Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates

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Jamie Greer is the Vice President of Operations at the fabulously successful Sticky's Finger Joint based in New York City. With previous experience at Legends Hospitality and Magnolia Bakery, Jamie Greer brings over a decade of experience and insights from one of the most loved brands in NYC to this edition of Give an Ovation. 

On this episode, Jamie and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Aspects of Sticky's success such as their guest experience, operations, and menu
• How Sticky's has kept a simple menu while maintaining variety
• Why Sticky's switched from long-form surveys to Ovation
• The importance of listening to customers
• More

Thanks Jamie!

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You've heard of her, now hear from her! Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., is the President & CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. With more than 50,000 restaurants employing 1.3M Texans and posting sales of 70B in 2019, in her first year, Knight is at the forefront of leading one of the most important industries through the COVID 19 pandemic.

On this episode, Emily and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• How Emily has successfully led restaurants in Texas and across the nation through the pandemic, and how restaurants can use the same communication skills with their guests
• Mistakes restaurants are making right now
• Successful things restaurants are doing right now
• More

Thanks, Emily!

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Joseph Szala is a Principal, Creative, and Strategist at Vigor Restaurant Branding, a restaurant and beverage branding and marketing studio based in Atlanta, Georgia, but servicing the world. Joseph has worked with hundreds of restaurants over his career, and has written a new book distilling all of his knowledge called "The Bullhearted Brand: Building Bullish Restaurant Brands". 

On this episode, he and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• What drives loyalty among patrons
• Why Joseph doesn't use demographics in his marketing plan
• Turning employees into brand champions
• Building a brand
• How to pronounce "Porsche"
• More

Thanks Joseph! 

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We were in the presence of royalty on this episode as we were joined by one of the Earl's of Sandwich himself, Robert Earl! Robert has set the bar for restaurateurs, as the man behind Planet Hollywood, MrBeast Burger and other Virtual Dining Concepts, and growing Hard Rock Cafe. 

On this episode, Robert and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Robert's advice to restaurants now and in the next few years
• Virtual brands - why Robert recommends them and why they're not going anywhere
• The most important aspect of the guest experience
• A check list of things successful restaurants are doing right now
• More

Thanks Robert!

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Geoff Alexander is the President and CEO of Wow Bao, a fast casual Asian concept that has grown from 3 brick-and-mortar locations to over 300 locations including airports, grocery stores, and food trucks, using what Geoff calls "dark kitchens" under his direction. Geoff also has substantial experience as managing partner at Lettuce Entertain you, and has been named one of the most influential restaurant CEOs in the country according to Nation's Restaurant News. 

 On this episode, Geoff and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• How Wow Bao has grown so fast
• Dark kitchens vs ghost kitchens vs virtual kitchens
• How to maintain a brand identity as your company grows
• What keeps the CEO of a large, growing company up at night
• More

Thanks Geoff!

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Brandon Barton is the CEO of Bite, a digital ordering platform for restaurants. He has worked in multiple start-ups, as a consultant, and has spent time at Patina Restaurant Group and Union Square Hospitality Group. 

On this episode, Brandon and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• The current and future balances of on and off-premise ordering
• How work from home affects restaurants
• The advantages of digital ordering
• The importance of person-to-person hospitality
• More

Thanks Brandon!

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We all know there's a labor shortage right now, but is finding employees really as hard as it seems? 

Ryan Gromfin,  Owner of The Restaurant Boss, breaks down hiring and other issues on this edition of Give an Ovation: A Podcast For Restaurants! With decades of experience as a chef, food and beverage director, and restaurant coach, Ryan now works with restaurants around the world. 

On this episode, he and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Breaking down hiring into easy steps
• Why the restaurant industry isn't as hard as people make it out to be
• Consistency in the guest experience
• Ghost kitchens
• More

Thanks Ryan!

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Welcome back Bruce Irving, Owner of Smart Pizza Marketing, to his third episode of Give an Ovation: A Podcast For Restaurants! Bruce is a luminary in the industry with over 350 episodes of his podcast, Smart Pizza Marketing, and was instrumental in helping get Give an Ovation off the ground - of our first ten guests, he was two of them!

On this episode, he and host Zack Oates discuss:

• Should everyone start a podcast?
• Why less is more when with menus and hiring
• The guest experience
• TikTok
• More

Thanks Bruce!

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The Famous James Walker, CFE, is the Senior Vice President of Restaurants at Nathan's Famous Inc. - yes, that Nathan's. James has propelled the brand to new heights with off premise technologies, ghost kitchens, and menu innovations that the 100+ year-old brand has greatly appreciated. James also draws on senior experience at Subway, Cinnabon, and Johnny Rockets. We were honored to have such an incredible figure in the restaurant space on this episode!

On this edition, James and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• How James has enhanced the rest of Nathan's menu to the level of the hot dogs and fries
• James' advice on driving change in a large organization
• The importance of delivering on your brand promise
• Praise for front-line workers
• Professional hot dog eating
• More

Thanks James! 

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Ken McGarrie is the principal at Korgen Hospitality, a nationwide restaurant consulting firm. He has over two decades of experience at the helm of many successful restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues like Topgolf, and also has an amazing book called The Surprise Restaurant Manager.

On this episode, he and host Zack Oates discuss:

• How Ken trains managers across the country to table touch more effectively 
• Technological systems that can compensate for the labor shortage
• Ken's book 
• More

Thanks Ken!