Corner Booth Podcast

Ashley Morris, CEO of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, followed a path few restaurant leaders ever take. After becoming a devoted customer, he invested as a franchisee, helped grow multiple locations, and eventually became part of the team that acquired the brand. That experience provided a front-row seat to the challenges of transforming a small regional concept into a growing national chain while protecting the elements that made it successful in the first place. For operators considering restaurant franchising, growth can create a difficult tradeoff. The systems, support structure, and resources required to help franchisees succeed often look very different from what was needed to operate a handful of company locations. Questions around unit economics, distribution strategy, market selection, and long-term scalability can determine whether expansion creates value or creates problems. Those same decisions become even more important in an environment shaped by rising development costs, increasing operating expenses, and rapidly evolving technology. Operators evaluating restaurant expansion, investing in restaurant data analytics, or exploring the role of AI in restaurants are facing pressures that did not exist a decade ago. Morris brings the perspective of someone who has evaluated growth, profitability, infrastructure, and brand development from both the franchisee and franchisor sides of the business. Book a free restaurant financial consultation with the Cerboni team: Cerboni Services. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up with promo code: ROCERBONI.

Kim Brown founded Belong Kitchen after confronting a challenge faced by many families of adults with intellectual and developmental differences: the lack of meaningful employment opportunities after high school. What began as a search for a path forward for her daughter evolved into a nonprofit restaurant built around supported employment, community connection, and the belief that people thrive when given the opportunity to contribute. Today, Belong Kitchen serves guests while creating meaningful work for a traditionally underserved population. Creating a mission-driven restaurant required more than a compelling purpose. Brown shares how she navigated restaurant startup challenges, secured funding, found the right location, and tested her concept long before opening a permanent space. The operation grew from producing family-style meals out of a home kitchen into a café offering breakfast, lunch, grab-and-go meals, and a growing restaurant catering program. Along the way, the team developed systems that match job responsibilities to employee strengths while creating a supportive work environment. The conversation also explores community engagement, volunteer workforce management, employee training, customer acquisition, and sustainable growth. Brown explains why food quality remains just as important as the mission itself and how programs like guest chef collaborations help drive interest, learning, and sales. For operators looking to strengthen community connections, create purpose-driven businesses, or explore innovative staffing models, Belong Kitchen offers a unique example of combining impact with operational discipline.

Richard Zoob, CEO of Rosa Mexicano, is leading one of the restaurant industry's most established brands through a period of renewal. Drawing on experience across independent restaurants, national chains, private equity-backed brands, and his own restaurant concepts, Zoob shares how a 40+ year-old company is adapting to changing guest expectations while protecting the identity that made it successful. His approach offers valuable perspective for operators managing mature concepts, navigating change, and pursuing long-term growth. Many operators face a common challenge: growth initiatives, promotions, and menu additions can slowly create operational complexity that weakens execution and blurs brand identity. At Rosa Mexicano, that challenge led to a renewed focus on guest feedback, menu simplification, and a return to the brand's original strengths. The team evaluated every menu item, removed low-performing offerings, reintroduced guest favorites, and reduced unnecessary complexity throughout the operation. Equally important, they moved away from an aggressive discounting strategy and refocused on delivering value through food, service, and experience. Maintaining momentum across multiple locations requires more than operational controls. Zoob explains how hospitality culture, team buy-in, and multi-unit consistency work together to create sustainable results. He also shares his perspective on AI adoption, productivity, leadership development, and building systems that support growth without compromising the guest experience. For operators looking to improve performance, strengthen culture, and create a sustainable restaurant growth strategy, this conversation offers practical lessons from a brand balancing tradition and innovation. Book a free restaurant financial consultation with the Cerboni team: Cerboni Services. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up with promo code: ROCERBONI.

In this episode of Corner Booth, host Chris Tripoli sits down with Julie Nguyen, co-owner of Crawfish Cafe, a five-location restaurant group built around one of the restaurant industry's toughest challenges: a highly seasonal product. What began as a leap from the tech world into restaurant ownership has grown into a multi-unit operation, forcing Julie and her team to continually adapt, solve problems, and rethink how to build a business that can thrive beyond peak season. For many operators, success creates new challenges. Julie shares how Crawfish Cafe evolved from a small family-run concept into a growing organization that depends on strong restaurant systems, structured training programs, and relentless problem-solving to maintain operational consistency across multiple locations. The conversation explores the realities of seasonal staffing, the difficulty of rebuilding teams year after year, and the lessons learned from expansion decisions that did not always go as planned. Chris and Julie also discuss the ongoing effort to reduce reliance on a single seasonal category through menu diversification, strategic product marketing, and thoughtful use of technology. From managing demand during peak season to creating reasons for guests to return year-round, this episode offers practical insights for operators working to build a stronger, more resilient business while preparing for long-term growth.

In this episode of Corner Booth, host Chris Tripoli sits down with Tim Gannon, co-founder of Outback Steakhouse and creator of the Bloomin' Onion, whose leadership and growth strategies helped shape one of the restaurant industry's most influential brands. While Tim's career includes building one of the restaurant industry's most recognizable brands, this conversation is less about restaurant fame and more about the decisions, relationships, and leadership principles that helped make that growth possible. Every growing restaurant eventually faces questions about leadership, partnerships, talent, and opportunity. Tim's journey offers a unique perspective on each of those challenges, drawing from experiences that range from learning under industry legends to helping build one of casual dining's most successful concepts. Operators thinking about restaurant growth, leadership development, or concept development will find plenty to relate to in the decisions and turning points that shaped his career. Behind every successful restaurant is a team of people who choose to stay, grow, and invest in the business. Tim offers a candid look at the leadership philosophies, organizational decisions, and people strategies that helped support Outback's expansion. For operators looking to strengthen teams, develop future leaders, or build a business positioned for long-term success, his experiences provide plenty to think about.   Book a free restaurant financial consultation with the Cerboni team: Cerboni Services. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up with promo code: ROCERBONI.

Kyle Gardner has spent the past 16 years growing with Currito, rising from assistant general manager to Vice President of Operations for Thunderdome Restaurant Group's fast-casual brands, Currito and CityBird. Along the way, he's gained a front-row view of what it takes to build strong restaurant teams, develop future leaders, and support growth across multiple locations. In this episode, he shares the lessons he's learned about leadership development and why investing in people remains one of the most important responsibilities of any operator. One of the biggest challenges growing restaurants face is building a reliable leadership pipeline without losing the culture that made the business successful in the first place. Gardner explains how his team approaches promote from within opportunities, why they restructured the assistant general manager role, and how exposing rising leaders to different stores and teams helps prepare them for greater responsibility. The conversation offers a practical look at developing managers before they reach the general manager level instead of waiting until a position opens. The discussion also explores the difference between managing tasks and leading people. Gardner shares why consistent coaching, structured management training systems, and ongoing training and development have become central to the company's success. For operators focused on employee development, stronger manager retention, and creating sustainable growth, this episode provides an honest look at the systems and leadership habits that help teams perform at a higher level. Empower your managers to understand the latest regulatory requirements by getting ServSafe trained. Learn More. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up through the RestaurantOwner Marketplace.

In this episode of Corner Booth, Chris Tripoli speaks with Dimitri Fetokakis, owner of Niko Niko’s Greek & American Cafe, about building and sustaining a family‑run restaurant over nearly five decades. The conversation traces the restaurant’s origins in Houston, Texas from a small walkup stand to a high‑volume, multi‑unit operation rooted in community connection, operations consistency, and hospitality traditions passed down through generations. The discussion focuses on how family-run restaurant longevity is shaped by values rather than aggressive growth goals. Dimitri explains how commitment to authentic ingredients, generous portions, and treating guests like family created loyal demand long before formal systems existed. As the concept expanded physically and operationally, decisions were guided by maintaining atmosphere and culture rather than chasing trends or rapid unit counts. The episode also explores culture-first restaurant growth, including employee retention, leadership presence, and the deliberate pace of expansion. Dimitri shares how systems were added only after the business proved itself, and why organizing existing success was more important than reinventing the concept. For independent operators navigating growth, staffing challenges, or second‑generation leadership, this episode offers a grounded look at how consistency, respect, trust and patience can improve performance and sustain brand identity over time. Empower your managers to understand the latest regulatory requirements by getting ServSafe trained. Learn More. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up through the RestaurantOwner Marketplace.

In this episode of Corner Booth, Chris Tripoli speaks with Carolyn Haeler, founder of Mightylicious, about the realities of developing a packaged food product and bringing it to retail at scale. The conversation follows Hunter’s transition from finance into food entrepreneurship after a medical diagnosis forced her to rethink convenience, nutrition, and product quality. Her experience frames the discussion around why successful food products are rarely accidental. The episode explores the full lifecycle of retail product development, from in‑home prototype development and recipe iteration to securing early store placements and navigating buyer conversations. Rather than focusing on branding alone, the discussion emphasizes product validation in grocery retail, including why tasting, repetition, and consistent quality matter more than perfect packaging early on. The challenges of working with distributors, managing manufacturer relationships, and preparing for regional versus national rollout are addressed with practical tips provided. The conversation also dives into the financial realities behind scaling packaged food brands, including slotting fees, free fill requirements, marketing costs, and cash flow gaps. Hunter explains why retail growth often outpaces profitability in the short term and how operators must plan for capital needs before expansion. For restaurant owners considering packaged products as a brand extension, the episode provides a grounded look at decision points, risks, and misconceptions that can derail otherwise strong ideas. Empower your managers to understand the latest regulatory requirements by getting ServSafe trained. Learn More. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up through the RestaurantOwner Marketplace.

In this episode of Corner Booth, Chris Tripoli speaks with the founders of Carolina Table about what it really takes to extend a restaurant brand beyond the dining room. Drawing from deep experience in event planning, grocery operations, and hospitality execution, the conversation examines why brand extension beyond the dining room often looks appealing on paper but proves far more complex in practice. The discussion focuses on the realities of off‑premise catering operations and why success requires entirely different systems than in‑restaurant service. From early planning and site visits to menu design, transportation constraints, and timeline management, this episode highlights how off‑site execution introduces risks that many operators underestimate. Rather than treating catering as an add‑on, the founders explain how disciplined event execution systems and clear standards are required to protect food quality, proper presentation, and ensure successful guest experience. The episode also explores how Carolina Table is using catering as both a revenue stream and a proof point for a future grab‑and‑go retail market concept. By focusing on production and proper event planning with thoughtful pricing for value perception, the conversation offers independent operators a well-grounded look at how successful catering strengthens a brand and improperly implemented, how it can quietly undermine it. Throughout, the emphasis remains on systems, preparation, and decision-making rather than volume for volume’s sake.     Empower your managers to understand the latest regulatory requirements by getting ServSafe trained. Learn More. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up through the RestaurantOwner Marketplace.

In this episode of Corner Booth, Chris Tripoli sits down with John Terzian and Brian Toll, co‑founders of The h.wood Group, to explore how hospitality concepts are created, refined, and expanded at scale. The conversation traces their early paths into nightlife and hospitality, highlighting how passion for hosting, community building, and creative execution shaped their approach to business long before formal restaurant development. The discussion focuses on the realities of concept creation and what it takes to move an idea from vision to execution. Terzian and Toll describe how early experimentation, frequent failure, and complementary leadership roles helped them define the hospitality brand positioning they now operate within. Rather than chasing trends, they emphasize understanding target audiences, recognizing gaps in the market, and committing to a clearly defined lane that guides decision-making. As the conversation evolves, the founders address challenges tied to scaling concepts across markets, investor alignment, rising costs, and shifting guest behavior. They share how disciplined expansion, selective replication, and a strong internal division of responsibilities support sustainability. Throughout the episode, independent operators are encouraged to think critically about partnerships, capital structure, and whether a given model is truly built to grow without losing identity. Empower your managers to understand the latest regulatory requirements by getting ServSafe trained. Learn More. RestaurantOwner.com members receive a special discount when signing up through the RestaurantOwner Marketplace.