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....
Aug 13, 2018•26 min
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...
Aug 10, 2018•33 min
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!
Jul 23, 2018•16 min
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!
Jul 11, 2018•22 min
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!
Jul 05, 2018•33 min
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!
Jun 27, 2018•25 min
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!
Jun 20, 2018•25 min
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!
Jun 11, 2018•27 min
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!
Jun 08, 2018•38 min
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!
Jun 04, 2018•30 min
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!
May 30, 2018•24 min
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!
May 22, 2018•27 min
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!
May 10, 2018•31 min
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!
May 02, 2018•22 min
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!
Apr 26, 2018•44 min
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!...
Apr 10, 2018•50 min
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!
Apr 03, 2018•36 min
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 Steakburge...
Mar 21, 2018•39 min
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!
Mar 06, 2018•51 min
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!
Dec 15, 2017•36 min
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!
Dec 02, 2017•26 min•Ep. 35
This is a conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Jrink, Shizu Okusa. Shizu started her career on Wall Street before deciding to make juicing a living. Jrink is a digitally enabled, vertically integrated juice brand with customer experience at the core. They now have 5 tasting shops in Washington DC and a growing on-demand business through their website. Enjoy!
Nov 21, 2017•20 min
This is a conversation with Fred LeFranc, the Founder of Results Thru Strategy. Fred was the COO of El Torito & Una Mas. He was the CEO of Louise’s Trattoria and Flat Rock Grille and the President of the Ruby Restaurant Group. In 2007, he launched Results thru Strategy with a focus on helping some of the largest restaurant brands in the world find their footing in a chaotic marketplace. This conversation took place at the Restaurant Technology Summit, hosted by CohnReznick....
Nov 10, 2017•28 min
This is a conversation with Jon Carter, the Head of Digital at Snap Kitchen. Jon developed the digital infrastructure for Live Nation and Ticketmaster before moving into the food business with Snap Kitchen. They’ve since become one of the most technically advanced brands in the industry. Enjoy! This is the first of a series of interviews recorded at the Restaurant Technology Summit, hosted by CohnReznick in DC.
Nov 01, 2017•26 min
This is a conversation with Michael Doneff, the CMO of ThinkFoodGroup. Michael has worked in the luxury space for more than 25 years, from the launch of the Michelin Guide in the US to CMO roles at Viceroy Hotel Group and Canyon Ranch before landing his current role. ThinkFoodGroup is the restaurant group started by Jose Andres including concepts like Minibar, Beefsteak, Bazaar and many others. Enjoy! This is the first of a series of interviews recorded at the Restaurant Technology Summit, hoste...
Oct 26, 2017•20 min
This is a conversation with the President & COO of La Madeleine, John Cahill. La Madeleine was opened in the heart of Dallas in 1983 by a Frenchmen who missed the tastes of his hometown. Since then, they’ve grown to 80 locations with many more to come as they’ve evolved towards a franchise model. Tastemakers will be recording a live podcast at CohnReznick’s Restaurant Technology Summit with Jon Carter, Head of Digital at Snap Kitchen. The event features speakers like Josh Patchus from Cava G...
Oct 06, 2017•20 min
This is a conversation with the Chief Insights Officer at Technomic, Darren Tristano. Technomic is an insights company in foodservice and retail that handles industry research, menu and consumer trends, volumetrics and more. We chatted about some of the bigger trends happening in the restaurant industry at the Restaurant Leadership conference last April. Tastemakers will be live at CohnReznick’s Restaurant Technology Summit, which features speakers like Josh Patchus from Cava Grill and Christoph...
Sep 29, 2017•30 min
This is a conversation with the founder and CEO of Sense360, Eli Portnoy. Sense360 uses mobile sensors built into smartphones to understand a user’s location and activity and combines that with attitudinal data to explain the “why, what, and how.” Their clients include companies like Chipotle and Firehouse Subs amongst many others, He also founded ThinkNear, a pioneer in using location data to target advertising. Tastemakers will be live at CohnReznick’s Restaurant Technology Summit, which featu...
Sep 20, 2017•44 min
This is a conversation with the CEO of Pollo Campero, Tim Pulido. Tim has had a massive career in the food business with roles including SVP of Marketing for Pizza Hut, Global New Concept Development Officer at McDonalds, President and COO of Pick Up Stix, President & CEO of Shakey’s, President and Chief Concept Officer of Mimi’s Cafe, and the board of Technomic. Tim has led Pollo Campero, an iconic South American chicken chain, to 5 consecutive years of growth. Enjoy!
Sep 15, 2017•35 min
This is a conversation with the co-founder of Slim Chickens, Tom Gordon. Slim Chickens just zoomed past 60 locations on their way to 600 planned in the next decade, including their first international location which opened this year. Last year, they were ranked number 6 in Restaurant Business’s Future 50 and CNBC called them one of 6 hot franchise restaurants to watch. Enjoy!
Sep 05, 2017•22 min
