FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

Dave Shah & Camilla Caremoli: One Unforgettable Restaurant Beats Twenty 18.08.2026 34мин

What if the operators most likely to build something unforgettable are the ones who have never run a restaurant?Dave Shah and Camilla Caremoli had never worked a shift in hospitality before opening CasaDamí. Dave built a global tech studio and thinks in brand. Camilla comes from four generations of an Italian food family and thinks in operations. A year in, they've built the kind of room a community actually shows up for.In this conversation, we get into why they chased one unforgettable location instead of twenty, how they learned to separate real feedback from noise, and why the relationships built inside a room outlast any menu, wine list, or buildout.If you're an operator who believes experience is the only edge that counts, this one will challenge you.That's Dave Shah and Camilla Caremoli. To learn more about CasaDamí, visit casadami.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Hamed Mazrouei: Thin Margins Are a Lie 14.08.2026 38мин

What if the thin margins crushing your restaurant aren't the industry's fault at all?Hamed Mazrouei came into restaurants as a total outsider. He built Vivant, the managed network company that keeps thousands of restaurants online, and he refuses to accept the beliefs operators treat as gospel.In this conversation, we get into why the thin margins operators blame on the industry actually come down to volume, why guest retention is the highest-leverage metric almost nobody fixes, and why simplification is the one trait every successful founder shares.If you've been blaming the business for numbers you have the power to change, this one will make you rethink everything you assumed was fixed.That's Hamed Mazrouei. To learn more about Vivant, visit vivantcorp.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Ryan Volberg: Double Revenue Without New Guests 11.08.2026 40мин

What if the new customers you keep chasing are the reason your restaurant isn't growing?Ryan Volberg has spent more than two decades building the tools restaurants actually needed, from the first cloud POS to earned wage access. Now, as founder of Guestologie, he's attacking the most expensive blind spot in hospitality: the anonymous guest who walks in, gets seated, and leaves without anyone realizing they could have been a regular.In this conversation, we get into why frequency beats acquisition every time, why status is the cheapest loyalty tool you own while discounts are the most expensive, and how to grow revenue from the guests already sitting in your dining room.If you're spending to fill seats instead of keeping the right ones, this one earns its time.That's Ryan Volberg. To learn more about Guestologie and how they help restaurants see and keep their highest-value guests, visit guestologie.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Adam Weisblatt: How Smaller Restaurants Win 07.08.2026 36мин

What if the smartest way to grow in a market full of closures is to keep every restaurant small?Adam Weisblatt co-founded Last Word Hospitality and turned Found Oyster, a 777-square-foot oyster bar, into a seven-restaurant group that keeps expanding while famous names around it close.In this conversation, we get into why a tiny footprint takes the pressure off your rent and your margins, why he builds every concept around talented people instead of clever ideas, and why making your operators owners is the only way to grow without burning out.If you're convinced you need a bigger room to make real money, this one will change how you think about scale.That's Adam Weisblatt. To pre-order his upcoming book, For the Love of Restaurants, visit https://a.co/d/0cGZmQ5t._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Jon Murray: Get More Profit From Your People 04.08.2026 38мин

What if spending more on your staff is the fastest path to a more profitable restaurant?Jon Murray washed dishes at Applebee's and spent six years in music before rising to Chief Restaurant Officer at Indigo Road, running more than 20 concepts on someone else's terms. Then he walked away to build Noko and Kase in East Nashville on a people-over-profit model most operators would call reckless.In this conversation, we get into why he hands 5.5% of sales back to his team, how four-day workweeks and free therapy dropped his turnover to 15% in an 80% industry, and why he believes loving your people is the real driver of margin.If you think you can't afford to treat your people well, this one will change the math.That's Jon Murray. To learn more about Noko and Kase, visit nokonashville.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Tobin Ellis: Your Labor Problem Is a Design Problem 31.07.2026 41мин

What if your biggest profit leak is hiding behind the bar, in the engine your guests never see?Tobin Ellis spent 30 years behind the stick before he started designing bars for a living. As founder of Studio Barmagic, he's redesigned everything from NFL stadiums to five-diamond resorts, once lifting a landmark hotel bar's revenue 131% in a single quarter.In this conversation, we get into why your labor problem is really a design problem, why the money is made during peak volume instead of slow Tuesdays, and why he builds every bar for the bartender first, the guest second, and the investor last.If your margins are thin and your weekends are leaving money on the table, this one shows you where to look.That's Tobin Ellis. To learn more about his work designing high-performance bars and to grab his book, Bar Design Essentials, visit barmagic.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Helen Johannesen: Ownership Isn't the Win You Think 28.07.2026 39мин

What if owning a restaurant isn’t the win you think it is, but a risk most people misunderstand?Helen Johannesen didn’t just step into ownership, she sacrificed for it. Walking away from financial stability and taking a major pay cut, she bet on herself and a single restaurant that could have gone either way. Today, she’s a partner behind one of LA’s most respected hospitality groups and the force behind a wine brand built on trust, not intimidation.In this conversation, we unpack what ownership really demands, and why it’s not a universal path. Helen breaks down the illusion of revenue versus profit, why equity isn’t the right incentive for most teams, and how she built a wine program that rejects exclusivity in favor of access. If you’re chasing ownership—or questioning it—this episode will force a reset.To explore her selections and join the club, visit helenswines.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Brendan and Bianca Shah: Collaborate, Don’t Compete 24.07.2026 35мин

What if the smartest thing you can do with your single biggest advantage is hand it to the competition?Brendan and Bianca Shah run Chado Tea Room and the wholesale arm, International Tea Importers, the family business their father Devan built into one of the engines of America's specialty tea culture. When he died in 2016, the two of them inherited a company that lived entirely in his head and rebuilt it from first principles.In this conversation, we get into why selling their best tea to direct competitors grew the entire category and made the brand their real moat, how the wholesale and retail sides power a single flywheel, and why paring a 300-tea catalog down to its essentials is what unlocks growth.If you're competing on product alone, this shows you what it looks like to build something nobody can copy.That's Brendan and Bianca Shah. To learn more about Chado Tea Room, visit chadotea.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Jeremy Lett: The Product Failed, Not You 21.07.2026 39мин

What if the real thing holding your restaurant back is your refusal to trust your own taste?Jeremy Lett spent 26 years at Bloomin' Brands building food for Outback, Carrabba's, Fleming's, and Bonefish before taking over innovation at Cracker Barrel, a 650-unit institution he joined right as the brand was weathering its biggest public firestorm in decades.In this conversation, we get into why a great menu grows through subtraction, how to separate a product failing from you failing, and why your taste, earned over thousands of reps, is the one competency no spreadsheet can replace.If you're sitting on a concept people respect but won't repeat, this one will show you where to cut and what to trust.To learn more about his work leading culinary innovation and product development at Cracker Barrel, visit crackerbarrel.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Seth Gerber: Your Restaurant Is a Factory 17.07.2026 40мин

What if you can't actually manage your people, and every hour you spend trying is the reason your restaurant won't scale?Seth Gerber co-owns MIDA, a six-restaurant Italian group out of Boston, and was a 2024 James Beard semifinalist for Best Restaurateur. He came up through Hillstone, earned his sommelier pin and an MBA, and treats outlearning everyone in the room as his only real edge.In this conversation, we get into why you manage the structure people work in and never the people themselves, why the cinematic version of risk that bets it all on one move is a fantasy that quietly ruins operators, and why the best restaurateurs grow slower than their egos want them to.If you're grinding inside your business and still feel like the bottleneck, this one tells you where the real problem is.To learn more about MIDA and their growing collection of neighborhood Italian restaurants, visit midarestaurant.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Harry Posner & Natalie Dial: Put Staff Before Guests 14.07.2026 41мин

What if the conventional wisdom about putting customers first is the very reason your restaurant keeps losing good people?Harry Posner and Natalie Dial walked away from careers in medicine to open Tomat, a Michelin-recognized, seasonally driven restaurant in Westchester, Los Angeles. Neither came from the industry. Both came with the analytical frameworks most operators spend years trying to build.In this conversation, we get into why they deliberately ranked employees above customers before opening day, how diversifying revenue across breakfast, lunch, dinner, events, and a rooftop gave them financial staying power when the calendar went quiet, and why the "wrong" location turned out to be one of the smartest market plays in recent LA dining.If you think the customer is always right, this episode will change your mind.To learn more about Tomat, visit tomat.la._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Philippe Massoud: Built to Last 19 Years 10.07.2026 34мин

What if the reason your restaurant isn't built to last is because you designed it to survive instead of dominate?Philippe Massoud opened ilili in November 2007, a 10,000 square foot Lebanese restaurant in New York City, nearly $7 million in debt, in the middle of a financial crisis, with critics questioning whether anyone wanted Lebanese fine dining at that scale. Nineteen years later, the restaurant is still breaking records.In this conversation, we get into why going smaller and safer is often the riskiest move an operator can make, how Philippe grew revenue 30% annually for five consecutive years after weathering the financial crisis, and why running a restaurant with two guests in mind changes everything.If you're building something real in a market that keeps getting harder, this episode is the one to hear.To learn more about ilili, visit ililirestaurants.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Michael White & Bruce Bronster: Price Less, Win More 07.07.2026 33мин

What if the reason your margins are tight has nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with strategy?Chef Michael White held five simultaneous Michelin stars under the Altamarea Group before co-founding BBianco Hospitality Group with hospitality attorney Bruce Bronster in 2020. Together, they run a restaurant company that deliberately prices below the competition and still gets guests back three and four times a week because of it.In this conversation, we get into why their three C's, cuisine, consistency, and conviviality, are the real operating system behind a loyal guest base, how volume answers margin problems that efficiency never can, and why knowing your lane inside a close partnership is the thing that keeps the business from falling apart.If you're still chasing 20% margins and losing guests in the process, this one lands where it counts.That's Chef Michael White and Bruce Bronster. To learn more about BBianco Hospitality Group, visit bbiancohospitality.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Ben Leventhal: Your Guests Didn't Leave, They Forgot 03.07.2026 36мин

What if your guests aren’t choosing your competitors, they just forgot you exist?Ben Leventhal has spent 20 years building the infrastructure that connects diners to restaurants. He co-founded Eater in 2005, co-founded Resy in 2014, sold it to American Express in 2019, and is now the CEO and founder of Blackbird Labs, a loyalty and payments platform built to give independent restaurants the tools that large brands have had for years.In this conversation, we get into why 42% of restaurants aren't profitable and what role loyalty plays in fixing that, how frequency and access are more valuable than acquisition, and why the independent restaurant's biggest competitive disadvantage is being invisible to guests who already love them.If your regulars aren't showing up as often as they should, this episode is where to start. To learn more about Blackbird Labs, visit blackbird.xyz._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Rob Herold: This is the secret to delegation 30.06.2026 58мин

What if the most valuable thing you could do for your restaurant is make yourself unnecessary?Rob Herold has operated a single Chick-fil-A in Bowie, Maryland for 17 years. While most operators chase more locations, he went the other way, building a business that runs without him so he could coach leaders, serve communities overseas, and climb mountains with his son.In this conversation, we get into why your time is worth more than you think, how hiring a virtual assistant became the highest-leverage decision he ever made, and what it really costs operators to insist on doing everything themselves.If you are drowning in your own business and calling it dedication, this one will change how you see your calendar.To learn how to delegate like Rob, check out the free step by step guide below:https://resources.belaysolutions.com/partners/full-compTo learn more about BELAY Solutions and how they can help you reclaim your time, download their free Freedom Framework here or text COMP to 55123 to get the link sent directly to you._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Rachel Cope: The City Nobody Wanted 26.06.2026 40мин

What if the city everyone dismissed as a chain mecca was actually the smartest place to build a restaurant empire?Rachel Cope didn't wait for permission to prove Oklahoma City wrong. As Founder and CEO of 84 Hospitality Group, she's built a multi-concept portfolio (Empire Slice House, Gorō Ramen, Burger Punk, and Elisabetta) by doing what most operators won't: saying no to the wrong opportunities, coaching her team instead of managing them, and treating a secondary market as a competitive advantage rather than a ceiling.In this conversation, we get into how Rachel identifies the line between opportunity and distraction, why you cannot grow to the next thing until your current operation runs without you, and how an athlete's win-or-learn mindset changes the way you build culture.If you're operating in a market people underestimate, including yourself, this one is for you.To learn more about 84 Hospitality Group and their growing portfolio of Oklahoma City concepts, visit 84hospitality.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

How to Build a Restaurant That Can Scale Without Breaking: Jeff Fenster, Everbowl 23.06.2026 48мин

What if the reason you keep breaking your own promises is that you're relying on willpower to keep them?Jeff Fenster is the founder of Everbowl, the superfood franchise he's built across more than 30 states. Three years after his first time on the show, he's back with a sharper answer for how he actually wins: he strips out whatever gets between him and the result instead of trying to become a more disciplined version of himself.In this conversation, we get into why your truth changes the moment your perspective does, how to treat AI as a multiplier instead of a crutch, and why building a personal brand has nothing to do with wanting to be famous.If you're grinding on discipline and still coming up short, this one will change how you operate.That's Jeff Fenster. To learn more about Everbowl and their franchise opportunities, visit everbowl.com._________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Kyle Willis: The Busy Trap 19.06.2026 41мин

What if you are the biggest obstacle to your restaurant's growth?Kyle Willis, VP of Growth at BELAY Solutions, has spent years watching high-capacity operators hit the same wall: too busy doing the work to actually lead the business. Growth always stalls at capacity, and most operators have no plan for getting out from under it.In this conversation, we get into why delegation develops your best people and multiplies what you can do, how a structured 30-60-90 onboarding relieves pressure fast, and why time is always the more expensive currency.If you are running at full capacity and still not moving the needle, this is where you start.To learn more about BELAY Solutions and how they can help you reclaim your time, download their free Freedom Framework here or text COMP to 55123 to get the link sent directly to you._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

How to Build a Restaurant That Can Grow Profitably: Randy Sharpe, Wahlburgers 16.06.2026 40мин

Most operators think growth means adding more. More menu items. More locations. More channels. More promotions. More complexity.Randy Sharpe’s approach at Wahlburgers was the opposite.When Randy stepped into the CEO role, the brand had 17 menus across roughly 98 outlets. Some locations were creating more pain than profit. Some models were diluting the brand. The business did not need more complexity. It needed more clarity.In this episode, Randy breaks down the fourth question every operator has to answer: can this restaurant grow without becoming harder to run?We talk about simplifying menus, defining operating models, testing new products, growing catering, investing in better systems, building franchisee buy-in, and using field support to create compliance. Randy also explains why cutting what is not working can be the most important growth decision an operator makes.This is the episode for operators who want to grow revenue without adding chaos.To go deeper, download the free 2026 Restaurant Playbook at joshkopel.com/square_________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Kim Alter: Control Is the Growth Strategy 12.06.2026 34мин

What if the smartest restaurant you could open wasn’t the biggest, busiest, or most celebrated, but the one you could control?Kim Alter didn’t build Nightbird to chase stars. She built it to survive—and more importantly, to profit. In an industry obsessed with growth and recognition, she chose discipline: tight costs, small footprint, and total operational control.In this conversation, we unpack how Kim turned a 20-seat restaurant into a high-margin business, why she was willing to run unsustainably in the short term to build long-term stability, and how consulting sharpened both her standards and her boundaries.This is for operators ready to stop chasing validation and start building something that lasts.To learn more about Nightbird, visit nightbirdrestaurant.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com