Tastemakers Podcast

This is a conversation with the CEO of HiBar Hospitality Group, Jeff Chandler. HiBar is the newly formed entity that runs Hopdoddy Burger Bar and Grub Kitchen & Bar, both experiential combinations of premium burgers and a bar setting. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jayson Tipp, the Chief Marketing Officer of Pokeworks. Jayson has had an incredibly interesting career including Strategy, Analytics, and Technology leadership roles at Starbucks, Potbelly, Redbox, Papa Murphy's, Pincho, and Bridg. Pokeworks is a high-growth fast-casual Poke restaurant that launched in 2015 and already has more than 60 locations today. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Alex Canter, a fourth-generation restaurateur originally from Canter's Deli. After multiple successful restaurant tech ventures, he started Nextbite to help restaurants fill unused capacity with virtual dining concepts. Those include Packed Bowls by Wiz Khalifa and George Lopez Tacos. In 2020, they closed their 120 million dollar series c round of funding. This year, he was a member of Nation's Restaurant News Top 50 Power List. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Tiffany McClain. She is the head of marketing for Mimi’s Cafe, which is now Mimi’s Bistro & Bakery. Previously, she held senior leadership roles with Fridays, Texas de Brazil, Which Wich, and Boston’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jason Morgan. He is the CEO of bellagreen and Original Chopshop and a board member for Newk’s Eatery. He joined the restaurant industry in 2008 when he became the CFO of Zoe’s Kitchen when the brand had only 20 units, then helped lead it all the way to IPO. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference last April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Joe Koss, the President & CEO of Culver’s. Joe started at Culver’s as Controller in 1997 before getting elevated to CFO just 3 years later. In 2017, he took the helm as CEO. Culver’s is one of the fastest-growing restaurant brands in the US, now with nearly 700 locations and $1.5B in sales. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference last April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with the great Jim Parrish. Over his career, Jim has been the COO of Hooters, Friendly’s Ice Cream, and Church’s Chicken. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference last April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jack Gibbons, the President and COO of Front Burner Restaurants. They are the minds behind brands like Twin Peaks, Velvet Taco, Whiskey Cake, Ida Claire, Mexican Sugar, the Ranch, Sixty Vines, Legacy Food Hall and more. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference last April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Christine Barone, the CEO of True Food Kitchen. Christine started her career in investment banking before making her way into the food business. She spent nearly 6 years with Starbucks with roles including VP, Global Strategy, VP, Food, VP, Handcrafted Coffee, and SVP of food, evenings and licensed stores. True Food Kitchen has nearly 30 locations across the US, with another 9 opening by next spring. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. Enjoy!

This is a conversation Frances Allen, the CEO of Boston Market. Frances is an industry luminary with roles including Brand President at Jack in the Box, EVP & Chief Brand Officer of Denny’s, CMO at Dunkin, Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson, and VP of Marketing at Pepsi. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jonathan Maze, the Executive Editor of Restaurant Business and one of the most important and well-known journalists in the restaurant industry. He also has his own podcast called a Deeper Dive. This episode was recorded at the NRA show last May and hosted by Restaurant365. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Donna Spangler-Josephson, the Chief Marketing Officer at Corner Bakery. Donna had leadership roles at Chick-fil-a, Applebee’s, and Wendy’s, and was CMO of McAlister’s Deli and Fazoli’s. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Doug Willmarth, the CMO at Mongolian Concepts. He’s leading marketing for their family of brands including Ghengis Grill, bd’s Mongolian Grill, and FlatTop Grill. Over his career, Doug has been the CMO of Wingstop and Rave Motion Pictures and held senior leadership roles at Yum!, Pepsico, and Brinker. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Bob Bafundo, the President of the Rave Restaurant Group. Rave is the owner of Pizza Inn and Pie Five. Over his career, he’s been the President of Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, Sr. VP of Ops at Back Yard Burgers, and Sr. Director of Ops at KFC. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jena Henderson, the VP of Growth at Saladworks. Saladworks has been making salads to order since before it was the cool thing to do. They now have more than 100 locations in 15 states. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Kyle Noonan, the co-founder and CEO of FreeRange concepts. Kyle cut his teeth in the Pappas restaurants family before opening his first restaurant in 2012. Only 7 years later, they’re building a restaurant empire that includes Bowl & Barrel, Mutt’s Canine Cantina, The General Public, the Rustic, and more to come. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jodie Conrad, the VP of Marketing at Fazoli’s. Jodie has held marketing leadership positions at Wendy’s and Donato’s and became the head of marketing for the Fazoli’s brand in 2017. Fazoli’s has more than 215 locations in 26 states. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit.  Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Phil Friedman, the CEO of Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill. Phil was the Chairman and CEO of McAlister's Deli, a brand he grew from 30 to over 300 locations. In 2011, he purchased the Salsarita’s brand and become the Chairman and CEO. They are now up to 80 locations in 17 states. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Randy Gier. Randy is a true giant in our industry. He was the CMO of KFC, Pizza Hut, Yum!, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Borden Dairy, and Gamestop and was also the CEO of Rave - the parent of Pie Five and Pizza Inn.  He is now running NRG, a private restaurant operating and holding company. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in Kentucky. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Patty Trevino, the head of marketing for the Carls Jr. brand and the SVP of Marketing at CKE. Over her career, she’s been the CMO of Bonefish Grill, the VP of Product Marketing at Outback, and the Director of Global Brand Marketing at Burger King. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Amir Hudda, the CEO at Qu. Amir is a technology entrepreneur who has started and grown 4 startups and raised over 100 million dollars. With Qu, they’ve reimagined point of sale for the unique needs of fast casual and quick service restaurants. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Gary Goodman, the founder of Yumpingo. They are a restaurant intelligence company that’s making customer feedback a more natural part of the dining experience, then sharing that feedback with operators in a more granular and actionable form. They recently launched into the US in a deal with Fridays. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Brett Schulman, the CEO of Cava. Cava Grill is one of the fastest growing restaurants in the country, and the Cava Group became one of the largest fast-casual companies in the US with their purchase of Zoe’s Kitchen last year. This was recorded at the Restaurant Technology Summit in Washington DC which is hosted by the great people at Cohn Reznick. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jeremy Biser, the Executive Vice President of the iconic brand Roy Rogers. Jeremy came from the Dunkin Brands Group, where he held leadership positions within Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Adam Tabachnikoff, the SVP of Marketing for California Pizza Kitchen. Adam cut his teeth in the Burger King system working his way to Director, Global Product Marketing. He then led international marketing for Church’s Chicken before expanding his role to VP of Marketing Activation and Product Development. From there, he joined the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf as the SVP of Global Marketing, and then joined CPK earlier this year. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Chris Simms, the founder of Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar. Lazy Dog was inspired by Chris’s trips to his parent's ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They are one of the fastest growing restaurants in the US. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Sherif Mityas. Sherif is the Chief Experience Officer for TGI Fridays. Over the past two and a half years with Fridays, he’s led their transition from merely dabbling with new technologies to now thinking of themselves as a technology brand that happens to sell beer and ribs. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Robert Benson. Robert is an industry veteran with experience at California Chicken Cafe, Sea View Restaurants, Water Grill, Open Menu inc, and Claim Jumper Restaurants. He now manages restaurant operations for Krost CPAs and consultants. We chatted at the Restaurant365 booth at the NRA show. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Andy Schwartz. Andy is the co-founder and CEO of Xtrachef. Xtrachef simplifies how restaurants manage their inventory and invoicing and makes it easier to manage the back of the house towards profitability. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jason Abelkop. Jason has held CMO roles with Krystal, Ovation Brands, and the Fiesta Restaurant Group. He was also the SVP of Marketing and National Media for Arby’s. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Christina Dorobek. She is the Chief Sales Officer for LevelUp.LevelUp connects restaurant brands with digital consumers where they live work, and play to drive transactions, increase guest frequency, and build loyalty. They process orders in over 50,000 locations and their clients include Zaxby’s Potbelly, Sweetgreen, Fives Guys and more. LevelUp was acquired by Grubhub earlier this year. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership conference last April.

This is a conversation with Ben Nemo. Ben started his career as a financial analyst before finding his way to marketing and restaurants. He was a Senior Director of Product Marketing at Burger King, a VP at Marriott, and ran his own consultancy called Scorpio Ventures that helped shape brands like Popeyes, Sonic, Dunkin’ and Focus Brands. He then became the Industry Manager, Global Marketing Solutions for Facebook and is now an operating partner at Argonne Capital Group which owns Krystal and On the Border. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Sloane Perras. She is the Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Krystal and On the Border. Sloane has led legal teams at Expeditors International, Americold, and Aaron’s before moving into the restaurant business. I got her perspective on changes in the industry at the Restaurant Leadership Conference last April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Mike Lukianoff. He is the Chief Analytics Officer at Fishbowl Analytics and a Society of Fellows Member at the Culinary Institute of America. He is also our first two time guest. We had Mike back on to talk Artificial Intelligence after his presentation at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Keith Kitsis, the founder of Crazy Bowls & Wraps. Founded in 1994, they were a values-driven fast casual before either of those trends existed. This episode was recorded at the NRA show from the Restaurant365 booth. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Steve Heeley, the CEO of Veggie Grill. Before that, Steve led Operations for Baja Fresh, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Collector’s Cafe, and Au Bon Pain. He was also the CEO of Earl of Sandwich. Veggie Grill is a fast-growing fast-casual vegan restaurant serving only plant-based food. Forbes called them one of the 25 most innovative consumer brands in 2016. Enjoy!

This a conversation with the great Joe Essa, CEO & Board Member of Wolfgang Puck Worldwide and the Vice Chairman of the National Restaurant Association. We chatted about the massive growth of the Wolfgang Puck business and the unique challenges of running such a vast organization at the NRA Show in May. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Lee Zucker, the Head of Industry, Food Service at Yext. Lee was the Director of Enterprise Sales at SinglePlaform and the VP of Sales and Partnerships at Slice before taking on his current role. Yext is the leading digital knowledge management platform with a mission to give brands control over their brand experiences across search, maps, apps, voice, and other intelligent services. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Alison Glenn Delaney, the CMO of Huddle House. Alison has been leading marketing organizations for more than 25 years, with head of marketing roles for Ruby Tuesday, Taco Cabana, Rubio’s, Marie Callender’s, and Fridays. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Mike Speck, the COO of the Halal Guys. Mike has held operations and HR leadership roles with brands like Qdoba, Cici’s, Red Robin, Boston Market, and Einstein Bagels. He was also the chairman of the National Restaurant Association Human Resources Executive Group. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Paul Macaluso, Paul joined Krystal as CEO this April after roles in marketing leadership for Taco Bell, Burger King, Sonic, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Focus Brands. He was most recently the President of McAlister’s Deli. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Doug Reifschneider, the head of marketing for Pita Pit. Prior to Pita Pit, Doug worked in the Hardee’s system, led field marketing for Fazoli’s, and was the VP of Marketing for Firehouse Subs.  This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference this April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Paul Damico, the CEO of Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill. Paul was the President of Moe’s Southwest Grill and Focus Brands before taking on the role with Naf Naf in 2017. They are now gearing up for growth with a brand refresh, a new app, and a newly launched franchising program. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference this April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Ware Sykes. Ware was the CEO of NoWait, the first mobile network for casual dining restaurants. He grew the business to millions of customers before they sold to Yelp in 2017. This year, he became the VP of Restaurant Strategy for Yelp, leading their growth in the restaurant industry. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference this April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Jamie Cohen. Jamie has spent nearly 25 years growing the Jason’s Deli brand with roles including People Department Director, Concept Development Director, and Chief Branding Officer. This episode was recorded at the Restaurant Leadership Conference this April. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Dan Fogarty. Dan started working with Chipotle at just 4 locations, eventually becoming their head of marketing and helping them add nearly 500 more. He was also the EVP of Marketing for Noodles & Company, uniting the brand under the 'Your World Kitchen' theme and taking them public in 2015. He's also held leadership roles with Potbelly and the Dig Inn. You can now find him traveling the world and, as he says, “helping cool companies build cult brands.” Enjoy!

This is a conversation with the author of Why You Eat What You Eat - The Science Behind our Relationship with Food, Rachel Herz. Rachel is a psychologist and a cognitive neuroscientist, and one of the leading experts on the psychology of smell. She is also an entrepreneur and teaches at Brown University and Boston College. Why You Eat What You Eat examines the factors that most influence our eating habits. Enjoy!  

This is a conversation with the Founder of Restaurant365, Morgan Harris. Morgan started his career in accounting before shifting into technology. Along the way, he recognized a need for better financial software in the restaurant industry and spent years developing Restaurant365. They have since become one of the fastest growing technology platforms in the restaurant space and recently took on a $20 million investment from Bessemer Partners. Their clients include Blaze Pizza, Freddy’s Steakburgers, the Halal Guys, and many more. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Kara Goldin, the founder of Hint Water. Kara was a technology executive at AOL before she got into the beverage business. She was named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and Forbes' 40 Women to Watch Over 40.  The Huffington Post also called her one of six disruptors in business alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. You can find Hint in Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, or at any Google office. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with John Lukas, the SVP of Restaurant Strategy for Heartland Commerce. John spent his career working in technology for restaurants including roles as Chief Information Officer at Carrols Restaurant Group, Arby’s, and Popeye’s. He joined Heartland last year to help them chart their path with restaurants. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with the VP of Marketing Insights for Groundtruth, Sarah Ohle. Sarah worked in marketing for T-Mobile and Palm, then designed custom research for Nielsen before landing at xAd, which is now GroundTruth. They are one of the leading technology platforms aimed at driving and measuring in-store visits by using the location data on your phone. Enjoy!