“Back to Basics” with Rachael Nemeth

Epizodai

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  EP22: The Secret to Better Training? Build Systems People Actually Use 18.06.2026 33min

  “Culture isn’t built through policies. It’s built through people.” Heather McKeon, COO of Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen, joins Rachael Nemeth to share her unconventional journey from hostess to executive leadership and the lessons she’s learned helping grow one of Texas’ most beloved restaurant brands. After nearly three decades with Gringo’s, Heather has experienced almost every part of the business firsthand. Starting as a hostess in 1996, she moved into restaurant management, built the company’...
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  EP21: Why People and Systems Are the Real Growth Bottleneck in Fitness 01.06.2026 39min

  “Growth doesn’t break businesses. Weak systems do.” Julian Barnes, Co-Founder and CEO of BFS Network, joins Rachael Nemeth to unpack what’s happening across the boutique fitness industry and why many of the challenges operators think are unique are actually shared by almost everyone trying to scale. With visibility across thousands of fitness, wellness, and self-care businesses, Julian brings a perspective few operators get to see. He explains why fitness is moving from a niche activity to ...
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  EP20: Scaling Consistency Across 3,700 Employees in Fitness 30.03.2026 35min

  “When consistency is the product, simplicity becomes the strategy.” Chris Griebe, COO of VASA Fitness, joins Rachael Nemeth to break down what it takes to deliver a consistent, high-quality member experience across a rapidly scaling fitness brand where thousands of daily interactions determine whether members stay or churn. Stepping into 70+ clubs and 3,700 frontline employees mid-expansion, Chris shares how his team simplified operations to focus on what actually matters: equipment that wo...
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  EP19: Scaling the Experience Economy, From Escape Rooms to 100 Units of Play 05.03.2026 39min

  “When the product is the experience, service isn’t support — it’s the show.” Jason Thompson, COO and Co-Founder of Sounds Fun Entertainment, joins Rachael Nemeth to unpack what it really takes to scale experiential brands where technology, energy, and frontline teams collide in real time. As the parent company behind Activate Games and Breakout Games, Sounds Fun operates 50+ locations with plans to double. Jason shares his unconventional path from frozen yogurt to escape rooms — and why enter...
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  EP18: Great Service Isn’t Expected in Recreational Sports and That’s Why It Works 10.02.2026 31min

  EP18: Great Service Isn’t Expected in Recreational Sports and That’s Why It Works “In service businesses, the win isn’t the task—it’s the relationship.” Gary Archer is CEO and President of a leading indoor soccer facility with 19+ locations across 9 states, built on a simple idea: great service is relational, not transactional. In this episode, Gary joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down what customer service looks like in recreational sports—and why it’s a surprising blueprint for any...
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  EP17: How to Build the Modern Franchisor Without “One Size Fits All” 12.01.2026 36min

  “Modern franchising isn’t about more support—it’s about smarter, scalable support.” Jenna Henderson has spent nearly two decades inside franchise systems, operating across field ops, brand services, development, growth, and tech. After almost 15 years at Saladworks, she stepped into SaaS as COO at WorkMerk (helping build the ServSafe Ops platform), then returned to franchising leadership as Group Chief Operating Officer for NewSpring Franchise. Today, she oversees operations, marketing, and s...
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  EP16: How to Scale 19 Brands Without Breaking the P&L 02.12.2025 48min

  "Brand building starts with your P&L, not your logo." Josh Halpern has one of the most unconventional careers in the industry: P&G, Clorox, Anheuser-Busch, CEO of Big Chicken, and now Chief Business Officer of Craveworthy Brands—leading strategy across 19 concepts while still running Big Chicken. In this episode, he joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down what brand building actually means across chicken, pizza, coffee, taverns, Mediterranean, and more. Josh explains how Cravewo...
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  EP15: How to Scale Hospitality Without Losing the Human Touch 19.11.2025 37min

  "If you want to scale hospitality, don’t add more tech—make people feel seen." Anthony Valletta, CEO of bartaco, started flipping pizzas at 13 and spent two decades across QSR, premium casual, and Michelin-level dining before taking the helm at bartaco. In this episode, he joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus Training CEO) to unpack how he delivers full-service hospitality at fast-casual labor costs, rethinking roles, building wage equity, and using tech only where it removes friction instead of replac...
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  EP14: The Real Work of Turning Smashburger’s CEO Vision Into Rapid Execution 03.11.2025 39min

  "If you want people to move fast, you have to make it easy for them to do the right thing." Kelly Saunders, SVP of Restaurant Experience at Smashburger, has spent 14 years transforming how one of America’s fastest-growing burger brands trains, communicates, and executes. In this episode, Kelly sits down with Rachael Nemeth (Opus Training CEO) to unpack how she migrated 200 locations to Opus in just 60 days, what it really takes to win franchisee buy-in, and how training became the engine behi...
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  EP13: The Real Math of Restaurant Expansion 14.10.2025 31min

  "Most people build for average, but new stores almost never open at average." Jason Morgan, former CFO turned CEO of Original ChopShop, has spent decades in the restaurant industry learning the hard truths of growth—and watching others get crushed by them. In this episode, Jason sits down with Rachael Nemeth to unpack what separates scalable operations from overbuilt failures, why he won’t ask his team to do anything he can’t do himself, and how training transformed from a compliance checkbox...
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  EP12: Building the Field Leadership Team from a Field Leaders' POV 29.09.2025 31min

  "District managers are the brand—they're the stamp for everything we stand for." Elle Piper learned this truth the hard way, starting as an undertrained district manager who had to ask her own direct reports to teach her the basics. Now as Senior Director of Operations at 7 Leaves Cafe, she's helped grow the brand from a handful of stores to 41+ locations by focusing on what most operators miss: the pivotal role of field leadership. In this episode, Elle shares why you can feel a struggling s...
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  EP11: Playbook For Scaling From 10 to 50+ Units 19.08.2025 34min

  When you open your second location, everything changes. You can't be in two places at once, and suddenly you realize: you need to shift from operator to CEO. Carl Bachmann learned this lesson as a 12-year Ruby Tuesday franchisee before leading turnarounds at Smashburger and BurgerFi. Now as President and COO of Riko's Pizza, he's building franchise infrastructure from scratch. In this episode, Carl shares his 5 pillars for franchise success, why you should "grow like a bush, not like a vine,"...
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  EP10: Breaking the Turnover Cycle That Kills Restaurant Expansion 31.07.2025 44min

  Etkin Tekin left his corporate strategy position at AB InBev's innovation arm to co-found one of the Northeast's fastest-growing restaurant concepts. While most operators struggle with an expensive recruiting cycle—hire, train, lose people, repeat—Haven Hot Chicken broke this pattern. In this episode, Etkin reveals how they built an internal pipeline that promotes 40% of store leadership from within while maintaining just 10% turnover. This approach has slashed hiring costs, ensured brand con...
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  EP9: Training as Brand Strategy 01.07.2025 44min

  In this episode of Back to Basics, Rachael Nemeth sits down with Suzie Tsai, CEO of Bonchon, who brings a rare and refreshing perspective to restaurant leadership, with over 25 years of experience in brand and marketing at companies like Chili’s, On the Border, and Brinker International. Now leading Bonchon through explosive growth—from 150 to 500 locations—Suzie shares how marketing instincts helped her zero in on what actually separates great restaurants from average ones: execution. And th...
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  EP8: Scaling the Brand, Not Just the Business 12.06.2025 35min

  In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Fassio, Chief Retail and Operations Officer at Verve Coffee Roasters—a 14-unit third-wave coffee brand based in Santa Cruz, known for its relationships with growers, surf-town roots, and quality-first approach. Anthony’s specialty is taking craft brands from cult-favorite to national name without losing their “soul”. From Shake Shack to Salt & Straw to now Verve, he’s led the operational growth of beloved brands by building the systems and team de...
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  EP7: Innovating the Fast Food Experience Through People Development 12.05.2025 26min

  In this episode of Back to Basics, we sit down with Aaron Noveshen, Founder and CEO of Starbird Chicken, and one of the leading innovators in fast casual dining. Aaron shares how Starbird is rethinking people development in one of the most competitive hiring markets—from building an internal leadership pipeline, to implementing transparent pay bands, to offering unique education and ownership opportunities for team members. With a career that spans founding The Culinary Edge and co-founding P...
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  EP6: Scaling a Franchise Through People Development and Purpose 28.04.2025 30min

  In this episode, we sit down with Blake Buchanan, Founder and CEO of Bahama Buck’s—a 100+ unit Midwest-based franchise known for its tropical shaved ice and culture-first approach. Blake started the business as a college student in a 240-square-foot snow shack, and by store #2, he was already franchising—a bold move that sparked what’s now a 35+ year legacy. Blake shares how Bahama Buck’s has sustained growth by investing in people development over product hype. From hiring in competitive cit...
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  EP5: Building a Sustainable System of Hospitality 14.04.2025 30min

  In this episode, we sit down with Andy Hooper, restaurant industry leader and former CEO of Hart House, to talk about how people development drives long-term success in hospitality. With experience scaling mission-driven brands and advising operators across the country, Andy offers a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to build teams that deliver consistently excellent service. Hear Andy’s take on navigating leadership transitions, the future of hospitality, and how brands can maintain co...
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  EP4: Scaling Business through Customer Experience, Speed, and Connection 16.03.2025 28min

  In this episode, we sit down with Darren Spicer, Co-Founder and CEO of Clutch Coffee Bar, to explore how his brand is revolutionizing the drive-thru coffee experience. With a focus on speed, service, and personal connections, Clutch Coffee has grown to 15 locations across the Carolinas, with plans to double by 2025. Darren shares his journey from barista to CEO, the operational strategies behind Clutch’s rapid success, and why human interaction is the key to standing out in the competitive co...
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  EP3: The State of Operations: 2025 Hospitality Training 360 Report Recap 11.03.2025 15min

  In this episode of Back to Basics, we explore the findings of the 2025 Hospitality Training 360 Report, focusing on the current state of learning and development (L&D) in the hospitality industry. To practice what we preach, we leveraged Google's NotebookLM to transform our written report into an audio format (yes, these speakers are AI-generated!) to demonstrate our commitment to accessibility and efficient content delivery. Hopefully, this allows us to reach more of our audience while s...