July 24, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode of Restaurant Masterminds, Oliver Barwin, CEO of Bushfire Kitchen, shares his remarkable journey from Wall Street to running a fast-growing healthy fast-casual chain. Barwin discusses taking over the family business during the pandemic, completely rebuilding their tech stack, and scaling from a small California concept to nine locations with ambitious expansion plans. Learn about their "elevated fast-casual" approach, protein-focused menu strategy, AI-powered forecasting, and how they're positioning for 50% growth while maintaining operational excellence in the competitive healthy dining space.
~This episode is sponsored by: Gusto → https://gusto.pxf.io/PBN ~
#1 rated HR platform for payroll, benefits, and more
With Gusto’s easy-to-use platform, you can empower your people and push your business forward. See why over 400,000 businesses choose Gusto.
RestaurantMasterminds #FastCasual #HealthyDining
Get Your Podcast Now! Are you a hospitality or restaurant industry leader looking to amplify your voice and establish yourself as a thought leader? Look no further than SavorFM, the premier podcast platform designed exclusively for hospitality visionaries like you. Take the next step in your industry leadership journey – visit https://www.savor.fm/
Capital & Advisory: Are you a fast-casual restaurant startup or a technology innovator in the food service industry? Don't miss out on the opportunity to tap into decades of expertise. Reach out to Savor Capital & Advisory now to explore how their seasoned professionals can propel your business forward. Discover if you're eligible to leverage our unparalleled knowledge in food service branding and technology and take your venture to new heights.
Don't wait – amplify your voice or supercharge your startup's growth today with Savor's ecosystem of industry-leading platforms and advisory services. Visit https://www.savor.fm/capital-advisory
Get Your Podcast Now! Are you a hospitality or restaurant industry leader looking to amplify your voice and establish yourself as a thought leader? Look no further than SavorFM, the premier podcast platform designed exclusively for hospitality visionaries like you. Take the next step in your industry leadership journey – visit https://www.savor.fm/
Capital & Advisory: Are you a fast-casual restaurant startup or a technology innovator in the food service industry? Don't miss out on the opportunity to tap into decades of expertise. Reach out to Savor Capital & Advisory now to explore how their seasoned professionals can propel your business forward. Discover if you're eligible to leverage our unparalleled knowledge in food service branding and technology and take your venture to new heights.
Don't wait – amplify your voice or supercharge your startup's growth today with Savor's ecosystem of industry-leading platforms and advisory services. Visit https://www.savor.fm/capital-advisory
~This episode is sponsored by: Gusto → https://gusto.pxf.io/PBN ~
#1 rated HR platform for payroll, benefits, and more
With Gusto’s easy-to-use platform, you can empower your people and push your business forward. See why over 400,000 businesses choose Gusto.
RestaurantMasterminds #FastCasual #HealthyDining
Get Your Podcast Now! Are you a hospitality or restaurant industry leader looking to amplify your voice and establish yourself as a thought leader? Look no further than SavorFM, the premier podcast platform designed exclusively for hospitality visionaries like you. Take the next step in your industry leadership journey – visit https://www.savor.fm/
Capital & Advisory: Are you a fast-casual restaurant startup or a technology innovator in the food service industry? Don't miss out on the opportunity to tap into decades of expertise. Reach out to Savor Capital & Advisory now to explore how their seasoned professionals can propel your business forward. Discover if you're eligible to leverage our unparalleled knowledge in food service branding and technology and take your venture to new heights.
Don't wait – amplify your voice or supercharge your startup's growth today with Savor's ecosystem of industry-leading platforms and advisory services. Visit https://www.savor.fm/capital-advisory
Get Your Podcast Now! Are you a hospitality or restaurant industry leader looking to amplify your voice and establish yourself as a thought leader? Look no further than SavorFM, the premier podcast platform designed exclusively for hospitality visionaries like you. Take the next step in your industry leadership journey – visit https://www.savor.fm/
Capital & Advisory: Are you a fast-casual restaurant startup or a technology innovator in the food service industry? Don't miss out on the opportunity to tap into decades of expertise. Reach out to Savor Capital & Advisory now to explore how their seasoned professionals can propel your business forward. Discover if you're eligible to leverage our unparalleled knowledge in food service branding and technology and take your venture to new heights.
Don't wait – amplify your voice or supercharge your startup's growth today with Savor's ecosystem of industry-leading platforms and advisory services. Visit https://www.savor.fm/capital-advisory
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are back here on the Restaurant Masterminds podcast. Always
a joy joining me of course. Mister Paul Mollinari, my
co host today.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
How are you.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
I'm doing awesome, Baron, thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, it's always fun. Anna is a no show today,
She's gonna miss something big. But did you know this
lady is now a proud bakery owner.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Yeah, I heard about this.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I said, wait a minute, Paul's gonna like not like this.
He is a gluten anti and you're going right into
the belly of the beast.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
She's uh, she's bucking all all sorts of trends going,
you know, going on the on the.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
On the gluten train.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
And she is. She is a restaurant tour at heart,
you know. So I'm proud of her. Yeah, and she
has the sickness. What can I say?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
We, of course are talking about Anna Tausan, who is
one of our co hosts Sarah on Masterminds. She just announced. Anna,
if you're listening into this episode, we did. She just
announced her acquisition of a bakery in Austin, Texas. We're
going to have her on to talk about that in
the coming months. Here on masterminds, because that's that in
itself is a mastermind business case study. You know, how
(01:14):
to do something like that and get it going.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
And particularly of course with you know, the the choices
that she makes around technology, right.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, well, you know she's very into that technology guy
on this pod, and it's a she's very that's for sure.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
She's clearly you know, on top of it. But you know,
it's it's amazing when when you start and we'll talk
to our guest today about this, you know, when you
start a restaurant brand and you really want to start,
you know, scaling up, you have a lot of decisions
to make with regard to your tech stack and how
that's gonna you know, how that's going to move you
forward in a nice scalable way.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, today we are going to be talking about healthy
fast casual. The sector is growing. There are a handful
of standouts. This brand is one of them, Bushfire Kitchen.
We will have their CEO on so you guys don't
want to miss it. Stay tuned. My name is Paul Baron.
(02:36):
As the early pioneer in fast casual, I've seen the
industry evolve from just a few operators to the most
sought after segment by consumers around the world. Now we're
planning to shape its future. Tap into decades of my
expertise identifying the emerging brands and tech winners in the space.
(02:57):
Saber Capital will be fueling the next generation of fast
casual innovation. All right, So we are back here on
the Restaurant Masterminds podcast talking healthy, fast casual, and today
joining us is Oliver Barwin, who is the CEO over
at Bushfire Kitchen. How are you, Oliver?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Hey, guys, great, thanks for having.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Me, Nice to see you, Nice to meet you. You're
a West Coaster, so thanks for coming in early here
for us East Coasters. We appreciate that, of course, and
we got to get in and learn a little bit
about Bushfire Kitchen. I've watched this brand from afar, Unfortunately
I have not had a chance to get into one.
But give me a full rundown, give our audience a
break on where you guys are today, how you kind
(03:42):
of got started?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
So we're a brand based in southern California. We're opening
up actually our ninth location tomorrow in Long Beach.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Wow, and growing quickly.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
So we're a better for your concept We're really focused
on high quality, fresh, healthy ingredients with global flavors. So
we have a pretty broad menu that across bowls, plates, salad, sandwiches,
and burgers. It's really focused on having something for everyone.
So we have catered to a lot of gluten free,
(04:13):
plant based eaters and really focused on providing flavorful, healthy
dishes with options that were there a lot lighter as
well as a little more indulgent to really have something
for the whole family.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
You know, there's been a lot of vegan concepts that
have gotten received I think a lot of news over
the last decade. There's been a handful of chains that
have done a fairly good job at growing, and then
all of a sudden, Oliver we saw in the last
couple of years the shift away from vegan and going
(04:48):
to where we're seeing people actually eating meat again and
actually going forward gen Z I just did study on
this not too long ago. Gen Z now really leaning
into proteins, high protein diets, all kind of stuff. So
talk to me how you guys are addressing these shifts
that are occurring right now, especially in this category of course.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
So yeah, we've always been protein heavy and protein focused,
so for us. It's about having options for everyone. So
we have a few options for your plant please eaters,
but generally we've kind of always been protein center of
the plate type of concepts. So we you know, when
we look at our sales mix, we're seeing the same thing.
You know, beef is one of our number one sellers.
(05:31):
We use try Tips, which is a leaner cut really
popular in California, as well as Kate free chicken State,
the whole salmon are kind of are big three, and
you know, so we're seeing the same sort of trend.
But again it's it's all about having options for everyone.
So we try WITHINNY all of our menu categories so
(05:51):
at least have one VENI option, and then across our
entire menu almost everything is or can be made gluten free. Okay,
so a lot of that that audience has really attracted
to our brand.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And well that's music to Paul's ears. He loves that,
I do.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I mean, listen, this is these are the growth categories
right now. It's it's heavy prot it's it's you know,
high in proteins. You know, I recently saw the other
day that you know, the global Greek yogurt market is
absolutely on explyer.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Yeah, floating.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
This is supposed to be a fifty five billion dollar
market by by twenty thirty, and you know, so I'm
predicting that we're going to see a lot more a
lot more of the Greek yogurt on in some of
these concepts menus, Oliver, is that something that you're tracking?
Are you looking at different food trends and incorporating that
(06:51):
into your menus?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah? Of course.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
So we try to do seasonal lto offerings and as
you said, we're actually running a Mediterranean somewhere else you
a program right now, and we do have some tatsiki
in there, which is some yogurt bas in there. So yeah,
we're really on top of kind of what's trending and
be a global flavor concept.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
We're able to.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Try incorporate that into the venu and keep things fresh,
keeps things interesting. But against every generally, we're still leaning
into protein, okay, so always have some sort of protein
component forward.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
How do you Okay, So you guys obviously California based.
The other vegan brand I think of is Vigie Grill
obviously la and we had a chance to kind of
really see their birth and innovation a decade ago. I
remember when Greg dollar Hyde was still working with them,
and you know this shift of course now, especially around
(07:47):
gen Z and maybe younger millennials to a certain extent,
Is there a demographic that better aligns with this kind
of menu for you guys, have you noticed this specifically
or is it much more broad based?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (08:01):
No, For us, we're actually focused on being broad That's
kind of part of our genesis as a brand. It's
really been one of our kind of selling points. Is
something for the whole family. So we really try to
have a broad and diverse menu to really be attracted
a very different demo. And if you walk into our restaurant,
it's interesting because it's it's very mixed across age groups,
(08:21):
you know, all the way across the board. And that's
the same way we market as well. We have unique
messaging to different demographics to be able to really relate
to them, and our broad Menual allows us to do that.
So typically we're you know, our message to millennial versus
you know, a mother with kids is quite different and
(08:41):
our and our broad Menual allows us to you know,
cater to them.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, we're looking at any Instagram right now, So I agree,
broad is seems to be very wide.
Speaker 6 (08:51):
You were going to say, Paul, Well, I was going
to say broad, but also a really elevated experience. Yeah,
this looks good, greatful at the sprics, and I think that,
you know, so Bushfire is certainly positioning itself to be
I think maybe the elevated atmosphere kind of justifies some
of the some of the higher prices that people have
(09:12):
to pay now for.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Quality for quality meals.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
So look, does the atmosphere and the branding and all
of that kind of play into what you're trying to do?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
You know, we look at ourselves as an elevated fast
casual concept, So we're really focused on providing value through
a great quality, fresh ingredients at an affordable price point.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Walk us through the process of when you walk into
a bush Fire. You know, most fast casual, some like
a Chipotle, queue up, some are order and then drop
and you know, go pick up some deliver to the table.
How do you guys do it?
Speaker 5 (09:48):
Yeah, so our concept do you order at the front,
you sit down and they'll bring the food out to you.
But all of our dining guests served on real play
wear and with real metal cutlery, and that.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Just as a lot of this has a lot of
similarity to a brand that I thought was going to
be an absolute barn burner brand. And I don't know
if you remember them, Paul, and that was tender Greens.
Do you remember tender Greens? I doubt they were in
la Eric Oberholtzer. He was a chef and he had
(10:19):
a partner that was a chef. They started building brands there.
He ended up selling it and when Eric left, the
brand just lost its soul, you know, which is what
happens a lot of times. As you know, when you
get a founder that departs, has a lot of similarities. Man.
So did you ever see tender Greens and what they
were doing there? Oliver?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yeah, very familiar with them. You know.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
I agree with you that the brand's changed over the
years and it's different today as what it used to be.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
But yeah, it's a similar concept. I think today.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
I think we can beat them out through the our
value proposition and just the quality of the ingredients. I think,
as you know, unfortunately, when when there is a change
of ownership, sometimes there's compromise equality and just amount of
amount of.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Feel on the plane.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Yeah, and you know, we think us there's this kind
of new perception nowadays of what a value meal is,
particularly for Gen Z and millennials, you know, you know
it's value plus quality, right, that's kind of the equation
now that we're seeing for for what a health conscious
you know, a healthy fast casual is for a value meal.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Oh look at this interior.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
No, it's it's crazy or this is whomever is your
your designer and beautiful, I mean.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Wow, and they're all unique. You know, you get this
one with a nice fern garden outside. This one looks
very almost country esque out in countryside marketplace. Yeah, and
then you're so you're kind of matching.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
Are you trying to you know, are you trying to
create unique experiences across each storefront or I mean there
are certain elements naturally that that scale across all of them.
What's the strategy behind these different looking locations?
Speaker 5 (12:12):
And yeah, so we you know, the brands, we've been
around for twelve years, so it's it's it has evolved
a little bit and become a little more modern. But
you know, generally, you know, we are very focused on
interior design and making the make it feel welcoming, you know,
we'll be able to bring your family and sit out,
relax and have a quick, affordable, you know, casual meal,
(12:32):
but getting the high quality greens at the same time.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So, yeah, we look at it.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
It's you know, I would say it's a more of
a modern farmhouse type of look. It's kind of what
we're going for. So we use a lot of real
natural woods. We're going to slightly lighter, lighter color color
tone as you know, to track the kind of a
younger audience. Yeah, but it's it's a lot of natural
elements which which align with the brand and the food.
You know, there's real wood. You know, you can feel
(12:59):
that it has a a nice warm field to it.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Was that always the centerpiece when you guys were building
the store in the beginning and building your menu, starting
to target, you know, the kind of audience and customer
base you wanted to hit. Was that a big part
of it or did you kind of grow into this
very stylish look that you have now.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
So initially our first location it was it was actually
most of it was to go Okay, So it was
a tiny, little thousand square foot restaurant and it was
really a very simple business model. It was just fresh,
high quality ingredients of the affordable price point. Okay, that's
how we started. It was a hit, and then we
were able to you know, we had the proof of
(13:42):
concept and then we said, okay, let's take a slightly
bigger footprint here created a much more welcoming dining atmosphere,
so the guests have options because we you know, our
initial store that just the amount of seats we had,
we couldn't keep up with the demand.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, so you know, naturally we had to we had
to grow of that ol or.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So you guys are family owned. Sorry, Paul, I want
to ask this question real quick. How did you guys
fund this? What was the model for you to grow
because obviously you've got many locations now and that one
to two leap is a big one. So when you
get to two units, it changes the world. How did
(14:21):
you do it? What was the did you go out
and raise capital? What was the model for you guys?
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Yeah, so the companies originally found my father. They grew
it to about three four units, and then unfortunately he
had some health issues that were going on, and I
was over in New York working on Wall Street. So
I got the call and kind of at a you know,
in a pinchot to kind of step in and take over.
(14:48):
Good for you, man, And that was that was February
twenty twenty, so right before.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Oh even started. So what timing, interesting time to join
the industry.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Welcome, welcome in that you are in by fire, by
literally a trial by fire.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
So yeah, look, we hear you always believed in the
brand and felt like it needed some you know, younger
blood and energy to you know, kind of revitalize it
for the future. And COVID changed the industry, changed the world,
and so it's a good time to be able to
make change. So capital so yeah, yeah, so I went out,
(15:26):
you know and basically kind of ran my own process
and partnered with the group called Capital Spring.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Okay, I know the guys over there.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Yeah, restaurant specific investor and great it was. It was
more than just capital, it was expertise. That's what I
was looking for. Yeah, and they've been great partners so far.
So yeah, we have growth capital to them, but the
company still, you know, we still have the family maintains control.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
They they are a very good operating partner because in
many cases, when they discover a brand like you guys,
it's mostly hands off. You know, they to let the
pilots be the pilots. So that's always good because there
is a lot of you know, there's a lot of
capital out there that doesn't necessarily operate that way, as
I'm sure you know, right which changes the DNA of
(16:12):
the brands, you know, going forward, Let's get into positioning,
you know, when you're because fast casual is a very
crowded space, I would say this is also the most
opportunistic space right now because it pulls from all sectors,
you know, whether it's QSR you know, kind of raising
up casual dining, you know, trading down even full serve
(16:36):
to a certain extent kind of lends itself to a
fast casual customer base. How are you guys looking at
strategies right now to grow with this shifting demo that
is happening right now in America which is gen Z
and millennials taking over the primary job and earning.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Yeah, so we you know we right now we're still
small ten unit group, so you know, with the brand,
the positioning, the menu, as I mentioned, you know, it's
it's really broad broad reach which allows us to be
pretty selective, but also it gives us a lot of
opportunities within real estate markets. You know, we feel like
there's a lot of white space for this brand, and
(17:18):
there has been a lot of brands that you know,
I have been able to grow out and kind of
go a little too far from home. So for us,
it's about you know, staying close, being able to make
sure every your store is a success, not over finding
more than we can chew.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So I would say we're a little different to some brands.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
It's it's more you know, strategic and you know, a
little more conservative growth than some others to make sure
that you know, we have the infrastructure in place before
we go full full out. But we are starting to
accelerate that growth recently. But you know, it's it's it's
about it's about balance. It's about balance, making sure the
guests has a great experience and that we can actually
(17:58):
you know, meet the.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Dead always admired the companies that are you know, grow
in these concentric circles outward. You establish a base, do
you establish a brand, You get recognition if people understand
what you are, and you grow out from there. As
opposed to sort of this diverse, you know, franchise model,
(18:19):
which you know, let's pop a bush fire, you know,
and why you see, let's pop one in Minneapolis and
so on and so forth, and you have to work
almost five times.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Is hard to get that brand too much.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Man, I'm always listen. I'm a big, you know, proponent
obviously a fast casual in the sense of how it's
going to grow. I believe franchising works. I'm just not
sure it works with every brand. And you have to
write it has to be the right kind of brand,
you know, one can it scale and scale the concept.
(18:53):
It's not just scaling the operations, but scaling the you
know kind of that. It's what I call the X factor.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
I think we had a conversation ago right with Toast.
I think it was exactly.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Yeah, it kind of towed the line between qs R
and fast casual. It is definitely an elevated experience, but
it had a very you know, what are they selling?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
They're selling you know, Toast for Current out Loud.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Which was fantastic. I mean, I'm still was amazed by
that one, that's for sure. Hey, Oliver, I'm looking at
your your TikTok right now, and the one thing that
sticks out to me here is cocktails and I'm thinking
fest casual cocktails. Is this a match made in heaven
(19:38):
or a destiny for failure? What's going on here? Man?
How are you guys doing?
Speaker 5 (19:42):
So this was a test for us. We only have
it in two of our locations. Okay, you know, it's
something we wanted to look at it. They were outdoor
bars on the patios, so we didn't we were able
to do these without having to take additional rentable square feet, right,
But it's it's not part of brand strategy going forward,
you know.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I think.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Okay, So it's a different business. It's a test interesting
dappled with. But for us, we're all in on. We're
very focused on craft beer and wine. So we have
you know, sixteen taps in our markets.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
And what do you okay, so what do you make
no alcoholics as well?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:20):
There you go. What do you what do you make
of the non alcoholic market?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
We make our.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Own lemonade and iced tea fresh in house with real
lemon juice every day, and then we also do a
seasonal non alcoholic beverage as well. So right now we're
doing a pomegranate lemonade. So we typically have three different
non alcoholic fresh made housemaid options. And then we're also
partnered with Stubborn Soda, which is a kind of craft
(20:45):
sort of better for you sort of product which is
you know, has less kind of art less you know,
artificial sweeteners and it's it's a healthier sola alternative.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
We're we're involved of course Sabor Capital, which is the
company that runs our podcasts and all that we're involved
in both tech startups, restaurants startups, and you know food
in I will call it food hemisphere companies, people that
kind of circle around the industry. One of them that
we're we just invested into is an inn acohol or
(21:18):
inn a cocktail concept and there you know, for packaging.
The research that that I discovered in investing in that brand,
blew me Away. I had no idea that this market
was this large, you know, especially here in the United States,
and it seems that the US is leading away. Do
(21:39):
you see this as especially non alcohol alcoholic cocktails. Do
you see this as maybe a strategy for building beverage
components inside brands like yours?
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Yeah, you know, we we've seen this this year, especially
which it could be consumer trends, it could be economic
situation we've been in, but we have seen a shift Okay,
less alcohol, more nonalcoholic.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Do you think that's all demographic driven? Do you think
it's just gen Z and Millennia? What's what's cooking this man?
Speaker 2 (22:08):
M I think it's a combination of factors.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Personally, I think it's I think it's some demographic I
think we're you know, we're an economic climate where you know,
a dollar beer or four dollar lemonade.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I think there's.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
What are you looking to say, Well, I was, I
was just going to agree with It's definitely multi factor.
But I think it's also a function of you know,
who your brand is catering to, and your brand is
catering to healthier, conscious, conscious people. And the reality is
is that there's been so much negativity around, you know,
drinking beer and what beer does. And never never mind
(22:47):
the fact that listen, I like a beer as much
as anyone, right, but I know if I drink beer
a lot, I'm going to gain weight.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Something happens.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
It's a bad thing. So I stick to whiskey now.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
But no, but I look at brands like Athletic IPA,
which is absolutely exploding here in the Northeast.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
That's an NA brand, right, yeah, I believe so.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Yeah, and oh yeah, Athletic is all about non alcoholic
and they're growing like bananas.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
So do you do you carry any of those?
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Oliver a concert and grab a non alcoholic IPA.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Yeah, are you right right now?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
We want a non alcoholic No.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
You got to get one. You got to get one, Oliver,
you need a non alcoholic i PA. This episode is
brought to you in part by Gusto, the number one
rated HR platform for payroll, benefits and more. With Gusto's
easy to use platform, you can empower your people and
push your business forward. Over four hundred thousand businesses choose
(23:51):
Gusto every day. And let's get into it, guys. There's
a couple of things you can do with Gusto that
you should check out. Some of the solutions that you're
just as really going to want to know about is
of course, their business type new businesses and startups, You
guys are welcome coming in small businesses. Maybe you have
a mid sized business that needs an all in one
(24:11):
payroll and benefit program as well as HR all of
this scaling. The cool thing about this is it's an
all in one platform. They can also select and punch
in right to your accountants. So check it out. You've
got a Gusto Pro platform. You can become a partner
with them if you're an accountant, So if you have
a CPA already, this is the place for you. And
(24:34):
of course the best thing is pricing. The thing about
Gusto is flexible plans and features, honest pricing, no hidden fees.
This is the plan that we use, which is the
Plus plan sixty bucks a month. Guys, you cannot go wrong.
It's about nine bucks a person, so you guys can
definitely afford it. Get in there and choose Gusto with
(24:55):
a full suite of tax services, HR services, time tracking, scheduling, expenses, reimbursements.
You get the picture. Gusto is the place for you.
Check it all out. Just go over to Gusto dot
com use our link down below to get started. See
you there.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
You know, I want to switch gears for a second
and talk a little bit about technology because you had
mentioned earlier Oliver.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
You know COVID.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
You came in during the time that you could possibly
come into a into a restaurant brand, and you had
to have seen how technology kind of kept all the
boats afloat in the harbor during that time. Was Bushfire
(25:42):
prepared for this kind of multi this omni omni channel
ordering revolution that we're all experiencing now, people ordering from wherever, whenever,
what they want, and they want to get it how
they want.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
To get it. Were you prepared for that?
Speaker 4 (25:58):
And what what did you have to do to get
If you weren't, what did you have to do to
get there?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (26:03):
So when I stepped in, it was incredibly basic. They
were on three PD but there were no integrations. You know,
they had online ordering, but it was very poor, a
lot of user issues. So they had kind of the basics.
So they did have revenue coming from those channels, But
in practice when with COVID, what happened was your dining
(26:25):
drops and all of a sudden, your off premise skyrockets,
and we don't have the systems in place. It becomes
very very difficult to execute effectively. So I pretty much
ripped everything out and rebuild.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Tech stack.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Wow, did you try to go the all in one
route or are you going best to breed in different
areas today?
Speaker 2 (26:49):
You know it's changed over time. Today.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
You know, we were used Toast, and Toast has as
that platform has grown, they've been able to add more
and more offerings and from management standpoint, we find you know,
for some inte basing integrations, it is nice.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
To have it all in one place.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Yeah, but for specific vendors where you know, it's the
more specialty like customer feedback, we uservation.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
I think that's a great platform the way.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, how that act does a good job. I'm kind
of curious about the pricing because this is something we
looked at in a brand we were looking at investing in. Uh,
they showed me their tech stack fees. I was really
surprised at how much they were spending, you know, on
a monthly basis. What about that? You know, is this
sustainable to see all of these kind of component level
(27:40):
products and the tech stack continuing to rack up these
monthly fees. How are you guys addressing?
Speaker 5 (27:46):
Yeah, So you know, we're fortunate enough that we were
on Toast pre I PO so we've been grandfathered into
some great pricing. So I think we might be in
a more unique situation others. But in terms of new
text that we add, it's all about ROI. You know,
we look at what is you know how much we
didn't pay what's the value to a liver? Like A
good example is, you know we recently the past couple
(28:07):
of years have built out a full data analytics platform
within a data warehouse, which is able allows us to
pull in data from all these different sources, recind it
and spit out the way we want it, which gives
our operators insights daily into you know, everything across the
business beyond just financial as we're talking guest feedback tick
(28:30):
at times marketing KPIs.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Yeah, the more data you got to input into it.
Are you guys utilizing any large language models or AI
at all on developing this?
Speaker 2 (28:42):
So the platform is called Chabby.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
You know they they use AI within the software in
different aspects. So in one example is they have AI
sales forecasting tool, so we are able to use that
when we when we think about labor each week. I mean,
you know, we ran tests and you know it turns
out AI's a lot more accurate than our gms. So
(29:05):
that's one example. And you know they've built out AI
for data where you can ask the AI, you know,
questions about your data and able to you know, calculate and.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Spit out what you want.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
Yeah, so it's almost like having a data you know,
a data analyst AI kind of bought, which is which
is also really helpful.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Yeah, well it's going to be interesting. And we were
deploying a lot more within a lot of the AI tools,
not within our own business, but you know, some of
our other business ventures. And I'm very surprised. You know,
I've been in tech for twenty five plus years, and
I'm very surprised at how good the quality of code, Paul,
that's coming out of AI right now. Oh yeah, absolutely,
(29:49):
in terms of developer code, you know the Yeah, so
this the vibe coding thing right where it's insane. I mean,
we just ran a Python script to build a sentiment
tool for our podcast and we're analyzing all these RSS
feeds for podcasts. We're getting into the weeds here. But
(30:10):
point being is is I would have had to hire
a team of developers even just a year ago to
do that.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
And now, Paul Replet, maybe I use it. You're using
Replet And there are these amazing coding agents out there
now that are basically taking plain language coding.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah. I think the restaurant industry is going to get
a renaissance in that area of usage of how brands
are going to figure out how to use it and
make it do what kind of what you're doing, Oliver,
in terms of figuring out some of those cues and
perceptions of how your business is going, because the more
data you pop into these things, the better it gets
it giving you some sort of predictive analytics on how
(30:53):
your business is going. So we have a.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Client right now, Paul Fellas called live Litics. They just
award over at Murtech for this incredible start, and we're
talking to brands, large enterprise brands, you know, smaller SMB brands,
et cetera. And what's the amazing part about liveload is
it takes all of your data from all of your sources,
(31:17):
your labor, you're caught, your cost of good sold, your
even your media analytics, if you have everything, puts it
all together. And never mind, these dash dashboards are great,
but the next level of tech is prescriptive, so it's
not just telling you what's going on, it's telling you
what to do yeah next. And the accuracy is insane
(31:40):
because it's it's pulling from sources, from outsourced sources too,
like you know, all different kinds of data companies are
are layering over your own data and giving you these
incredible insights that you just wouldn't have ever had before.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
And I think, I think you're going to see a
time and I want to ask you, Oliver, are you
employing team members? Because now you know, it used to
be where a brand from a tech stack from standpoint
had a CTO and maybe a handful of maybe even devs.
But now what I'm learning from a lot of operators
that I'm talking to is they're deploying and employing almost
(32:20):
prompt jockeys, people that understand how to utilize AI and
they understand the business. So they're basically almost like a
data analyst in terms of an input. So it's like
you have to teach the AI or the tools certain things.
Are you guys building any kind of your team around
(32:42):
that kind of employee right now?
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Not at the moment.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
You know, we we're a restaurant company, we're you know,
we try to focus on what we what we know best.
So for the tech and kind of the building this
building tech with out, we rely on the experts.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Yeah so.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Strategy, yeah, well this with this time right now, because
you've got so much changing in the market right now.
There's just constant change for sure. Hey, we're going to
get into the rapid fire to stay on time here,
which is get into where you guys are going. And
then also just you know, just some of the things
that you see in the marketplace. Give us some short
(33:23):
answers here, Paul and I will kind of pepper you
with questions and get into those. So first thing is
is are you planning to franchise at any point?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Not as of today?
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Okay? And then as far as growth, what are the
growth plans right now in the next say, two to
three years.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
So you know, we will see significant growth.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
I think by the end of next year we'll grow
about fifty percent unit count and look to accelerate that
further starting twenty twenty seven. That'll be our first out
of state expansion. So we're going to be kind of
finalizing a deal this week, but we will be.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Seeing can you announce what state that is or is it?
Is it public?
Speaker 2 (34:04):
And not not just yet. It'll be in the in
the southwest area.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Okay, all right, Arizona. Everybody goes there.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
On the on the tech track for a second, what
what are some of the problems that you're looking for
technology to solve for in the future or you you
are you golden on your tech stack right now.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
You know, we're happy with where we are.
Speaker 5 (34:29):
I think our big thing on the roadback next is
as a loyalty program and app. That's kind of the
one piece that we're missing and being able to, you know,
provide unique messaging to our guests based on their spending habits.
That's something that's really focused on us to really refine
our marketing and get better return and just better messaging.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
I think that's really important.
Speaker 5 (34:52):
So right now, that's kind of that's the big the
big item that we're looking to deploy next year.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
In terms of California, how are you guys dealing with
with the situation with employment? A lot of the regulatory
alignment that's happening now politically, is that affecting your brand today?
Speaker 5 (35:10):
So yes, always is you know, we for us, it's
about for within the restaurant, it's about cross training. That's
a critically important piece in California at the moment. It's
really one of the only ways to be able to
manage your labor. Yeah, and then you know, in terms
of growth, it's something we look at when we're looking
(35:30):
at a new market. You know, there are certain cities
in California that have, you know, much higher wages than others.
And that's something that we're very cognizant ofvics that you know,
it ultimately impacts your return. It's something we take it
to consideration. And that's part of the reason, you know,
we had to look, you know, beyond Califulornia. Yeah, just
given some of the red tape we're seeing.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
One other one other question for me, Oliver, and that
is what other health conscious, fast casual brands can you
point to as being as someone as brands that you'd like,
that you really respect and try to emulate in some way.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
So I think I like DIG on the East Coast.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
Yeah, okay, I'm familiar with them, so I think I
think they did a really good job. Came from New
York myself, so I you know, I personally ate that
a lot. So yeah, I shout out to those guys.
I think they're doing a good job out there.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Yeah, all right.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Dig has been a DIG has been kind of one
of the ogs too, you know, in terms of maybe
really leading the way with a lot of the health authorings.
And I think, you know, because they were in New York,
they got so much press in the early days that
it kind of maybe, you know, there's a handful of others,
I mean, obviously you know, Veggie Grill and a handful
(36:49):
of others that I think maybe spawned that better for
you casual or a fast casual category.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
So a great parallel. Yeah, great choice, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Good one. Hey, listen, it has been great having you
on the SHO show, Oliver. We've learned a lot about Bushfire.
Sounds like you guys are definitely breaking some rules in
terms of the category in fast casual. So thanks for
coming into the show today. We appreciate it, of course,
thanks for having me. You bet all right, man, We
are gonna roll out here. But one thing to think
(37:17):
about as we get into this, because just so everybody knows,
we are doing a lot more interviews here on Masterminds,
which I think is good because even though I like
the roundtables when we have all the hosts in, but
getting these insights from the founders and from these restaurant
brand engineers has been fantastic and I think we're going
(37:39):
to see a lot more of that because now we're
getting you know, the shows growing all that good stuff.
So cool.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Yeah, listen.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
What I loved about this interview and some of the
other ones that we've done recently, is that really you
can almost feel a shift in you know, and I
use this I tend to overuse this word, but elevation,
like we are, the industry is elevating itself. It's I
think it's it's trying to get to a place where
(38:05):
we need to be.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
A lot more of those brands.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
Yeah yeah, I mean but as health you know, as
healthy Americans for crying out loud, right, So, I think
the good brands like Bushfire and the and Dig and
the others are are going to set the pace, which
which is great to see.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Yeah for sure. Okay, guys, listen. If you're not subscribe
to the show, make sure and do that right now.
If you're listening on the audio side of things, just
hit it subscribe and give us a rating. That's another way.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Yeah, some ratings too, now, I mean it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Yeah. Well, the show itself has continued to accelerate growth
wise on YouTube. Masterminds is still one of the top
shows on the YouTube channel, So make sure and check
that out over on just search Saver fm on YouTube.
You'll find us over there, and of course if you
want to visit all the podcasts, you can do that
over on saver dot fm us. We'll catch you next
(39:01):
time right here on the Restaurant Masterminds podcast
We are back here on the Restaurant Masterminds podcast. Always
a joy joining me of course. Mister Paul Mollinari, my
co host today.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
How are you.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
I'm doing awesome, Baron, thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, it's always fun. Anna is a no show today,
She's gonna miss something big. But did you know this
lady is now a proud bakery owner.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Yeah, I heard about this.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I said, wait a minute, Paul's gonna like not like this.
He is a gluten anti and you're going right into
the belly of the beast.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
She's uh, she's bucking all all sorts of trends going,
you know, going on the on the.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
On the gluten train.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
And she is. She is a restaurant tour at heart,
you know. So I'm proud of her. Yeah, and she
has the sickness. What can I say?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
We, of course are talking about Anna Tausan, who is
one of our co hosts Sarah on Masterminds. She just announced. Anna,
if you're listening into this episode, we did. She just
announced her acquisition of a bakery in Austin, Texas. We're
going to have her on to talk about that in
the coming months. Here on masterminds, because that's that in
itself is a mastermind business case study. You know, how
(01:14):
to do something like that and get it going.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
And particularly of course with you know, the the choices
that she makes around technology, right.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, well, you know she's very into that technology guy
on this pod, and it's a she's very that's for sure.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
She's clearly you know, on top of it. But you know,
it's it's amazing when when you start and we'll talk
to our guest today about this, you know, when you
start a restaurant brand and you really want to start,
you know, scaling up, you have a lot of decisions
to make with regard to your tech stack and how
that's gonna you know, how that's going to move you
forward in a nice scalable way.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, today we are going to be talking about healthy
fast casual. The sector is growing. There are a handful
of standouts. This brand is one of them, Bushfire Kitchen.
We will have their CEO on so you guys don't
want to miss it. Stay tuned. My name is Paul Baron.
(02:36):
As the early pioneer in fast casual, I've seen the
industry evolve from just a few operators to the most
sought after segment by consumers around the world. Now we're
planning to shape its future. Tap into decades of my
expertise identifying the emerging brands and tech winners in the space.
(02:57):
Saber Capital will be fueling the next generation of fast
casual innovation. All right, So we are back here on
the Restaurant Masterminds podcast talking healthy, fast casual, and today
joining us is Oliver Barwin, who is the CEO over
at Bushfire Kitchen. How are you, Oliver?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Hey, guys, great, thanks for having.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Me, Nice to see you, Nice to meet you. You're
a West Coaster, so thanks for coming in early here
for us East Coasters. We appreciate that, of course, and
we got to get in and learn a little bit
about Bushfire Kitchen. I've watched this brand from afar, Unfortunately
I have not had a chance to get into one.
But give me a full rundown, give our audience a
break on where you guys are today, how you kind
(03:42):
of got started?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
So we're a brand based in southern California. We're opening
up actually our ninth location tomorrow in Long Beach.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Wow, and growing quickly.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
So we're a better for your concept We're really focused
on high quality, fresh, healthy ingredients with global flavors. So
we have a pretty broad menu that across bowls, plates, salad, sandwiches,
and burgers. It's really focused on having something for everyone.
So we have catered to a lot of gluten free,
(04:13):
plant based eaters and really focused on providing flavorful, healthy
dishes with options that were there a lot lighter as
well as a little more indulgent to really have something
for the whole family.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
You know, there's been a lot of vegan concepts that
have gotten received I think a lot of news over
the last decade. There's been a handful of chains that
have done a fairly good job at growing, and then
all of a sudden, Oliver we saw in the last
couple of years the shift away from vegan and going
(04:48):
to where we're seeing people actually eating meat again and
actually going forward gen Z I just did study on
this not too long ago. Gen Z now really leaning
into proteins, high protein diets, all kind of stuff. So
talk to me how you guys are addressing these shifts
that are occurring right now, especially in this category of course.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
So yeah, we've always been protein heavy and protein focused,
so for us. It's about having options for everyone. So
we have a few options for your plant please eaters,
but generally we've kind of always been protein center of
the plate type of concepts. So we you know, when
we look at our sales mix, we're seeing the same thing.
You know, beef is one of our number one sellers.
(05:31):
We use try Tips, which is a leaner cut really
popular in California, as well as Kate free chicken State,
the whole salmon are kind of are big three, and
you know, so we're seeing the same sort of trend.
But again it's it's all about having options for everyone.
So we try WITHINNY all of our menu categories so
(05:51):
at least have one VENI option, and then across our
entire menu almost everything is or can be made gluten free. Okay,
so a lot of that that audience has really attracted
to our brand.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And well that's music to Paul's ears. He loves that,
I do.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I mean, listen, this is these are the growth categories
right now. It's it's heavy prot it's it's you know,
high in proteins. You know, I recently saw the other
day that you know, the global Greek yogurt market is
absolutely on explyer.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Yeah, floating.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
This is supposed to be a fifty five billion dollar
market by by twenty thirty, and you know, so I'm
predicting that we're going to see a lot more a
lot more of the Greek yogurt on in some of
these concepts menus, Oliver, is that something that you're tracking?
Are you looking at different food trends and incorporating that
(06:51):
into your menus?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah? Of course.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
So we try to do seasonal lto offerings and as
you said, we're actually running a Mediterranean somewhere else you
a program right now, and we do have some tatsiki
in there, which is some yogurt bas in there. So yeah,
we're really on top of kind of what's trending and
be a global flavor concept.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
We're able to.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Try incorporate that into the venu and keep things fresh,
keeps things interesting. But against every generally, we're still leaning
into protein, okay, so always have some sort of protein
component forward.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
How do you Okay, So you guys obviously California based.
The other vegan brand I think of is Vigie Grill
obviously la and we had a chance to kind of
really see their birth and innovation a decade ago. I
remember when Greg dollar Hyde was still working with them,
and you know this shift of course now, especially around
(07:47):
gen Z and maybe younger millennials to a certain extent,
Is there a demographic that better aligns with this kind
of menu for you guys, have you noticed this specifically
or is it much more broad based?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (08:01):
No, For us, we're actually focused on being broad That's
kind of part of our genesis as a brand. It's
really been one of our kind of selling points. Is
something for the whole family. So we really try to
have a broad and diverse menu to really be attracted
a very different demo. And if you walk into our restaurant,
it's interesting because it's it's very mixed across age groups,
(08:21):
you know, all the way across the board. And that's
the same way we market as well. We have unique
messaging to different demographics to be able to really relate
to them, and our broad Menual allows us to do that.
So typically we're you know, our message to millennial versus
you know, a mother with kids is quite different and
(08:41):
our and our broad Menual allows us to you know,
cater to them.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, we're looking at any Instagram right now, So I agree,
broad is seems to be very wide.
Speaker 6 (08:51):
You were going to say, Paul, Well, I was going
to say broad, but also a really elevated experience. Yeah,
this looks good, greatful at the sprics, and I think that,
you know, so Bushfire is certainly positioning itself to be
I think maybe the elevated atmosphere kind of justifies some
of the some of the higher prices that people have
(09:12):
to pay now for.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Quality for quality meals.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
So look, does the atmosphere and the branding and all
of that kind of play into what you're trying to do?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
You know, we look at ourselves as an elevated fast
casual concept, So we're really focused on providing value through
a great quality, fresh ingredients at an affordable price point.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Walk us through the process of when you walk into
a bush Fire. You know, most fast casual, some like
a Chipotle, queue up, some are order and then drop
and you know, go pick up some deliver to the table.
How do you guys do it?
Speaker 5 (09:48):
Yeah, so our concept do you order at the front,
you sit down and they'll bring the food out to you.
But all of our dining guests served on real play
wear and with real metal cutlery, and that.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Just as a lot of this has a lot of
similarity to a brand that I thought was going to
be an absolute barn burner brand. And I don't know
if you remember them, Paul, and that was tender Greens.
Do you remember tender Greens? I doubt they were in
la Eric Oberholtzer. He was a chef and he had
(10:19):
a partner that was a chef. They started building brands there.
He ended up selling it and when Eric left, the
brand just lost its soul, you know, which is what
happens a lot of times. As you know, when you
get a founder that departs, has a lot of similarities. Man.
So did you ever see tender Greens and what they
were doing there? Oliver?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yeah, very familiar with them. You know.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
I agree with you that the brand's changed over the
years and it's different today as what it used to be.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
But yeah, it's a similar concept. I think today.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
I think we can beat them out through the our
value proposition and just the quality of the ingredients. I think,
as you know, unfortunately, when when there is a change
of ownership, sometimes there's compromise equality and just amount of
amount of.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Feel on the plane.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Yeah, and you know, we think us there's this kind
of new perception nowadays of what a value meal is,
particularly for Gen Z and millennials, you know, you know
it's value plus quality, right, that's kind of the equation
now that we're seeing for for what a health conscious
you know, a healthy fast casual is for a value meal.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Oh look at this interior.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
No, it's it's crazy or this is whomever is your
your designer and beautiful, I mean.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Wow, and they're all unique. You know, you get this
one with a nice fern garden outside. This one looks
very almost country esque out in countryside marketplace. Yeah, and
then you're so you're kind of matching.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
Are you trying to you know, are you trying to
create unique experiences across each storefront or I mean there
are certain elements naturally that that scale across all of them.
What's the strategy behind these different looking locations?
Speaker 5 (12:12):
And yeah, so we you know, the brands, we've been
around for twelve years, so it's it's it has evolved
a little bit and become a little more modern. But
you know, generally, you know, we are very focused on
interior design and making the make it feel welcoming, you know,
we'll be able to bring your family and sit out,
relax and have a quick, affordable, you know, casual meal,
(12:32):
but getting the high quality greens at the same time.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So, yeah, we look at it.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
It's you know, I would say it's a more of
a modern farmhouse type of look. It's kind of what
we're going for. So we use a lot of real
natural woods. We're going to slightly lighter, lighter color color
tone as you know, to track the kind of a
younger audience. Yeah, but it's it's a lot of natural
elements which which align with the brand and the food.
You know, there's real wood. You know, you can feel
(12:59):
that it has a a nice warm field to it.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Was that always the centerpiece when you guys were building
the store in the beginning and building your menu, starting
to target, you know, the kind of audience and customer
base you wanted to hit. Was that a big part
of it or did you kind of grow into this
very stylish look that you have now.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
So initially our first location it was it was actually
most of it was to go Okay, So it was
a tiny, little thousand square foot restaurant and it was
really a very simple business model. It was just fresh,
high quality ingredients of the affordable price point. Okay, that's
how we started. It was a hit, and then we
were able to you know, we had the proof of
(13:42):
concept and then we said, okay, let's take a slightly
bigger footprint here created a much more welcoming dining atmosphere,
so the guests have options because we you know, our
initial store that just the amount of seats we had,
we couldn't keep up with the demand.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, so you know, naturally we had to we had
to grow of that ol or.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So you guys are family owned. Sorry, Paul, I want
to ask this question real quick. How did you guys
fund this? What was the model for you to grow
because obviously you've got many locations now and that one
to two leap is a big one. So when you
get to two units, it changes the world. How did
(14:21):
you do it? What was the did you go out
and raise capital? What was the model for you guys?
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Yeah, so the companies originally found my father. They grew
it to about three four units, and then unfortunately he
had some health issues that were going on, and I
was over in New York working on Wall Street. So
I got the call and kind of at a you know,
in a pinchot to kind of step in and take over.
(14:48):
Good for you, man, And that was that was February
twenty twenty, so right before.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Oh even started. So what timing, interesting time to join
the industry.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Welcome, welcome in that you are in by fire, by
literally a trial by fire.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
So yeah, look, we hear you always believed in the
brand and felt like it needed some you know, younger
blood and energy to you know, kind of revitalize it
for the future. And COVID changed the industry, changed the world,
and so it's a good time to be able to
make change. So capital so yeah, yeah, so I went out,
(15:26):
you know and basically kind of ran my own process
and partnered with the group called Capital Spring.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Okay, I know the guys over there.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Yeah, restaurant specific investor and great it was. It was
more than just capital, it was expertise. That's what I
was looking for. Yeah, and they've been great partners so far.
So yeah, we have growth capital to them, but the
company still, you know, we still have the family maintains control.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
They they are a very good operating partner because in
many cases, when they discover a brand like you guys,
it's mostly hands off. You know, they to let the
pilots be the pilots. So that's always good because there
is a lot of you know, there's a lot of
capital out there that doesn't necessarily operate that way, as
I'm sure you know, right which changes the DNA of
(16:12):
the brands, you know, going forward, Let's get into positioning,
you know, when you're because fast casual is a very
crowded space, I would say this is also the most
opportunistic space right now because it pulls from all sectors,
you know, whether it's QSR you know, kind of raising
up casual dining, you know, trading down even full serve
(16:36):
to a certain extent kind of lends itself to a
fast casual customer base. How are you guys looking at
strategies right now to grow with this shifting demo that
is happening right now in America which is gen Z
and millennials taking over the primary job and earning.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Yeah, so we you know we right now we're still
small ten unit group, so you know, with the brand,
the positioning, the menu, as I mentioned, you know, it's
it's really broad broad reach which allows us to be
pretty selective, but also it gives us a lot of
opportunities within real estate markets. You know, we feel like
there's a lot of white space for this brand, and
(17:18):
there has been a lot of brands that you know,
I have been able to grow out and kind of
go a little too far from home. So for us,
it's about you know, staying close, being able to make
sure every your store is a success, not over finding
more than we can chew.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So I would say we're a little different to some brands.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
It's it's more you know, strategic and you know, a
little more conservative growth than some others to make sure
that you know, we have the infrastructure in place before
we go full full out. But we are starting to
accelerate that growth recently. But you know, it's it's it's
about it's about balance. It's about balance, making sure the
guests has a great experience and that we can actually
(17:58):
you know, meet the.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Dead always admired the companies that are you know, grow
in these concentric circles outward. You establish a base, do
you establish a brand, You get recognition if people understand
what you are, and you grow out from there. As
opposed to sort of this diverse, you know, franchise model,
(18:19):
which you know, let's pop a bush fire, you know,
and why you see, let's pop one in Minneapolis and
so on and so forth, and you have to work
almost five times.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Is hard to get that brand too much.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Man, I'm always listen. I'm a big, you know, proponent
obviously a fast casual in the sense of how it's
going to grow. I believe franchising works. I'm just not
sure it works with every brand. And you have to
write it has to be the right kind of brand,
you know, one can it scale and scale the concept.
(18:53):
It's not just scaling the operations, but scaling the you
know kind of that. It's what I call the X factor.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
I think we had a conversation ago right with Toast.
I think it was exactly.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Yeah, it kind of towed the line between qs R
and fast casual. It is definitely an elevated experience, but
it had a very you know, what are they selling?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
They're selling you know, Toast for Current out Loud.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Which was fantastic. I mean, I'm still was amazed by
that one, that's for sure. Hey, Oliver, I'm looking at
your your TikTok right now, and the one thing that
sticks out to me here is cocktails and I'm thinking
fest casual cocktails. Is this a match made in heaven
(19:38):
or a destiny for failure? What's going on here? Man?
How are you guys doing?
Speaker 5 (19:42):
So this was a test for us. We only have
it in two of our locations. Okay, you know, it's
something we wanted to look at it. They were outdoor
bars on the patios, so we didn't we were able
to do these without having to take additional rentable square feet, right,
But it's it's not part of brand strategy going forward,
you know.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I think.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Okay, So it's a different business. It's a test interesting
dappled with. But for us, we're all in on. We're
very focused on craft beer and wine. So we have
you know, sixteen taps in our markets.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
And what do you okay, so what do you make
no alcoholics as well?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:20):
There you go. What do you what do you make
of the non alcoholic market?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
We make our.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Own lemonade and iced tea fresh in house with real
lemon juice every day, and then we also do a
seasonal non alcoholic beverage as well. So right now we're
doing a pomegranate lemonade. So we typically have three different
non alcoholic fresh made housemaid options. And then we're also
partnered with Stubborn Soda, which is a kind of craft
(20:45):
sort of better for you sort of product which is
you know, has less kind of art less you know,
artificial sweeteners and it's it's a healthier sola alternative.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
We're we're involved of course Sabor Capital, which is the
company that runs our podcasts and all that we're involved
in both tech startups, restaurants startups, and you know food
in I will call it food hemisphere companies, people that
kind of circle around the industry. One of them that
we're we just invested into is an inn acohol or
(21:18):
inn a cocktail concept and there you know, for packaging.
The research that that I discovered in investing in that brand,
blew me Away. I had no idea that this market
was this large, you know, especially here in the United States,
and it seems that the US is leading away. Do
(21:39):
you see this as especially non alcohol alcoholic cocktails. Do
you see this as maybe a strategy for building beverage
components inside brands like yours?
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Yeah, you know, we we've seen this this year, especially
which it could be consumer trends, it could be economic
situation we've been in, but we have seen a shift Okay,
less alcohol, more nonalcoholic.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Do you think that's all demographic driven? Do you think
it's just gen Z and Millennia? What's what's cooking this man?
Speaker 2 (22:08):
M I think it's a combination of factors.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Personally, I think it's I think it's some demographic I
think we're you know, we're an economic climate where you know,
a dollar beer or four dollar lemonade.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I think there's.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
What are you looking to say, Well, I was, I
was just going to agree with It's definitely multi factor.
But I think it's also a function of you know,
who your brand is catering to, and your brand is
catering to healthier, conscious, conscious people. And the reality is
is that there's been so much negativity around, you know,
drinking beer and what beer does. And never never mind
(22:47):
the fact that listen, I like a beer as much
as anyone, right, but I know if I drink beer
a lot, I'm going to gain weight.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Something happens.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
It's a bad thing. So I stick to whiskey now.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
But no, but I look at brands like Athletic IPA,
which is absolutely exploding here in the Northeast.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
That's an NA brand, right, yeah, I believe so.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Yeah, and oh yeah, Athletic is all about non alcoholic
and they're growing like bananas.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
So do you do you carry any of those?
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Oliver a concert and grab a non alcoholic IPA.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Yeah, are you right right now?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
We want a non alcoholic No.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
You got to get one. You got to get one, Oliver,
you need a non alcoholic i PA. This episode is
brought to you in part by Gusto, the number one
rated HR platform for payroll, benefits and more. With Gusto's
easy to use platform, you can empower your people and
push your business forward. Over four hundred thousand businesses choose
(23:51):
Gusto every day. And let's get into it, guys. There's
a couple of things you can do with Gusto that
you should check out. Some of the solutions that you're
just as really going to want to know about is
of course, their business type new businesses and startups, You
guys are welcome coming in small businesses. Maybe you have
a mid sized business that needs an all in one
(24:11):
payroll and benefit program as well as HR all of
this scaling. The cool thing about this is it's an
all in one platform. They can also select and punch
in right to your accountants. So check it out. You've
got a Gusto Pro platform. You can become a partner
with them if you're an accountant, So if you have
a CPA already, this is the place for you. And
(24:34):
of course the best thing is pricing. The thing about
Gusto is flexible plans and features, honest pricing, no hidden fees.
This is the plan that we use, which is the
Plus plan sixty bucks a month. Guys, you cannot go wrong.
It's about nine bucks a person, so you guys can
definitely afford it. Get in there and choose Gusto with
(24:55):
a full suite of tax services, HR services, time tracking, scheduling, expenses, reimbursements.
You get the picture. Gusto is the place for you.
Check it all out. Just go over to Gusto dot
com use our link down below to get started. See
you there.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
You know, I want to switch gears for a second
and talk a little bit about technology because you had
mentioned earlier Oliver.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
You know COVID.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
You came in during the time that you could possibly
come into a into a restaurant brand, and you had
to have seen how technology kind of kept all the
boats afloat in the harbor during that time. Was Bushfire
(25:42):
prepared for this kind of multi this omni omni channel
ordering revolution that we're all experiencing now, people ordering from wherever, whenever,
what they want, and they want to get it how
they want.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
To get it. Were you prepared for that?
Speaker 4 (25:58):
And what what did you have to do to get
If you weren't, what did you have to do to
get there?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (26:03):
So when I stepped in, it was incredibly basic. They
were on three PD but there were no integrations. You know,
they had online ordering, but it was very poor, a
lot of user issues. So they had kind of the basics.
So they did have revenue coming from those channels, But
in practice when with COVID, what happened was your dining
(26:25):
drops and all of a sudden, your off premise skyrockets,
and we don't have the systems in place. It becomes
very very difficult to execute effectively. So I pretty much
ripped everything out and rebuild.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Tech stack.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Wow, did you try to go the all in one
route or are you going best to breed in different
areas today?
Speaker 2 (26:49):
You know it's changed over time. Today.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
You know, we were used Toast, and Toast has as
that platform has grown, they've been able to add more
and more offerings and from management standpoint, we find you know,
for some inte basing integrations, it is nice.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
To have it all in one place.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Yeah, but for specific vendors where you know, it's the
more specialty like customer feedback, we uservation.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
I think that's a great platform the way.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, how that act does a good job. I'm kind
of curious about the pricing because this is something we
looked at in a brand we were looking at investing in. Uh,
they showed me their tech stack fees. I was really
surprised at how much they were spending, you know, on
a monthly basis. What about that? You know, is this
sustainable to see all of these kind of component level
(27:40):
products and the tech stack continuing to rack up these
monthly fees. How are you guys addressing?
Speaker 5 (27:46):
Yeah, So you know, we're fortunate enough that we were
on Toast pre I PO so we've been grandfathered into
some great pricing. So I think we might be in
a more unique situation others. But in terms of new
text that we add, it's all about ROI. You know,
we look at what is you know how much we
didn't pay what's the value to a liver? Like A
good example is, you know we recently the past couple
(28:07):
of years have built out a full data analytics platform
within a data warehouse, which is able allows us to
pull in data from all these different sources, recind it
and spit out the way we want it, which gives
our operators insights daily into you know, everything across the
business beyond just financial as we're talking guest feedback tick
(28:30):
at times marketing KPIs.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Yeah, the more data you got to input into it.
Are you guys utilizing any large language models or AI
at all on developing this?
Speaker 2 (28:42):
So the platform is called Chabby.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
You know they they use AI within the software in
different aspects. So in one example is they have AI
sales forecasting tool, so we are able to use that
when we when we think about labor each week. I mean,
you know, we ran tests and you know it turns
out AI's a lot more accurate than our gms. So
(29:05):
that's one example. And you know they've built out AI
for data where you can ask the AI, you know,
questions about your data and able to you know, calculate and.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Spit out what you want.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
Yeah, so it's almost like having a data you know,
a data analyst AI kind of bought, which is which
is also really helpful.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Yeah, well it's going to be interesting. And we were
deploying a lot more within a lot of the AI tools,
not within our own business, but you know, some of
our other business ventures. And I'm very surprised. You know,
I've been in tech for twenty five plus years, and
I'm very surprised at how good the quality of code, Paul,
that's coming out of AI right now. Oh yeah, absolutely,
(29:49):
in terms of developer code, you know the Yeah, so
this the vibe coding thing right where it's insane. I mean,
we just ran a Python script to build a sentiment
tool for our podcast and we're analyzing all these RSS
feeds for podcasts. We're getting into the weeds here. But
(30:10):
point being is is I would have had to hire
a team of developers even just a year ago to
do that.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
And now, Paul Replet, maybe I use it. You're using
Replet And there are these amazing coding agents out there
now that are basically taking plain language coding.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah. I think the restaurant industry is going to get
a renaissance in that area of usage of how brands
are going to figure out how to use it and
make it do what kind of what you're doing, Oliver,
in terms of figuring out some of those cues and
perceptions of how your business is going, because the more
data you pop into these things, the better it gets
it giving you some sort of predictive analytics on how
(30:53):
your business is going. So we have a.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Client right now, Paul Fellas called live Litics. They just
award over at Murtech for this incredible start, and we're
talking to brands, large enterprise brands, you know, smaller SMB brands,
et cetera. And what's the amazing part about liveload is
it takes all of your data from all of your sources,
(31:17):
your labor, you're caught, your cost of good sold, your
even your media analytics, if you have everything, puts it
all together. And never mind, these dash dashboards are great,
but the next level of tech is prescriptive, so it's
not just telling you what's going on, it's telling you
what to do yeah next. And the accuracy is insane
(31:40):
because it's it's pulling from sources, from outsourced sources too,
like you know, all different kinds of data companies are
are layering over your own data and giving you these
incredible insights that you just wouldn't have ever had before.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
And I think, I think you're going to see a
time and I want to ask you, Oliver, are you
employing team members? Because now you know, it used to
be where a brand from a tech stack from standpoint
had a CTO and maybe a handful of maybe even devs.
But now what I'm learning from a lot of operators
that I'm talking to is they're deploying and employing almost
(32:20):
prompt jockeys, people that understand how to utilize AI and
they understand the business. So they're basically almost like a
data analyst in terms of an input. So it's like
you have to teach the AI or the tools certain things.
Are you guys building any kind of your team around
(32:42):
that kind of employee right now?
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Not at the moment.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
You know, we we're a restaurant company, we're you know,
we try to focus on what we what we know best.
So for the tech and kind of the building this
building tech with out, we rely on the experts.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Yeah so.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Strategy, yeah, well this with this time right now, because
you've got so much changing in the market right now.
There's just constant change for sure. Hey, we're going to
get into the rapid fire to stay on time here,
which is get into where you guys are going. And
then also just you know, just some of the things
that you see in the marketplace. Give us some short
(33:23):
answers here, Paul and I will kind of pepper you
with questions and get into those. So first thing is
is are you planning to franchise at any point?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Not as of today?
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Okay? And then as far as growth, what are the
growth plans right now in the next say, two to
three years.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
So you know, we will see significant growth.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
I think by the end of next year we'll grow
about fifty percent unit count and look to accelerate that
further starting twenty twenty seven. That'll be our first out
of state expansion. So we're going to be kind of
finalizing a deal this week, but we will be.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Seeing can you announce what state that is or is it?
Is it public?
Speaker 2 (34:04):
And not not just yet. It'll be in the in
the southwest area.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Okay, all right, Arizona. Everybody goes there.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
On the on the tech track for a second, what
what are some of the problems that you're looking for
technology to solve for in the future or you you
are you golden on your tech stack right now.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
You know, we're happy with where we are.
Speaker 5 (34:29):
I think our big thing on the roadback next is
as a loyalty program and app. That's kind of the
one piece that we're missing and being able to, you know,
provide unique messaging to our guests based on their spending habits.
That's something that's really focused on us to really refine
our marketing and get better return and just better messaging.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
I think that's really important.
Speaker 5 (34:52):
So right now, that's kind of that's the big the
big item that we're looking to deploy next year.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
In terms of California, how are you guys dealing with
with the situation with employment? A lot of the regulatory
alignment that's happening now politically, is that affecting your brand today?
Speaker 5 (35:10):
So yes, always is you know, we for us, it's
about for within the restaurant, it's about cross training. That's
a critically important piece in California at the moment. It's
really one of the only ways to be able to
manage your labor. Yeah, and then you know, in terms
of growth, it's something we look at when we're looking
(35:30):
at a new market. You know, there are certain cities
in California that have, you know, much higher wages than others.
And that's something that we're very cognizant ofvics that you know,
it ultimately impacts your return. It's something we take it
to consideration. And that's part of the reason, you know,
we had to look, you know, beyond Califulornia. Yeah, just
given some of the red tape we're seeing.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
One other one other question for me, Oliver, and that
is what other health conscious, fast casual brands can you
point to as being as someone as brands that you'd like,
that you really respect and try to emulate in some way.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
So I think I like DIG on the East Coast.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
Yeah, okay, I'm familiar with them, so I think I
think they did a really good job. Came from New
York myself, so I you know, I personally ate that
a lot. So yeah, I shout out to those guys.
I think they're doing a good job out there.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Yeah, all right.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Dig has been a DIG has been kind of one
of the ogs too, you know, in terms of maybe
really leading the way with a lot of the health authorings.
And I think, you know, because they were in New York,
they got so much press in the early days that
it kind of maybe, you know, there's a handful of others,
I mean, obviously you know, Veggie Grill and a handful
(36:49):
of others that I think maybe spawned that better for
you casual or a fast casual category.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
So a great parallel. Yeah, great choice, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Good one. Hey, listen, it has been great having you
on the SHO show, Oliver. We've learned a lot about Bushfire.
Sounds like you guys are definitely breaking some rules in
terms of the category in fast casual. So thanks for
coming into the show today. We appreciate it, of course,
thanks for having me. You bet all right, man, We
are gonna roll out here. But one thing to think
(37:17):
about as we get into this, because just so everybody knows,
we are doing a lot more interviews here on Masterminds,
which I think is good because even though I like
the roundtables when we have all the hosts in, but
getting these insights from the founders and from these restaurant
brand engineers has been fantastic and I think we're going
(37:39):
to see a lot more of that because now we're
getting you know, the shows growing all that good stuff.
So cool.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Yeah, listen.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
What I loved about this interview and some of the
other ones that we've done recently, is that really you
can almost feel a shift in you know, and I
use this I tend to overuse this word, but elevation,
like we are, the industry is elevating itself. It's I
think it's it's trying to get to a place where
(38:05):
we need to be.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
A lot more of those brands.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
Yeah yeah, I mean but as health you know, as
healthy Americans for crying out loud, right, So, I think
the good brands like Bushfire and the and Dig and
the others are are going to set the pace, which
which is great to see.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Yeah for sure. Okay, guys, listen. If you're not subscribe
to the show, make sure and do that right now.
If you're listening on the audio side of things, just
hit it subscribe and give us a rating. That's another way.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Yeah, some ratings too, now, I mean it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Yeah. Well, the show itself has continued to accelerate growth
wise on YouTube. Masterminds is still one of the top
shows on the YouTube channel, So make sure and check
that out over on just search Saver fm on YouTube.
You'll find us over there, and of course if you
want to visit all the podcasts, you can do that
over on saver dot fm us. We'll catch you next
(39:01):
time right here on the Restaurant Masterminds podcast
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!