Take-Away with Sam Oches

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mohammad Faraj, cofounder and chief marketing officer for Talkin’ Tacos, a fast-casual taco joint out of South Florida that has grown to 22 locations in less than five years in operation. Mohammad and his childhood friend Omar Al-Massalkhi opened Talkin’ Tacos as a food truck in the early days of the pandemic, one of the first concepts to bring birria tacos to the east coast. That menu focus plus an early pivot to halal meat helped catapult Talkin’ Tacos to massive success and a quick shift into brick-and-mortar operations. Mohammad joined the podcast to talk about the keys to Talkin’ Tacos’ rapid growth and the role that social media has played in introducing the brand to new markets.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• A small brand change can make a big difference in business
• One influencer can catapult your concept 
• Emerging chains must start from scratch in every market they grow into
• Efficient operations allow fast casuals to have casual-quality food without casual prices
• Quality plus efficiency equals coveted profitability 

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

In this special episode of Take-Away — guest-hosted by Restaurant Business editor-in-chief and A Deeper Dive host Jonathan Maze — Bob Vergidis, the founder of pointofsale.cloud, joins to talk about the future of restaurants and restaurant technology and equipment.

We wanted to talk with Bob simply about the future of restaurant technology and how restaurants can take the next step.

A lot of technology has been brought into restaurants in the past several years and equipment is more advanced than it’s ever been.

But how does the restaurant industry take advantage of all this to make the operation of that restaurant better for workers and customers and, of course, the bottom line.

We discussed how restaurants can do more with the immense data they’re collecting. And we talk about what the restaurant will look like in five years.

It’s a fascinating conversation on the future of restaurants so check it out.

For more A Deeper Dive, subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Edmond Barseghian and Brian Simowitz, the founder and president, respectively, of Houston TX Hot Chicken, aka HHC. This brand has opened 24 locations in less than four years, and a big reason why is Edmond and his massive social media following. From the jump Edmond had big plans for the brand, and with strategic executive hires like Brian — along with an investment from Savory Fund — HHC is well on its way to opening potentially hundreds of locations. Edmond and Brian joined the podcast to talk about how HHC was designed for a social media generation and how they plan to rise above a crowded hot chicken field.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Big goals can be the spark you need to drive growth
• Don’t be surprised if we see more influencer-led restaurants
• Your restaurant experience should hit all five senses
• Big marketing stunts can get the customer’s attention — and the investor’s
• The right experts can turn your good brand into a great one
• No matter how good you are on social media, you have to convert new guests into loyalists
• You shouldn’t have to pay someone to say your restaurant is great

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mohaimina “Mina” Haque, the CEO of Tony Roma’s, a legacy casual dining chain specializing in ribs that once had hundreds of locations, but which is now is in rebuild mode with a few dozen open locations, only 6 of which are in the U.S. Mina is a lawyer by trade, and she was brought on by Equity Investors of New England when it bought the chain in 2021 to do due diligence on the brand and serve as general counsel. Recognizing her potential, the board asked her in 2023 to stay on as CEO, and now Mina and her team are out to resurrect this legacy chain by essentially shifting to startup mode and designing a Tony Roma’s 2.0. Mina joined the podcast to talk about her big vision for Tony Roma’s turnaround and how the company is particularly looking out for both existing and potential franchisees. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• There is no one path to restaurant leadership 
• No matter your trade, it pays to be a professional problem solver
• Lawyers interact with all departments, which sets them up for C-suite success
• Legacy chains can find new life by acting like startups 
• Get rid of meetings and replace them with brainstorm sessions
• In the midst of tech innovation, be sure to protect your brand identity 
• Social media offers low-hanging fruit for amplifying your brand

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Wendy’s president and CEO Kirk Tanner as part of a brand new series at NRN called Signature: A CEO Series with Sam Oches, powered by The Coca-Cola Company. We’re hosting 6 Signature episodes throughout 2025, and they’re designed to introduce you to the leaders of some of the nation’s biggest restaurant companies — what has shaped their approach to leadership, how they’ve maintained balance and wellbeing, and how they’re applying their life lessons to build culture at their brands. Kirk was a natural choice to kick off the Signature series, as he just celebrated one year on the job at Wendy’s and he was able to reflect on what he’s accomplished both in his Wendy’s tenure and more broadly in his career.

For exclusive video from Sam’s time with Kirk, click here.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• When you’re young, you have an opportunity to build credibility 
• If you want to go far in your career, don’t look past your current job
• A great mentor can supercharge your career 
• To accomplish big growth, you must start small 
• A diversity of perspectives and opinions will point your business in the right direction
• Young leaders are destined to thrive if they’re students of the game

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

Happy Mardi Gras! In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with James Vitrano, the CEO of Sucré, a French patisserie concept out of New Orleans that has eight locations across the Southeast. James and his pastry chef wife Abney Harper bought Sucré in 2023, looking to scale the luxury patisserie concept that specializes in macrons, gelato, and a range of handmade French desserts. James joined the podcast to talk about the challenges of scaling an emerging brand and particularly building brand awareness and balancing costs while simultaneously providing an incredible experience to each and every guest.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• A little bit of passion goes a long way in scaling a business
• When building your restaurant experience, consider a sense of place 
• With a sense of place, your growth should be more calculated
• When building an emerging chain, sometimes you’ve got to be MacGyver 
• You should only launch a franchise when the concept is 100% ready
• Moments are the new experiences
• Brand awareness is one of the biggest challenges for an emerging brand

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks Joe and John Lanni, the brother cofounders of Thunderdome Restaurant Group, a Cincinnati-based outfit that is among the 10 largest restaurant groups in the U.S., and which counts the 23-unit fast casual Currito among its portfolio. Currito is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the Lanni brothers are looking to rapidly expand through franchising. Joe and John joined the podcast to talk about what it was like to grow up in the restaurant industry — their father Nick Lanni founded Great Steak and Potato Company and grew it to over 250 locations — and to talk about how they’ve adapted the brand alongside consumer demand over the past two decades. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You need to listen to customers, even if it means changing your brand
• Brand associations can be good for launching a business, but not for sustaining it
• When marketing a new business, nothing beats free food 
• Franchisees are people — and sometimes they need a break
• Building a portfolio with a variety of concepts offers valuable perspectives
• Delicious food will never fall out of style

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks Randy Sharpe, CEO of Wahlburgers, the upscale burger chain founded by renowned actor Mark Wahlberg and his family. Wahlburgers has roughly 30 units around the U.S. alongside a handful of international locations, with plans to continue growing globally with a flexible format that includes both limited-service and full-service models. Randy joined the podcast to explain why Wahlburgers is all about finding the right partner in the right place at the right time, and to set the record straight on the recent news that Wahlburgers and the supermarket chain Hy-Vee, which had previously been an operator for the chain, were parting ways.  

Want to see Mark Wahlberg live at Restaurant Leadership Conference? Click here to register.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Restaurant brands don’t need to adhere to one service experience
• One key to restaurant success is learning from your mistakes
• The best high-profile or celebrity business partner is one who is very involved 
• Growth is only good when it’s the right growth 
• Some business deals aren’t built to last — and it’s OK to move on

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Sharon Arthofer, founder and CEO of Sip Fresh, an emerging beverage franchise out of Southern California that is serving high-quality, fresh fruit juices in small-footprint locations. Sharon has been in the foodservice business for 30 years, having been one of the first hires by Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps when they launched Wetzel’s Pretzels in the mid-90s. She later became Wetzel’s first franchisee, and before launching Sip Fresh in 2017, Sharon had built a successful franchise portfolio with multiple brands. Sharon joined the podcast to talk about why she’s homed in on malls as the perfect growth vehicle for Sip Fresh, how her past as a franchisee is informing her present and future as a franchisor, and why coffee chains aren’t the only exciting development in beverage innovation today.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Beverages are the quintessential impulse buy — and malls the quintessential impulse destination
• When marketing in malls, you have only a few moments to make an impression 
• Your frontline staff are revenue generators 
• The beverage category is the perfect intersection of simplicity and innovation
• Strong core values as a franchisor help you manage the expectations of a diversity of franchisees

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

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kevin King, president and CEO of Donatos Pizza. Kevin recently took over the chief executive position after former CEO Tom Krouse retired, and he’s now overseeing a new franchise expansion effort. Leading the way in this growth is Donatos’ commitment to innovation and consistency — and particularly where those two traits intersect, as they have with new automated kitchen equipment that Donatos is rolling out across its system. Kevin joined the podcast to talk about why consistency and innovation are so important to Donatos as it fights for share in the pizza category, and how these characteristics trace back to founder Jim Grote.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• You can go home again — and bring some new lessons with you
• If you can’t find the right tool for your operations, build it yourself
• Automated technology can allow your team to focus on guest interaction
• You don’t have to take an all-or-nothing approach to innovation 
• Consistency is key to growth and relevance

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