Are Focused Restaurant Menus Over? Why This Poke Chain Shook Things Up to Win New Guests

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Seth Cohen, cofounder of Sweetfin, a Los Angeles based fast casual that launched a decade ago as one of the first players in the poke category. Sweetfin has grown to 15 locations in Southern California, but in order to unlock more growth, the leadership team decided that the core menu needed a facelift. Chef Daniel Patterson was recruited to develop new menu items for Sweetfin, and the result was a line of warm bowls featuring cooked proteins, as well as new salads and vegetable sides. The new menu, which leans into Sweetfin’s identity as a California-Asian inspired concept, debuted at one location earlier this year, and Seth joined the podcast to talk about why the brand felt it needed to expand beyond poke, and which metrics he’s watching to see if it’s a success.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

1. Your menu needs to evolve every once in a while — sometimes in a big way
2. The era of extremely focused menus may be over
3. Your menu must have a point of view
4. All brand evolution must be filtered through your core values
5. To be successful, you have to make bold decisions

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