In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily, cofounders of The Granola Bar, a breakfast-and-lunch, modern diner concept with eight locations across Connecticut and New York. These long-time friends initially started a granola business out of one of their kitchens in 2010, and in 2013 opened their first restaurant essentially just to give them a commercial kitchen to manufacture granola. But customers in their Westport, Conn., hometown had different plans, making that restaurant so popular that Julie and Dana abandoned the granola business and became full-time restaurateurs. They joined the podcast to share the lessons they’ve learned on their entrepreneurial journey and how they’ve fallen forward into a business that has financial partners and a new CEO who are helping to steer its slow-but-steady growth. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• The business you start is not always the business you will grow 
• Meet the hole in the market you’re serving, not what’s trending nationally
• If you don’t lean on social media early on, then it’s just icing on the cake as you grow
• With strategic hires, you can know what you don’t know
• Sometimes real estate can dictate your entrepreneurial drive 
• It’s OK if your end goal is to stay small and keep it all

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Joe Hummel, the CEO of Twin Peaks, a sports-bar franchise with more than 100 locations across the U.S. The company is maniacal about food and beverage quality, and its corporate team is intent on rolling up their sleeves and getting into the stores so they can be experts at every facet of what they do. Joe joined the podcast to talk about why Twin Peaks takes its guests and its restaurants so seriously and how his experience as a franchisee of the brand helped him better appreciate what makes the brand tick.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Franchisees make great brand executives because they know the business inside and out
• Your corporate office doesn’t make money; your stores do
• You should take both sides of the barbell very seriously 
• If sports bars lead with quality, the TVs are just icing on the cake
• Sports provide a whole new layer to your marketing strategy
• There’s big benefit to adapting your brand to any real estate 
• Every dollar you spend on your restaurant should be taken seriously
• The last thing your employees want to hear is “this came down from corporate”

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

On this week’s Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss McDonald's announcement that it would walk back its official DEI policy, and why restaurants still must aim to diversify their talent pipelines. Plus they talk about KFC and its transformation plan; will this finally bring momentum the brand so desperately needs? Finally, managing editor Leigh Anne Zinsmeister joins for this week’s extra serving to discuss how merger and acquisition activity is already building in 2025, and what that means for smaller regional brands in particular.

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Jennifer Schuler and Hillary Frei, the CEO and CMO, respectively, of Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, a treat franchise that has around 150 locations across the country and is celebrating 80 years in business this year. Jennifer and Hillary are both fairly new to Handel’s, but they’ve already brought an exciting energy to the company as they seek to find a balance between its rich heritage and its potential for fast growth. They joined the podcast to talk about how they see themselves as stewards of the Handel’s legacy and how this brand excels by being a member of its local communities.   

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Brand development isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon
• Restaurant executives should respect the arcs of their respective brands
• Generosity is an underappreciated characteristic of successful brands
• Your franchisees should reflect your brand values
• Your guests may treat you as an independent restaurant, and you should lean into it

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Brooks Schaden, cofounder and co-CEO of Tom’s Watch Bar, a sports-bar concept with 13 locations that is capitalizing on the rising demand for more experience entertainment. This brand is out to reinvent the sports-bar category by elevating its food and beverage offering and focusing growth on what Brooks called “gravities of traffic,” notably urban districts with event-oriented foot traffic like arenas, convention centers, and casinos. He joined the podcast to talk about why the old standard for sports bars just doesn’t cut it anymore and how Tom’s Watch Bar is building its own fan club through a fun and distinct experience.  

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to launch a successful concept
• Customers want way more than the local sports team on your TVs
• The sports bar customer isn’t who you think it is
• There is big traffic potential in “gravities of traffic”…
• …but those gravities require a totally different playbook on service, marketing, and ops

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Tara Gilad, cofounder and president of Vitality Bowls, a superfood franchise with more than 70 locations across 18 states. Vitality Bowls got its start in 2011 when Tara and her husband Roy launched the brand as a response to the fact that their young daughter had food allergies and there were no restaurants that could accommodate them. She joined the podcast to talk about the opportunities and challenges in developing a concept around ingredients that are more difficult to source and how they find the right franchisees to activate such a passion-driven business.    

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Your franchisees’ passions should align with your own
• In the healthy food segment, you need a crystal ball 
• Employees are as much order educators as they are order takers
• Virtual brands offer brick-and-mortars some flexibility and creativity
• Brand founders must prioritize their own wellbeing ahead of their business

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Jerry Morgan, CEO of Texas Roadhouse, which was part of NRN’s recent Brand Icon feature. The brand closed 2023 with nearly $5 billion in system-wide sales across 638 U.S. stores, good for a $7.6 million average unit volume and helping it leapfrog Applebee’s to become the No. 2 full-service chain in America. So how is this company pulling off such impressive performance in a season when so many other brands are struggling? Sam sat down with Jerry in his Louisville office to share more about Texas Roadhouse’s core values, its commitment to consistency and quality, and why having a little bit of fun along the way have fueled this casual brand’s rocket-ship trajectory. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Owner-operators are the keys to unlocking success in your stores and communities
• Celebrating strong performances gets more out of your employees
• Founders are the beating hearts and north stars of restaurant companies
• Great food and great service are the bedrock to great brands
• Innovation doesn’t have to be all about bells and whistles
• You should try to have some fun, because customers can pick up on it

Want to check out the rest of the Brand Icon package? Click here.

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Peter Newlin, cofounder and partner at Gastamo Group, a multi-concept group out of Denver that owns brands like Park Burger and Homegrown Tap & Dough, among others. Gastamo Group is specifically developing casual-dining restaurant brands throughout Colorado and sees a lot of opportunity in operating its brands in the suburbs next door to the biggest national chains. Peter has a lot to say about developing great concepts and restaurant experiences and joined the podcast to share why Gastamo Group is so committed to growing unique full-service brands within a relatively small geographic area.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You shouldn’t assume to know what your community wants and needs in a restaurant
• Restaurants are living, breathing organisms; evolve them accordingly
• If you build a great brand, the opportunities for growth will follow
• Suburban casual dining is ripe for growth, especially among more localized concepts
• Your restaurant experience should tell a story
• A great restaurant experience is all in the details
• To level up loyalty, restaurants should take a page out of hotels’ playbook
• A “regional fortress” growth strategy could be a boon to smaller concepts

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mike Axiotis, CEO of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands, a Pennsylvania-based franchise group operating Red Robin and Wingstop. Mike has an incredible story of how he worked his way up from being a dishwasher in his uncle’s diner to being the CEO of a 30-unit franchise portfolio, and today he’s leaning into that lifelong expertise both to grow his restaurant company and to serve as a voice on the board of the National Restaurant Association. Mike joined the podcast to talk about how Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands is thoughtfully expanding its portfolio, why he’s optimistic for 2025, and which issues the National Restaurant Association is particularly focused on for the coming year.  

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• In franchising, you’re betting on both the horse and the jockey
• Your franchise decisions should account for where the puck is going 
• Consolidation should help the restaurant industry in the coming year
• Restaurant associations offer a great resource for growing operations 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Pat Conlin, president of Wayback Burgers, a better-burger franchise with roughly 150 locations here in the U.S. Like everyone else in this industry, Wayback Burgers is leaning into its marketing efforts to generate traffic, and it’s found some fun and creative solutions that have engaged its local communities and driven some of its best sales days. Pat joined the podcast to talk about why marketing around things like food holidays has become such a boon for Wayback Burgers and how the company taps into its franchise community to drum up some of its best marketing ideas. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• If quality can’t be a differentiator, then service must be
• Bogus holidays are low-hanging fruit for your marketing efforts
• Engaging kids in your marketing — and even your R&D — is a win-win
• Guest acquisition is a churn you have to constantly work on 
• The smallest marketing touches can make a big difference

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