Fast Casual Revolution Part 2: The Sizzle Behind Emerging Restaurant Brands | Season 10, Vol. 13

LIVE from the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, the guys catch up with the visionaries of emerging restaurant brands, unpacking their innovative concepts and roadmaps to expansion!

In today's episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” are joined by Prakash Karamchandani, Chief Executive Officer of Balance Pan-Asian Grille; Chris Medhurst, President and Chief Operating Officer of District Taco; and Chad Coulter, Founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly.

Key Takeaways

• [00:34 - 03:07] Prakash Karamchandani: Opening an Asian restaurant after losing his finance job in the 2008 recession.
• [03:11 - 05:58] Growing your own produce using an aquaponics system.
• [06:00 - 07:40] Franchising growth for emerging brands, Pivotal Growth Partners (PGP)
• [07:42 - 10:51] Post-covid growth
• [10:55 - 13:20] Spice is Right: Prakash on the Wendy's Dave Combo
• [13:20 - 15:30] Crystal Ball: The next hot topics in hospitality are going to center around AI martech and back of house
• [15:32 - 17:21] Branded Quickfire: Five questions for Prakash
• [18:05 - 21:13] Chris Medhurst: Growth plans for New York and other East Coast markets.
• [21:14 - 23:32] What is helping District Taco catch fire? The brick and mortar story effect
• [23:41 - 24:56] District Taco is opening up stores in New York and New Jersey
• [24:56 - 27:44] Talking Back, Chris takes the mic and asks about ads
• [27:44 - 29:38] Spice is Right, Louisville and Carvel
• [29:45 - 32:37] Branded Quickfire: Chris answers 5 lightning round questions
• [34:52 - 40:05] Chad Coulter Founder of Biscuit Belly: Focusing biscuit business growth in Southeastern US.
• [37:59 - 40:05] The origin story of Biscuit Belly
• [40:16 - 41:15] Diving into the restaurant business and learning the ropes
• [41:17 - 43:34] The uptick in breakfast and brunch business
• [43:36 - 44:00] Fast-casual, craft-casual
• [44:05 - 45:19] Where Chad is seeing growth for Biscuit Belly, southeast growth
• [45:41 - 52:08] Talking Back: Tell Us About You edition
• [46:53 - 49:08] Schatzy's origin story and Branded Hospitality's focus
• [49:18 - 52:08] Jimmy's story and the idea of Branded Hospitality Group
• [52:13 - 55:07] Spice is Right: Fast Casual Summit Edition
• [55:13 - 58:36] Branded Quickfire