FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

What if the biggest mistake in your business model is having a fixed address?

Most operators spend their careers fighting for foot traffic. Michael Russo went the other direction. As the Chief Growth Officer of Wild Bill’s, he bought a veteran-founded craft soda brand and scaled it into a 60-wagon franchise popping up at over 500 events a year nationwide.

In this conversation, we get into why going where your custome...

What if your biggest problem isn’t awareness—it’s that people try your food and don’t come back?

Koji Kanematsu set out to bring onigiri to the American mainstream, convinced the market just needed to be introduced to something new. But for five years, his business sat at break-even: good enough to survive, not good enough to grow.

In this conversation, Koji shares how a single shift in product design unlocked demand, wh...

What if the real advantage isn’t better strategy… it’s faster action?

Matt Jozwiak, founder of Rethink Food, built a movement by rejecting perfection and embracing momentum. From washing dishes to working in the world’s best kitchens, Matt shares how a bias toward action—not credentials—became his edge.

In this conversation, we get into why failure is the fastest teacher you’ll ever have, how telling a simple story u...

What if the difference between a good restaurant and a great one came down to what happens in the 20 minutes before service?

Ti Martin, co-proprietor of Commander's Palace, has spent her life inside one of the most enduring restaurants in the country, and she’s obsessed with the details most operators overlook.

In this conversation, we get into the daily disciplines that shape her team, why curiosity at the table drives bett...

What if most restaurants fail because no one’s really watching what matters?

Maycoll came up peeling potatoes in Michelin-starred kitchens, learning the craft from the ground up. Over time, that experience evolved into something deeper: a clear understanding of what actually keeps a restaurant alive.

In this conversation, we get into the leap from operator to owner, why “luck” is just a story people tell to avoid the truth, ...

What if the real reason your product isn’t scaling isn’t marketing, but the fact that it’s just not good enough?

Ben Van Leeuwen built his business around a simple idea: if you make something truly exceptional, people come back and they tell others. 

In this conversation, we get into why supply chain is the most overlooked driver of margin, how “affordable luxury” creates reach without dilution, and why word-of-mouth...

What if the real reason your restaurant isn’t growing… is because you’re doing too much?

Chris Schultz has built a career scaling cult brands without stripping away what made them special. Now, in his second appearance on the show—this time as CEO of Velvet Taco—he’s doubling down on a contrarian idea: most operators aren’t missing opportunities, they’re drowning in them.

In this conversation, we get into why great l...

Warren Rustand is the most successful human I know. 

Warren is a basketball hall of famer, he's served US presidents, been the CEO of 10 companies and mentor to countless CEO's and, candidly, he's been an amazing father, husband and friend. 

Today, Warren will give you the tactics, tools and strategies he's used to live the life of his dreams.

For more on Warren or to buy his book visit https://warrenrustand.com

__________...

What if the most valuable seats in your restaurant aren’t in your dining room, but in your database?

Samuel Bernstein has spent the last five years proving that loyalty isn’t a punch card. It’s a revenue model. As the founder of Table 22, Sam has helped more than 1,000 operators launch subscriptions, memberships, and bundled offers that routinely generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in high-margin revenue.

I...

The hardest part of ownership isn't owning the business, it's in owning the choices you've made and the impact they have on you and your team.

Today, we chat with multi-million dollar culinary clothing maven, Ellen Bennett. Ellen wrote a book that's one part biography and one part action plan for aspiring entrepreneurs. 

In this conversation, we run though what the past 10 years has been like for Ellen, bringing to light the...

What happens when you do achieve your goals but, over time, those goals don’t matter anymore? 

Most of us just stay the path. Alan Roth didn’t. He walked away at the height of his career, shut it all down, and spent years figuring out what actually mattered.

In this conversation, we get into the courage it takes to quit, what happens when you lose your identity as an operator, and how he found his way back to our industr...

For over a decade, I ran my restaurants the way I was taught to run other people's restaurants. 

I led my teams the way others had led me and I never questioned it. But what if you never got that education?

Andrew Dana owns more than half a dozen successful restaurants and he began his journey as a restaurateur with absolutely no operational experience. He just did what he thought was right and followed his gut instincts. 

To...

What if the real reason your restaurant marketing isn’t working has nothing to do with your ads?

Patrick Noone thinks most brands are solving the wrong problem. As a marketing leader at Slim Chickens, he’s watched restaurants pour money into advertising, discounts, and promotions, only to discover they still can’t clearly explain who they are or why guests should care.

In this conversation, Patrick breaks down the shift ...

During our time in this industry we’ve watched countless healthy restaurant concepts go under. 

But today’s guest, Jeff Fenster, seems to have finally figured it out. His concept, Everbowl, has scaled massively over the last few years despite an economic downturn and a global pandemic. 

We sit down to discuss the strategy he used to become massively successful in a vertical that seemed destined for failure.

For more informati...

What if the most powerful marketing channel in restaurants isn’t ads, email, or social media, but the people already influencing where your guests eat?

Vince Wang believes that’s exactly the case.

As the force behind Mustard, Vince is applying the discipline of performance marketing to one of the most chaotic channels in hospitality: influencer marketing.

In this conversation, we get into why influencer marketing may ...

It feels like it would be glamorous to be a pioneer of a new cuisine in a new city but rarely does that translate into success. 

It’s hard enough to sell something someone has heard of before. Today we sit down with the exception to the rule. Chef Anthony Mangieri is almost singularly responsible for the introduction of neapolitan pizza to New York. 

He’s built a reputation for himself while building awareness for his greate...

What if the future of restaurants isn’t smaller, faster, and cheaper—but louder, warmer, and more human?

While everyone else is shrinking footprints and racing to the bottom on price, John Tilley is rebuilding the pizza parlor.

In this conversation, we unpack why he believes the future of restaurants isn’t frictionless, it’s emotional. He shares how nostalgia became strategy, why discounting is a death spiral, and what it re...

You walk into a restaurant and it just makes sense.

It all feels right…the decor, the menus, the music and you know that they’re selling more than a meal, it’s a lifestyle. 

Today we sit down with Scott Lawton, the co-founder of bartaco, to discuss the foundational elements of the bartaco brand and how those elements come together to make the guest feel like they’re a part of something special.

For more information on Sco...

What if the reason your restaurant feels complicated… is because you never questioned the system you inherited?

Angell Tsang didn’t come up in restaurants, he came up in tech. So when he got pulled into launching a Chinese takeout concept in Austin, he didn’t start with a POS, a lobby, or third-party apps. He started with a browser and a blank page.

In this conversation, we get into how Angell built a cloud-based res...