April 4, 2023

15: SPECIAL GUEST - The Kitava Story | Sam Oches interviews Bryan Tublin about Kitava

15: SPECIAL GUEST - The Kitava Story | Sam Oches interviews Bryan Tublin about Kitava

This week we’re flipping the script. 

Guest host Sam Oches, Editorial Director of Informa’s Restaurant & Food Group, interviews Bryan about his journey to start and grow Kitava.

Sam and Bryan discuss Kitava’s origin story, including the path from pop-ups and farmers markets to opening a brick-and-mortar location inside an old McDonald’s.

Other topics covered include:

- How Bryan merged his business with his eventual co-founder’s to form Kitava

- The process of coming up with a name and brand that would resonate with consumers

- Adjustments Kitava made in the early days after opening

- How Covid changed Kitava

- The most significant lessons learned since starting Kitava

and much more.

Please enjoy this special episode of My First Restaurant!

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Where to find Sam Oches’ work:

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Where to find Sam:

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Where to find Bryan:

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Where to find Kitava:

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Referenced:

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In this episode, we cover:

  • (02:25) What Bryan’s life was like before Kitava
  • (04:27) The spark to take action and create a restaurant business
  • (06:53) How Bryan went from pop-up to brick-and-mortar
  • (10:49) Joining forces with Jeff Nobbs and making a partnership work
  • (12:30) Coming up with a name and building a brand that would resonate with consumers
  • (15:22) Opening in an old McDonald’s storefront
  • (23:57) The initial response from consumers after opening, and adjustments the team made
  • (28:39) How Covid changed Kitava
  • (32:32) Scaling to a second location and beyond
  • (35:22) The most significant lessons Bryan’s learned through starting Kitava
  • (37:29) On The Fly Segment