About the Guest Kathie Niven is the CEO of Biscuitville. Kathie has led in roles as CEO, CMO, president, vice-president, and senior executive for both national and international brands. In 2014, she led the rebranding of Biscuitville, which included the addition of FRESH SOUTHERN® to its name, remodeling nearly all of its restaurants and a

About the Guest Jill Taylor is the CEO of Burgerville, an iconic restaurant brand in the Pacific Northwest. Jill has been involved with Burgerville for more than two decades as a consultant at The Taylor Group. Before jumping into the seat of restaurant CEO, Jill began her career as a pediatric nurse working at Oregon

About the Guest Jeni Britton Bauer is an American ice cream maker and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the artisan ice cream movement, Jeni opened her first ice cream shop, Scream, in 1996, then founded Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002. As Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Jeni remains the beating heart of the company and

About the Guest Alan Philips, REEF Technology’s Chief Creative Officer, is a creative executive, entrepreneur, writer, & speaker specializing in guiding & inspiring individuals and organizations on the path to discovering their purpose & unlocking their creative potential. Prior to Reef, Alan has over two decades of experience in hospitality, food & beverage, real estate,

About the Guest Chef Eric Greenspan is a Food Network Iron Chef Winner and Culinary Director for Virtual Dining Concepts where Chef Greenspan’s team is responsible for creating crave-worthy menus suited for delivery. With 20+ years of experience operating fine dining, quick service, and virtual brands, Greenspan is considered the pioneer in the virtual food

In this episode of the Food Fighters podcast, listen as Greg shares his marketing philosophies and how he’s applied them.

About the Guest Martha Hoover is the Founder and President of Patachou, a collective of 12 eateries in the Indianapolis area. She was nominated for Restaurateur of the Year by the James Beard Foundation six times, named “One of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink” by Food and Wine, and has even earned

About the Guest Adam Halberg is the CEO of Barcelona Wine Bar, a Mediterranean-inspired concept with 18 restaurants around the country. Halberg began his career as a chef and has developed award-winning menus for both of Barteca Restaurant Group’s two concepts: Barcelona Wine Bar and bartaco, and oversees a strong team of creative and collaborative

About the Guest Zaid Ayoub is the founder and CEO of the Bay Area-headquartered, rapidly expanding fast-casual concept SAJJ Mediterranean. A Jordan native, Ayoub frequented a local falafel shop while in college in the U.S. studying engineering and noticed that it often had a line out the door. After a few years in tech startups,

About the Guest Don Fox is Chief Executive Officer of Firehouse Subs, one of America’s leading fast-casual restaurant brands. Under his leadership, the brand has grown to more than 1,200 restaurants in 45 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Don sits on various boards of influence including the National Restaurant Association. Episode Summary In this episode,

About the Guest Jared Cohen is the Chief Operating Officer at Protein Bar and Kitchen. He joined Protein Bar in 2017 and drives development of enterprise growth strategy, leads key strategic platforms (including third party delivery and analytical marketing), and heads Finance, IT, HR, and Supply Chain functions. Prior to joining Protein Bar, Jared served

About the Guest Tressie Lieberman, Vice President of Digital Marketing and Off-Premise for Chipotle, is responsible for driving digital engagement and growth of new ordering occasions. In this role, Lieberman oversees a team dedicated to building relationships with the brand’s community through social media, the Chipotle Rewards loyalty program, and CRM. Lieberman also drives the

About the Guest Jason Morgan built his career developing and leading successful growth companies across various industries. As Chief Financial Officer of Zoës Kitchen from 2008 to 2015, Morgan was instrumental in the growth of the company, increasing store count from 20 to 150 and revenues from $18mm to $223mm. In April 2014, he led

About the Guest Otto Othman is the CEO and Co-founder of PINCHO, an award-winning, burger and kebab fast-casual with 10 locations based in Miami, FL. Otto has a background in creative design and is known for being one of the most innovative, out-of-the-box marketers in the restaurant world. Episode Summary With most restaurant sales down

About the Guest Seth Cohen is currently the managing partner and a co-founder at Sweetfin Holdings (Sweetfin), a fast-casual, chef-driven, California inspired poke concept that has 10 locations throughout Los Angeles and San Diego. Sweetfin was launched in April of 2015 with the goal of providing healthy, nutritious and flavorful bowls and a more approachable

About the Guest Stacie Colburn Hayes is the Chief Marketing Officer at Oath Pizza, a Nantucket-born, better-for-you pizza brand with over 60 company-owned and franchise locations across the country. Prior to Oath, Stacie held marketing leadership positions at honeygrow and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Episode Summary COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the U.S. restaurant industry. In this

About the Guest Greg Golkin is the Managing Partner of Kitchen Fund, a leading investor in the emerging restaurant space. Kitchen Fund has invested in many well-known growth brands such as by CHLOE., sweetgreen, and Gregorys Coffee. Jim Balis leads CapitalSpring’s Strategic Operations Group and has several decades of restaurant management and turnaround experience. Jim

About the Guest Robert Thompson is Founder and CEO of Punch Bowl Social, an eatertainment concept first opened in his hometown of Denver, and now up to 20 locations. He began his restaurant industry career in Nashville at the young age of 25, opening multiple award-winning restaurants before eventually giving everything he had to launch

About the Guest Jeff Chandler was born and raised in the restaurant business. Now the CEO of Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Jeff left a high-flying finance job at Goldman Sachs to bartend and never looked back. He spent 20 years at RAM Restaurant Group in Washington where he rose to become managing partner, then served as

About the Guest Denyelle Bruno is the President and CEO of Tender Greens, recently featured in the Nation’s Restaurant News 2020 Power List. Tender Greens is a fine casual West coast restaurant concept founded in 2006 that puts an elevated spin on the comfort dishes you love. Prior to joining Tender Greens, Denyelle spent 20

About the Guest Joe Tenczar is the Chief Information Officer for Sonny’s BBQ, one of the largest and most popular barbecue restaurants in the country. Additionally, Tenczar is a founding partner & CIO of Restaurant CIOs, a “CIO-as-a-Service” company where he and his CIO partners collaborate to help hospitality companies. Joe has held leadership positions

About the Guest Mandy Shaw is the Chief Executive Officer of fast-growing Blaze Pizza. Prior to stepping into the CEO role, Mandy served as Chief Financial Officer. A seasoned executive, Shaw previously worked in a number of roles at Bloomin’ Brands for over 12 years including CFO of Bloomin’s international division (parent company of Outback

About the Guest Dana Worth is the Head of Sales at Impossible Foods, the company behind the plant-based Impossible Burger. Dana is responsible for the recent partnership with Burger King, who has attributed their 5% growth in quarterly sales to the plant-based burger. The Silicon Valley-based startup is valued at a jaw-dropping $2 billion after

About the Guest Noah Glass is the Founder and CEO of Olo, an on-demand interface for digital ordering and delivery for the restaurant industry. Noah was named one of the 50 most influential people in foodservice in the 2017, has been a part of the Nation’s Restaurant News Power List in both 2018 and 2020,

About the Guest David Birzon is CEO of Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, one of the largest and most popular breakfast restaurants in the country. Under David’s leadership, Snooze has grown to now operating over 35 restaurants across five states, with over 2,100 employees. Prior to joining Snooze in 2012, David spent 23 years with Paradise

About the Guest Chas Hermann is a retail brand and marketing leader with experience in Fortune 500 companies including Noodles & Company, Starbucks, Disney, and Universal Studios. Chas is the Chief Brand Officer at Noodles & Company. Previous experience in the restaurant industry includes time at Papa Murphy’s and Del Taco. Episode Summary Chas Hermann,