The Cutting Onions Podcast

On today’s episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I continue to the conversation about the basics of the business and talk about the lost art of restaurant orientations. This is a basic fundamental of the business that is crucial to having engaged, inspired, and excellent team members. Here is some of what we talked about in our conversation: Technology (LMS, onboarding software) is a us...

Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I talk about the return of operational discipline.  Here’s what we know:  Restaurants are entering a season where fundamentals matter more than ever. Technology, AI, dashboards, kiosks, loyalty platforms, delivery, and automation are all useful tools, but they do not replace the discipline of running a great shift. The winning operators will consisten...

Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! On today's episode we are excited to feature our conversation with restaurant executive and author, Jason Brooks. Jason has an incredible leadership story, which we get into on the podcast and it's equal parts inspiring and tactical. Jason has just written a new book titled "The Simplicity of Leadership" and it is fantastic. The Simplicity o...

Welcome back to The Cutting Onions Podcast . In today’s episode, we’re talking about Gratitude and Grit: The Two Engines of Leadership . Because leadership is not just about pushing harder, and it’s not just about staying positive. It takes both. Gratitude keeps us grounded, humble, and connected to the people around us. Grit keeps us moving when the work gets hard, the pressure builds, and the ou...

Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I discuss two principles from Jim Collins’ excellent book, Great By Choice, published in 2012. Jim has a new book coming out on April 7th titled What To Make of A Life, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it! In today’s conversation, we discussed firing bullets before cannonballs and the 20-mile march. Bullets Before Cannonballs: Imagine two ships t...

Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. This is episode 106, and today’s conversation we're talking about the power of storytelling in hospitality and in life. Alongside my co-host, as always, Myles Gift, we’re really excited about this conversation. We believe storytelling has become a really important part of the work we do in the restaurant and hospitality industry, but you see its importanc...

Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Bobby and Myles talk about the Four Leadership Needs of every follower in every organization. Gallup recently studied people across 52 countries and found something powerful: No matter where you live, no matter the industry, the people you lead have four core leadership needs. Hope. Trust. Compassion. Stability. Of all four, hope is the most essential. Hope isn...

Today we are excited to host Joshua Sims Sr.on The Cutting Onions Podcast. Joshua is an entrepreneur and marketing executive, and the Founder of The Fossil Group , an omni-channel, digital, and data-forward marketing agency focused on driving digital sales for franchisees, emerging brands, and founders.  His background includes serving as Head of Marketing at Big Chicken, Senior Manager of Media &...

On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I tackle a quote from leadership author and expert Jim Collins. His quote, "If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could." Naturally, that resonates with us big time, and we discuss the importance of acquiring the best people. We also explore...

On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I tackle the subject of building trust in new teams. Both he and I have recently taken on new roles and we have new teams. As we, and you, our listeners, end 2025 we know many of you are taking on new roles and working with new teams as well, so we thought this would be a helpful topic to unpack. We highlight some best practices that...

Today we are excited to feature our conversation with Jacob Hicks. Jacob is a coach, keynote speaker, and sales expert with over a decade of experience helping individuals and businesses unlock lasting success. He delivers  practical insights and actionable strategies  that your listeners can immediately apply in their lives and careers. Whether it’s building stronger follow-up systems, overcoming...

Today, this little podcast is turning 100 episodes old! Thank you all for your support of Cutting Onions over the years. From our little corner of the interweb, we do our best to highlight leaders across all industries who have built amazing people cultures that have fueled organizational success. We have been so honored to have amazing thought leaders on our podcast who have been so gracious in s...

On today's episode, Episode 99, we’re talking about something rarely celebrated but always essential: consistency, especially when it’s hard. Especially when you’re in the fire. We all know what the fire is:     •    Pressure.     •    Repetition.     •    Crises.     •    Cultural fatigue.     •    Emotional burnout.    Today, we share stories and ideas that can help us be more consistent as...

In today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we take a look at Texas Roadhouse and their innovative Managing Partner program and how it fuels their results. We also look at the difference between a traditional GM role and a Managing Partner, and how Texas Roadhouse has built its company on this foundation. Congratulations to Texas Roadhouse on being named the #1 Casual Dining restaurant i...

In the latest episode of the "Cutting Onions Podcast," Myles and I are excited to present this conversation with William Espey, the brand voice of Chipotle Mexican Grill for almost two decades.  In this conversation, William discusses his early journey with Chipotle, detailing how he transitioned from a non-marketing background to pioneering the brand's creative strategies despite a limited budget...

Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Don Champion, Senior Vice President of Sales and Development for Penn Station East Coast Subs joins us. Penn Station has 322 restaurants across 14 states. Don is a seasoned leader in franchising with decades of experience. As a former franchise owner, he brings a unique perspective on developing franchisees through strong relationships and strategic guidance. D...

Welcome to Episode 95 of The Cutting Onions Podcast. On today's episode, we speak with CEO Kristen Pechacek. Kristen is the President and CEO of MassageLuXe, a franchise surpassing 100 units in 2024. She was recently named as one the Top 50 Game-Changing CMOs in 2023 by Entrepreneur Magazine and Top 50 Era Defining Women to Watch in 2023 by Global Franchise. Prior to MassageLuXe, Kristen was with...

Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! This is Episode 94 and Myles and I are excited to feature our conversation with Ingrid Schneider, the founder and CEO of Stay In Your Lane and Train In Your Lane. These two businesses are helping teams in many diverse industries bolster their teams for their next phase of growth. Ingrid embodies entrepreneurial resilience and bold leadership. Born with a "jus...

For more than 20 years, Jim Taylor has both helped to fuel the growth of a leading national restaurant brand, as well as consulted with hundreds of other restaurants to navigate the ever changing restaurant industry.  Jim recently launched his first book, “Bold Operations - Building the Foundation of Strategic Excellence in Restaurants.” He is also Founder and CEO of Benchmark Sixty Restaurant Ser...

Bennett Maxwell is a multifaceted entrepreneur renowned for his innovative approach to business and commitment to enhancing the entrepreneurial landscape. He is currently the driving force behind Dirty Dough Cookies, a fast-growing national cookie brand with over 80 stores open and dozens more set to launch this year. Maxwell’s career spans diverse industries, from real estate in Utah to co-foundi...

Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. On today’s episode Myles and I welcome Paul Tran back to the podcast for another great conversation around franchising in the restaurant industry. Paul is a great friend to the podcast and we are excited to host him once again. Paul is a serial entrepreneur and has quite a list of accomplishments he has achieved over the years including: Co-founded his first...

Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast we are honored to feature our conversation with Certified Coach and Marketing Expert Jessica Harrison. Jessica is a certified Executive Coach (ICF-ACC) and consultant focusing on coaching others to find greater balance, navigate transitions and leverage their unique talents. She studied leadership coaching at Brown University's School of Professional Studies...

On this episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we dive into a captivating conversation with Christine Schindler, CEO and Co-Founder of PathSpot. A Duke-alum and Biomedical Engineer, Christine's innovative approach has revolutionized health and safety in the restaurant industry through PathSpot’s HandScanner technology, protecting 1.7 million meals last year alone and boosting handwashing frequ...

On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we talk to entrepreneur and founder, Kevin Cochran for an inspiring conversation on the restaurant industry, technology in restaurants, and his new concept, Jackie Mays Burger. After ten years of working in restaurants at the beginning of his career, and as the first GM and on the startup team of Freebirds World Burrito, Kevin then gave up the...

Jen is currently a Senior Funding Consultant at Benetrends financial. Jen was the proud CEO, President and CF of My House Fitness Franchise. In 2004 after the birth of her first child, Jennifer put her lifelong passion for fitness to the test and began her position as Group Fitness Coordinator for LA Fitness in Florida. Success at LA and her desire to correct what she saw was wrong with the large...