Podcasts about Baja Fresh

In this episode of Producer Points, Justin sits down with Christian Dold—better known as Diamond Pistols—for a deep dive into his explosive production style, his viral hits with bbno$ and Yung Gravy, and the mindset shifts that took him from bedroom beatmaker to in-demand hitmaker. From crafting the viral smash “edamame” to shaping Yung Gravy's “C'est La Vie,” Christian shares how he keeps his sound simple, bold, and wildly effective.They talk:

Looking for daily inspiration?  Get a quote from the top leaders in the industry in your inbox every morning.   This episode of AttractionPros is brought to you by our friend Eric Fluet at Get it Done Marketing. With 30 years of experience in the attractions industry, Get it Done Marketing offers freelance marketing insight, strategy, and execution—at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. Partnering with over 30 parks and resorts from family water parks to large multi-location organizations, Get it Done Marketing fills leadership voids on property and corporate marketing teams, assists with resource allocation and supports emerging marketing professionals. Learn more at getitdonemarketing.com. Burton Heiss is the CEO of Escapology. With a rich background in the restaurant industry, including leadership roles at Baja Fresh, Wagamama, Nando's, and Buddy's Pizza, Burton brings a business-savvy approach to the world of escape rooms. His career has been centered around high-growth, brand-led companies, which made Escapology—a fast-growing escape room franchise with a strong emphasis on brand identity—a natural next step. In this interview, Burton talks about brand-led businesses, disconnect to reconnect, and the future of escape rooms. Brand-Led Businesses “I always want to work someplace where when I get on the airplane, I don't put a piece of paper in my pocket to cover up the logo.” Burton explains that brand-led businesses have a distinct identity that resonates emotionally with consumers, unlike commodity-driven models. He points out that a brand like Disney evokes excitement and emotional connection, while a commodity might be viewed as interchangeable or forgettable. From a leadership standpoint, he emphasizes that it's easier to rally a team around a brand that stands for something. Employees feel a sense of pride when the brand on their shirt is something others recognize and admire. That internal passion, he says, is contagious and helps permeate enthusiasm throughout the organization. Transitioning from restaurants to attractions, Burton notes that although the escape room industry is relatively new, the foundational leadership principles remain the same. “Leadership is leadership,” he says, emphasizing that strong team culture and strategic planning are transferable across industries when they're rooted in purpose and clarity. Disconnect to Reconnect “What escape rooms offer you is the opportunity to disconnect from your device and reconnect with your friends and family.” Burton describes a key differentiator of escape rooms: the opportunity to truly unplug and engage in a meaningful, shared activity. At a time when screens dominate daily life, Escapology encourages people to step into immersive environments that demand teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. This idea of “disconnect to reconnect” isn't just a catchy phrase—it's central to the guest experience. He also addresses common misconceptions that may prevent people from trying an escape room, such as fears of being physically locked in. Escapology aims to overcome that barrier with inviting locations in mainstream retail environments and licensed IP like Scooby-Doo and Batman. These approachable themes lower the intimidation factor and encourage first-timers to take the leap. Once they do, he says, most guests are hooked by the joy and adrenaline of the experience. The Future of Escape Rooms “We want to continue to make things feel seamless, that they just happen… Technology is a great way to do that.” Looking ahead, Burton sees the future of escape rooms becoming increasingly immersive and emotionally resonant. He notes a shift from puzzle-centric gameplay to experiences that prioritize atmosphere and storytelling. Recent games like Haunted House and Pirate's Curse focus heavily on set design and narrative, offering guests more than just a mental challenge—they're stepping into a different world. Innovation will also come in the form of technology integration, but with intentionality. Escapology uses tech to support the story rather than distract from it, aiming for those moments of awe and surprise—like a magic trick that leaves guests wondering how it all worked. As the industry grows, Burton predicts greater consolidation and sophistication, with larger players like Escapology leading the charge by investing in high-quality game development and expanding their franchise model worldwide. To learn more about Escapology or to get in touch with Burton, visit escapology.com. Burton can be reached directly at burton.heiss@escapology.com.   This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our faaaaaantastic team:   Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas Audio and Video editing by Abby Giganan   To connect with AttractionPros: AttractionPros.com AttractionPros@gmail.com AttractionPros on Facebook AttractionPros on LinkedIn AttractionPros on Instagram AttractionPros on Twitter (X)  

Show Notes On this week's podcast, Dan and Kris catch up with the Alphabet Soup-er Series! It was Kris's pick for the letter S, and he went with Silent Debuggers for TurboGrafx-16. It's certainly an interesting game that makes a heck of a first impression, but was there enough under the hood to gain it a good rating? Let's find out! At the top of the show, Dan lost his eyelashes, which results in far more gross eye goop than one might expect. He also misses eating sushi a whole lot, but at least he got to put a whole heck of a lot of time into Hades! Meanwhile, Kris took a skeleton on a date in Undertale, played an incredibly janky version of Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, bought a new vacuum, and ate an absurdly tall breakfast sandwich. Finally, in Week Old News, it was again an incredibly quiet week, as is wont to happen in January. But the folks who made Anton Blast are happy, the folks who made Apple Vision Pro are sad, and the Toxic Avengers finally get an update. Enjoy! What's New at Stone Age Gamer MemCard Pro 2 Useful Links Support us on Patreon StoneAgeGamer.com The Gratuitous Rainbow Spectrum Safe at Home Rescue Shoot the Moon Stitches Art of Angela Dean's Substack SAG's theme Song “Squared Roots” by Banjo Guy Ollie Social Stuff Join us on Discord! Stone Age Gamer YouTube Twitch Geekade Facebook Stone Age Gamer Facebook Geekade Twitter Stone Age Gamer Twitter Geekade Instagram Stone Age Gamer Instagram YouTube Geekade Contact Us Break Music Brain Age: Concentration Training - Blob Blast Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - Necropolis Problem Anton Blast - Bomb Rock Overlook Silent Debuggers - Opening

How can you tell if an emerging brand will be a long-term success? It's not an easy question to answer. A lot of private-equity firms, restaurant executives, real estate companies, consultants, vendors and others all spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try and answer that question. This week's episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive does its best to answer that question and features David Henkes, senior principal with RB sister company Technomic.  Thousands of entrepreneurs start new restaurants every year. Many of them yearn to grow those restaurants into major chains. The vast majority of them fail.  This year has demonstrated just how hard it is to tell whether a brand will ultimately fulfill whatever promise it once had. Companies such as MOD Pizza, Uncle Julio's, Rubio's, Tijuana Flats and many others, all of which had major backing at one point, either filed for bankruptcy or came close to it after their once-promising futures did not come to fruition. And we recently told you the story of Baja Fresh, which 20 years ago was considered a pioneer of fast-casual Mexican only to quickly lose its place to the younger Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has gone on to become the biggest such concept in the world.  The result is a fascinating discussion on emerging chains and what it takes to make them work, and why it's so difficult to tell winners from losers, at least early on. So check it out. 

Frisch's Big Boy found a new owner at the last minute. The tale of Baja Fresh is an object lesson for emerging chains. And California voters opted not to raise the state's minimum wage.

In this one, Jerry and Eddie talk Trump's horrific debate performance, fingerlovin' songs of the day, defend the Live Action Transformers Movies, have Rich from Silver Spoons and Richie Rich go at it in the ring, cast Terminator 1 and 2... and so much more. Enjoy!

This week, Jessimae discusses the super power all kids have, how magical Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav have been, the big extra virgin olive oil scam, and why we should all have PROnoia. I also announce the winners from our Baja Fresh giveaway! Subscribe! Email us: JessimaePelusoComedy@gmail.com Outro music "Breathe" by Tyler Labine , Adanac. CALL AND LEAVE US A VM TO BE PLAYED FOR THE POD: 513-916-0930 SUBMIT YOUR DR.P Qs: Every SUN on IG STORY: http://www.instagram.com/jessimaepelus Follow JESSIMAE: YT: https://found.ee/jessimae-youtube TOUR: https://found.ee/jessimaetour  FAN CLUB: https://found.ee/JessimaePeluso-Patreon  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Jessimae digs deeper into cuddle puddles, that time Guy Fieri stole from her, and Baja Fresh slides into her DMs. Email us: JessimaePelusoComedy@gmail.com Outro music "Breathe" by Tyler Labine , Adanac. CALL AND LEAVE US A VM TO BE PLAYED FOR THE POD: 513-916-0930 SUBMIT YOUR DR.P Qs: Every SUN on IG STORY: http://www.instagram.com/jessimaepelus Follow JESSIMAE: YT: https://found.ee/jessimae-youtube TOUR: https://found.ee/jessimaetour  FAN CLUB: https://found.ee/JessimaePeluso-Patreon  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lamar Odom linked up with Adam to talk about his brand new podcast with Caitlyn and their cohost Zach, his past challenges, reality TV, and more! ----- 0:00 Intro 0:22 Lamar and his associate Zach present their podcast "Keeping Up With Sports" (like Keeping up with Kardashians) 3:30 Are the Kardashians really mad at the pod? "The show is not about them" 4:40 Why Caitlyn is not doing press with Lamar? 7:30 Adam is surprised he didnt see them at the P Hub awards, Zach praises Plug Talk, Adam asks if there's any chance his pod takes the same trajectory lol "NOPE!" 9:20 Lamar is single: "I enjoy m****bation"; Adam asks what's his ritual? "Get up and do it" 11:25 Lamar says ex NBA player Larry Sanders started doing p, Adam remembers shooting his shot with Keysah Chavis 13:05 Lamar says he used to play with Joe Smith and that he can rap too 13:55 Lamar says he jumped in the pod scene coz it's poppin so he was like why not, while reality TV is scripted, he says his show with Khloe was not at all, "Lam Lam" was his nickname 16:00 Adam explains his April fools prank and how the roll out/build up came about 17:28 Zach keeps repeating what Adam says 18:38 Lamar says he wants more kids 21:05 De Niro had a kid at 80, how do you even have sex at 80? lol, The 3 ask Adam's dad who's in the room 22:40 Lamar interview with Bootleg Kev, Kev is so knowledgeable on basketball 26:30 Lamar recovery homes project, money is tight he's looking for investors, Lamar says he's the best person to do this coz he lived it 28:40 Lil Peep od kinda woke a few ppl up from using 29:28 After the coma, Lamar never tried any drugs again, says he had 12 strokes and 6 heart attacks after the coma 29:55 Adam asks who would have been motivated to harm him, says he gave the owner of the place, Dennis, $75,000 soon as he walked in, dude was sketchy 31:30 Rumor has it that Lamar tried blow during a wild night, a dude left Lamar with his girl to be w her that night 32:53 Adam tells a story of a podcaster who wanted Adam to F his wife 37:50 Adam talks about his friend who od while in rehab, Lamar wants to start his own facility, 39:30 Lamar talks about enablers, his best friend was one of them, his "get high buddy", however that friend didn't survive 40:00 Says they were hangin out one day he took his shoes off and Lamar says it smelled like death 42:37 Adam recalls the Blackout Girls episode w that girl talking about Tristan Thompson and Khloe sending a cease and desist 45:25 Adam says he has a scene later on that day, Lamar asks if he can watch 46:30 Adam asks if Lamar is still a s*x a**ct, long pause/laughs 48:30 Diddy parties, you're safe when it's a big party not like 4 ppl type thing 51:50 Kanye's fall from grace? Lamar says he looks up to Kanye coz he's black, an owner, although they haven't really been in touch since he woke up from his coma 55:30 Lamar guests on the pod, Sugar Ray Leonard was a guest and talked about ab***e 57:55 Lamar says it was a wake up call to be in a coma coz he might still be wild if it hadnt happened 58:40 Lamar wants to be surrounded by ppl who motivate him, who are smarter than him, that he can learn from 1:01:45 Lamar wants to help the homeless/clean it up, but he doesn't know how, seeing kids on skid row is heartbreaking 1:05:05 "1 + 1 = 1 not circle" huh? lol 1:07:00 Zach and Adam tell Lamar what Soft White Underbelly is 1:08:05 Lamar is hungry at that point, he wants to eat not "Baja Fresh" lol, Zach wanna bulk up 1:10:40 Lamar keeps looking at Lena's flash light "she got a nice box" lol 1:11:40 Would Lamar give a t***s a chance? "This guy's crazy" Lamar walks out Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mohnish Pabrai's Q&A at Mendoza College of Business - University of Notre Dame on September 29, 2023.   (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:01:57) - When to sell a stock; Amazon (00:09:00) - Starting Pabrai Investment Funds (00:13:35) - Berkshire's Twelve great decisions (00:16:25) - Berkshire's Japanese investments (00:20:52) - Identifying compounders (00:26:07) - Charlie's mental models (00:27:41) - Association tendency – Coca-Cola (00:29:32) - Human reciprocation tendency (00:34:09) - Cloning: Chipotle vs. Baja Fresh (00:38:06) - Steve Rattner: Overhaul (00:45:07) - Fiat Chrysler (00:47:25) - NVR (00:49:45) - Bridge vs. Investing (00:55:34) - The Dakshana Foundation

Singer/songwriter/icon in the making Garrison Starr joins us fresh off her Grand Ole Opry debut to talk about the secret magic of Los Angeles, the power of Sinead O'Connor, the joy of playing the Lilith Fair, the pain of being outed in college, the struggle to trust yourself, the importance of picking yourself up, and the authentic Mexican cooking at Baja Fresh. Check out her work with My Sister My Brother, and get ready for their new EP, out in September! 

Greg Dollarhyde is a four-decade, serial entrepreneur in the restaurant industry who has led companies to realizations totaling more than a billion dollars over that time. As an early pioneer in the fast casual segment of the industry, he originally led the buyout of early-stage Baja Fresh in the late 90's, and sold it to Wendy's four years later as a national chain. Greg was also the former Executive Chairman & CEO of NYSE-listed Zoes Kitchen and, he has recently led investor groups into Blaze Pizza and Starbird Chicken, where he is a director on those company's boards.  Dollarhyde has received the honor of “Mentor of the Year” from industry icon, Elliot Associates, and has been recognized in the “POWER 50” of the restaurant industry for two years in a row by Nation's Restaurant News.  As the former Chief “Energizing Officer” of VeggieGrill, Dollarhyde helped revolutionize the perception of sustainable, plant-based cuisine, and with his visionary approach, continues to inspire the culinary and investment community in helping to shape the future of conscious and fast-casual dining.  Greg's personal goal is to visit and explore 100 countries, while encouraging people to “Live it UP!” along their life's path.

The show OPEN... jobs... landscaping... Baja Fresh... and Cari from Atascadero wins!

Welcome to The Snack Show with Jami Fallon! Hey shorty, it's ya birthday! Well, it's actually Fallon's birthday tomorrow so what a perfect time to talk all things birthday snacks! Hello mid-thirties! This year is all about fun and eating healthy, snacking hard. Maybe the most important part of this episode is the long list of restaurants that will give you free food on your birthday - don't miss it! Would you do us a quick favor? If you like this show, would you mind sharing it with one friend today? Send them a text with a link to the show, email your bestie your favorite episode, or blast your love for The Snack Show all over the interwebs and tag us. We would love to see this show grow & more people find joy in snack talk -- we just need your help! Honorable Mentions: Lucky Charms (with EXTRA marshmallows) Kale salad with truffle fries and black bean/quinoa patty (see Burger Up) Hershey Sundae Pie (or Edwards Chocolate Pie) Dairy Queen cakes Cookie cake BarBex Snack Buffet: chips and salsa, gushers, PB M&Ms, pigs in a blanket Powdered Donuts Vanilla cake with fruit/creme layers with chocolate frosting German Chocolate Cake Dirt Cups Free snacks on your birthday: Applebees: free dessert Arby's: free curly fry and small shake Auntie Anne's: BOGO pretzel deal Baja Fresh: free Mexican burrito Bojangles: free Bo-berry biscuits Bonefish Grill: free dessert Boston Market: special birthday perks... Buffalo Wild Wings: free snack size order of boneless or traditional wings California Pizza Kitchen: free treat during your birthday month Cheesecake Factory: free treat and a song Chili's: free dessert Cracker Barrel: free dessert Dairy Queen: BOGO Blizzard Dunkin Donuts: free donut Hooters: 10 free wings Jamba Juice: free juice or smoothie Krispie Kreme: free donut Margaritaville: free ice cream with toppings Sizzler: free Malibu chicken Starbucks: free food item or beverage Steak and Shake: free double steak burger and cheese fries Wafflehouse: free birthday waffle Zaxby's: free Nibbler (chicken sandwich) Snack of the Week: Jami: Lemon Oreo Fallon: Sonicuterie ... Follow us on Instagram & join the conversation! @thesnackshowpod Intro music + jingle by Jordy Searcy ... Anchor: It's everything you need to make a podcast all in one place. Download the free Anchor app or go to Anchor.fm to get started. ... #birthday #birthdaysnacks #thesnackshowpod #happybirthday #snacks #snackattack #thesnackdown #snacktime #snacking #snackideas # snackfaves #snackdebate #junkfood #food #snacksonsnacks #foodpics #foodstagram #foodlove #mofome #eatmoresnacks #teamjami #teamfallon

Today on Noside, The guys have their first guest on the podcast! Jovani Luyando or "Jovilego" is a Twitch Streamer that plays a variety of games as well as doing live art streams where he paints Warhammer Miniatures and connects with his viewers. The three discuss their journey to Baja Fresh over the weekend, playing with Legos, sharing thoughts on the most recent episode of Loki, and coming to the conclusion that The Avengers are just a bunch of sore losers! Instagram - @noside_podcast • @jovilego Twitter - @noside_podcast

Mr. James Walker, CFE, is a top restaurant industry expert with a specialty in rebranding and repositioning iconic American comfort food brands. Walker is an industry-leading authority in restaurant trends, including, Delivery and off-premises, Ghost Kitchens, Virtual Brands, and leading through macro events like COVID-19. He specializes in mergers & acquisitions, domestic and international development, operations, franchising, and new product development.  With more than 30 years of broad-based, senior-level, management experience in the hospitality and retail industries, Walker has served as President, Chief Development Officer, as well as in Senior Operations and New Product Development positions, for brands such as Baja Fresh®, Cinnabon®, Johnny Rockets®, and Subway®. As the North American Vice President for Subway®, Walker oversaw their 28,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Walker holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Duke's Fuqua School of Business. Connect with James Walker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwalkermobile/ Nathan's Famous: https://nathansfamous.com/ Winning at Work in today's corporate environment requires taking learning and development into your own hands. Fortunately, I've interviewed hundreds of successful professionals and experts to help you do just that. Hi, I'm Tony Moore, I really geek out on identifying, and sharing the skills, strategies, and insights used by very successful professionals from all walks of life. As an executive recruiter and division leader at Joynus, we provide executive search services to fast-growing, talent-starved companies. The demand for high-performers is at an all-time high. Don't get left behind. Tune in each week to hear thought-leaders and go-getters share specific, practical insights that boost work performance and keep you winning at work

In this episode I have an awesome conversation with Los Angeles based Food Photographer Christina Peters.Christina has shot thousands of food images for her clients. Her client list includes such brands as: Arby's, Baja Fresh, Bath and Body Works, Brookside Chocolates, Bumble Bee Tuna, Burger King, Campbell's Soups, Cesar Pet Food, Chipotle, Cici's Pizza, Country Crock, Domino's Pizza, Gloria Jeans Coffee, Good Life Dog Food, Herbalife, King's Hawaiian, Kraft, Libby's, Marriott Hotels, McDonald's, Nestle, Pedigree Pet Food, Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt, Rubio's Grill, Taco Bell, Tyson Chicken, Whole Foods Markets, Walmart, Weight Watchers, Wrigley's and that is just a small portion of the list.  She has worked with ad agencies in the US and Europe as well as national magazines and book publishers and… well let's just get into the conversation.Website URLhttps://www.christinapeters.comInstagram URLhttps://www.instagram.com/thefoodshooter/Facebook URLhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/TheFoodPhotographyClubChristina's Food Photography Bloghttps://foodphotographyblog.com/The Food Photography Clubhttps://www.foodphotographyclub.com/Be sure to download Christina's FREE PDF called the Four Figure Day Rate plan. This talks about the steps you need to take to get decent paying clients instead of shooting for a bag of potatoes or a very low fee - and the best part... it contains GREAT advice for photographers of all genres! https://www.foodphotographyclub.com/4fdrp-master/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -TOGCHAT ResourcesShow Website: https://togchat.comEpisode Web Page:  https://www.joeedelman.com/christina-peters/My Website & Portfolio:  https://www.JoeEdelman.comDon't forget to check out THE LAST FRAME LIVEWednesday evenings at 6:00PM ET US on YouTube!Each week, the Last Frame focuses on a different topic with no scripts, no razzle dazzle, no canned presentations. I do my best to give you a lesson or demo or series of tips based strictly on my experience — in other words — how I do it.  No rules.  No bullet points, No top 5 ways,  I share my ways of doing it so that you can get an inside understanding of how another photographer works.  Visit:  http://lastframe.live for past episodes.Calendar of upcoming Live-Online Presentations & Speaking Events:https://www.joeedelman.com/edu/I would love to be your PHOTOGRAPHY MENTOR! https://www.joeedelman.com/mentoring-for-photographers/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -FTC Disclosure: No sponsors have paid for inclusion in this video.  I am an Olympus Visionary photographer, a Delkin Image Maker, a TetherTools Pro and a StellaPro Champion of Light.  These companies do provide me with various pieces of gear that I frequently discuss or mention,  however all words and opinions are my own, and I was not asked to produce this video.Support the show (https://paypal.me/joeedelman)

Tune into our chat with Christina Peters - she has quite a prolific and successful career as a food photographer, based in Los Angeles and also Delaware.She has shot thousands of food images and her clients include: Arby's, Baja Fresh, Bath and Body Works, Burger King, Campbell's Soups Souplicty Brand, Cesar Pet Food, Chipotle, Domino's Pizza, HarperCollins Publishers, Kraft, Libby's, Marriott Hotels, McDonald's, and many many more. She is also the founder of the first food photography membership site called The Food Photography Club. This is a site dedicated to all things food photography, teaching everything you need to know to become a food photographer with video content, live webinars, and a community environment.

BONUS EPISODE! On today's podcast we have James Walker. With more than 30 years of broad based, senior level, management experience in the hospitality and retail industries, Walker has served as President, Chief Development Officer, as well as in Senior Operations and New Product Development positions, for brands such as Baja Fresh®, Cinnabon®, Johnny Rockets® and Subway®. As the North American Vice President for Subway®, Walker oversaw their 28,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. He has conducted business in more than 70 international markets, including such emerging markets as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan and Mongolia. Today, Walker is the SVP for Nathan's Famous, Inc. Listen as Chris & Walker discuss the future of Nathan's famous and the exciting new business ventures the company is growing into.

Awards season in the U.S. comes to a close for Fleabag, and Andrew, Phoebe and crew have quite a haul of hardware to stuff into the overhead compartment on the flight back home. Chrissie and Allie have a double wrap-up on the red carpets, that red suit, and those Baja Fresh burritos.

Greg Dollarhyde knew he didn't want to build restaurant concepts from scratch, but he also had the skill set necessary to taking brands from potential to profit. After bouncing around to several restaurant-industry leadership positions, he struck gold with Baja Fresh, a fast-casual burrito joint that he grew to nearly 300 locations before selling to Wendy's in 2002 for $275 million. Since then, he's served as the CEO of both Zoes Kitchen and Veggie Grill, two concepts that he helped set up for massive fast-casual success.These days, Dollarhyde is an industry investor and sits on the board of directors for Veggie Grill and Blaze Pizza. In this conversation with QSR editor Sam Oches, he offers lessons from his illustrious career and gives some advice to fellow entrepreneurs looking to make it big in the fast-casual restaurant industry.QSR Magazine informationFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedInQSRmagazine.com Have feedback or interview suggestions? Email us at sam@qsrmagazine.com.

Valerie Killifer chats with James Walker, the senior vice president of the beloved Nathan's Famous. Walker joined the restaurant industry as a chef back in the 1990s, and moved to the management and operations side by the end of the decade. With previous experience overseeing such brands as Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, and Subway, he joined the Nathan's Famous team earlier this year and aims to grow the chain's catering and delivery sales channels.

Valerie Killifer chats with James Walker, the senior vice president of the beloved Nathan’s Famous. Walker joined the restaurant industry as a chef back in the 1990s, and moved to the management and operations side by the end of the decade. With previous experience overseeing such brands as Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, and Subway, he joined the Nathan’s Famous team earlier this year and aims to grow the chain’s catering and delivery sales channels.

Valerie Killifer chats with James Walker, the senior vice president of the beloved Nathan’s Famous. Walker joined the restaurant industry as a chef back in the 1990s, and moved to the management and operations side by the end of the decade. With previous experience overseeing such brands as Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, and Subway, he joined the Nathan’s Famous team earlier this year and aims to grow the chain’s catering and delivery sales channels.

Black people at the crosswalk. My gramps at D-Day. Straight pride parade, and parades in general. Stand up with the sound off. Captain America 2, John Wick 3. Saturday night mics. The hardest cup of coffee. The Baja chicken bowl at Baja Fresh. (It didn't go well)

Ed and Ron talk to veteran comedian Gil Garibaldo about his Nerd GOAT: Bojack Horseman! Gil is a longtime friend of the show and a very funny comedian on the LA scene. Check out some of his skits on his YouTube channel GRINGO SKETCH! Follow him @gilgaribaldo on Instagram and @gilgaribaldont on Twitter! ______________________ ANNOUNCEMENTS: Episode 100 is fast approaching, and with it, our 2nd ANNUAL GOAT OF GOATS TOURNAMENT! It's a bracket-style tournament that pits our Season 2 Nerd GOATs against each other in a Battle Royale to rule them all – and your votes decide who comes out on top! Follow us @NerdGOATPodcast on Twitter or Facebook to see the bracket released in a few weeks, and for more information on how to vote! ALSO, make sure to tune in and see Ed perform on Comedy Central's The New Negroes April 26! ______________________ QUOTES: “Let’s wrap this podcast up and go do some lines of Tang.” “We actually, me and my friends, made a thing called the Tang Commandments.” “You gotta be very responsible with a horse d*ck, that’s no joke.” “Most people aren’t faced with enough f**king choices to be good or bad. Most people live in an eternal null field of just bouncing off of other people forever like god damn electrons.” “That’s such a Bojack way to kill somebody: Just party them hard enough until they overdose.” “When I go into the f**king Baja Fresh and they playing Ludacris? Trust me, I feel like a real old piece of sh*t. ‘Move bitch, guacamole’s extra, guacamole’s extra.’” — SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON for bonus episodes, movie reviews, and behind-the-scenes content! See Ed MERCILESSLY DESTROY on Movie Fights, and catch him every Wednesday on the Screen Junkies Universe livestream! Catch Ron on Jack of All Nerds every Sunday night! Subscribe, rate and review Nerd GOAT on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Follow Bail Bonds Media on Instagram!

Berekk Blackwell is president of Daily Jam, a popular fast-casual brunch franchise that is growing fast out of Phoenix, AZ. Berekk is also VP of Due North Holdings, which operates and franchises retail brands across multiple industries. He was previously part of the Blackwell family-run Kahala Restaurant Franchising group, which oversaw brands including Cold Stone Creamery, Pinkberry, and Baja Fresh.   Key Takeaways: [0:18] Today’s episode of Franchise Euphoria is brought to you by IndyFranchiseLaw.com, a leading resource in the franchise space. Head over to IndyFranchiseLaw.com learn more! [1:00] Josh introduces today’s guest Berekk Blackwell, the president of Daily Jam, a Phoenix-based brunch franchise. [2:03] Josh welcomes Berekk to Franchise Euphoria. [2:25] Berekk takes a moment to go over his background in the franchising industry which spans over several well-known brands including Cold Stone Creamery, Krispy Kreme, Blimpie Subs, and more. [3:42] During his time working for Cold Stone, he had the opportunity to live in Japan for a couple years and gained an appreciation for such a unique foreign culture. [5:37] Berekk highlights some of the differences between the American and Japanese versions of the franchise brands he worked with. [6:56] While Berekk took on this international opportunity to gain experience, he ultimately decided he wanted to return to the US and get involved with an emerging brand. [8:03] Daily Jam is a fast-casual breakfast and lunch concept that prides themselves on providing a full-service experience while highlighting some creative dishes. [9:28] Daily Jam was previously known as “N Counter” but they decided to make a name change for easier expansion nationwide. [11:10] With their rebrand, they did a variety of promotions from press releases to social media content. Additionally, they paired some special promotions including free coffee and smoothies for the whole first weekend of their rebrand. [13:38] Daily Jam’s expansion strategy is to grow by recruiting passion-driven individuals and find true partners for the business. [15:29] While Daily Jam hopes to open about eight locations in the Arizona area, they have also been looking at expansion in Las Vegas, Texas, Florida, and parts of the Midwest. [17:08] Berekk suggests that one of the biggest mistakes a franchisee can make is not viewing their franchisor as part of their team. [18:25] What Berekk is really focusing on this time around with growing this new franchise concept is being sure they bring in the right people to their franchise system. [21:20] If you want to learn more about opportunities with Daily Jam, you can email Hello@MyDailyJam.com or visit either www.MyDailyJam.com or www.DailyJamFranchising.com. [21:53] Thanks for listening, and please, reach out to Josh anytime through email at josh@franchiseeuphoria.com. If you enjoyed this interview, please leave us a review on iTunes.   Mentioned in This Episode: josh@franchiseeuphoria.com www.franchiseeuphoria.com www.indyfranchiselaw.com Hello@MyDailyJam.com www.MyDailyJam.com www.DailyJamFranchising.com

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!

You know the show loves data, so we do a deep dive on all the incredible data in porn from 2017. It’s fascinating and you’re going to love it. And yes ’step’ porn is as big as you think. Plus, I’m getting in deep with a Starbucks barista (and making bad friends at Baja Fresh), I breakdown a special relationship I have with a listener (I don’t want to spoil it in the notes!) and lots more. We’re live streaming the show now so go to our website for more info.

Learn a hack to save 20% to 30% at some of your favorite restaurants. New listeners hit SUBSCRIBE! I have a great money saving idea for you today. Many people want to eat out, but it’s a huge money drain, right? Is there a way to get a deal on fine dining? How about chain restaurants? Normally, I’d be discouraging you from eating out too much because it can be a real drain on your bank account. Remember the podcast I did about the couple who lived in NYC and each made $100k but couldn’t afford to buy a home? It turned out they spent too much money on eating out every night. Everyone needs a date night or a break from cooking at home, but is it possible to get a deal? YES! I’m going to show you how. Let me ask you a question. If you gave me $80 and I gave you $100 back, how often would you do it? Literally, you give me $80, I give you $100…or what if you give me $70 and I give you $100? Now think about some of your favorite fine dining restaurants - Roy’s, Flemings, Maggiano’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, plus chains like Outback Steakhouse, Chili’s, Macaroni Grill, Baja Fresh, PF Chang’s, Rockbottom Brewery, and many others! Gift cards are something, if you’re like me, you just walk by in the store because you might think it’s give a dollar get a dollar. It’s not! It’s pay a dollar get $1.20 or $1.30! Let me explain and I’ll come back to this. A gift card is a piece of plastic that has a dollar value to it. Like a pre-paid debit card. You can use them for only the store that is on the card. Retailers know that gift cards often aren’t used. The statistics are astounding. Fully 6 to 10% of gift cards are never redeemed! Retailers have a huge incentive to sell them because it’s free money they get that adds to their bottom line! No products or services are delivered, it’s like a free donation of money if a card is not redeemed! From their perspective, they want to issue them all day long and even incent people to buy them! So they give people a healthy 20 to 30% discount to buy them. That’s where YOU and I benefit! Because we are going to take advantage of the discount and USE the card! When you see the gift cards, realize you are paying $80 and getting $100 of value. That means you take the cards you paid $80 for, but when you are in the restaurant, you get $100 of value! It’s not a coupon. It’s not a discount in the restaurant. The discount occurs when you buy the card at Costco. When you go to the restaurant, it’s full value. They give you $100 of food and drink, just like if you paid $100 for the card, except you didn’t! You only paid $80! ***PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE AT COSTCO.*** I love going to Roy’s restaurant. It’s a high-end seafood and asian cuisine restaurant. They self-describe as “Roy’s Pacific Rim features upscale Hawaiian-influenced cuisine including the finest seafood, steaks and sushi.” The chain was founded by James Beard Foundation Award Winner Roy Yamaguchi in 1988 in Honolulu, Hawaii. There’s one near me in the Palm Springs area of Rancho Mirage, one in Newport Beach where I was this summer, one in San Diego, etc. Recently I was explaining gift cards to a friend, who I don’t think understood it. He thought it was a coupon and turned his nose up. It’s not a coupon! You’re not taking away from your favorite waiter. They won’t see the discount you get! It’s invisible to the restaurant! It’s between you and the store you bought the card at. It’s free money to the tune of 20 to 30%! Is there a downside to buying a gift card? Well, I guess if you lose the card or forget to use it within 5 years, you will waste the money. Regulation passed in 2010 mandates that cards are valid for at least five years after issuance. So…you have 5 years to spend it before it becomes worthless. Even though eating out is one of my “5 sinkholes” for money, everyone needs a break sometimes. This is a way to stretch your restaurant dollars 20 to 30%!   ****************************************** I'm having a summer giveaway through the end of September...you could win 6 awesome prizes: 5 of The Wealthy Mindset Blueprint (audio course): Learn how millionaires think the right thoughts for wealth before it happens (value $197)                   OR 1 Wealth Journal (book): Learn the 6 Steps to Wealth (value $67) Here's what you need to do: 1. Leave the "Be Wealthy & Smart" podcast a review on iTunes (or Stitcher Radio for Android). 2. "Like" my Facebook Fan page at http://facebook.com/lindapjonesfanpage (if you're on FB, if not, that's ok). 3. "Follow" me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lindapjones 4. "Follow" me on Instagram @LindaPJones 5. Send me an email @ lpjhome@gmail.com and let me know you did this! (If you're not on FB, TW or IG, that's ok, just send me an email @lpjhome@gmail.com and let me know you left a review). If you've already done all 4 above, great! Thank you! No need to do them again! Just email me @ lpjhome@gmail.com and let me know. All names will be dropped in a hat and a drawing will be done in early October for winners!  This episode is sponsored by Audible. It’s the way I “read” more books and stay ahead of the curve. Audible is, of course, the easiest way to read books because all you have to do is just listen - like you are right now! There are over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player and…your first audiobook is FREE! Just visit http://www.audibletrial.com/BeWealthyandSmart That’s audibletrial.com/bewealthyandsmart. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting “11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth” at http://www.lindapjones.com.

Actor and comedian Claudia O'Doherty (Inside Amy Schumer, Love) drops by to share her knowledge of Aussie eats and review her first visit to Mexican chain Baja Fresh. The 'boys and Claudia embark on a vodka version of Drank or Stank.

We didn’t watch a movie. Host Joe Rosensteel and Dan Sturm.

Conor calls in live from San Diego Comic-Con, and despite a shaky connection, we forge onward, while Josh and Paul enter phases of advanced heat stroke. Plus there’s also a problem with Baja Fresh. 2/3 of us may never recover. Comics: 00:01:42 – Deadpool #13 00:08:54 – Conan the Barbarian #19 00:12:49 – Ultimate Spider-Man #25 00:16:11 – Nova #6 00:19:07 – Batman ’66 #1 00:24:53 – The Death of Haggard West 00:26:43 – Invincible #104 00:28:57 – Thor: God of Thunder #10 00:31:59 – 100 Bullets: Brother Lono #2 00:33:42 – Revival #12 00:34:52 – Batman Beyond Unlimited #18 User Reviews: 00:35:50 – The Top 5 Community Picks of the Week! 00:36:53 – wheelhands reviews Wonder Woman #22. 00:39:27 – Creyes247 reviews Justice League of America’s Vibe #6. Audience Questions: 00:42:53 – Alan from Piscataway, NJ asks about explaining all character origins. 00:46:51 – Dave asks what events delivered all the way through, start to finish. 00:50:05 – Callum from The Isle of Man asks where we stand on letter columns. Sponsors: Amazon – Get all your comics, DVDs, video games, electronics and more and help iFanboy out in the process! Music: “If You Want Me to Stay” Sly and the Family Stone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this hour Mark Interviews David Kim, CEO of Mexican food restaurant chain Baja Fresh. Steve Forbes of Forbes Magazine Also Joins. Listen now!