Want to listen to the latest Restaurant Rockstars podcast episodes?

Episode #195 Restaurant Design for R.O.I. and Increased Profit!

Today I’m speaking with a 30 year veteran designer in the hospitality and food service space. Its incredible! Lu Schildmeyer of LU S Design Associates has designed over 700 restaurants, 400 bars and 1500 food service facilities. We’ll be talking the basics of lighting design, materials and finishes. More importantly, you’ll get the lowdown on the importance of traffic flow, acoustics, your menu, efficient kitchen design and complying with building and life-safety codes. Lu has the talent and experience to achieve great design without breaking the bank.

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Episode #194 How To Create And Grow A Powerful Restaurant Brand

There are so many aspects to Brand Building… logo, colors, font, ambiance, uniforms, signature dishes and drinks and theatrics… yes, theatrics. Don’t forget this business is all about Entertainment. You’re in business to create experiences for your customers that will bring them back again and again and more importantly spread the word. In this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I’m speaking with Meg Prejzner a brand strategy guru who’s the Founder and CEO of Hackett Brand Consulting.

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Episode #193 Protecting Your Restaurant From A Fire

In this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I’m speaking with Michael Crafton the CEO of NELBUD. They’re one of the Nation’s largest providers of kitchen exhaust hood cleaning… the place where most fires start. We’ll be talking about simple fire prevention, the steps of quality and effective hood cleaning, the importance of compliance and the expectations you should have of your service provider.

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Episode #192 An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Launch a Global Brand – Candela

Follow us on Alex’s journey to compete against the biggest Rum brands on the planet with massive marketing budgets in order to create a Global Brand and stay true to his inspiration. Major International Resorts and leading U.S. Restaurants are serving Candela MamaJuana – This is an amazing story you’re not going to want to miss.

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Episode #191 How a Powerful Brand Becomes a Franchise – The Daily Jam

In this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I’m speaking with a franchise expert who cut his teeth in several other most successful brands. Krispy Kreme, Auntie Annie’s Pretzels, Cold Stone Creamery… you’ve heard of these. Berekk Blackwell is now the President of a fast growing concept called “Daily Jam”. Its a breakfast, lunch, brunch and specialty cocktail brand that’s refined its mission and now growing regionally and national with a franchise model.

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Episode #190 A Brand Creating Raving Fans – MIXT

I’m always amazed at those dynamic hard-charging people that can grow a concept to multiple locations.  It takes courage, fortitude, an unwavering vision, not to mention leadership to build a brand and maintain consistency and quality that’s on point. In this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I’m speaking with Leslie Silverglide who’s the co-founder…

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Episode #188 Forget your Competition, Think like your Consumer – w/ Erik Shellenberger

Everyone’s says you need to Market your place on Social Media. Not only that, you need to know how to post, what to post and how often? Today’s guest Mr. Erik Shellenberger is going to turn that idea upside down and tell us why Social Media Marketing has Lost its Effectiveness. I love Erik’s “Test Taking” analogy. Tune in to this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast and get a whole new fresh approach on your marketing strategy.

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Episode #185 How An Epic Brand Savors Sweet Success – The Cheesecake Factory

In today’s episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I am thrilled to speak with Mr. Donald Moore, the Executive Vice President and Chief Culinary Officer for the Cheesecake Factory. What has always amazed me, as it does most people is the extensive menu offering 21 pages and over 250 menu items and get this – all done from scratch! I have always wondered how they can inventory, prep, prepare and deliver consistency across the chain with reasonable ticket times in their very large and constantly busy locations.

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Episode #184 Laser-Focused Marketing Strategy for Restaurants

Don’t just run a restaurant, build a BRAND! To do this, you need to follow a proven marketing strategy and one size does not fit all. How do you cut through all the noise and clutter out there vying your customer’s attention? The answers are in this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast. Mr. Dan Westmoreland is the Vice President of Demand Gen at Fountain.com and a true marketing “Super Hero”. He’s worked with hundreds of business owners, and today will be giving you immediately actionable advice and proven ideas to build and move your brand forward.

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Episode #182 The Power of the Entrepreneurial Dream With Javamelts Founder Carolyn Barbarite

We’ll be diving deep into all the obstacles Carolyn’s overcome and keeps hurdling with her eye on the prize. Finding the product developer and testing endless samples, finding the right manufacturer, figuring out distribution, going on QVC and fielding all the amazing press following her company. This is a certified “Women Owned Company” and when you listen, you’ll be caught up in the excitement of chasing the American dream. The end lesson is persistence and tenacity which Carolyn has in spades.

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Episode #181 Turn-Key Social Media Marketing for your Restaurant

Today, I’m speaking with Mark Laux from OrderUp Social. He’s going to show us what’s really important, how to cut through the online clutter and make a powerful marketing impact. This topic is one of the most important details in your restaurant. Don’t leave your online presence to chance. Listen on to this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast as Mark walks us through a fully turn-key automated system solution if you can’t be your own social media expert.

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Episode #180 Near Failure to Tremendous Success with Michelin-Rated Restaurateur Joshua Kopel

From a humble start in seedy Hollywood, listen as Joshua takes us on a restaurateur’s journey of pivots, near-failure and ultimate success. We’ll cover it all. His Michelin-Star rated restaurant “Preux & Proper” heads the list of Josh’s other concepts “South City Fried Chicken” and Five O Four Hollywood.

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Episode #179 A Powerful New Profit Center For Your Restaurant

It’s amazing what Tech can do for your operation. Listen on as we talk about all the pain points that used to come standard with online ordering and how all this has changed. If you have been holding out on using technology in your operation, decide for yourself if this might be your solution on how to gain new sources of profit. This is how to increase restaurant sales and find yourself a new profit center.

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Episode #178 Hot New Brand “Flower Child” Dishes On Super Fast Growth

Tune in to this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast. I’m speaking with Anita Walker, the V.P. of Marketing for Fox Restaurant Group. Their hot brand “Flower Child” continues to open new locations. There are so many key-learnings and restaurant marketing ideas in this episode folks, you’ve got to give a listen. This is how to open a restaurant, how to run a restaurant and how to increase restaurant business.

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Episode #177 Up Your Restaurant Game Using Video Technology

In this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I’m speaking with Mr. Ken Bianchi of Hoptix 720. We’ll be showing you how this technology will: Give you Accurate Guest Counts, Show you how long it takes your Host staff to greet your customers, Monitor speed and quality of service at your tables, Minimize staff errors and losses at your Point of Sale system, Deliver immediate visual alerts on your smart phone and provide video security monitoring against theft.

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Episode #176 True Hospitality and Great Service

In this episode of the Restaurant RockStars Podcast, I’m speaking with Mr. Greg Plester from Core Hospitality. We’re going to dive deep on the true meaning of Hospitality and great service. We’ll start with what makes a fantastic dining experience, the importance of daily staff training and the characteristics of a great General Manager.

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