The PAX Hospitality Podcast

The season 2 finale is also our first live episode! Recorded at the The Pinnacle, Fitzroy, Leon is joined by industry experts Nathen Doyle (Agree to Agree Group), Drew Bowering (GM, OpenTable Australia), and our own Loren Daniels (Head of Sales & Marketing at PAX).  This episode tackles real-world business challenges from restaurant owners facing thin margins and operational plateaus. The pane...

In this episode of the PAX Hospitality Podcast, Leon sits down with sales and business development specialist Loren Daniels to discuss the critical shift in modern restaurant revenue. Gone are the days when hosting events was simply a "nice to have." Today, it’s a necessary component of financial stability. Loren breaks down the archaic mentality that keeps many venues stagnant and provi...

In this episode, Michael replaces Leon on hosting duties, and along with Sean Whitford, PAX's Leadership & Development Manager, we get into hospitality's often-overlooked technical side and explore why traditional training frameworks are failing modern teams. Moving past the 'sink or swim' mentality, they introduce the concept of the "Role Blueprint" - a specific, tas...

As Creative Director of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and the man Leon calls the "Keyser Söze of hospitality," Pat Nourse brings a rare combination of credentials to the table: former editor of the Gourmet Traveler restaurant guide, longtime Chair of The World's 50 Best Restaurants for Australia, and the person who ultimately shapes what MFWF becomes each year. In this convers...

In this episode, we delve into the raw reality of kitchen operations with PAX’s Head of Culinary Ops, Scott Eddington. With over 24 years of experience ranging from Michelin-starred fine dining to high-volume taco shops and hotel chains, Scott brings a business mind to the back-of-house. The conversation moves past Instagrammable dishes to focus on the mechanical truths of running a profitable bus...

In this episode, host Leon joins guest Kate Hemat-Siraky from Zest People Solutions to deconstruct the critical role of learning and development (L&D) in the modern workplace. Kate brings her extensive expertise in "people experience" and Gallup-accredited coaching to a provocative discussion on why traditional, "out-of-the-box" training often fails. The conversation highlights staggering data...

This episode leans into the art of storytelling in social media with guest Tim Harris from True Tribe. Leon and Tim discuss how storytelling shouldn't start a "turf war" with conversion experts, but instead must be built on a consistent foundation of clear brand identity. Tim emphasises that small businesses should not "freak out" over the word 'brand', but focus on...

On this episode, Loren Daniels (Head of Sales & Marketing at PAX) and Yolanda from Kiss the Cook Creative join the PAX table to dissect the biggest headache in hospitality marketing: social media. Stop obsessing over vanity metrics and start focusing on the core strategy - Awareness, Behaviour, and Conversion (ABC). This episode provides a practical, no-fluff guide on how to make social media...

In this episode of The PAX Hospitality Podcast, hosts Leon Kennedy and Michael Bascetta tackle the invisible force that's quietly killing hospitality businesses: governance. Despite being statistically correlated with long-term success, only one in four Australian businesses have any conscious governance function - and most aren't doing it well. Leon and Michael unpack why reactive decision-making...

In this episode of the PAX Hospitality Podcast, we sit down with Guy and Justin, the visionary founders behind Stomping Ground Brewing Co. and The Local Taphouse. While many businesses stumble during the transition from startup to industry pillar, these legends explain the specific frameworks that kept them grounded. The conversation unpacks their "reason for being," the early investment in a dedi...

What does it take to turn a passion for craft beer into a thriving, scalable hospitality brand? In this episode, Justin Joiner and Guy Greenstone, the visionary founders of Stomping Ground Brewing Co., sit down to discuss the "economically irrational" decisions that defined their success. From building a legendary indoor cubby house to launching a high-risk airport pop-up, Justin and Guy...

In this series finale, we reach the finish line of our 10-day podcast sprint, recorded in a stifling 34-degree room just 48 hours before the grand reopening of the Pinnacle pub. We reflect on the intense journey of documenting a venue build in real-time. Michael shares insights into the 'anti-climax' of opening day and the necessity of finding an internal yardstick for success to avoid i...

In this penultimate episode of the Pinnicast, Leon and Michael are rinsed but racing toward opening night with only six days to go. The duo is joined by Loren to discuss all things marketing including the strategy behind rebranding a much-loved local venue. Loren provides a candid look at managing the fallout of removing a live music stage and the 'common-sense' logistics of reaching a l...

Grab a pot and pull up a stool for episode eight of the Pinnicast. This week, Leon and Michael are deep in the trenches, recounting the absolute head-spin of nearly losing the lease on a handshake deal. We cover everything from accidental demolition discoveries to the pleasant surprise of a sloped floor where a bench was supposed to go. The boys also tackle the online comments section when news br...

In this episode, Michael and Leon are joined by executive chef Scott Eddington at the legendary Arnold’s to discuss the final hurdles before taking the keys to The Pinnacle. The team breaks down commercial lease transfers, and what happens when landlords sit on paperwork while renovations are already underway. You’ll hear about the "Bunnings model" for community engagement and how the te...

In this financially focused episode, Michael and Leon pull back the curtain on the actual costs of acquiring the Pinnacle. Moving through their budget line-by-line, they explore the logic behind a $285,000 launch, covering everything from the $120,000 business purchase to the critical $55,000 financial buffer required for post-opening stability. Michael details his scrappy fit-out strategy, priori...

Recorded on Christmas Eve, this episode of the Pinnicast finds Leon and Michael at a critical midpoint in their journey to open the Pinnacle. After weeks of deceptively smooth progress, the duo finally encounters their first taste of project volatility as two investors drop out, forcing a quick pivot and a budget recalibration. Michael shares the surprising news that several members of the interna...

In this fourth episode of the Pinnicast, Michael shares the surprising ease of his technical setup, including a modern switchboard that avoids common startup nightmares. The conversation dives deep into the psychology of pub branding - explaining why maroon remains the industry’s most trusted colour - and the financial burden of bank guarantees for small business owners. Leon raises the concept of...

In this third instalment of the Pinnicast, we dive into the frantic final week of preparations before the Fitzroy Pinnacle officially opens its doors. Michael shares the strategic advantages of a recorded handover with the previous owner and how AI tools are helping him organize the minutiae of the business. The duo discusses the critical signing of "weapon chef" Scott Eddington, and Jam...

In this second episode of the Pinnicast, we get into the messy, often humorous reality of taking over the iconic Pinnacle pub in North Fitzroy. Michael shares the highs and lows of the past week, including a dealing with real estate agents and the logistical hurdles of a liquor license transfer. We explore the critical search for a chef-partner, highlighting the potential involvement of industry h...

Welcome to the Pinnicast, a raw, under the hood look at the reality of opening a venue, warts and all. Leon, Tim and Michael from the PAX sit down to document Michael's high-stakes acquisition of The Pinnacle, a legendary pub in North Fitzroy. Michael brings a decade of hospitality expertise, having been involved with acclaimed venues like Bar Liberty, Capitano, and Falco, as well as his curr...

The season one finale of The PAX Hospitality Podcast brings the full crew together to reflect on the conversations, ideas, and moments that shaped the show’s first run. The episode acts as a guided recap, revisiting standout themes from across the season: empowering teams rather than creating founder dependency, the value of simple and practical systems, and the importance of using structure—wheth...

In this episode of the PAX Hospitality Podcast, Leon Kennedy is joined by Tim Varney, Loren Daniels and Michael Bascetta to unpack The Gen Z Retail Revolution report from Principals — and what it really means for hospitality. Leon frames Gen Z as a “retail earthquake” and a clear changing of the guard: the playbook that worked for the last 20 years is falling over, and operators can either double...

In this episode of the PAX Hospitality Podcast, Leon Kennedy sits down with our very own guest services and reservation specialist Loren Daniels to unpack one deceptively simple question: how easy is it to book your restaurant? Sparked by Leon’s recent ABC interview and the flood of operator questions that followed, the pair dig into why “reservation strategy” isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a revenue l...

In Episode 9 of The PAX Hospitality Podcast, Leon and Loren run a practical, no-nonsense primer on hospitality marketing — the kind that turns work into revenue rather than vanity metrics. Rather than lofty brand theory, the conversation breaks marketing into an operational framework: Pre (how you attract customers), During (the customer experience and frontline sales), and Post (retention, review...