Listen to "122. How To Stay Current On Restaurant Trends And Brand Identity" on Spreaker. The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I talk with Katy Velazquez, Corporate Executive Chef at QDOBA about how the fast-casual Mexican restaurant is able to stay current on trends and be true to its identity. QDOBA with over 730+ restaurants located in the U.S. and Canada is the second largest brand in the Mexica ..read more

Listen to "11. Hospitality Education’s Role in Technology, Innovation and Evolution" on Spreaker. Today’s podcast is in memory of Dr. Pat Moreo, a leading hospitality educator - dedicated to a lifetime of service to our industry. Joining Host Rob Grimes is Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu, Dean of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of South Florida, and Dr. Donna Quadri-Felitti, Director of Penn State University’s School of Hospitality Management. Both schools are leading educational institutions and are ones where “Dr. Pat” served as a Dean, Faculty Member, and Mentor. Hosp ..read more

Listen to "10. The Startup Nation; Hospitality and Tech" on Spreaker. Joining IFBTA CEO Rob Grimes this week on Accelerate is Tomer Moore, founder of the Israeli Restaurant Association; Misadanim Chazakim Beyachad (Restauranteurs are Stronger Together). Tomer has background as a restauranteur, opening over 10 restaurants and working with Tech startups. Tomer noticed that despite Israel being a global technology powerhouse known as the “Startup Nation”, the restaurant industry used technology that was out of date, focusing mostly on POS. Since COVID, things have shifted. Tomer mentions “It was ..read more

Listen to "231. Restaurants Facing a Growth Wall?" on Spreaker. The Savory Fund is a restaurant growth company based in the United States that provides capital, expertise, and support to help independent restaurant concepts scale and succeed. They partner with talented restaurateurs to help them expand their businesses, with a focus on innovative and high-growth concepts. We had a chance to talk with Andrew Smith an executive with the Savory Fund, serving as a Managing Director. He has over 15 years of experience in private equity, investment banking, and corporate finance and has worked with ..read more

Listen to "8. Learning to Adapt: Thinking Beyond ChatGPT; it’s not the Destination, it’s just the Beginning" on Spreaker. New AI technologies constantly impact and offer opportunities for F&B and beyond. ChatGPT is the most recent “shiny object” garnering much of the recent media attention, conversation and debate. Education has been one of the first to call out the effect, and impact as students have the ability to get their work done by this application. While some educators have taken an optimistic approach to the new technology, others are actively resisting. Joining host Rob Grimes on ..read more

Listen to "CoffeeChat-GPT And Three Ingredients Of Hospitality To Elevate Your Business | Season 8, Vol. 24" on Spreaker. In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Jacob Jaber, Co-Founder of Philz Coffee and Consumer Investor. In 1978 Phil Jaber purchased a convenience store and in his off hours, he blended and tested coffee, looking to make the perfect cup. Philz Coffee was born and has gone from starting from one store to seventy-five. Jaber says, “I love people, I've been in business since I was nin ..read more

Listen to "Adventures in Candyland Cocktails, Mensa and Meat? | Season 8, Vol. 23" on Spreaker. In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with James O'Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of Smokey Bones. O’Reilly has been in the restaurant industry for 25 years. Prior to joining Smokey Bones as CEO in 2019, he was President and CEO of Long John Silver’s. O’Reilly held leadership roles at other restaurant brands, including Sonic Drive-in, Pizza Hut, and KFC. “Our tagline is meat is what we do and what that means ..read more

Listen to "Executive Chef Turns Authentic Recipes Into Menu Classics" on Spreaker. The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation of consumers. In this podcast, we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their stories and passion. In this episode of Chef AF, I chat with Noelle, Nashville’s executive chef Chris Neff about the creative process behind menu development, fine-tuning recipes, and adding dinner activations at Makeready L & L. Neff is the execu ..read more

Listen to "Food Wars, Tech Stars, and raising the Marking Bar! | Season 8, Vol. 22" on Spreaker. In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Anton Nicholas, Managing Partner at ICR. ICR is an integrated communications firm. Nicholas says, “We do everything from public company investor and public relations to private company consumer public relations and brand public relations. We also do a ton in the transaction support world and crisis communications.” Nicholas is responsible for managing the firm’s con ..read more

Listen to "Food Wars, Tech Stars, and raising the Marking Bar! | Season 8, Vol. 22" on Spreaker. In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Anton Nicholas, Managing Partner at ICR. ICR is an integrated communications firm. Nicholas says, “We do everything from public company investor and public relations to private company consumer public relations and brand public relations. We also do a ton in the transaction support world and crisis communications.” Nicholas is responsible for managing the firm’s con ..read more