In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Darden Coors, the CEO of Salad Collective, a Denver-based portfolio of three fast casual brands focused on healthier foods: MAD Greens, Snappy Salads and Tokyo Joe’s. Salad Collective is preparing to scale MAD Greens through franchising, and Darden joined the podcast to talk about the potential she sees in the healthy-eating category across the U.S. and why franchising is the perfect way to tap into that potential.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• The healthy category is only just getting started
• Having multiple brands in your portfolio can be efficient — but it’s no walk in the park
• Franchising is a great way to scale but it’s not permission to race ahead
• Catering is a strong solution to lagging traffic 

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Brad Wise, chef and owner of Trust Restaurant Group. Brad’s San Diego-based group has five concepts in its portfolio — including the multiunit steakhouse brand Rare Society and counter service butcher shop The Wise Ox — and much of its success can be attributed to Brad’s investments in his people and getting the most out of his team. Brad joined the podcast to talk about the culture of yes that he’s developing throughout Trust Restaurant Group and the efficiencies he’s creating in his systems and menu. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Your people want to be heard — listen to them
• By creating a culture of “yes,” you can simultaneously innovate and develop your people
• You can create a great experience for your guests, whether they’re engaging with you for 2 minutes or 2 hours
• Take advantage of the changing dynamics of restaurants
• By getting creative with your R&D, you can cut back on waste and be much more efficient

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Steele Smiley, founder and executive chairman of Minneapolis-based franchise Crisp & Green. The fast casual dishes healthy salads, bowls and smoothies, and while it has about 30 locations open today, there are about 250 in the pipeline. Steele joined the podcast to talk about Crisp & Green’s explosive growth and how restaurants can capitalize on momentum without getting out over their skis as they grow.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• If you want to grow quickly, start by building an all-star leadership team
• Founders must be good stewards of their brands
• Now is an extremely hard time to build a brand from scratch
• People are not going to stop eating healthy
• If you are in the early stages of building a brand, find an expert to partner with

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Curt Skallerup, founder and CEO of the eatertainment company Larks Entertainment. Larks is preparing to launch several “active entertainment” concepts, featuring everything from shuffleboard to putt putt to obstacle courses, and franchisees can pick and choose from those to build out their own eatertainment footprints. Curt joined the podcast to talk about the second wave of eatertainment and how it can go from novelty to social mainstay in markets both big and small.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• We are in the midst of eatertainment’s second wave, and it’s driven by adults
• Modular franchising could be the key to eatertainment’s growth potential
• To drive frequency, eatertainment will need to focus on value
• Eatertainment is adapting to appeal to all generations
• There’s room for everyone in the eatertainment space

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Destinee Rollins, vice president of marketing at Twin Peaks, and Brad Jacobus, chief marketing officer at Jim ’N Nicks BBQ. Destinee and Brad joined Sam as part of a session at the Black Box Intelligence Best Practices Conference discussing the customer experience and how to improve it leveraging data.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Despite all the bells and whistles, people are still key to the restaurant experience
• You should keep things simple and reduce all the noise around your teams
• You need to be intimately familiar with the conversation that’s happening about your brand
• There is a direct correlation between happy customers and traffic through your doors
• Loyalty programs aren’t the end-all, be-all for data
• You can build customer loyalty without a formal program
• In off-premises channels, order accuracy cures a lot of sins

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Josh Kern, the interim CEO at SPB Hospitality, parent company to iconic casual brands like Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom and Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery and upscale concepts like J. Alexander’s and Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill. Josh discusses the challenges of the past couple of years for full-service brands, how they’ve changed the dine-out experience, and what we should expect for the category in 2023.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Convenience-driven concepts will be hot acquisition targets
• What people are looking for in their restaurant experiences is changing
• Full-service brands are not known to be nimble — but they need to be now
• 2023 will be all about simplicity and getting back to your roots
• Customers want to feel like they’re at home

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Chris Hadermann, the cofounder and partner of Southern Proper Hospitality Group. This Atlanta-based group has 17 locations across eight concepts, including nine with its growth vehicle Tin Lizzy’s Cantina. Chris joined the podcast to talk about Tin Lizzy’s new Managing Partner Program, a profit-sharing program for the brand’s best General Managers.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• To get your GMs to treat the business as their own, give them ownership
• Ownership programs are a great recruiting mechanism
• A GM is like your quarterback — and needs to call audibles when necessary
• Every employee should have a clear understanding of their potential path forward

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Landon Eckles, cofounder and CEO of Clean Juice. This certified organic juice and healthy eats chain has enjoyed fast growth since it first debuted in 2014, and now boasts over 130 locations. To accommodate its growth, Clean Juice made a huge brand pivot: It’s no longer bottling its juices in-house, but rather has centralized that process in one facility. Landon joined the podcast to talk about that decision to ditch a major founding component of Clean Juice and how it’s ultimately been a great decision for the business.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why: 

• If your brand promise is a high-quality or nutritious menu, your customer will forgive you for taking price
• The bigger issue with supply chain today might actually be packaging and utensils
• If you are not growing with the economies of the scale that you're creating, you are dying
• Don’t be afraid to kill your darlings
• You have to look at the whole picture when making a significant brand change
• The worst thing you can say is “we’ve always done it that 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 Justin Rosenberg, the founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based Honeygrow, which has 31 locations in 7 markets on the east coast. The fast casual was a hot commodity after launching in 2012, but by 2018 the business had become bloated, forcing Honeygrow to close some locations. Justin joins the podcast to talk about some of the mistakes that were made, how he’s refined the brand by learning from those mistakes, and what other restaurant entrepreneurs should know before they scale their concept.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why: 

• You should minimize your G&A expenses and focus on great people instead
• Sometimes you need a moment to catch your breath and refine your model
• There is untapped potential in smaller markets
• Don’t get too bogged down in complex technologies
• If you’re starting a concept from scratch, don’t just clone what’s popular
• Mistakes can be awesome — so long as you don’t make them again
• Don’t let your ego get in the way of your brand’s potential

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

In this special encore presentation of a conversation published on Take-Away earlier this year, Sam talks with Lauren Bailey, cofounder and CEO of Postino Wine Café. This was one of Sam’s favorite conversations of 2022, particularly because of the many practical tips Lauren has for younger restaurateurs on how to scale their businesses (including how she compares a restaurant’s early years to the band Foo Fighters’ first album).   

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Running a restaurant is both an art and a science
• Your first big challenge as an emerging restaurateur is learning that you can’t be everywhere at every time 
• Forced creativity is vital to the life of an emerging brand leader 
• If you want to maintain that creativity, you have to be intentional about it
• Think about raising capital when you don’t need money
• Know what you want to accomplish with your concept — and whether you can do what it takes to get there
• Don’t waste the gift that is your younger years

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