Take-Away with Sam Oches

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Chris Tomasso, CEO of First Watch, a daytime café concept with more than 600 locations doing over a billion dollars in sales annually. Chris is coming up on his 20-year anniversary with the brand, having started as CMO back in 2006 and helping late cofounder Ken Pendery build First Watch into a powerhouse over the course of two decades. C...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Dolf Berle, CEO of Nothing Bundt Cakes, the Dallas-based chain of nearly 800 bakeries that was just named America’s Favorite Chain by Technomic. It wasn’t just the overall winner; it was also best among the top 10 chains in service and hospitality, unit appearance and ambiance, food and beverage, and convenience and takeout, and the No. 1...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mike Stasko Jr., president of Sunny Street Café, a 22-unit franchise based in Columbus, Ohio, that has experienced positive traffic and sales comps even while many of its competitors are struggling. It’s not crazy menu innovation or tech bells and whistles that are driving this success; instead, Sunny Street has simply doubled down on gre...

In this special bonus episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kate Finley, founder and CEO of Belle Communication, a foodservice PR agency with expertise in earned media, influencer relations, creative strategy, and consumer insights. NRN has partnered all year with Belle on their Brilli platform, which offers unique insights into food influencers and how to leverage them for your busi...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Scott Boatwright, the CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Chipotle, of course, needs no introduction, but to some degree Scott did last year when he was suddenly thrust into the CEO role after his former boss Brian Niccol left for the chief executive job at Starbucks. Scott has spent his whole career in restaurants, spending the bulk of his ea...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Henry Borgeson, CEO of Roots Natural Kitchen, an 18-unit salad and grain bowl concept that was started by some University of Virginia graduates in Charlottesville a decade ago. The premise was straightforward: make natural food radically accessible to everyday consumers. But history is riddled with examples of restaura...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Greg Flynn, founder and CEO of Flynn Group, which is the largest franchise operator in the world with eight brands in its portfolio doing about $5 billion in annual sales. Flynn Group has spent the past 25 years partnering with some of the biggest chains in the world, including Applebee’s, Wendy’s, Panera Bread, A...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Derrick Hayes, the founder and CEO of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a nine-unit franchise that has plans to become the next big thing in cheesesteaks. A native of West Philadelphia, Derrick opened the first location 11 years ago inside a Dunwoody, Georgia, gas station, turning it into a cult favorite with hours-long lines....

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Shannon Hennessy, the CEO of Habit Burger & Grill. The California-based better-burger chain has grown to nearly 400 locations over its 56 years and now, with help from parent company Yum Brands, is plotting coast to coast growth. Shannon joined Habit Burger from sister chain KFC back in 2022 and took over as CEO in...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mahesh Sadarangani, the CEO of Philz Coffee, an artisanal coffee brand that, for more than 20 years, has committed itself to serving hand-crafted coffee using sustainably sourced beans from around the world. Mahesh arrived at Philz from Wingstop in 2021, and he set out to modernize and optimize the chain while protecti...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza, a fast-casual pizza joint based in Washington D.C. that has grown to 45 locations. &pizza made headlines earlier this year when it announced it would buck the trend and cut its menu prices, offering unlimited free toppings with its $12 personal-sized pizzas rather than charging for to...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Brett Schulman, cofounder and CEO at CAVA, the Mediterranean fast casual concept that has grown to more than 400 locations across the U.S. Brett sat down with Sam during the Investment Summit portion of the recent CREATE Event for Emerging Restaurateurs, where he shared the blueprint for CAVA’s remarkable growth, which...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Russell Weiner, the chief executive officer at Domino’s Pizza, at the company’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich. Russell shares the strategies that have driven Domino’s to become a dominant global leader in pizza, and he reflects on his 17 years with the company, which included what could be the most remarkable brand t...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kate Trumbull, EVP and global chief marketing officer at Domino’s Pizza, in person at the chain’s Ann Arbor, Mich., headquarters. She joined the podcast to talk about why Domino’s takes big swings in its marketing, how it crafts its voice in the social media age, and what went into that major brand refresh the company...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Lars Smith, chef and owner of State of Mind Pub in Palo Alto, Calif., and Abby Hughes, head of growth strategy for Belle Communication. They’ve been tracking the rise of chef content on Instagram and TikTok, and joined the podcast to share their tips both for chefs and foodservice businesses on how to leverage chefs fo...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mark Cote, CEO of both Wild Wing Café and Back Yard Burgers since 2022. The brands each recently emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Mark joined the podcast to talk about the filing process, how to prepare for it, what it looks like, and why there’s reason for optimism even when it seems like the sky is falling. &n...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mark Greenblatt, president of Barry Bagel, a Toledo, Ohio-based franchise founded by Mark’s dad Barry Greenblatt back in 1972. He joined the podcast to talk about the lessons he picked up working alongside his dad, how he’s learned big lessons from dumb mistakes, and how he’s finding efficiencies in the business without mes...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Koji Kanematsu, founder of Onigilly Japanese Kitchen, a San Francisco based franchise introducing Americans to the rice ball snack onigiri. He joined the podcast to talk about the brand’s humble beginnings as a food cart, how he had to completely rethink his product to adapt to American palates, and how COVID forced him to...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kaleb Harrell, cofounder and CEO at Hawkers Asian Street Food, a 15-unit casual chain based in Orlando. Hawkers filed for bankruptcy in September 2024, even though it had been enjoying double-digit year-over-year sales growth. The bankruptcy filing was to protect the brand from an overreaching lender, and after settling that dis...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Michael Meche, president of Mooyah Burgers, Fries and Shakes. Michael has three decades of experience in the restaurant industry, most of that with Papa Johns, where he started as a store employee before working his way up to vice president of franchise operations. He then spent a few years at Capriotti’s and Wing Zone before ta...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Scott Ball, president of FiiZ Drinks, a specialty soda shop franchise that started in Utah in 2014 and now has more than 70 locations across the U.S. With about 150 locations in the pipeline, FiiZ is capitalizing on the incredible rise in dirty soda’s popularity, but the brand features a wide range of beverages plus food it...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Rick Cardenas, the CEO of Darden Restaurants. This is the fourth edition in our Signature Series — in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company — which are conversations with some of the biggest CEOs in the restaurant industry. Rick started as a bus boy at Red Lobster when he was 16 years old, and over the course of four decad...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Sean Pourteymour, the cofounder and executive chairman of Luna Grill, as well as Rich Pinnella, the brand’s CEO. Sean and his wife Maria founded Luna Grill in San Diego back in 2004, and the Mediterranean fast casual started scaling in 2010. By 2019 it had expanded to more than 50 locations between California and Texas, but paus...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Tony Scardino, aka Professor Pizza, and Megumi Robinson, the vice president of services at Belle Communication. Tony is both a restaurant operator and an influencer, having both a pizza shop in Chicago and a sizeable following on social media with his Professor Pizza moniker. Meanwhile, Megumi and Belle Communication have been N...

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Jeff Fenster, the founder and CEO of Everbowl, an acai bowl concept that has grown to 100 locations in nine years, and which now counts athletes like Jayson Tatum, Drew Brees, and Shaquille O’Neal among its investors. Much of Everbowl’s success can be attributed to Jeff’s knack for disruption in the marketplace, his entrepreneur...