation but have...

Fundraising for a restaurant project is no walk in the park. One can prepare to be met with under delivered expectations from most of your list of potential investors, often times including friends and family. Ghosted calls, delays and loan denials are a natural part of the territory that comes with getting checks in hand. It is only a dedicated and impassioned person that can weather the challeng...

It’s been 2 weeks since our last episode of re-opening soon and in that short time our country is marching towards a long awaited change. Stay at home orders to curb the COVID-19 pandemic are lifting across the country for better or worse. Time will yield the result of how the pandemic has truly affected restaurants. But even bigger than the pandemic, spurred by police brutality and the death of G...

Re-Opening is upon us. Well for some of us at least, and pending for the rest of us. Jenny and I listened this morning to industry leaders, including Thomas Keller, Will Guidara, Sean Feeney and Tim Love, present issues that independent restaurants are facing directly to President Trump. Among those issues were the importance of the PPP loans and the necessity that the usage and term length for fo...

"'Normal' will never be a thing until we have a vaccine.” That comes from Ali Mokdad, chief strategy officer for population health at the University of Washington. It is imperative that we look beyond our immediate community and even beyond our leadership to ensure that we are all making practical decisions for a NEW future. We all need to shake the idea that this will be over, the lights will be...

Writing for the Washington Post, Atlanta restaurateur Hugh Acheson and former OS guest, says: “My governor here in GA, Brian Kemp, has proclaimed that many businesses that have been closed for weeks can reopen on Friday…. No thank you.” Acheson continues to say, “ I am confident that my restaurants will create a system of distanced hospitality with clear sanitation guidelines that can be viable in...

Change is inevitable and in today’s landscape change is constant. Restaurants will not look the same as they once did for the foreseeable future. Whether through closure, regulation or community fear, we can’t expect to reopen our businesses without adapting to the way things will be. Growth will be in your hands. We’re back with another episode of RE-Opening soon, talking to chefs, restaurateurs...

We’re back with another episode of RE-Opening soon, talking to chefs, restaurateurs and those in the hospitality business about the impacts of the Coronavirus Crisis. We’ve spoken with chefs on closing down, pivoting to delivery, approaching their local government and mental health and well being in this unprecedented era. Now we chat financial healing. There are predictions that more than 75% of...

We’re back with another episode of RE-Opening soon, talking to chefs, restaurateurs, and those in the hospitality business about the impacts of the Coronavirus Crisis. We’ve spoken with chefs on closing down, pivoting to delivery/takeout models as well as how people are approaching their local government and getting involved in charitable work as a means to operate and stay active in this unpreced...

We’ve optimistically dubbed this season as RE-Opening soon, talking to chefs and restaurateurs impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis. We hope to get some advice, share some of the pain and find hope for the future. In the past week business owners were left with 2 losing prospects: close and lay everyone off or pivot to take out and delivery risking your health and that of your team. And 7 million pe...

Starting today, on this special addition of Opening Soon, which we will be optimistically dubbing hereafter RE-Opening soon, we are talking to chefs and restaurateurs impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis. We hope to get some advice, share some of the pain and find hope for the future. It's heartbreaking to see the very establishments that nourish our bellies and souls and serve as the heart of our c...

Starting today, on this special addition of Opening Soon, which we will be optimistically dubbing hereafter RE-Opening soon, we are talking to chefs and restaurateurs impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis. We hope to get some advice, share some of the pain and find hope for the future. It's heartbreaking to see the very establishments that nourish our bellies and souls and serve as the heart of our c...

We have heard about varying degrees of complexity during the build out phase on this show. From quick cosmetic updates like Chad Conley in Maine, to basically starting from zero, like Missy Robbins of Lilia. Todays guests fall in the later camp. John Winterman and Chris Cippollone are in the process of converting a very old bank building into a brasserie on the corner of Bedford and Broadway in Br...

In a perfect world, vision and aesthetics would drive all design decisions for a restaurant space and money would be no object. In reality there are almost always trade offs between what you want to do and what you can afford during the build out and design.  Were you lusting after the custom hand painted ceramic tile and then end up with home depot subway tile special because your budget got cut...

Permitting may be the one piece in the puzzle that is mostly out of your control. There is typically a collective groan by business owners when the word permit and the associated regulatory agencies are uttered. These agencies are often overworked and understaffed and have the ability to delay your project and add to the budget. But there are ways to mitigate the risk and ensure you are prepared....