In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Ahsan Jiva, executive vice president of strategy and transformation at Mellow Mushroom, a brand that’s grown to about 170 locations in 17 states in its 50-plus years in business. Mellow Mushroom has long been a full-service concept with bar service and countercultural vibes, but as part of a three-year transformation that Ahsan is spearheading, it’s rolling out a “fast fine” model that offers some counter service while protecting the core menu and branding that Mellow Mushroom has become known for. Ahsan joined the podcast to talk about the ingredients to that transformation and how the flexible model they’ve designed is empowering franchisees and GMs to take the business to the next level.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Barbell pricing strategies can extend to beverage
• Consider the fringes of your menu for innovation
• The pizza category may have a use case problem
• Pizza also has an experience problem
• Chains should consider the jam band approach where no two experiences are alike
• No matter how varied your experience is, the brand must be consistent
• The best use for new tech tools is to supercharge your GM

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