My First Restaurant

Akash Mirchandani is a Partner at Kitchen Fund, a leading investment firm focused on the emerging restaurant space. Kitchen Fund aims to fuel the brands that are changing how we eat, including investments in some popular restaurants you may have heard of such as sweetgreen, CAVA, and Curry Up Now.

Prior to Kitchen Fund Akash worked in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group, graduated from Harvard where he was captain of the golf team, and deepened his passion for the food industry through a brief stage working in the kitchen at Alinea, the three Michelin star restaurant in Chicago. 

In this interview, Akash and I discuss the ever elusive topic of how to raise money for a growing restaurant brand. We talk about funding options, when to raise, what investors look for, and how valuations are determined.

Specifically, restaurant owners will learn:

- How many units a brand typically needs before institutional investors become interested

- The most important metric investors look for, along with a “best in class” benchmark

- When a growing restaurant brand should look for outside capital

- How restaurant valuations are determined

- How investors keep restaurant founders motivated after a raise

- The Kitchen Fund investments Akash is most excited about

and more.

If you own a restaurant brand with eyes toward growth, this is definitely an episode you’ll want to bookmark and come back to at regular intervals as you hit key growth milestones in your business.

Please enjoy my conversation with Akash Mirchandani of Kitchen Fund.

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Where to find Kitchen Fund:

• Website: https://kitchenfund.com/ 
• Twitter: @KitchenFund
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kitchen-fund/about/ 

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Where to find Akash:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akash-mirchandani/ 

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• CAVA
• Sweetgreen
• INDAY
• Restaurant Business Online

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:17) Intro to Akash and Kitchen Fund
• (04:05) The options available for funding a restaurant
• (08:17) When private equity and growth investors become interested in making a restaurant investment
• (09:57) Metrics investors look for when making an investment
• (10:37) Deep diver into cash on cash returns
• (15:55) When should a growing restaurant brand start looking for outside capital?
• (19:24) How does Kitchen Fund value a restaurant concept?
• (23:57) Thoughts on aggressive vs. tempered growth
• (25:08) Intangible factors investors look for in a businesses
• (28:17) How investors keep founders motivated post-investment
• (31:42) Which investments is Akash proud of at Kitchen Fund
• (36:19) Has Kitchen Fund’s approach changed since 2020?
• (38:39) On The Fly Segment

Host Bryan Tublin shares his top 10 lessons learned from Season 1 of My First Restaurant.

Top 10 Lessons Learned:

1. Know why you’re getting into the business
2. Test your concept first!
3. Timing and momentum matters
4. Raise enough capital – Things always cost more and take longer than you think
5. Choose the right contractor for your buildout
6. Centralized Commissary vs. Store-Level Production? There’s no right answer
7. Do, Delegate, or Deprioritize
8. Take care of yourself first
9. Look for self awareness and a growth mindset when hiring
10. Successful brands differentiate and solve a real need
11. BONUS: Restaurants are hard, but not for the reasons you think

“I work really hard, and my staff works really hard, so I have to be in love with that city and that community to do the work that I do.”

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Dominica Rice-Cisneros is the Chef & Owner of Bombera in Oakland, California. 

During her long career as a line cook, Dominica worked her way up in fine dining establishments such as Chez Panisse and The Four Seasons, before opening her first restaurant Cosecha to showcase her take on California Mexican cuisine.

Forced to close Cosecha during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its downtown Oakland location, she reopened as Bombera in the Dimond neighborhood, where she is now thriving as a full service restaurant showcasing her Chicano cooking heritage using live fire techniques.

In this interview Dominica shares how she transitioned from career line cook to restaurant owner, including lessons learned along the way. 

We discuss:

- Why working as a “stage” was a blessing early in her career

- What inspired her career in food and restaurants

- The importance of connecting with mentors

- Her biggest hurdles transitioning from line cook to restaurant owner

and much more.

Dominica provides a rare perspective from someone who truly workd her way up from the bottom, and provides practical insight for others looking to do the same.

Please enjoy my conversation with Dominica Rice-Cisneros of Bombera!

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Where to find Bombera:

• Website: https://www.bomberaoakland.com/
• IG: bomberaoakland
• FB: bomberaoakland

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Where to find Dominica:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominica-rice-1828ab2b/ 
• IG: dominicarice

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• Vik’s Chaat
• Great China
• 504 Loans

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:50) Her journey in food, starting at 14 years old in LA
• (06:50) Why she views being a stage as “a blessing” for someone early in their career
• (09:10) What inspired her to get into food at a high level one day
• (10:05) “You get in through the back door”
• (11:40) Appreciating mentorship and being a student early in your career
• (15:40) Working with mentors
• (16:30) What went well for her when getting started
• (18:30) How she found her restaurant leases
• (19:20) Why she recommends staying away from buying a restaurant lease turn key
• (23:10) Her biggest hurdles on the business side as she transitioned from being a Line Cook
• (33:40) How Dominica funded Bombera
• (35:08) Bringing chips and guacamole to local permitting offices
• (38:00) Learning how to structure the business
• (38:58) Convincing the SBA she was worth giving a loan
• (43:00) Opening Bombera
• (45:48) The future for Bombera, and the importance of recognition from Michelin and James Beard

“You want more happy employees that are gonna turn to happy guests, and in order to do that you don’t want your team to feel overwhelmed.”

—

Mistie Boulton is the CEO of Oren’s Hummus, and the President and Founder of EyeSpy Critiquing & Consulting, a mystery shopping and operations improvement business for the service industry. 

Mistie brings 20+ years of restaurant industry experience to this conversation, where we dive deep into why she decided to start a mystery shopping business in her 20’s, how she grew Oren’s Hummus to 6 brick-and-mortar locations, and her thoughts on scaling with diversified revenue streams. 

She shares her thoughts on virtual kitchens, storefront location selection, leveraging a commissary kitchen to help grow, counter service vs. full service business models, and much more.

Mistie is super sharp and accomplished, with decades of knowledge to share. Please enjoy my conversation with Mistie Boulton of Oren’s Hummus and EyeSpy!

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Where to find Oren’s Hummus:

• Website: https://orenshummus.com/
• IG: @orenshummus
• FB: OrensHummus
• Twitter: @orenshummus

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Where to find Mistie:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mistiecohen/

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• CTUIT

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:15) How Mistie became CEO of two companies
• (06:45) Lessons learned from managing multiple locations prior to starting EyeSpy & Oren’s
• (10:41) Why she decided to start a business around Mystery Shopping
• (12:25) EyeSpy’s services explained
• (20:38) When they knew Oren’s was ready to expand
• (22:11) Their biggest obstacles to expansion
• (25:33) How CTUIT has helped Oren’s with wage and hours compliance
• (28:09) Building out the team at Oren’s Hummus
• (31:55) Building out the corporate “resource” team started at 3 locations
• (35:57) Oren’s Hummus location strategy – “be where the tech companies are”
• (37:55) Franchising as a growth strategy
• (39:25) How Oren’s chose their growth channels
• (41:50) Full service vs. counter service
• (45:40) The most common mistakes she sees brands make when trying to grow
• (46:55) How Oren’s tactically implements employee training
• (48:13) On The Fly Segment

“Don’t ever even consider opening a restaurant unless you have worked in and ideally managed one.”
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This week’s guest is Gabriel Baldinucci, co-founder of Baldinucci Pizza Romana, a “fast premium” pizza restaurant based in Austin, Texas.

In this interview we discuss the origins of the concept, as well as:

• Why Gabriel believes the market for “fast premium” concepts is increasing as consumer palates become more sophisticated
• What the team did prior to opening to build buzz and refine their recipes
• How the decision to serve Roman style pizza filled a gap in the market, and helped establish Baldinucci as the leader of a new category
• Why they decided to open in a wealthy suburb instead of a city center
• Lessons learned during the first 6 months after opening

and much more.

Gabriel and team opened Baldinucci just over 6 months ago, and they’ve already established themselves as one of the best pizza joints in Austin. This is an insightful episode for those of you in the early stages of your restaurant journey, and Gabriel does a great job breaking down their key lessons learned so far.

Please enjoy my conversation with Gabriel Baldinucci, of Baldinucci Pizza Romana.

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Where to find Baldinucci:

• Website: baldinucci.pizza
• IG: @baldinucci.pizza
• FB: Baldinucci Pizza Romana

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Where to find Gabriel:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbaldinucci/
• Twitter: @gbvc
• Medium: https://medium.com/@gabrielbaldinucci

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• Gensler - Restaurant Design
• ExpandShare
• Raving Fans

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:37) Gabriel’s background growing up in pizza restaurants & early career in tech
• (04:01) The insights that led to opening a fast casual roman-style pizza restaurant in Austin
• (06:02) The market for “fast premium” is increasing as consumer palates evolve
• (08:55) Starting at a ghost kitchen
• (11:17) Deciding to serve Roman style pizza to establish a new category
• (14:12) Why they decided to open in a wealthy suburb
• (16:10) How Gabriel funded the business
• (20:49) Lessons learned from opening and the buildout process
• (22:50) The tricky balance between opening and completing the full buildout
• (25:27) Early growing pains, including a space that was too small and high labor costs
• (28:12) Operational metrics they shoot for
• (30:17) Why Gabriel feels 3rd party delivery apps are unethical
• (34:16) Baldinucci’s team structure today
• (39:14) On The Fly Segment
• (44:15) The feature he wishes Toast POS had

“The people that are super successful have their operations on lock.”

—

James Deng is the Founder & CEO of Poké House, a poké chain based in Northern California with 9 locations and counting.

James opened Poké House’s first location in 2015, and has since grown the concept to 5 company-owned locations and 4 franchise operated units, with big plans to scale beyond those numbers in the coming years. 

In this episode James shares how Poké House grew into this success, including:

- How Poké House differentiated from competition by making their tightening their operations

- Why buying a warehouse and using it as a distribution center can be helpful to business owners with multiple locations

- All the technology tools Poké House uses to run a tight ship, and

- How James manages the stress and anxiety that comes with running a bootstrapped restaurant business

James is sharp, insightful, and full of operational wisdom, so I think you’ll really enjoy this episode.

Please enjoy my conversation with James Deng of Poké House!

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Where to find Poké House:

• Website: poke.house
• IG: @poke.house
• FB: Poke House
• Twitter: @PokeHouseUSA

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Where to find James:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yundeng/

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• The E-Myth
• Homebase
• Jolt
• Beekeeper
• Olo
• Loyalti
• Choco
• SBA 7a loan
• Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
• Principles, Ray Dalio
• IMP Seafood

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:58) The Poké House origin story
• (09:48) Losing 13 pounds the first month after he opened the first restaurant
• (14:38) Pulling out of operations allowed James to implement SOPs and hire more managers
• (16:18) Team structure as Poké House scaled
• (18:53) How Poké House differentiated from competition by refining their operations and making them as “tight” as McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A
• (21:28) The changes James made to help improve operations
• (25:00) How much you can save by buying and utilizing a distribution center
• (26:48) Getting into franchising
• (28:33) Onboarding Jolt to improve operations
• (31:02) Rewarding employees with equity
• (33:15) How James spends his time today
• (34:53) On The Fly Segment

“Lean into your network, don’t be afraid to grow it, and don’t be afraid to ask people for help and reach out to people who have done it before. You never know what you’ll get back, you just have to ask.”

—

Marc Schechter is the Co-Founder of Square Pie Guys, a Detroit style fast casual pizza chain based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

With three locations between San Francisco and Oakland, Marc has grown Square Pie Guys into a trendsetting brand inspiring square pizza concepts nationwide. 

I sit down with Marc in person to discuss:

- His early love for pizza

- How standup comedy gave him the skills to market & promote events

- Where the idea for focusing on Detroit style pizza came from

- How Marc raised money, and lessons learned from their first two buildouts

- The story behind negotiating their exclusive rev share deal with Caviar

- SPG’s approach to marketing, promotions, and celebrity collabs

and much more, including stories about celebrities Jim Gaffigan and Jeremy Lin.

Please enjoy my conversation with Marc Schechter of Square Pie Guys!

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Where to find Square Pie Guys:

• Website: https://squarepieguys.com/
• IG: @squarepieguys
• FB: @SPGPizzaSF
• Twitter: @SquarePieGuys
• YouTube: @squarepieguys9514

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Where to find Marc:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcschechter/
• IG: @pizzaman420

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• My Pizza, Jim Lahey
• @pizzaman420
• The Culinary Edge
• PizzaHacker
• Delfina
• Cut+Dry
• Reciprofity

In this episode, we cover:

• (00:00) Marc’s early obsession with pizza
• (04:00) Early inspiration for SPG
• (13:38) Marc’s first pizza pop-up
• (15:45) Working at PizzaHacker and Delfina to gain real restaurant experience
• (21:10) Where the idea for specializing in Detroit Style pizza came from
• (26:40) Stumbling into making square pies for the first time 
• (28:00) When Marc met his co-founder Danny
• (30:00) The story behind the name Square Pie Guys
• (37:00) How they raised money
• (40:00) First buildout and lessons learned
• (51:50) How Marc negotiated an exclusive rev share deal with Caviar
• (53:50) Opening store #2
• (01:02:00) Marc on marketing, promotions, and collabs
• (01:07:00) Jeremy Lin story
• (01:14:00) On The Fly Segment
• (01:23:00) Marc’s advice for restaurant software companies

“The least understood thing about opening a public facing business is the feeling of it, the emotional journey you have to go on”

—

Manny Yekutiel is the owner of Manny’s, a civic and political event space with a bookshop, coffee shop, bar, and restaurant, located in San Francisco.

As you’ll quickly find out, Manny is not your traditional business owner, and this is far from a traditional interview. Having worked in the world of fundraising for political campaigns, Manny is charismatic and persuasive, with a knack for convincing people to go along with his ideas… like asking me to take my shirt off during the interview – you’ll have to listen on to find out what happens there.

After burning out from his career in politics, Manny set out to use his skills to create a gathering space for the civic-minded, using food and drink as the great equalizer to bring people together. 

We discuss his journey to make a reality out of his vision, touching on topics like his unconventional approach to fundraising, the business’s four primary revenue streams, the pros and cons of partnering with a culinary nonprofit to run the kitchen early on, loneliness as the number one hurdle he had to overcome, and the least understood aspect of opening a brick-and-mortar business.

Please enjoy this fun, quirky, and informative interview with Manny Yekutiel.

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Where to find Manny’s:

• Website: https://welcometomannys.com/
• IG: @welcometomannys
• FB: @welcometomannys
• Twitter: @welcometomannys
• YouTube: @welcometomannys

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Where to find Manny:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manny-yekutiel-2523b843/
• IG: @emanuelseth
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/emanuel.seth.9
• Twitter: @manny_yekutiel

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• Farming Hope
• Manny’s Op Ed in the SF Chronicle
• Civic Joy Fund

In this episode, we cover:

• Manny’s path from political campaign fundraiser to opening a restaurant & event space
• How getting one investor to commit early helped him raise all the money he needed, and how he would have structured the investment differently
• Manny’s four revenue streams
• Why Manny purposely doesn’t maximize revenue
• How partnering with a culinary nonprofit helped Manny get the space up and running
• Loneliness as the top hurdle Manny had to overcome after opening
• The least understood aspect of opening a brick-and-mortar business
• How Manny’s role in the business has changed
• On The Fly Segment

“Don’t pick the cheapest person, don’t pick the person who says they’re going to do it fast… pick the person that is the most responsible.”

—

In this episode we’re joined by David Murphy & Kayla Abe, co-owners of Shuggie’s Trash Pie & Natural Wine, a climate solutions restaurant highlighting upcycled ingredients, where they take all kinds of things left over from the food system and make them the stars of the menu.

Shuggie’s is the new hotness of the San Francisco food scene and beyond, having been featured in the SF Chronicle, NY Times, Eater National, and Esquire, who named them one of the Best New Restaurants in America in 2022.

Chef David and Kayla have created a fun, colorful, and lighthearted dining experience to tackle the problem of climate change. By using food waste products, upcycled ingredients, and natural wine to create a truly unique dining experience, they’re making it trendy and craveworthy to put food dollars to good use.

In this conversation we dive deep into what it took for David & Kayla to open Shuggie’s. We cover topics such as how they funded the business (and the challenges of using Kickstarter), finding a location without a real estate broker, mistakes made during the build-out process (like getting ripped off to the tune of $38k by a bad contractor), and much more.

Please enjoy my conversation with Chef David Murphy & Kayla Abe of Shuggie's.

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Where to find Shuggie’s:

• Website: https://www.shuggiespizza.com/
• IG: @shuggiespizza
• FB: @shuggiespizza

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Where to find David & Kayla:

• Kayla’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylaabe/ 
• David’s IG: @doublefastdave

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• Shuggies Kickstarter Campaign
• Cream Co. Meats
• Monterey Bay Fisheries

In this episode, we cover:

• How Dave & Kayla went from selling “ugly pickles” to opening a restaurant centered around upcycled food ingredients
• Why pizza was the perfect vehicle to transform a somber topic (food waste) into something light and fun
• Using a unique and flexible brand style as an advantage to differentiate
• Hard lessons learned from searching for a location without a real estate broker
• “The space dictates a lot of what you can do”
• The challenges of raising money through Kickstarter, and how they raised the rest of their seed capital
• Getting $38k stolen from them by a bad contractor
• How they structured their concept to enable a good quality of life for themselves and their staff
• The downsides of brunch service
• Why 7-day/week service actually allows for more staffing flexibility
• On The Fly Segment
• Plans for a future restaurant
• Where the name “Shuggie's” came from

“Whatever you think it’s gonna cost double it, whatever you think you need for working capital triple”

—

This week’s guest is Todd Parent, Co-Founder & CEO of Extreme Pizza, a Bay Area-born chain with over 30 locations from coast to coast.

Todd had a unique journey to restaurant ownership, starting in the dish pit of a friend’s restaurant in New Jersey, honing his management skills in Aspen, then eventually making his way to San Francisco, where he was encouraged to chase his entrepreneurial dreams by the founder of Noah’s Bagels.

After launching the first Extreme Pizza in 1994, Todd admits he made every mistake imaginable. He had the wrong business model, a poor location, was under capitalized, and had to navigate a nasty breakup with his original co-founder. We discuss how he overcame these challenges, what he learned from them, and how he would do things differently if he were starting Extreme Pizza in 2023.

Big props to Todd for being honest and vulnerable as he shared his journey, and not sugar coating anything for anyone looking to get into the restaurant industry.

Please enjoy my conversation with Todd Parent of Extreme Pizza!

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Where to find Extreme Pizza:

• Website: https://www.extremepizza.com/
• IG: @extreme.pizza
• FB: @ExtremePizza
• Twitter: @Extreme_Pizza

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Where to find Todd:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-parent-0875691/

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin 

––

Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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In this episode, we cover:

• Life before Extreme Pizza
• Todd’s first restaurant job washing dishes, to managing 3 restaurants
• Gaining more restaurant chops in Aspen
• How working at Noah’s Bagels nudged him to start his own restaurant
• The genesis of Extreme Pizza as a concept
• The first steps Todd took to start Extreme Pizza
• Raising money through a private placement offering
• Everything that went wrong with his first location and early business plan
• Dealing with co-founder conflict and how he resolved it
• How location #2 got their name on the map
• Rebounding from a rocky start to opening up multiple units
• Why it took 4 locations before deciding how to grow
• The infrastructure needed to manage a multi-state franchise operation
• How Todd would start Extreme Pizza in 2023
• Keeping the business fun with “Customer Abuse Day”
• On The Fly Segment