Episodes

“The people that are super successful have their operations on lock.” — James Deng is the Founder & CEO of Poké House, a poké chain based in Northern California with 9 locations and counting. James opened Poké House’s first l...

“Lean into your network, don’t be afraid to grow it, and don’t be afraid to ask people for help and reach out to people who have done it before. You never know what you’ll get back, you just have to …

“The least understood thing about opening a public facing business is the feeling of it, the emotional journey you have to go on” — Manny Yekutiel is the owner of Manny’s, a civic and political event space with a bookshop, …

“Don’t pick the cheapest person, don’t pick the person who says they’re going to do it fast… pick the person that is the most responsible.” — In this episode we’re joined by David Murphy & Kayla Abe, co-owners of Shuggie’s …

“Whatever you think it’s gonna cost double it, whatever you think you need for working capital triple” — This week’s guest is Todd Parent, Co-Founder & CEO of Extreme Pizza, a Bay Area-born chain with over 30 locations from c...

“At some point you have to say, ‘I’m not going to make a bad business decision to get my dream space.’” — Today our guest is Roberta Economidis, co-founder and partner of Georgopoulos & Economidis, a boutique business law fir...

“I wanted to close the gap between who I was and what I did.” — Jennifer Peters is the Founder & Foodie of Just BE Kitchen, a two-unit fast casual concept in Colorado, with an allergen friendly menu focused on …

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, inc...

“The guest experience will never rise above the level of the team experience” — Leo Kremer is the Co-Founder of Dos Toros Taqueria. As a Berkeley, CA native, Leo and his brother Oliver grew up eating Mission-style burritos fr...

Charles Bililies is the Founder & CEO of Souvla, a group of fast-fine Greek restaurants with six locations throughout San Francisco. Charles has built Souvla from a passion project into a brand with a cult-like following, hav...

“The universe will pay you in direct proportion to the value that you are giving.” This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Ike Shehadeh. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, go back and listen to Episode 11 …

“I’m working LESS now with a hundred locations than I did with one… It’s a MYTH that it’s hard to expand.” - Ike Shehadeh --- Imagine the following… > You’ve been kicked out of college > Your first business goes …

“You need to be all in, otherwise it doesn’t really work.” - Benson Wang Benson Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Palm House Hospitality, an experience driven lifestyle and hospitality company based in the Bay Area with a div...

“The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food” - Chef Nelson German -- Nelson German is the Executive Chef/Owner of alaMar Kitchen & Bar and Sobre Mesa in Oakland, CA. His restaurants tell the …

Jaime Sparrow is the owner of Sunbird Cape Cod, a zero-waste cafe specializing in fresh, local, and sustainable food. In this interview Jaime shares her journey from working in San Francisco restaurants to moving back home to...

Hanson Li is the founder and managing partner of Salt Partners, a San Francisco based restaurant group with a current portfolio around the 4 major food groups: ice cream, Chinese take-out, bars, and bakery. This episode provi...

Amanda is a cookbook author and owner of Radish, a fast casual restaurant with two locations in Nashville. In this interview Amanda shares the opportunity she saw for a healthy fast casual concept when she moved to Nashville,...

Alex Brandwein is the owner and founder of Brandwein’s Bagels, an authentic New York-Style Bagel Shop located in Chapel Hill, NC. In this interview Alex tells the story of how a “breaking point” in his finance career led him ...

Mat Schuster is the Chef and Owner of Canela Bistro & Wine Bar, a Spanish restaurant in San Francisco specializing in ingredients and dishes from Spain and California. Mat also serves as the President of the Board for the Gol...

Ben Moore is a Partner and Co-Founder of Mamahuhu, a fast casual Chinese American restaurant concept that puts a modern spin on classic Chinese American favorites. In this interview Ben shares the story of how he fell in love...

Laurie Thomas is the Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, and the Owner of Rose’s Café and Terzo in San Francisco. In this interview Laurie shares her journey from working in marketing for a tech comp...

Evan Kidera is the Founder and CEO of Señor Sisig, a Filipino Fusion food truck innovator and now growing restaurant chain in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this interview Evan shares how he got started in the food truck …

Learn how to start, run, and grow a successful restaurant business from those who have been there before. My First Restaurant features interviews with successful restaurant owners about the process of opening their first rest...