In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Sean Pourteymour, the cofounder and executive chairman of Luna Grill, as well as Rich Pinnella, the brand’s CEO. Sean and his wife Maria founded Luna Grill in San Diego back in 2004, and the Mediterranean fast casual started scaling in 2010. By 2019 it had expanded to more than 50 locations between California and Texas, but paused growth in order to right-size its infrastructure and systems. That included bringing in Rich, who spent more than 20 years at Taco Bell and who was recently promoted to the CEO role as Luna Grill looks to once again ramp up expansion. Sean and Rich joined the podcast to talk about the steps that restaurant companies should take ahead of scaling and how they’ve built a culture designed to win.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• The team that builds a brand from scratch isn’t necessarily the same that can scale it
• You should know when it’s time to hit the brakes
• Growth can be aggressive and responsible at the same time 
• A great culture drives behaviors that win 
• Competitors in your category aren’t necessarily a bad thing
• If you surround yourself with brilliant people, then brilliant things will happen

Register for CREATE, our event for emerging restaurateurs, by clicking here. 

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].