In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Adam Oldenburg, the CEO of Toppers Pizza, a Wisconsin-based franchise with 72 locations and aspirations to scale far beyond that. Adam started with Toppers 17 years ago as a delivery driver and was announced as founder Scott Gittrich’s successor as CEO just a few months ago. He joined the podcast to talk about Toppers’ decision to build its own point-of-sale system and how it’s benefitting Toppers in its efforts to scale.  

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Working your way up through one brand gives you a unique perspective on your people 
• You don’t stumble into positions of leadership
• A founder is a great sounding board for your ideas 
• Building your own point of sale system is an incredible competitive advantage…
• …but building your own platform is also a huge commitment that takes a while to pay off
• You can’t stop the technological revolution
• The relationship between restaurants and third-party delivery is still cloudy 

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 Golden Ray and Jenny Engel, the sisters and chefs behind the brand-new plant-based fast casual Hey, Sunshine Kitchen. Heather and Jenny have run the Los Angeles vegan cooking school Spork Foods since 2007, but Hey, Sunshine Kitchen is their first restaurant, and it just opened last week. Heather and Jenny joined the podcast to talk about what it’s like to be first-time restaurateurs in 2023 and how they’re transitioning their business running a cooking school and writing cookbooks into a brand that they hope to scale to multiple locations.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• A solid stable of recipes lays the foundation for your brand
• Your menu isn’t the only path to achieving your broader brand mission
• Patience and persistence will pay off in the end
• Every challenge is an opportunity for growth
• You don’t have to measure success by number of locations or size of your profit margin
• As a restaurant leader, your energy sets the tone for the rest of your team

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Sam Fonseca, the chief operating officer of Roll ‘Em Up Taquitos, a Southern California franchise that’s expanded to 14 locations since 2019, carving a niche in the industry by basing its menu around the taquito. Sam joined the podcast to talk about how the corporate team is building a buzz and loyal customer base from scratch, and how he’s helping to design the infrastructure for quick franchise growth — using sports teams as a reference point.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• How you present your product in your marketing determines the customer’s need state
• There is a hole in the market for a pizza and wings alternative
• A restaurant’s corporate infrastructure is not so different from a sports team
• A great team requires great players who are passionate about winning 
• If you’re looking for healthy franchise growth, choose experienced operators

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Regina Simmons and Carlos Corral, two of the four cofounders behind the plant-based Mexican fast casual Tacotarian. This Las Vegas based concept now has five locations between Vegas and San Diego and it has big ambitions to change Americans’ minds about vegan food using authentic Mexican recipes. Regina and Carlos joined the podcast to share their insights on designing a plant-based Mexican menu and to talk about how a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris has helped them build a national buzz that is the gift that keeps on giving. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• The signature flavors for global cuisines are not meat-based
• Just because there’s not demand for your product doesn’t mean it won’t succeed
• The biggest hurdle for vegan food is consumer perception
• Commissaries can help you ensure consistency and efficiency
• If you want to build a buzz, start by building close community ties
• Word of mouth works wonders — especially if it’s among celebrities
• To build a successful restaurant business, start with partners you trust and a team that shares your vision 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with James Walker, chief culinary and concept officer for Experiential Brands, which counts three original brands under its umbrella: The Original Hot Chicken, Inked Tacos, and Pinsa Roman Pizza. The company is planning a unique expansion strategy for these brands that cross-utilizes each concept to maximize efficiencies and profitability for the franchisee, and James joined the podcast to talk about why Experiential Brands is designing franchises from scratch for the sake of profitability and how the company has optimized each brand with expansion in mind. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Developing a brand from scratch is harder than ever
• Social media provides a great opportunity to craft a brand personality 
• You can design new restaurants to house multiple brands with minimal capital expenditure
• A new way to view ROI is a “return on innovation” 
• Your economic model will determine the longevity of your brand
• Franchisees today want easy execution and quick return on investment 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Maria Rivera, CEO of Smalls Sliders, an Atlanta-based chain with eight locations that was founded by Brandon Landry, who also started Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux. Maria, who was formerly the president of Krispy Kreme, was brought in to accelerate Smalls’ growth, which is helped along by a unique expansion strategy in which Smalls is having modular shipping-container units built off-site and delivered to their plots. Maria was a panelist at NRN’s recent CREATE Road Show in Atlanta, and Sam met her at the Smalls headquarters to talk about the brand’s unique restaurants — which the company calls “cans” — as well as how Smalls Sliders is taking a page out of Walk-On’s book while maintaining its own brand identity.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• There is power in one-product brands
• A great founder plus great financial partner plus great product equals great opportunity
• Modular store construction is the efficient expansion strategy of the future 
• Efficiency is simplification and simplification is hard
• If you’re planning fast expansion, make sure your vendors are willing to come on the journey with you
• A sister brand to a successful concept can ride its coattails — to a point
• A vulnerable, accessible CEO has a sense of how quickly a brand can grow
• Emerging brand leadership teams must stay humble to build a healthy company

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Lauren Fernandez, founder and CEO of the investment firm Full Course. Lauren was general counsel for Focus Brands and then became an operator as a Chicken Salad Chick franchisee. After she sold her units back to Chicken Salad Chick, she launched Full Course in a mission to give back to small business restaurateurs. Lauren was a panelist at NRN’s recent CREATE Road Show in Atlanta, and the next day sat down in person with Sam for this conversation covering her career, her tips for emerging brands looking to secure capital, and her thoughts on how to get more women and minorities involved in foodservice leadership.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Training in your restaurants gives you a foundation to know what the brand needs
• Servant leaders don’t talk about doing the work — they just do the work 
• Leaders should seize the moment to invest in themselves
• Most American restaurants are independents who just need resources to get to the next level
• Global fast casuals are the category to bet on 
• You never know where the next best idea for your brand is going to come from
• If you’re looking for capital, prepare by having clean books and a clear purpose

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 Timbs, senior vice president of operations for fast casual brands at FB Society, the Dallas based group that’s currently parent to concepts like Whiskey Cake, Sixty Vines, and Haywire, and previously to major success stories like Twin Peaks and Velvet Taco. As lead for their fast-casual concepts, Tim is particularly responsible for the growth of Son of a Butcher, a slider concept that originated in FB Society’s hugely successful Legacy Hall. Tim joined the podcast to talk about how a portfolio group like FB Society tackles fast casual brand development and why a food hall like Legacy Hall was the perfect place to incubate a concept like Son of a Butcher.  

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Ingredient quality narrows the gap between casual and fast casual 
• You can improve your scalability if you don’t commit to one kind of build
• Sliders are the hot new category because of the variety they provide
• One of the most important things to avoid when expanding is putting your restaurants on an island
• Strong supply chain relationships are critical to your expansion journey

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, managing editor Leigh Anne Zinsmeister fills in while Sam is on the road. She talks to Sam Ballas, CEO of East Coast Wings & Grill, a North Carolina-based casual-dining chain primarily located, of course, along the East Coast. Sam and Leigh Anne sat down at the NRA Show to talk about everything the company is up to lately, including its growing fast-casual brand, MyFrii.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

·      The importance of keeping an open mind

·      The story behind MyFrii’s total rebranding

·      Why operators should always strive to learn new things

·      The importance of focusing on the unit level

·      How to gain the trust of your franchisees

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Alex Smith, founder and president of Atlas Restaurant Group, a Baltimore-based outfit that has more than 30 concepts in its portfolio employing 2,000 people in five markets. Alex is a Baltimore native and is deeply committed to the economic revitalization of the city, and he joined the podcast to talk about the power that restaurants have in transforming cities and why new concept development is important to broadening the impact you have in each market. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Restaurants have the power to transform cities 
• Diversifying your concepts deepens the potential in each market where you operate 
• You build restaurants to last 20-plus years, not two or three years
• The higher-quality experience you provide, the easier it is to find high-quality managers
• Live entertainment offers both a unique experience and economic opportunity
• Connection to the community is an excellent retention strategy 

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