For more than 20 years, Jim Taylor has both helped to fuel the growth of a leading national restaurant brand, as well as consulted with hundreds of other restaurants to navigate the ever changing restaurant industry. 
Jim recently launched his first book, “Bold Operations - Building the Foundation of Strategic Excellence in Restaurants.” He is also Founder and CEO of Benchmark Sixty Restaurant Services, and has worked alongside small, medium and large restaurant companies in North America and the UK in order to help them better understand their business model, help them to optimize productivity in their business, and to turn data in to profit. Jim is working to change the way that restaurants look at and measure things like employee workload and productivity in order to improve the hospitality industry, it’s margins and retention rates. His encouragement for leaders to “see things differently” has been instrumental in the strategy and execution of several successful businesses.
 
Everything comes back to people for Jim, and he believes that our industry needs to stick together in order to survive.  Through his work with strategic partners, as well as a growing team of consultants his goal is to make the restaurant industry a strongly desired place for people to continue to find both their first job, and their dream job. 
 
Jim is confident that there is a new way forward for the industry, and is on a mission to improve the career experience for the next generation of hospitality professionals.  He believes that there are more simple ways to look at the business model, and that by looking through a new lens, industry leaders will be able to more easily attract and retain people, while also making the financial side of the business less stressful.

Bennett Maxwell is a multifaceted entrepreneur renowned for his innovative approach to business and commitment to enhancing the entrepreneurial landscape. He is currently the driving force behind Dirty Dough Cookies, a fast-growing national cookie brand with over 80 stores open and dozens more set to launch this year.

Maxwell’s career spans diverse industries, from real estate in Utah to co-founding and successfully selling Switch to Solar. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he is a sought-after speaker who regularly shares insights with the media.

Bennett also hosts the Deeper Than Dough podcast, launched in 2023, where he explores finding joy and fulfillment in life through entrepreneurship and beyond.

Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. On today’s episode Myles and I welcome Paul Tran back to the podcast for another great conversation around franchising in the restaurant industry. Paul is a great friend to the podcast and we are excited to host him once again.

Paul is a serial entrepreneur and has quite a list of accomplishments he has achieved over the years including:

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Today, he:

Paul is currently helping Pepper Lunch grow across the country, and is a multiunit franchisee himself - and building stores in Southern California. 

Pepper Lunch is the original DIY Teppanyaki restaurant and aspires to turn ordinary meals into extraordinary experiences by empowering their guests to experience  the joy of crafting their unique culinary journeys. 

Through a blend of tradition and innovation, Pepper Lunch aims to offer a dining escapade that's as delightful to the senses as it is to the soul, while fostering a community united by the love of flavors.

Enjoy this conversation with Paul Tran! #cuttingonions #pepperlunch #culture #mylesgift #paultran #leadership #franchising #bobbyshaw

Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast we are honored to feature our conversation with Certified Coach and Marketing Expert Jessica Harrison.

Jessica is a certified Executive Coach (ICF-ACC) and consultant focusing on coaching others to find greater balance, navigate transitions and leverage their unique talents. She studied leadership coaching at Brown University's School of Professional Studies. She is also one of my favorite humans on the planet!

Before coaching and consulting, she spent over 12 years in marketing leadership roles with Chipotle (where she and I met) in field marketing, promotions and roll-outs where she was part of the journey with the brand from unknown start-up to household name. Previous brands supported include Red Bull, New Line Cinema, Old Navy and De Beers. 

Jessica started Ivy & Scout in 2017, and offers executive, career and college exploration coaching along with strategic marketing consulting for start-ups, consumer product companies, hospitality companies and individuals. Past and current clients supported include Randy’s Donuts, Equip, Steel Series, Yogurtland, LEAP, Noodles & Company, Blaze Pizza, Time Timer, and McCormick & Schmick’s.

We know you are going to love this conversation! Enjoy it wherever you consume your podcast content! #jessicaharrison #ivyandscout #chipotle #localstoremarketing #lsm #marketing #grassroots #burritos #stpatricksdayparade #california #kansascity 

On this episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we dive into a captivating conversation with Christine Schindler, CEO and Co-Founder of PathSpot. A Duke-alum and Biomedical Engineer, Christine's innovative approach has revolutionized health and safety in the restaurant industry through PathSpot’s HandScanner technology, protecting 1.7 million meals last year alone and boosting handwashing frequency by up to 80% in partner locations.
Under Christine's guidance, PathSpot has forged partnerships globally, ensuring employee and customer safety while enhancing profitability. Beyond her impactful work at PathSpot, she mentors young entrepreneurs with the Clinton Global Initiative and advocates for female empowerment through initiatives like Aunt Flow and Girls Engineering Change.
Christine's contributions have not gone unnoticed, earning her accolades such as Forbes 30 Under 30 and Time Magazine Top Inventions. Her commitment to advancing STEAM fields and creating a safer, more efficient industry exemplifies her dedication to making a difference. Congratulations to Christine on being named a Rising Star in Hospitality Technology Magazine's 2023 Top Women in Restaurant Technology Awards. #WomenInTech #Innovation #Leadership #CuttingOnions #ChristineSchindler #Pathspot #Culture #BobbyShaw #MylesGift

On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we talk to entrepreneur and founder, Kevin Cochran for an inspiring conversation on the restaurant industry, technology in restaurants, and his new concept, Jackie Mays Burger.

After ten years of working in restaurants at the beginning of his career, and as the first GM and on the startup team of Freebirds World Burrito, Kevin then gave up the food business over two decades ago for the high-tech world, and worked most recently in clean technology. 

Kevin made his return to the restaurant industry in 2020 as founder of Jackie Mays Burger, a 100% plant-based, fast-food franchise concept for consumers desiring healthier and sustainable choices on the go.

In his previous role as Chief Operations Officer for an emerging energy management company, Kevin led programs to track energy and carbon footprints for organizations like HP, Tesla, and the City of Sacramento. Trained in the US and Europe with an MBA and a certification in Sustainability, Kevin also served as a Director on the Board of the Sustainability Management Association for four years until 2021. 

You can follow Kevin on his BLOG at www.SustainabilityX.com and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevincochran 

Jen is currently a Senior Funding Consultant at Benetrends financial. Jen was the proud CEO, President and CF of My House Fitness Franchise.

In 2004 after the birth of her first child, Jennifer put her lifelong passion for fitness to the test and began her position as Group Fitness Coordinator for LA Fitness in Florida.

Success at LA and her desire to correct what she saw was wrong with the large fitness chains lead her to open up her own community-based Fitness studio. With the help of her husband, in August of 2010 her dreams became a reality. And the first My House Fitness Studio opened!

The success of the studio was so fast and wonderful that she and her husband decided to expand. They opened My House Fitness Franchise Inc in the fall of 2011. They expanded to 2 corporate and 29 franchise locations in 10 states in a few short years.

Jen has spent her professional career as a franchisor and is an avid proponent of entrepreneurship today. She wants to share her experience and passion for franchising with you.

As a wife and a busy mom of 3 she understands the kind of quality life business ownership brings. If you are passionate and excited about starting a business or expanding into franchising and are looking for funding options, she can help bring your vision to life!

Today we welcome Justin Lindsey to The Cutting Onions

Justin employs a staff of over 160 team members & 17 leaders. Justin is an innovator at heart. He lives by a personal mission of “leading with generosity.” That mission was at the center of Justin creating a first-of-its kind 3 Day Workweek for full time team members & leaders in his business.

This 3 Day Workweek has been featured in media interviews

Of all the benefits that can be offered to team members,

 A 3 Day Workweek can be executed in nearly any environment utilizing Justin’s approach to scheduling. To assist in the implementation of a 3 Day Workweek, Justin has collaborated in the development of a mobile app

This was an absolutely incredible conversation, and we

We are so proud to bring you this episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast where we interview Subway Franchisee and Entrepreneur, Kristen Chandler.

This was an incredibly inspiring conversation that we are sure you will enjoy. Kristen gave us a masterclass in what it means to display grit in the face of adversity.

We appreciated Kristen's tenacity and the opportunities that she has created for her part-time team members to be able to work and contribute to their families while still having time for the things that were important to them outside of work.

We are pretty darn sure that this conversation will inspire you as much at it inspired us!

David DeSantis is a well-known name in the pizza industry. With 27 years of experience in the restaurant business, he has created six successful brands and owned 17 restaurants. However, his latest venture sets him apart from others in the industry: the creation of a cutting-edge supplier relationship management platform.

David’s passion for the restaurant business started at a young age. He grew up in a family of food lovers and learned the art of cooking from his grandmother. At eight years old, his family introduced Dunkin Donuts to Atlanta, and David was frying donuts by the age of ten.

David was a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver at sixteen and was managing the location by eighteen. 

David and his brother Richard started their first pizza restaurant in Atlanta during the Olympics in 1996, and while operating what became a four-unit chain, David achieved his Executive Master’s in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University. David subsequently started the brands Peace Love & Pizza, The Jammin Pie, Bulldawg Pizza & Wings, Bring the Smoke BBQ and others.

After becoming a successful restaurateur, David realized there was a market gap when it came to managing relationships with suppliers. He needed an efficient way for restaurants to communicate with their suppliers, quickly manage inventory, automate price changes, consider rebates, bring transparency to contract negotiation, and audit supply chain contracts. This led to him starting Wook.ai.

But at the end of the day, Dave is an operator with a heart for helping other entrepreneurs be able to manage their business with transparency and real time data.

We think you will enjoy this episode very much. Here we go!