Today we’re talking about breaking the mold, the risks and the advantages of going against the norms in your market.

Our guest today is Mason Hereford, Chef/Owner of Turkey & The Wolf & Molly’s Rise & Shine. Mason opened Turkey, which has been dubbed a quirky sandwich shop in New Orleans LA. Turkey was named the best new restaurant in the country by Bon App mag and in 2017. Mason injects his personality and passion into everything he does and its paid off in spades.

Join Heritage Radio Network on Monday, November 11th, for a raucous feast to toast a decade of food radio. Our tenth anniversary bacchanal is a rare gathering of your favorite chefs, mixologists, storytellers, thought leaders, and culinary masterminds. We’ll salute the inductees of the newly minted HRN Hall of Fame, who embody our mission to further equity, sustainability, and deliciousness. Explore the beautiful Palm House and Yellow Magnolia Café, taste and imbibe to your heart’s content, and bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiences and tasty gifts for any budget at our silent auction. Tickets available now at heritageradionetwork.org/gala.

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One of the topics that keeps coming to us is wellness, life-work balance and the betterment of restaurant culture. As the industry continues to evolve and improve, some restaurateurs are making strides to introduce practices that create balance and enhance mental and physical health into their establishments.

Our guest today knows a lot about the stresses of restaurants as well as new beginnings. We are very excited to have Chef Sean Brock here today. For the past 12 years Sean was the chef of McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina. Sean was also the Founding Chef of the Husk restaurant concepts throughout the American South. Chef Brock will soon open his flagship restaurant compound in East Nashville, TN, his first solo venture. Sean is creating a space that will be dedicated to exploring the possibilities of Appalachian food for many years to come while also addressing his own dedication to health and wellness for himself and his team.

Join Heritage Radio Network on Monday, November 11th, for a raucous feast to toast a decade of food radio. Our tenth anniversary bacchanal is a rare gathering of your favorite chefs, mixologists, storytellers, thought leaders, and culinary masterminds. We’ll salute the inductees of the newly minted HRN Hall of Fame, who embody our mission to further equity, sustainability, and deliciousness. Explore the beautiful Palm House and Yellow Magnolia Café, taste and imbibe to your heart’s content, and bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiences and tasty gifts for any budget at our silent auction. Tickets available now at heritageradionetwork.org/gala.

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We started the season talking about finding financing and taking the jump into ownership. So now you have finances in place, time to start thinking about nailing down your brand and design. Today we are joined by James Beard award winning designer Amy Morris of The Morris Project. And Camille Becerra a chef, food stylist and recipe developer in New York City. With close to 20 years of restaurant experience, Becerra’s menus showcase her commitment to healthful, seasonal and local ingredients and her affection for approachable yet refined New American cuisine. And her food is simply beautiful.

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This week’s episode of Opening Soon is all about mentorship, fostering it as a business owner and finding it as a cook. We are joined today by Chef Ed Lee and Lindsey Ofcacek, co-Founders of the LEE Initiative, which stands for Lets Empower Employment, the initiative which works to bring more diversity and equality to the restaurant industry through their 6 month mentorship program.

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Most of the guests on the show work for various chefs and restaurateurs before striking out on their own. But our guest today doesn't do things like most people. Angie Mar took the helm of the storied Beatrice Inn and then negotiated to purchase it from the owners a few years later. Angie is a lover of all things meat. She was a Food & Wine BNW in 2017, the year after she purchased the Beatrice Inn, which is still one of the hardest reservations to get in NYC.

Photo Courtesy of Eric Vitale

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Our first episode of the season focused on a more traditional route of funding through investor relations with Camilla Marcus. Today we’re going in a different direction of raising funds by exploring the path to opening Mae and Yonder here in PDX with Chef/Owner Maya Lovelace. Maya successfully crowdfunded her restaurant and we sat down to chat in special live episode of Opening Soon.

Maya was an Eater Young Gun and Eater Portland Chef of the Year in 2016, a Zagat National 30 under 30 in 2017, a JBFA Rising Star semifinalist in 2017 and 2018, and a StarChefs Rising Star in 2018. Her restaurants draw on her family heritage in Appalachia with Yonder hitting on southern classics, and Mae a refined approach through a tasting menu personally delivered by the chef herself.

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Let's talk about money honey. One of the most requested topics following last season was to talk more about financing options for new restaurateurs. Restaurants have notoriously slim margins and chefs aren’t known to have huge salaries. So how do you fund your project and what are potential investors looking for in your business plan?

Our guest today is Camilla Marcus, Founder and Owner/Operator of West-Bourne, an accidentally vegetarian and decidedly mindful eatery in SoHo with a triple bottom line mission. Before opening West~Bourne, Camilla was the Director of Business Development at USHG, and worked in real-estate investing at Colony Capital and CM Group. Camilla is also an active Angel Investor and a co-founder of TechTable Summit.

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Restaurants live and die by the margins. This week’s episode is all about knowing your P&L and and what your margins should be to achieve profitability. Information we could have used during our foray into opening a restaurant. Nate Adler, Owner of Gertie, is here to help us know the numbers and where to dial in to maximize the business.

It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help us keep broadcasting the most thought provoking, entertaining, and educational conversations happening in the world of food and beverage. Become a member today! To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have brand new member gifts available. So snag your favorite new pizza - themed tee shirt or enamel pin today and show the world how much you love HRN, just go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate

This episode is brought to you by BentoBox, a platform that connects restaurants with people. Learn more at getbento.com/openingsoon. For a limited time, BentoBox will waive the website setup fee for all Opening Soon listeners. Offer expires August 20.

Opening Soon is powered by Simplecast.

This week’s episode of Opening Soon is all about how to maximize your digital presence, basically how you can fuel the buzz of your shop in the opening days through social presence including optimizing your interiors for share worthy moments, building your website and creating an easy and efficient reservations platform. What are some best tactics to create buzz to drive revenue and visitors to your restaurant outside of PR.

We are joined by Kystle Mobayeni, Co-Founder and CEO of BentoBox and Michael Chernow Co-Founder of The Meatball Shop and Founder of Seamore’s.

It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help us keep broadcasting the most thought provoking, entertaining, and educational conversations happening in the world of food and beverage. Become a member today! To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have brand new member gifts available. So snag your favorite new pizza - themed tee shirt or enamel pin today and show the world how much you love HRN, just go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate

This episode is brought to you by BentoBox, a platform that connects restaurants with people. Learn more at getbento.com/openingsoon. For a limited time, BentoBox will waive the website setup fee for all Opening Soon listeners. Offer expires August 20.

Opening Soon is powered by Simplecast.

This episode of Opening Soon is all about communicating your brand to gain traction in the media to drive awareness and attract customers. In the changing media and food landscape, how do you get noticed and connect with diners?

We sat down to pick the brains of Sue Chan, Founder of Care of Chan a food culture agency that specializes in brand management, talent representation, event production and communications for the hospitality industry. And Jordana Rothman, Restaurant Editor at Large for Food and Wine Magazine who spends half the year researching the magazine's Best New Chefs platform.

It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help us keep broadcasting the most thought provoking, entertaining, and educational conversations happening in the world of food and beverage. Become a member today! To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have brand new member gifts available. So snag your favorite new pizza - themed tee shirt or enamel pin today and show the world how much you love HRN, just go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate

This episode is brought to you by BentoBox, a platform that connects restaurants with people. Learn more at getbento.com/openingsoon. For a limited time, BentoBox will waive the website setup fee for all Opening Soon listeners. Offer expires August 20.

Opening Soon is powered by Simplecast.