In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Maggie Farrell and Victor Chow, the VP of marketing and VP of operations for KPOT, the fast-growing Korean barbecue and hot pot chain with a unique, do-it-yourself experience at its core. According to this year’s Technomic Top 500, KPOT grew its location count by 72% in 2024, and its sales by 34%. Already in 2025 it’s opened more than 20 locations, with 115 open today — and it didn’t even exist until 2017. Maggie and Victor joined the podcast to talk about what makes KPOT so special, why it’s resonating with American consumers today, and what has been key to keeping up with its remarkable growth pace. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Experiential dining is riding high — but ‘experience’ is in eye of beholder
• No matter the experience you want to create, your team is responsible for facilitating it
• Tailoring a unique experience to each individual customer could be wave of the future
• American consumers are hungry for a diversity of menu options 
• Challenges don’t seem challenging when you’re part of a team tackling them together

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Jim Metevier, CEO of Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a California-based brand with more than 300 locations in 10 states. Pizza as a category had a pretty rough year in 2024, with the major players mostly seeing flat or negative traffic over the prior year. Mountain Mike’s, meanwhile, enjoyed year-over-year sales growth of 5% and unit growth of 7%. So how did this pizza concept with big-box stores and a hybrid service model manage to thrive last year while so much of the category sputtered? Jim joined the podcast to share the secret to that success and what exactly the American customer is looking for with their pizza experience.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Pizza is an experience and should be treated as such
• We have a loneliness epidemic, and restaurants play a role in treating it
• The best franchisees are those who are entrepreneurial 
• In these volatile times, your franchisees need to understand the long-term vision
• How you activate the brand in your community is just as important as how you activate it within the four walls

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

In part 2 of Sam's interview with Kelli Valade, CEO of Denny’s and Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, he talks with her about the business of Denny’s, its status as “America’s diner,” the potential she saw in the brand when she took the CEO reins in 2022, and her vision for the company going forward. They also talk about Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, the emerging fast-casual brand that Denny’s acquired right about the same time that Kelli joined the company, and the role it plays in franchisees’ success.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Your dine-in and digital guests could be completely different people
• Secondary concepts in your portfolio — even competitive ones — can make you a franchisor of choice
• Sustainable growth sometimes requires a course correction or reset
• You should teat your employees as if they are future world leaders — because some of them probably are
• Restaurants have a responsibility to provide mental health resources to teams

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kelli Valade, CEO of Denny’s and Keke’s Breakfast Cafe. This is the second edition in NRN’s new Signature Series, which are conversations with some of the biggest CEOs in the restaurant industry, powered by The Coca-Cola Company. This interview is rolling out in two parts, and in this episode Kelli talks about her career, her leadership style, and the lessons she imparts to young and upcoming leaders in the restaurant industry — particularly women in foodservice. Kelli spent 22 years at Brinker before going on to CEO roles at Black Box Intelligence and Red Lobster, and she joined Denny’s as CEO in the summer of 2022. Along the way she developed a knack for building culture and connecting with teams, and she learned about the importance of raising your hand for tasks and responsibilities that may not technically be part of your job description.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

·      If you see potential in someone, take it upon yourself to help unlock that potential

·      You can go far in restaurants if you raise your hand for new opportunities

·      Every leader needs a personal board of directors

·      Culture is everything in building a world-class workforce 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Dave Paul, cofounder of Pluckers Wing Bar, a beloved sports bar concept in Texas with 32 locations in the Lone Star State. Pluckers is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has seen plenty of change in the chicken category as competitors like Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, and Wingstop have come to dominate the space. But Dave and his business partners are happy with their slow pace of growth as they double down on a high-quality, experience-driven offering, and today are seeing massive success with a paid loyalty program and a new value deal during the lunch daypart. Dave joined the podcast to talk about how Pluckers is generating value with its premium experience and how they’ve managed to secure 300,000 loyalty members even with a monthly fee.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Working in your restaurants is the perfect opportunity for market research
• Chicken is not the key differentiator in the chicken category
• Customers simultaneously want simplicity and adventure
• One of the best R&D strategies is listening to your guests 
• Your value offerings should accommodate both new and loyal guests
• In-restaurant experiences count toward the value equation

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Darren Spicer, cofounder and CEO of Clutch Coffee, a drive-thru coffee shop that has grown to 15 locations across the Carolinas since debuting in 2018. Darren grew up in Oregon and worked as a broista at Dutch Bros before going into medical device sales, and while he travelled the country for that job, he realized there were parts of the country that had no access to the burgeoning drive-thru coffee scene — meaning there was plenty of white space to start his own concept. He ultimately chose the Charlotte, North Carolina, area to launch Clutch Coffee in 2018, and has grown across the Carolinas with an intense focus on quality, culture, and community. Darren joined the podcast to talk about rising above the competition in drive-thru coffee and why your relationship with your customer is everything in getting your business off the ground.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• The best market for your business idea may not be anywhere close to you
• Even when you’re trying to save on costs, quality must not be sacrificed 
• It’s critical that beverage players find a calling card in the innovation wars
• Your loyalty program must be as easy as possible to access
• As an operator, you’re the host of your own party 
• You should develop a strong bench of leaders before pursuing growth
• By building relationships with influencers, you develop a roster of ambassadors

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Heather Neary, CEO of Taco John’s, in-person at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Phoenix. Heather took the reins at Taco John’s a little over a year ago, shortly after the brand experienced the bright spotlight of the Taco Tuesday trademark battle with Taco Bell. Her strategy at the chain has been to tap into Taco John’s roots as a 56-year-old Mexican QSR that has a presence in a lot of small communities across America, and to remind fans who may be nostalgic for the chain why they should fall in love with it all over again. She joined the podcast to talk about how Taco John’s plans to capture the attention of young consumers in particular and why it’s pursuing disciplined, responsible growth across the country.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You can go a long distance by taking little steps every day
• Nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool 
• Sometimes the things you should be talking about are the most obvious 
• In volatile, uncertain times, it’s helpful to tackle things as a team
• Disciplined, responsible growth is usually more productive than shiny opportunities 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Shannon Allen and Zach Cohen, the founder and CFO of the Miami-based fast-casual concept Grown. Shannon opened this concept with her husband, NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen, in 2016, driven by the fact that their son Walker was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was a toddler and Shannon struggled to find healthy foods served fast that she could feed him. Grown aims to disrupt the restaurant industry by serving fresh, nutrient-dense foods using organic ingredients in a counter-service setting that includes a drive-thru window. Shannon’s big dreams for Grown hit a wall with Covid, but now she’s brought Zach on board and they’ve developed a franchise model leveraging shipping containers that they think can help them quickly scale while keeping costs low. The two joined the podcast to talk about the evolution of healthy eating and why Grown can succeed as a health-forward concept where so many others have failed. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Healthy food is more than just a trend for millions of customers
• There is a shift in how Americans are perceiving processed foods 
• Your growth plan today may not be the growth plan your brand needs
• It might be easier to find 100 people who believe in you than to raise $100 million
• If you want to go far, go with someone beside you 
• A turn-key franchise solution offers opportunity for people who previously faced barriers to business ownership
• Your “why” can steer your business through the opportunities that come your way

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Dan DiZio, cofounder and CEO of Philly Pretzel Factory, a Philadelphia-based snack concept with more than 170 locations primarily in the East Coast. Philly Pretzel Factory has achieved broad appeal with its paperclip shaped pretzels and wide variety of dips, and it’s especially found success with its Party Trays, which have been hugely impactful in getting the word out about the brand at parties, sporting activities, meetings, and more. Dan joined the podcast to talk about how Philly Pretzel Factory has essentially become a wholesale provider with its bulk pretzel orders and why that strategy has been such successful grassroots marketing for the brand.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You should never doubt your entrepreneurial instincts
• There is incredible power in bulk orders
• There’s no better marketing than free food
• You shouldn’t miss the marketing opportunity that is national food holidays
• Franchisees today want operational simplicity 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Nathan Louer, chief brand officer at Jamba, the legacy smoothie bowl concept that is one of seven brands in the GoTo Foods portfolio. Nathan declares that Jamba is on the comeback trail, and a big part of that comeback is the just-announced new store prototype called Hello Sunshine, which updates the Jamba aesthetic but also the experience leveraging self-order kiosks, digital marketing screens, and streamlined store layouts. It also provides strategic cost efficiencies and financial incentives for franchisees. Nathan joined the podcast to talk about the art of designing a new store prototype and why finding efficiencies isn’t always about drastic change.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• If you’re looking for a refresh, start with your roots
• Even if you go back to your roots, your brand refresh requires newness and innovation
• How you make guests feel is as important as the product they consume
• Great hospitality transcends convenience of an experience 
• You can’t go halfway on brand evolution
• Efficiency doesn’t always require blowing the model up for cost savings

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