Happy Mardi Gras! In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with James Vitrano, the CEO of Sucré, a French patisserie concept out of New Orleans that has eight locations across the Southeast. James and his pastry chef wife Abney Harper bought Sucré in 2023, looking to scale the luxury patisserie concept that specializes in macrons, gelato, and a range of handmade French desserts. James joined the podcast to talk about the challenges of scaling an emerging brand and particularly building brand awareness and balancing costs while simultaneously providing an incredible experience to each and every guest.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• A little bit of passion goes a long way in scaling a business
• When building your restaurant experience, consider a sense of place 
• With a sense of place, your growth should be more calculated
• When building an emerging chain, sometimes you’ve got to be MacGyver 
• You should only launch a franchise when the concept is 100% ready
• Moments are the new experiences
• Brand awareness is one of the biggest challenges for an emerging brand

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