The Restaurant Incubator: Plan, Process, and Profits

The Restaurant Incubator: Plan, Process, and Profits

Experience is a cruel teacher--she gives you the test first and the lessons later. I created The Restaurant Incubator so that when you are tested by the restaurant industry, you'll have learned the lessons and know the answers. The Restaurant Launchpad has the templates and tools you need to begin your entrepreneurial journey. When you're ready to get going, it's available for download on our website. Hosted by Chef Brandon Sharp, 7x Michelin star recipient and owner of Hawthorne & Wood, Bluebird, and Proximo, all in Chapel Hill, NC.

Episodes

June 26, 2025 63 mins

If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

I hired Sasan Nayeri as the GM of Evangeline, which opened on February 2, 2015. Sasan has been the owner for many years now, and celebrated Evangeline's 10th anniversary a few months ago. We talk a...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

I want y'all to know that I'm speaking from the front lines and not an ivory tower. Here is the recent history of my restaurant group: two projects that never got off the ground. As always, I...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this 10-Step Restaurant Roadmap will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Chef and CEO Thomas McNaughton of Flour +Water Hospitality Group trained in several of San Francisco's best kitchens before opening the original Flour + Water sixteen years ago. The brand has now expanded int...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

How much money do I REALLY need to open a restaurant? Let's start with that one--nuts and bolts, nitty and gritty, dollars and cents. These are the five toughest and most common questions that I get from bu...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

The Crunkleton is a Southern institution, and it founder, Gary Crunkleton, casts a long and legendary shadow. Gary joins us on The Restaurant Incubator to discuss scratch cocktail creation, opening your own bar...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Can you picture yourself accepting a $100,000 check from an investor? Today's episode hits the major steps in the business processes of restaurant creation that will get you to the investment stage and on...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Penn Valley, Nevada County, California doesn't show up on a lot of foodie bucket lists, but the lucky locals who celebrate at Zach Sterner's Twelve 28 Kitchen have voted his cuisine the best around ye...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Here's the episode I've been, well, warning you about. From CAM to CRE to COGS and beyond, I'll guide you through a list of acronyms, initials, and abbreviations you'll need to know as you nav...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Even if you're not good or unfamiliar with numbers, I've just built a free budget model that will generate an Operating Budget for you when you enter just one number. If you know the Annua Rent, Proje...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

In a special "FOH Strikes Back" edition of The Restaurant Incubator by The Industry Standard, Director of Operations and Beverage Programs Neal Benefield blends philosophy, tactics, and role-playing...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster, this ⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠ will help you avoid pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

There are plenty of other restaurant 'experts' out there talking the talk, but as a seven-time Michelin star recipient and current owner-operator of three fine dining restaurants, I'm bringing you...

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Ben Gambill (and his wife MC) partnered with Chef Sean Brock to bring Tokyo-inspired, neo-Neapolitan pizza to East Nashville. SHO Pizza Bar has been open a little over a month now, and Ben takes us from the spark of inspiration up through opening day.

Need to get your own restaurant project up and running? Look no further than ⁠⁠The Restaurant Launchpad⁠⁠. This software kit will save you days, if not weeks of time and hundreds if no...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

You've heard the 'urban legend' statistics ... 50% of restaurants go out of business in the first twelve months, and ninety percent close their doors for good within five years. I'v...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Chef Dan Jackson cut his teeth at Eleven Madison Park and served as an Executive Chef with Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. Now he's back in his hometown of Chapel Hill, NC. Tr...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

I earned seven consecutive Michelin stars as an Executive Chef. I raised the money to open four restaurants as an owner; all four are still open, and I own and operate three of them. I trained at...

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Do you care where your food comes from? Do you wonder who has eyes on the process--from pasture to plate? This is the episode for you.

Michael and Anne Panza own and operate Biagio Meats and Biagio & Pietro in College Station, TX. I worked with Michael back in my Napa Valley days, and he has moved his operations from Northern California to the Lone Star State.

Are you dreaming of your own restaurant? The Restaurant Launchpad is r...

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May 6, 2025 12 mins

If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Is it worth your time and money to cook a dinner at the James Beard House? Are you like Russell Hammond, telling secrets to the one guy you shouldn't tell secrets to?

Experience is a cruel tea...

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If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant or already trying to avoid a disaster with one, this ⁠⁠⁠⁠10-Step Restaurant Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠ will help you dodge pitfalls and get you to Opening Day faster. I’m inviting you to use it for no charge.

Gustavo Rios is the Executive Chef at Solage Calistoga, in Napa Valley, and oversees the resort's two restaurants, Solbar and Picobar. We delve into his management philosophy, his approach to...

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In this episode we begin at the beginning: here's what to do before you hire a lawyer, contact a real estate broker, or raise dollar one.

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April 28, 2025 4 mins

That's why I built The Industry Standard. Through stories, interviews, and demos, I'll help you level up and get where you want to go in the restaurant industry.

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