The Restaurant Finance Podcast

What happens when losing your job leads to an entirely new career? Jeff Perera, co-founder of Jeff's Bagel Run, joins Ty Wilson to share how a layoff in 2019 led him to learn how to make bagels from scratch, despite having no culinary background. What began as a challenge from his wife quickly turned into an obsession, then a Kickstarter campaign, the sale of their family home, and eventually one...

What if the best way to improve restaurant profitability isn't cutting costs, but making better decisions? Yassine Lyoubi, partner at Barry's Downtown Prime inside Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, joins Ty Wilson to discuss how one of downtown Las Vegas' busiest independent steakhouses balances old-school hospitality with modern technology. Lyoubi shares how relationships with suppliers, fo...

What if the biggest obstacle to growth isn't money, competition, or real estate, but self-doubt? Jason Ganahl, founder of GQue BBQ, joins Ty Wilson to discuss how a passion for competition barbecue turned into Colorado's only championship barbecue restaurant brand. Ganahl shares the lessons he's learned growing from a single location to nine units, why guest experience drives every growth decision...

Duce Raymond joins Ty Wilson to discuss building the next chapter of one of barbecue's most recognizable family legacies. As the son of the chef behind Sweet Baby Ray’s, Raymond shares why he's transitioning to the Deuce’s Wild brand, how an $8 million catering business fuels growth, and what goes into launching a new technology-driven barbecue restaurant. From family history and restaurant financ...

What happens when a restaurant operator walks away from a long-term partnership and decides to rebuild from the ground up? Matthew Vascellaro, founder of Matty Smokes BBQ & Catering, joins Ty Wilson to share why he recently exited a nine-year partnership to fully focus on the next evolution of his barbecue business. From live-fire catering experiences across Long Island to exploring franchisin...

What does it take to grow a restaurant brand without outside funding, franchise shortcuts, or sacrificing quality along the way? Joe Fontana, founder of Fry The Coop, sits down with Ty Wilson to break down how he built one of Chicago’s fastest-growing hot chicken brands from a single second-generation restaurant into a 10-unit operation doing $16 million annually, completely debt-free. Joe shares...

On this episode of The Restaurant Finance Podcast we flip the script. Shawn Walchef (Cali BBQ Media) sits down with Ty Wilson, CEO & founder of Tab Commerce, to unpack how his team rebuilt the corporate card for restaurants. Ty shares the origin story born in his family’s dining room during COVID, why DoorDash/Uber Eats rejections pushed him to build, and the now-famous King–Queen–Bishop frame...

The script is flipped! Join Ty Wilson and James Tice as they join Cali BBQ Media Founder Shawn Walchef on Digital Hospitality. And this conversation goes deep on a topic most operators avoid: money. Tab Commerce is building a modern financial platform for restaurants - offering corporate cards designed specifically for operators, better support, AP automation, higher limits, and financial tools bu...

What happens when a restaurant stops thinking like a traditional restaurant and starts thinking like a live event? Brooks Schaden, Co-CEO of Tom’s Watch Bar, joins James Tice to talk about building restaurants around live sports, fan communities, and shared experiences. From playoff runs and opening day surges to alumni groups and watch parties, Schaden explains how Tom’s turns every game into an...

What makes someone choose your restaurant over every other option around them? For Ford Fry, it starts long before the food hits the table. Ford Fry, chef and founder of Rocket Farm Restaurants, joins James Tice to break down how hospitality, atmosphere, and operational thinking shape modern restaurant growth. Fry explains how his team adapts service across different formats while still protecting...

What if the key to scaling a restaurant brand wasn’t just systems or capital, but how you treat your people every single day? Kay Young, Co-Owner and VP of Sales and Marketing at Squeeze In, joins James Tice to share how a family-run breakfast concept grew into a multi-unit brand without losing the feeling that made it special in the first place. From growing up inside the restaurant to now helpin...

What does it take to grow a restaurant brand quickly while building the systems, people, and discipline needed to sustain that growth? Great restaurant operators do not just react to what is happening today. They build systems, develop people, and use data to make smarter decisions before problems ever appear. Amanda Kahalehoe, Chief Operating Officer of Vicious Biscuit, sits down with James Tice...

Great restaurant operators do not just grow sales. They build systems that protect margins, improve the guest experience, and create consistency at scale. Carl Comeaux, CEO of Crust Pizza Co., sits down with James Tice to share how lessons from fitness, cell phone repair, and franchising shaped his approach to restaurants. He explains why technology should exist to get managers out of the office a...

Technology in restaurants is not about replacing people. It is about removing friction, improving operations, and creating a better experience for both staff and guests. Javier Correa, CEO of Sombrero Mexican Food, sits down with James Tice to share how a third-generation taco shop has evolved into what he calls the “world’s most high tech taco shop.” He explains how his team evaluates new technol...

A great brand might get people in the door, but structure is what keeps the business growing. Scott Snyder joins James Tice to break down what it actually takes to turn a strong brand into a scalable franchise system. From rebuilding Badass Coffee of Hawaii after years of stagnation to creating the infrastructure franchisees need to succeed, Snyder explains why growth only happens when brand and o...

If a guest walks into your restaurant once, that’s marketing. If they come back, that’s everything else. Pedro Uchoa joins James Tice to break down how Tap is building a Brazilian fast casual brand by focusing on the details most operators overlook. From how teams are trained to how stores feel, sound, and operate day to day, Uchoa explains why consistency in experience is what actually drives rep...

What do the best restaurant finance leaders see in the numbers that others miss? Domenic Bonacci, Executive Vice President at CLK HR Acquisition, LLC, joins Ty Wilson and James Tice to break down how finance leaders can move beyond reporting numbers and start using data to drive action inside restaurant operations. From analyzing sales trends and labor performance to understanding how culture show...

If a restaurant wants to grow, the product has to be the same every single time. Different store, different city, same experience. Donald Clifford joins James Tice to explain why consistency and hospitality sit at the center of every successful restaurant brand. Drawing from decades in the industry, Clifford shares how proprietary manufacturing helps maintain consistent product quality across loca...

If you don’t tell your story, someone else will. Mike Ungaro, CEO and co-owner of San Pedro Fish Market, joins James Tice to explore what it really takes to scale a restaurant brand in today’s environment. From a 70-year family legacy serving millions of guests to building a media company around the business, Ungaro explains why brand is defined by experience, consistency, and storytelling. He sha...

If you want consistency at scale, it starts with the smallest details. Jason Berry, Co-Founder of KNEAD Hospitality + Design, joins James Tice to unpack the operational discipline behind scaling restaurants the right way. From Southern comfort food to steakhouses and French bistros, Berry explains why growth multiplies complexity and why systems must be stronger than ambition. He breaks down how...

If quick service is supposed to be about speed and efficiency, why are people still paying for hospitality? Garrett Reed, CEO of Layne’s Chicken Fingers, joins James Tice to break down what’s really driving the brand’s explosive 100% year-over-year growth. From expanding beyond Texas for the first time to screening franchisees with extreme discipline, Reed explains why great food is only half the...

How do restaurant brands scale without losing the experience that made them memorable in the first place? Adam Goldberg joins James Tice to share how Rock & Brews has grown across freestanding locations, casinos, airports, and concessions while protecting food quality, culture, and guest experience. He breaks down why training the trainers matters, why food and people are never negotiable, and...

Is consistency the most underrated growth strategy in the restaurant business? Mehdi Zarhloul, founder and CEO of Crazy Pita, joins James Tice to explain why kindness, consistency, and discipline have been the real growth drivers behind a 20-year restaurant brand. From designing a menu that never changes to embedding “Be Kind” into core operating standards, Zarhloul shares how culture only works w...

What if the future of restaurant technology isn’t about replacing people, but protecting them? Dan Diaz, Founder and CEO of F3 Technologies, joins James Tice to unpack why brand, empathy, and real partnership still outperform automation alone in the restaurant industry. From building F3 as an extension of his personal reputation to supporting operators through outages, growth pains, and razor-thin...

What happens when emerging restaurant brands outgrow hustle but aren’t ready for full-time executive overhead? Toni Ronayne, Founder and CEO of The C Society, sits down with James Tice to break down why fractional leadership has become one of the most powerful tools for emerging and scaling restaurant brands. Drawing on her experience across quick service, fast casual, full service, and global fra...