Restaurant Masterminds Podcast

On this episode of the former Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, podcast host Valerie Killifer sits down with Aaron Hoffman, the co-founder of popular third-party delivery service DeliverThat.

Aaron Hoffman and John Zinno founded DeliverThat in their Ohio University dorm room in 2013, hand-delivering countless orders to their classmates for two years. The company has since evolved into a catering delivery solution for over 500 restaurants and brands in 45 major metropolitan areas.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, podcast host Valerie Killifer chats with Elyse Boule, the director of catering for casual “real food” restaurant Next Door American Eatery.

Valerie Killifer chats with James Walker, the senior vice president of the beloved Nathan’s Famous. Walker joined the restaurant industry as a chef back in the 1990s, and moved to the management and operations side by the end of the decade. With previous experience overseeing such brands as Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, and Subway, he joined the Nathan’s Famous team earlier this year and aims to grow the chain’s catering and delivery sales channels.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, podcast host Valerie Killifer sits down with Daring Solutions founder and CEO Jeff Chasney.

Daring Solutions uses artificial intelligence to optimize restaurant kitchens and directly help staff improve sales, profits, and customer satisfaction. In this episode, Chasney shares how industry operators can leverage data to grow long-term sales in a marketplace that has been trending toward off-premise—according to Chasney, a reported 22 percent of delivery drivers tamper with orders.

On this episode of the Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, podcast hosts Valerie Killifer and Erle Dardick chat with Mark Avalos and Rafael Robinson, the co-owners of SLAB BBQ.

Avalos began SLAB in a barbecue trailer as a catering business in 2006. He subsequently opened a food trailer at the University of Texas in Austin, and established the company’s first brick and mortar restaurant location in 2014 with Rafael Robinson. A second SLAB BBQ location was opened in 2016.

On this episode of The Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, podcast hosts Valerie Killifer and Erle Dardick chat with Tad Low to discuss the importance of menu differentiation within off-premise.

Tad Low is the Director of Off-Premise for Moe's Southwest Grill, an Atlanta based fast-casual restaurant chain with over 725 domestic and international locations. Low is leading a team that is working to bring delivery to the forefront of the guest experience.

On this episode of The Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, podcast host Valerie Killifer chats with Anthony Russo and Betsy Craig to discuss food safety concerns in the restaurant industry.

Anthony Russo is the Director of International Sales and the Domestic Regulatory Affairs Officer for Lava Gel Technologies. Lava Gel is a non-toxic solution made from natural minerals that, when activated by water, is able to create a long-lasting heat in food products. Betsy Craig is a national professional speaker and the founder and CEO of MenuTrinfo. MenuTrinfo provides certified, FDA-compliant menu labeling services.

On this episode of Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, our hosts Valerie Killifer and Erle Dardick sit down with Tracy Avolio, Vice President of The Catering Institute to discuss how to train sales employees for the modern catering landscape.

Ever wondered how a great on-demand strategy can differentiate your concept from the rest? On this episode of Takeout, Delivery, and Catering Show, our host Valerie Killifer sits down with Mark Toth, Founder and CEO of Urban Wok, founded in 2018 in Minneapolis, to figure out just that.

Having a proven strategy for your catering channel can take your restaurant from just making the margins to expanding your concept. The variables for creating a profitable catering channel are rapidly evolving, so best to learn from the best.