Take-Away with Sam Oches

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Alex Melillo and Joe Cervasio, two of the founders behind Mama Hospitality, the restaurant group behind the West Palm Beach cocktail lounge Mary Lou’s as well as a number of other projects in development around the country. Alex and Joe were childhood friends in New York who grew up with deep connections to the hospitality and events industries. Their paths eventually reconnected and now — together with Joe’s wife Dottie and her brother Topher Grubb — they’re taking the nightlife scene to another level by throwing back to the era of Mary Lou’s namesake: Alex’s grandmother. Alex and Joe joined the podcast to talk about the keys to a great restaurant and bar experience and why they say they’re building culture at Mama Hospitality, not concepts.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Consider designing your experience before anything else
• Be obsessive about the littlest details
• Great experiences are those that evoke emotion
• You’ll get the best results when your team buys into your system
• Great operators build great teams by leading by example

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Tim Hackbardt, the chief marketing officer at Playa Bowls, a New Jersey based acai bowl concept that has grown to around 400 locations in 12 years. Tim is a veteran foodservice marketing executive who has worked or collaborated with literally dozens of restaurant concepts, most notably Arby’s, Del Taco, BJ’s, and Johnny Rockets. He’s spent a lot of time leveraging menu innovation for his marketing strategies, particularly as it relates to limited time offers. In fact, Tim is such an expert on the art of the LTO that he’s serving as an executive producer on the upcoming ABC show “Limited Time Offer,” in which participating restaurants and retailers develop and present LTOs to a panel of judges, with the winners serving their dishes at their locations the day after the episode airs. Tim joined the podcast to talk about how restaurant leaders can leverage limited-time offers to boost sales and drive profitability — and how he’s doing that at Playa Bowls.

Want to participate in the ABC show “Limited Time Offer”? Connect with Tim here.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Menu sets the tone for your marketing
• LTOs are an increasingly important piece to the traffic puzzle
• Popularity, profitability, and efficiency are key marks of a successful LTO
• Poor execution will sink even the trendiest LTOs

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Bernard Acoca, the CEO of Zaxbys, the Georgia based chicken-finger chain that has grown to more than 1,000 U.S. locations bringing in nearly $3 billion in sales. Bernard was in New York City last week to help open Zaxbys newest location there, ushering in the Big Apple as its latest growth market. Zaxbys is very much in growth mode, and while it had a presence in 16 states when Bernard joined the company in 2022, by next year it will be in 25 states and continuing a push to the north and west. Zaxbys calls this its “Grow to Win” strategy, chasing a strong leadership position in the ever-crowded chicken category through smart unit growth. Bernard joined the podcast to talk about that strategy and how Zaxbys plans to drive AUVs higher even as it aggressively adds new stores.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Restaurants in new markets must be tailored to the local customer
• Figure out your differentiating characteristic and then shout it to the rooftops
• Develop new items with the intention of selling out
• You cannot have successful unit growth without first acing the fundamentals

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Jonathan Knudsen, founder and CEO of Concrete Hospitality Group, a New York City based hospitality management group that develops and operates restaurants for hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt, and more. Jonathan got his start at Starwood Hotels and Resorts after graduating from Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island, and he’s worked in the hotel space ever since. As you’ll hear from this conversation, there’s been an incredible evolution in hotel F&B over the past 20 years, and today many hotel brands are looking to their foodservice as opportunities to differentiate from competitors. Jonathan joined the podcast to talk about that opportunity and about how Concrete is building unique experiences to capture hotel guests.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• More people today choose hotels for how they make them feel — and that’s usually achieved through F&B
• A great guest experience is a foundation upon which to innovate
• Hotels and restaurants offer each other mutual credibility
• To create a great experience, know your limitations
• Think beyond your F&B to capture local guests
• Restaurants and hotels can be the meeting spaces people need in the age of AI

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Scott Ford, the president and CEO of Hawaiian Bros Island Grill, a Kansas City based fast casual franchise serving the signature plate lunch of the Hawaiian islands at more than 80 locations. Scott was a veteran of chains like Applebee’s and Boston Market before joining Hawaiian Bros when it had just three locations, coming alongside the brother founders Tyler and Cameron McNie to maximize the potential of the concept serving chicken and rice in island themed storefronts all throughout the Midwest and South. These days, Scott’s biggest focus is maximizing potential within the four walls, with the goal of boosting average unit volumes from $2.5 million today to $3.5 million. Scott joined the podcast to talk about getting more sales out of each restaurant and about the operational improvements Hawaiian Bros has made to meet increasing demand.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Customers today want something outside the routine
• Positive attitudes lead to positive outcomes
• You must get scrappy in your marketing to win guests
• Operational excellence can unlock better AUVs
• Invite everyone to your party — then have capacity that outpace demand
• There is no honeymoon period for your new restaurant

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Rick Rosenfield, cofounder of California Pizza Kitchen, the casual pizza chain that’s been redefining the pizza experience since 1985. You may know CPK as the premium frozen pizza option in your grocery aisle, but the company helped to elevate what was possible in the pizza category back in its heyday of the 80s and 90s; that includes inventing the barbecue chicken pizza. At its height, CPK was a public company with more than 250 locations globally. Today, CPK still has more than 100 locations in the U.S. and is actively rebuilding under new owners that acquired the business late last year. Rick and his cofounder Larry Flax are no longer affiliated with California Pizza Kitchen, but Rick just wrote the new book, “The California Pizza Kitchen Story: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza,” which recounts the wild ups and downs that the chain took over its first couple of decades. He joined the podcast to share a snapshot of that journey and to offer his tips for fellow restaurant entrepreneurs looking to take their big ideas to the masses.

Buy a copy of “The California Pizza Kitchen Story” here.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Trust in your cofounder or business partner is paramount to your business’s longevity
• Growth is never a straight line
• You should try not to sip too much of the Kool-Aid from your new owner
• Nobody will care as much as you do — but that doesn’t mean they don’t care

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Julie Fussner, CEO of Culver’s, the beloved Wisconsin-based burger chain that has grown to more than 1,000 locations since Craig Culver opened the first location with his wife and parents in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1984. Despite a challenging economy that’s muting growth across the restaurant industry, Culver’s grew its sales by 14.2% in 2025 and this year will enter five new states — giving it a presence in 31 states. And Julie says that growth is all according to plan. She was named CEO in April 2025 after spending eight years on the marketing team, including two as chief marketing officer, and she’s hit the ground running building upon Culver’s strong culture and people development. Sam traveled to Sauk City to sit down with Julie in that first Culver’s location as part of the latest episode of the Signature Series, powered by The Coca-Cola Company, and they covered everything from Julie’s lessons as a child gymnast to her brutally honest leadership style to how much she feels Culver’s can embrace the tech-forward future.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Just like in sports, you should be prepared, get up when you fall, and embrace coaching
• Don’t be afraid of lateral moves in your career
• Your path to sustainable growth is already in your restaurants
• Culture begins with knowing your team at a deep level
• Innovation cannot come at the expense of what already makes you great

Subscribe to NRN’s YouTube channel for exclusive video with Julie Fussner.

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Anthony and Haley Sitek, the cofounders and co-owners of Crown Restaurant Group, a Cincinnati based group with seven restaurants that earlier this year expanded into a new city: Columbus, Sam's neck of the woods. Anthony and Haley met in culinary school and worked in Chicago and Miami before launching Crown Restaurant Group in Haley’s hometown of Cincinnati in 2018. They’ve since opened roughly one restaurant per year, helping to elevate the food scene in Cincinnati in the process. Now they’re ready to tackle new frontiers. Sam sat down with Anthony and Haley in their first Columbus restaurant, Losanti Steakhouse, to talk about the process of scaling an independent business into new markets.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Growth might be your most sensible evolution
• Expansion is as much about your employees as it is revenue
• Community is the core of hospitality
• The hospitality experience should be more memorable than the food
• You should treat expansion markets just like you would your home
• Adaptability is key to thriving as a restaurateur

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with David Karam, CEO of Sbarro, the New York style pizzeria that is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. While many think of Sbarro as that mall-based pizza chain from the 80s and 90s, the company has quietly roared back to life over the past decade — culminating in four straight years with 100-plus openings, with the fifth virtually assured this year. A lot of that is thanks to David, who has spent almost his entire life in restaurants. His father was one of the first Wendy’s franchisees, and David followed him into the business, eventually serving as president of Wendy’s from 2008 to 2011. He later took the CEO post at Sbarro and eventually acquired the chain, moving it from New York to Columbus and running it with his sons. Sam sat down with David at Sbarro’s headquarters to talk about how he’s reinvigorated a brand that many had left for dead, what he thinks is wrong with the pizza category today, and how Sbarro has identified opportunity in nontraditional locations.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You should lean into your customer’s perception of your brand
• The opportunity to capitalize on the impulse buy is growing
• Any rebranding you do must keep one foot solidly in the past
• Global markets are ripe for franchise growth
• Delivery crippled the pizza category — and drones could make it worse
• Consistently great operational execution separates winners from losers
• Milestones like anniversaries are great opportunities to celebrate with your whole system

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Sean Thomas, cofounder of Minnie Bird, a three-unit fast-casual chicken concept that launched in Chicago two years ago and serves a range of premium chicken items alongside a lineup of dirty sodas, plus free soft serve with every order. Sean has been preparing for this moment his whole life and learned the trade from one of the most renowned restaurateurs of all time: his grandfather, Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas. Indeed, Sean got into the family business at a young age and has spent his career learning the intricacies of restaurant leadership. That’s come in handy not only at Minnie Bird, but also now that he’s also a Wendy’s franchisee. Sean joined the podcast to share some of the most vital tips he picked up from his grandfather and talk about what it means to walk in his shoes as a restaurant entrepreneur.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Restaurant leadership isn’t given; it’s earned
• If you want to excel in your own restaurant, you should try to learn from the best
• Follow the data when designing your concept
• Beverages are now a marquee item
• Nostalgia is extending to branding and design

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