Dana Delivers by Aprio: Recent Episodes
Dana Zukofsky
Dana Delivers by Aprio features conversations with prominent owners, operators and innovators in the restaurant industry to help you grow your business and think about what’s next.
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Meet Toni Calderon, Founder and CEO of Pastanito, a brand-new franchise focused on fresh, delicious pasta and doing business the right way. In this episode, we’re diving into Toni’s journey – how she got started, her challenges, and her vision to make Pastanito a nationwide franchise.
And you heard it here first—Toni is sharing huge news about turning her dreams into reality while staying true to her values. Listen to our latest podcast now.
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Data is more than just numbers on a spreadsheet; it’s the secret sauce that separates thriving businesses from struggling ones. In this podcast episode, Dana sits down with Ashley Robinson, Founder and Head of Strategy at The Seaker Group, to discuss must-know metrics, uncover common mistakes, and reveal insider strategies that could be holding your business back or propelling it forward.
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In our first podcast episode of 2025, Dana reconnects with Doug Gatlin, President of Vertical Risk Management, to discuss strategies that food service businesses can leverage in navigating the challenges of risk management. Is your business secured with the right insurance to protect your business, employees, and customers? Hear from Doug to learn more about how investing in insurance ultimately helps your bottom line.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, Dana reconnects with Shari Bayer, who she met 12 years ago through Shari’s podcast, “All in the Industry.” Shari is the founder of the NYC culinary and hospitality-focused PR agency, Bayer Public Relations, and the author of “Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World,” which features some of the top chefs in the world. Tune in now to hear how it all started and her ‘what’s next’ in the industry. Something’s definitely cookin’!
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Dana sits down with her long-time friend, Carolyn Richmond, Chair of Fox Rothschild’s Hospitality Practice and former Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department, to discuss what lies ahead for the hospitality industry. For more than 30 years, Carolyn has helped clients navigate complex issues from hiring and diversity training to union concerns and employee policies. With the new administration’s policies on technology, taxation, and immigration, what’s next for labor relations practices in the hospitality industry?
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Damon Raque, founder and managing partner of Bottle Bank, proved that it’s not always too late to do what you really love. When his career in financial services took a turn during the COVID-19 pandemic, Damon took the opportunity for some self-reflection and asked himself what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, “I wanted to eat great food, drink great wine, and travel to amazing places … and have amazing experiences with people I care about,” and that’s how he started Bottle Bank, an experiential wine tasting lounge in Atlanta.
Damon said he wanted to provide guests “an experience that encourages wine lovers to sit back, relax, and spend time with like-minded individuals enjoying a bottle of wine and the way of life that surrounds it.” Listen more here.
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Jeff Freehof, Culinary Manager of the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities (ARMHC), met with Dana to tell his story of how he cares for people through food. Chef Jeff is an award-winning chef who has worked in the food service industry for over 40 years, owning seven restaurants serving a diverse array of cuisine. He has served not just in the kitchen but in the community. Sharing his expertise, guidance, and wisdom, Chef Jeff has truly done it all in the culinary world.
Chef Jeff’s dedication to serving beyond the kitchen is a testament to the many people he has cared for through his food and words. Listen now for an inspirational slice of life from Chef Jeff.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, Dana recalls how she met Emma Horn, now the Executive Director of KFC Foundation, at a Giving Kitchen charity event. Emma has been working with non-profits for most of her career, and she says working with KFC Foundation brought all her initiatives to reality and in one place.
Since 2006, the KFC Foundation has provided more than $36 million in their charitable programs that support and empower their employees, students, and non-profit organizations. Tune in now to learn more about how the KFC Foundation is making a real difference by delivering more than just delicious chicken.
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Frank Pellegrino Jr., co-owner of Rao’s restaurants in East Harlem and Hollywood, shares how Rao’s Restaurant was established on this episode of Dana Delivers. Since 1896, Rao’s Restaurant has given diners a taste of the family’s passion and genuine love for food and the people they serve. Rao’s is even described by Forbes as “the single toughest restaurant reservation to get in the United States, bar none.” Listen now to learn about Rao’s recipe for success.
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In this episode of Dana Delivers, Dana sits down with Sam Bakhshandehpour, the president and now global CEO of the José Andrés Group. Sam talks about how the José Andrés Group has grown from its humble beginnings to a restaurant empire that stretches over seven states (and the Bahamas), and how he is working to change the world with the power of food.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, former CEO and current Chief Development Officer of Rock N’ Roll Sushi, Chris Kramolis, shares his entrepreneurial journey from working as a busboy in Arkansas to opening Tropical Smoothie franchises to leading the exponential growth of Rock N’ Roll Sushi. He discusses how the brand has made sushi approachable through its fun, rock music atmosphere and unique flavors (we’re looking at you, Sweet Home Alabama roll!) expanding rapidly across the U.S. Chris shares how technology can further streamline sushi preparation and how once you’re in the restaurant business, you’re in it for life.
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On this episode, Dana is joined by Anand Tumuluru, the co-founder of Loop. Anand tells Dana about founding Loop after realizing how many headaches third-party delivery services were creating for restauranteurs. High fees, opaque payment schedules, chargebacks, and differing policies added costs and complications that made it hard for restaurant owners to keep track of their delivery businesses, let alone turn a profit – until Anand and his team stepped in. He and his team developed a suite of AI-driven solutions to help restaurant owners by automating chargeback and refund recovery, streamlining sales reconciliation and improving visibility across all restaurant and delivery operations.
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In today’s episode Dana sits down for another conversation with Emily Heintz, founder of the top-shelf nonalcoholic beverage brand and retailer Sèchey. Emily fills Dana in on Sèchey’s growth and incredible success in 2023 and the exciting prospects facing them in 2024 as demand for nonalcoholic beverages continues to grow. More interest means more sales, and more sales mean Sèchey can grow faster, offer more products and pursue ambitious partnerships and promotions with major retailers like Target. That’s right, Sèchey’s isn’t just on target, it was in Target for an exclusive curation for Dry January – the first of many.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, Atlanta-based McDonald’s franchise owner and rising star Donte Cleaves stops by to share his inspirational story. He tells Dana about his childhood dream of owning a McDonald’s (and a Chuck E. Cheese!), and how he made that dream a reality thanks to his family, his faith and his indomitable spirit. As a successful multiunit owner/operator, Donte believes it’s now his turn to support kids in his community and give them the confidence to make their own dreams come true.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, Atlanta-based McDonald’s franchise owner and rising star Donte Cleaves stops by to share his inspirational story. He tells Dana about his childhood dream of owning a McDonald’s (and a Chuck E. Cheese!), and how he made that dream a reality thanks to his family, his faith and his indomitable spirit. As a successful multiunit owner/operator, Donte believes it’s now his turn to support kids in his community and give them the confidence to make their own dreams come true.
The post How Donte Cleaves Achieved His Dreams appeared first on Aprio.
On today’s episode of Dana Delivers, Dana sits down with longtime friend and restaurant technology expert Bill Linsey. Bill tells Dana a bit about his experiences, how the restaurant industry could benefit from technology and how his newest venture COGS-Well’s comprehensive recipe and inventory management system is poised to stir up the way restaurants do business. Hospitality has lagged a little behind other industries when it comes to adopting new technologies, but that won’t be the case for much longer if Bill has his way.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, Dana is joined by Christa Cotton, the Georgia-born CEO of the cocktail brand El Guapo. Christa shares a bit of her journey from advertising to Top Chef to entrepreneurship, and how she’s turned El Guapo from a local trademark to a national sensation in just a few years. But don’t think it was all smooth sailing – Christa explains how the pandemic destroyed her big break with Costco and almost ended it all. Tune in to hear more about how this self-described mom-first and entrepreneur-second queen of home cocktails built her empire.
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In this episode Dana is joined by Kutina Ruhumbika, Chief People Officer at Levain Bakery, who specializes in inclusion, diversity and advocating for taking care of employees at every level. Kutina shares a bit of her story and how everything from her experience as an immigrant from Tanzania to the lessons she learned from her mentor have informed her approach to human resource management. She tells Dana a bit about how her philosophy makes employees feel valued, empowered and supported, and how that support translates into increased productivity, better morale and lower turnover.
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On this episode of Dana Delivers, Dana is joined by Tal Baum, the founder and head of the Atlanta-based Oliva Restaurant Group. Tal shares a bit about her journey, what inspired her move from architecture to hospitality, and how her drive to prove the naysayers wrong gave her the push she needed to build a single restaurant into a brand portfolio that includes some of the best restaurants in Atlanta. She and Dana talk about surviving the pandemic, developing her brand, and finding time to be a boss, a mom, and a visionary.
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Travel Channel alum Andrew Zimmern and actress Jamie Hyder join Dana on today’s episode to talk about how we can all help food service workers in need. The two stars tell Dana about the Giving Kitchen, a James Beard award-winning nonprofit that’s close to their hearts, and how we can all help food service workers in need through the Giving Kitchen’s Dining with Gratitude program. They go on to explain how important restaurant workers are to the economy, how vulnerable they are to crises, and how Dining with Gratitude gives everyone an opportunity to provide the support they need.
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This week Dana is joined by Lauren McGuire, president of Made Music Studio for a talk about the power of sonic branding. Though often underappreciated, the right music can mean the difference between a good customer experience and a great one, a forgettable commercial and an earworm, and a two-dimensional brand identity and an immersive…
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On today’s episode Dana is joined by Chef Robert Irvine, who tells her a bit about his life of service in the military, the kitchen and the Robert Irvine Foundation. Robert talks about his remarkable journey from a 15-year-old recruit to one of the most recognizable chefs and philanthropists on the planet, but he’s less…
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[powerpress]
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Tom Cook, CEO and Co-founder of Pacific Bells On today’s episode Dana is joined by Tom Cook of Pacific Bells. Tom shares a bit of his journey that took him from working the fryer at a Taco Bell to the founder and CEO of a company that owns over 200 Taco Bell franchises, as well…
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Dana is joined by Elizabeth Tilton, founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday, a game-changing business that helps independent restaurants and small food businesses with pretty much everything except cooking the food. Their inspiring and wide-ranging conversation starts at Elizabeth’s beginnings, how she found her niche, and how important it is to define success if you want to achieve it. Listen in to find out how Elizabeth uses a holistic, data-driven approach to construct bespoke solutions for clients across every corner of the food service and hospitality industry.
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Welcome to Dana Delivers by Aprio podcasts, the podcast that helps restaurant owners and operators learn from industry experts about trends and opportunities. On every episode, Dana Zukofsky, the leader of Aprio’s restaurant advisory team, explores a topic impacting our industry in a candid conversation. And now, let’s hear what Dana is serving up on this episode.
So on today’s episode of Dana Delivers, we have Emily Heintz from Sèchey based in Charleston, but also in New York. And I wanted to have Emily on when I met her last year at FAB at the conference. And I don’t know. The time got away from me, and I realized that this episode is going to be released at the very end of January, on the 30th. So I figured, what better time to have Emily on than to end off the month of dry January? So Emily, thank you so much for joining us.
You’re welcome. It’s so good to talk to you and share a little bit more about what we’re doing at Sèchey. The end of dry January’s perfect. We hope people try dry all year. That’s a good time to be chatting with you about how we’re supporting health and wellness.
Awesome. So why don’t we start with, tell our listeners, who might not have been to your locations yet, what exactly you guys do.
So Sèchey is a nod to the French word for dry. Technically, it means dry-ish. We are an alternative spirits beverage company. We carry multiple brands across the non-alcoholic and functional category. And functional beverages mean there’s something in the beverage besides alcohol to replicate the feeling that alcohol might give you. So maybe ashwagandha for stress relief, CBD, also plant-based Botanics like black ginger. Our store in Charleston carries a variety of these products. And people come to Sèchey because it’s a confusing category. They don’t know what alcohol-free gin tastes like or even looks like. And they come in to learn more about how to drink less and live more.
Right. And that’s, I mean, what’s better? And as I mentioned to you before, when I first heard about your store it was because you were presenting at the conference and you were pouring alcohol-free wine and I was just like, ‘What is this? If I’m going to drink wine, I want wine. If not, I could have water.’ But then I went to the store. And I was just completely blown away by the experience and everything there because it wasn’t a juice store or a mixer shop. It really is so much deeper than that. So besides for just the alt spirits, right, and some of the things that you could mix, like we spoke about with traditional alcohols, you have a tasting area, you have so much more. So how do you curate what the space is besides just an alcohol-free, an alt spirit shop?
Yeah, well, we want everyone that walks in our doors, regardless of their relationship with alcohol, to find something. So we carry high quality bitters, mixers, what I call hero spirits, which are hero mixers that can be used with traditional spirits, wine and beer, or alternative. So as I look at products, I kind of think about, well, flavor first, right? Like we all want something that tastes delicious, but also something that looks great. Like the branding in this category is phenomenal.
Well, not only the branding in the category, but your store is just so beautiful also.
We want it to be an experience when you come in and to surprise and delight you with the thought of, ‘Okay, I may have a bottle of traditional wine, and I want to keep the party going, but I have an 8am meeting. So I may switch to an alcohol-removed wine which was actually wine, they just removed the alcohol after they make it and so then you can keep the party going. We also, again, regardless of your relationship, you can choose to drink traditional spirits or our alternatives. We have customers across the gamut, all ages, all mindsets that shop with us.
Right, and I know that my generation, right, we have a different relationship with alcohol. Not to stereotype, than Gen Z. Right? I speak to a lot of people in Gen Z and they don’t want to drink. They like an alt beverage. They will use CBD or THC as it becomes legal throughout the country a little bit more in each state. But what does your customer typically look like? Is there a typical customer?
There really Isn’t. I mean, this category is so new and there’s so many products that appeal across all ages. So we’ll have students from the College of Charleston who do not drink, and they’re looking for something like Kin Euphorics, which has naturally occurring caffeine, it has 5-HTP, it has Gaba, and all of these things provide that euphoric feeling that alcohol might have. Then we have older generations who may be on new medication that interacts with alcohol, or, new moms who didn’t drink during their pregnancy and have newborns that still want to celebrate, but not with something with alcohol.
So, and also, like you said, a lot of the stuff there, like for example, the bitters – how beautiful El Guapo Bitters package is and how the packaging is so important too, not only for liquid merchandise, but how you really, you’ve gotten into all the accouterments that goes with it, too. So really, it isn’t just a beverage shop. It’s so much more.
Yeah, we want to be a destination for celebration. And part of the allure with alcohol is that you’re connecting socially, you might be out with your friends and family celebrating a moment. But we find that if you have an alternative to alcohol, you’re more likely to choose something without alcohol just to stay connected. So that was really the mindset that I had when I started Sèchey. We can increase the awareness, the availability and the convenience of alcohol-free alternatives. People may choose them more. And we’re starting to see that in restaurants. I don’t love the word mocktail, but there’s a mocktail menu. The way Sèchey looks at things, there should be cocktails. Whether or not there’s alcohol in them is up to you. They should taste great on their own with or without traditional alcohol.
Yes. So do you have a name for what you call those? Is there a name that Emily loves instead of mocktail? I think it’s kind of – sometimes I think of what my 11 year old niece is like.
Sophisticated, trained bartenders should be able to make a cocktail alcohol-free without much effort. They’re discovering that now with all the complex ingredients. I just say, order cocktails and ask for them unleaded.
Oh, I like that.
Yeah, an unleaded cocktail. A mojito or a margarita should be really easy to make without tequila or rum. Because you’re muddling lime, mint, club soda, maybe a little triple sec. It would be fine that way.
Right? So yeah, that makes sense. If you’re using good fresh ingredients, it’s like anything else. It’s like a vegetarian menu. If you use good fresh vegetables, people aren’t gonna mind.
I use the analogy, you can order a salad without protein, and it’s still great. You should be able to order a cocktail without alcohol and it should be great. And not full of sugar.
Right, I couldn’t agree more. I think that’s amazing. And tell us about what’s happening in the New York location, a little bit different than the Charleston location.
It’s a little bit different. When we looked at expanding across the country, we knew we needed to be in New York. Our brands are there, our customers are there. And they’re 5 million people during the day coming to the city of Manhattan.
Maybe a little less now than there used to be. But there’s still a lot.
Maybe 3 million. Yes, still a lot. So we looked for a space where we could really bring our vision to life and opened a tasting salon in the West Village. It’s very event driven. This month, every Friday, there is a speakeasy open downstairs. The brands will come in from overseas. We just had Ish in from Copenhagen, and they did a big press event.
How cool!
Oh, yeah, it was really fun. And so we look at it as a place that people can come in, have a beverage, try the products. Our longer term vision is almost as though you go into a winery where you can order a flight of gin or a flight of wine and try the different kinds to see what you like.
That’s so fun. So again, dry January, I find it’s always interesting, right? Everyone has their own version of what a dry January is. Some people do it for a little while, some people do it for long, everyone, to your point, can have their own relationship with alcohol. And then all of a sudden, it’s February 1, and the floodgates open. If you were talking to somebody about what you would consider to be an ease in or a soft entry, what would be one of your favorite products that you have or favorite cocktails that you make out of the products in your location that you would tell someone to drink?
To your first point on the question, we’re easing into February as functional February.
Okay.
If you didn’t try dry January, you should try functional February, which is replacing alcohol with the beverages that I just talked to you about. Some of them have ashwagandha, they have naturally occurring – like maybe it’s mushrooms, like reishi mushroom is a big one. Try something like that, or CBD. I would encourage you if you haven’t gone dry for seven or 10 days or you haven’t tried functional, just see how you feel. In my recommendation, my favorite thing and everyone knows, is this Aperol alternative called Wilfred’s. It’s the number one Aperol alternative in the world. It’s out of the UK, it has bitter orange and rosemary.
Wow, delicious.
So easy to make a spritz with it with club soda. I’m a lazy bartender. You don’t have to be a mixologist to drink low alcohol or no alcohol. I also have another favorite out of California called bonbuz. And it literally gives you a buzz, naturally occurring caffeine in the drink. And some nootropics and adaptogens that support well-being. There’s a spicy one that makes a tremendous spicy Margarita.
Could you drive after you drink these?
Yeah, it’s called bonbuz slowburn.
Okay.
I love that and then we’ve got some canned gin and tonics. That’s literally the brand I was just mentioning, Ish, as a gin and tonic in a can and it’s so easy.
I love that idea. So continuing on cans, so canned beverages, super popular, super well-known. I think we’ve spoken, easy to carry, easy to bring somewhere. A lot of places, depending on what’s in them, are sold in the drugstores – not the drugstore – in the supermarkets or, I mean it’s because they’re not malt beverages and not alcohol and I don’t know, a whole different line of stuff. Canned beverages on your side, tell me about what else you guys are doing or thinking or rolling with?
Well, we have, I mentioned a hero mixer. Avec is out of Brooklyn. They have this phenomenal line of different hero mixers, which means you can mix with spirits or just drink on their own in a can. I also love Ghia. Ghia was on Shark Tank a few weeks ago. They are bitter aperitivo. So a lot of times people are asking me about sugar content, and they don’t want sweet, so we do have things that can be poured into a glass and you feel like you’re drinking a cocktail. I also love Figilia, Rasāsvāda is a plant-based botanics line source from all over the globe. There’s a lot of things that are actually good for you. In a can, we also have Ferm Fatale. It’s a zero sugar probiotic cosmopolitan or mojito.
I wish right now this was video and not just speaking because my jaw just hit the floor because I’m so excited to try this.
Yeah, it’s like a kombucha but a cocktail. Ferm Fatale.
My next stop when I leave work today I’m going down Hudson Street. What’s next for you and the brand?
So we are currently raising a seed round to expand this concept nationally. Also working with a national retail to partner and bring the multiple brands that Sèchey carries to a wider audience across the country. And we do currently ship from our site Sèchey.com. It’s S-E-C-H-E-Y and so we’ll expand who we ship to, where we ship. Right now, our primary thing was getting the experience right in the store and the response has been tremendous. So we know we’ve really hit a need.
And what about your own branded beverage?
Yes, we are launching a private label. We are working on a Sèchey 75, which is my personal favorite drink.
I love it.
If anyone’s had it, it’s basically a nod to the French 75, which is champagne, gin, lemon juice and sometimes elderflower.
My sister just smiled the biggest smile.
She loves her French 75 too?
Loves her French 75.
Yeah, yeah. So we’ll do that. Barware, book, really build out the assortment so you can find things for any celebration. The store in New York also has a pop-up, a flower pop-up, so you can literally come in and get a handpicked bouquet of flowers, a card and a bottle of alcohol-free wine.
Oh my god. One stop shopping. I love it. Could you tell us the address though? Because I said Hudson but I need the exact address.
In New York, it’s 632 Hudson, between Jane and Horatio. We are open Wednesday through Sunday.
Awesome.
And in Charleston, we’re open seven days a week, 10 to seven, and we are at 540 King. And as you know, Charleston has this huge resurgence right now, like amazing food, tons of tourists. We love hosting visitors.
Yes. I’m excited to be one soon, again. Like I mentioned, we met at FAB. And I will be back in June. I’ll make sure to stop in the store, buy a whole bunch of goodies, because last year when I went in, everyone loved what I brought back. And I’m just so happy that everything’s going well. And the New York Times keeps talking about you and other publications. And it’s so amazing not only to just see someone who’s so passionate about something, but being able to see them succeed is just awesome. So, Emily, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for promoting you and your business and everything happening. And anyone who’s listening, as Emily said, she is raising a seed round. And with the alt spirit world taking off the way it is, it’s probably worth emailing Emily just to find out a little more. So thank you so much.
Thank you for the interest. Yeah, so fun.
Of course. So I will speak to you soon, and thank you again for joining me today.
Thank you to all of our listeners to the Dana Delivers by Aprio podcast. If you liked today’s podcast, please hit the subscribe button. Dana Delivers is brought to you by Aprio, a premier accounting and business advisory firm with offices across the US and clients around the globe.
About Emily Heintz:
Emily Heintz has over 20 years of professional experience in a variety of roles from store manager and merchant to online store founder, fashion school professor and recruiting industry talent. She has spent much of her working career in retail, innovation, and business. In 2022, Heintz launched Sèchey to bring alternative spirits beverages to the modern drinker, and has already had major success in Charleston and New York.
Emily graduated from the University of Georgia in 2000 with a degree in Public Relations.
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Welcome to Dana Delivers by Aprio podcasts, the podcast that helps restaurant owners and operators learn from industry experts about trends and opportunities. On every episode, Dana Zukofsky, the leader of Aprio’s restaurant advisory team, explores a topic impacting our industry in a candid conversation. And now, let’s hear what Dana is serving up on this episode.
And on today’s episode of Dana Delivers, we have Jason Berry with us from KNEAD Hospitality. Jason, thank you so much for joining today.
Dana, it’s my pleasure.
Thanks. And I always like to start the podcast with the first time I remember meeting somebody. And now I say, ‘remember meeting someone’ because once, I found out that my first time remembering wasn’t theirs. But the first time Jason, you and I met, we were at, I believe it was Hakkasan. Jeff Brock introduced us. And I think right away, I knew we’d be best friends. You had a growing restaurant group down in DC. My sister was living down there, so I knew there’d be a lot of trips to check out the spot. So why don’t you talk a little bit about you, your background, how you ended up in DC, and then we’ll talk about what’s going on over at KNEAD.
Oh, wow. I’ll try to find the short version. I am from Los Angeles, originally. I am 50 years old this year, which is quite the interesting age to be.
Happy birthday.
Thank you. Thank you. Los Angeles originally, went to USC undergrad. I majored in entrepreneurship and business and found myself during my 20s, or at least looked for myself. Worked in restaurants from the time I was 15 years old through college waiting tables. After college, thinking about law school, working in the entertainment industry, waiting tables again, traveling the world. And then all of my smart friends were going to business school and I thought, ‘I don’t know what I want to do with my life so I’ll go to business school too.’ So I applied to a bunch of schools. And I got into Wharton, which is a good school in Pennsylvania, in Philly. And I flew out there and found out that I was not the smartest guy in the room. And it was incredibly humbling. I was surrounded by all these brilliant, brilliant 800 people in my class, had a wonderful time for two years getting my MBA and creating an amazing network of people that are still my closest friends. Not all 800 of them, but about 20 of them. And majored in marketing at Wharton. And when I was in school, I was debating between what kind of job I would do. I did consulting for my summer internship for a firm that had a project going on in Buffalo, which was not my favorite city to be in.
Sounds cold.
It was summertime, so it was just gross. And my base was in New York. So I would fly to Buffalo Monday to Thursday, and then spend my weekends in New York. So that was fun. And that was 2001, which is during a very tough economic time. So I was just lucky to have an internship at all. And then I was thinking about going back in the restaurant business post business school. And of course, the restaurant industry really doesn’t hire MBAs. So I reached out to Houston’s, which is now called Hillstone. And I had worked for Houston’s pretty business school as a server and a server trainer and opening restaurants for them. And they had offered me a management job, which I had declined at the time to do marketing for another company for a business school. And I reached out to them and I said, ‘Hey, I’m graduating with my MBA.’ Houston’s was always very turned on by pedigree and schools, and they always wanted their managers and people to come from the best schools. It was sort of Goldman Sachs-like of the restaurant industry. And they said, ‘We don’t hire MBAs. We don’t know what we’d do with you.’ And so they said no, and then over the next six months, they eventually said yes. And I was their first MBA hire.
Wow, I don’t think I knew that. But I am a big fan of the Hillstone Restaurant Group.
Yeah. So I went to work there in Los Angeles. Houston’s, at the time, transfers everybody around all over the place. And I think in my two years with them, I worked in six restaurants, got promoted pretty quickly to GM. Usually it takes five years. I think I did it in a year or a year and a half. And I found myself in New York running the restaurant on Park Avenue, and I found myself in Long Island running the restaurant in –
Roosevelt field?
Roosevelt field, yes, which is now no longer there. Got my sort of graduate education in restaurants with them and found myself to sort of be a small fish in a big pond and wanted something a little more entrepreneurial and was approached by a recruiter who said, ‘Have you ever been to Rosa Mexicano?’ And I said, ‘No, I’ve heard of it.’ He said, ‘Well, are you interested? They’re looking for a regional manager,’ and I said, ‘Not really. Mexican isn’t really my thing. I love Mexican food, but I don’t know much about it.’ He said, ‘We’ll go check it out. So I went for my interview. And before my interview, I went to have lunch in August in 2004 at Rosa Mexicano Lincoln Center. And Monday lunch in August in the Upper West Side couldn’t be a slower meal period.
And it was bumping, I bet.
It was pretty busy for the time of day. And I had tortilla soup and enchilada suizas, the only things I had known on the menu that I could have some opinion about. And then I went to meet my soon to be boss, a guy named Howard Greenstone, who was a mentor to me for 10 years in the company. And I ended up going to work at Rosa. At the time, they had three locations, two in New York, one in DC. And I joined as a regional manager and helped grow the company from three restaurants to 19 restaurants in 10 years. And I left as the COO of a company. And then my partner and now husband, Michael, he was also in the restaurant business in a variety of companies. And we had decided that I was living in New York and Miami, and then we landed in DC, which we liked very much. And we decided to, I would leave Rosa, and we would open our own restaurant together. And so we opened our first restaurant in 2015. It’s called Succotash. It’s in National Harbor, which is this huge, man made live, work, play convention center environment with a casino, an MGM casino, just 15 minutes south of DC and Maryland, across from Alexandria on the Potomac. And we opened our first restaurant there seven and a half years ago. Since then, our company KNEAD Hospitality + Design has grown from one location to now 14. And we have eight full service restaurants, four fast casuals and two bakeries. And then we have four more fast casuals opening this year, a hotel F&B project in DC and our third location of Mi Vida, which is our Mexican restaurant. So it’s been a wild ride over these last almost eight years.
Now we have 900 employees and about 100 salary. 100 of those people are salaried. The rest are hourly employees. And we’re trying to do good things in the industry. And our approach is very much Michael and I concept name, Michael does the design work with architects and GCs and people to assist us in all these things. But everything is sort of our baby, our brainchild, and we find locations. And then we say, ‘Well, do we have anything in our portfolio that can fit in this location? Or do we have to create a new concept?’ Always prefer not to create a new concept, but we’ve had these great opportunities that have come our way that were real estate that we couldn’t pass up. So we created concepts for the location. And now we have Tex-Mex, Mexican French, steak, Southern, upscale diner, bakeries, and a variety of fast casual. So there’s still some concepts we’d like to do. But I love doing things we’ve already done instead of doing new things, because it’s about 100 times easier to do an existing concept than create something new.
Right, why reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to?
Exactly.
I think one of the things you said that was just so interesting is that it is you and Michael. And as we start to see some more restaurant groups that used to be privately owned are now going ways of merging with other brands, or maybe consolidating or there seems to be a lot of activity, some people are going a franchise route. I know that being an entrepreneur is so important to you. What is it that keeps the two of you going, being able to do this, and expand your brands the way you are?
I think a good measure of insanity. I think that’s a big piece of it. I also think that we’re fortunate enough to have a very small group of investors that believe deeply in what we’re doing and that have been able to help finance our growth. So, we really haven’t had to go out and look for money.
That’s amazing.
That time, I’m sure it’s coming. I’m sure at some point, somebody’s gonna say, ‘Hey, I’ve done as many restaurants as I want to do for my portfolio.’ Restaurants are risky. And not everything we touch is going to be a homerun. It’s just not possible, generally speaking. At some point, I think we’ll go out there and look for other methods of financing. But when I worked for Rosa, about four years into my 10 years, Rosa was purchased by a private equity firm. 50% or 51% of it was purchased by a private equity firm and then we had new owners to answer to and it’s a very interesting dynamic and a strange relationship and not one that I’m dying to encounter again. Obviously, I’m in a different place and a different level and a different perspective and I’m older, and maybe I’m a little wiser. But anytime you get money from someone, there’s expectations, and I like being my own boss. And even though I have investors who I consider my bosses and try to make decisions based on what’s best for them, it’s really nice not having a group of executives in private equity to answer to every month and review financials and tell us how they think we should be running our restaurants when they’ve never done such a thing.
So it’s interesting. I think, at some point, we’ll have to figure it out, whether we sell the company or whether we bring in investors for bigger growth. We have all these different concepts, and some are more successful than others. Do you bring money in for just growing the Mexican side of our business or the southern side, or does somebody really need a steakhouse in their portfolio and wants to help us grow that? So there’s a lot of different ways to skin the cat. But I think one of my philosophies in life has always been to walk through every door. And there’s a lot of meetings I never wanted to take, that I took, because I’m a big believer in taking meetings, just in case, just in case this leads to somewhere that you didn’t see coming. And I’ve kind of lived my whole life that way. And so a lot of relationships or a lot of connections have happened because I walked through doors that I really didn’t want to necessarily walk through. So I feel like things will take us in the right direction when the time comes. And in the meantime, the problem with this industry, and I’m 50 years old, and I plan to live quite a bit longer. Well, most leases are 10 years, and you might get a five or 10 year extension, depending on the lease. So at best, you’re 20 years. And if you’re super fortunate in a very rare location with very rare success in a neighborhood that continues to be a good neighborhood and doesn’t evolve into a bad one, you might have a 20 or 30 year project. In order to keep my income and my family’s income moving, I have to continue to grow and open more restaurants. Otherwise, in X number of years, I’m going to have no restaurants. And so it’s a strange life cycle. Whereas you open a company startup that sells products to a market and you continue to grow that distribution channel in that market. Well, you don’t have a finite lifespan, like you do in the restaurant industry.
It’s interesting, I really never thought about it that way. But it really does. It is true that with the way the leases go, and if you are successful, and you’re doing well and your landlord sees it, chances are they’re going to raise your rent, which doesn’t always align. Just because it looks like you’re doing well, doesn’t always mean you are.
Right. A neighborhood that’s fantastic today could be a terrible neighborhood in a year, let alone five or 10. You may not want to continue to invest in that and grow it. Every landlord says if you want to renew your lease and extend it, you have to put X dollars into it somewhere between years eight and 10 to remodel, to refresh. Well, maybe it’s not worth the 500 or a million dollars, $500,000 or million dollars to do that, based on how your sales are and then that restaurant ends up going away. And it’s just a very strange dynamic. Luckily, we’ve gotten no turkeys at the moment, but I expect some of these neighborhoods won’t be –
At some point, there might be.
Yeah, they won’t be what we hoped they would be. And even COVID. One of our restaurants, which I won’t name, is in a neighborhood that we thought would be amazing. That turned out to be not as good strictly because of COVID and how it’s changed the office dynamic and the people coming to work and maybe a little more homelessness and a little less of what we had expected when we wrote the business plan. So things change much more quickly. And sometimes, like with COVID, in ways you can’t ever control or imagine.
Yeah, no one could have Imagined all of a sudden what a work week and workday looks like. Right now, the DC base, everything is within a certain amount of square miles from each other. Earlier, we spoke about expansion outside the DC metro area. You want to talk a little bit about what that plan looks like?
Yeah, we are opening one, maybe two restaurants, in a new development in Virginia. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say where yet. So I’m going to not be specific. But the location is going to be our first outside of DC, the DMV region. And in order to grow, we just have to start looking. I wouldn’t say we’ve maximized all the great real estate in the city, but there’s a lot less of it that we’re interested in given radius clauses and the concepts that do well versus where it would, you know, we’re opening our third Mi Vida in the region in April. I don’t think there’s room for any more here.
Right.
That’s our biggest growth vehicle. It’s casual fine dining, high energy Mexican. We think there’s a huge market for it, but not necessarily anymore here. So we’re having to look outside. And we have these 900 employees. Well, if they don’t have opportunities for growth in our company, they’re going to go take everything they learned with us somewhere else. So there’s also that piece of hanging on to people by providing more opportunity for them
Right, no. And that’s definitely important, especially in today’s market where finding employees is hard, finding good employees is harder and keeping them is really the hardest. But you guys seem to do a good job. I’m a huge fan of you and Michael and all of your restaurants. And I just wanted to thank you so much for joining me today. And we do have people listening all over the country. So anyone who does visit the DC area, make sure to check out one of Jason’s restaurants at KNEAD Hospitality + Design. So Jason, thank you again, and I look forward to speaking to you soon.
Thanks, Dana. Great to be here.
Thank you to all of our listeners to the Dana Delivers by Aprio podcast. If you liked today’s podcast, please hit the subscribe button. Dana Delivers is brought to you by Aprio, a premier accounting and business advisory firm with offices across the US and clients around the globe.
About Jason Berry:
Jason Berry co-founded KNEAD Hospitality + Design, an award-winning Washington, DC-based multi-concept family of restaurants, in 2015. KNEAD restaurants offer a variety of experiences, from elevated casual dining to fast-casual.
Jason has been working in the restaurant industry since he was 15 years old. He quickly worked his way up in the industry working for Wendy’s, California Pizza Kitchen, and Hillstone until he became Chief Operating Officer for Rosa Mexicano in 2011.
Berry earned his bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Japanese from the University of South Carolina, and went on to get his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
The post Restaurant Entrepreneurship with Jason Berry appeared first on Aprio.
Welcome to Dana Delivers by Aprio podcasts, the podcast that helps restaurant owners and operators learn from industry experts about trends and opportunities. On every episode, Dana Zukofsky, the leader of Aprio’s restaurant advisory team, explores a topic impacting our industry in a candid conversation. And now, let’s hear what Dana is serving up on this episode.
Well, on today’s episode of Dana Delivers, we have Helen Lao, one of my favorite people to talk to, from ClearPath Solutions. Thanks, Helen, for joining. This is a much overdue conversation.
Much. It’s always great to see you, Dana.
Thank you. So Helen, for the few people out there who might not know about you or ClearPath, why don’t you tell us a little bit about you, your background, how it all got started, and then we’ll jump into what’s happening in the restaurant space.
Sounds great. ClearPath solutions, we’re coming on year 12, Dana. Been matching leaders to teams, working with emerging growth brands across the industry, across the US, and feel really fortunate when I take a look at our team. And many of them have been with me for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years. And so, shout out to my team, they’re wonderful. And we are continuing to be matchmakers in the industry, and matching up executives, not just with teams, but we’re finding, there’s a lot of mergers happening and opportunities out there. So we’re constantly keeping our ear to the ground, not just for new brands and trends, but also kind of understanding what executive stories are, in terms of what’s changed in their life or what they’re open to. So it’s been a great year for us. And we’re looking forward to an incredible year in ‘23.
Right. No, and I think that’s always been one of the best parts about working with you, is that you really do not just get a resume, that you stop and you listen to what people need. And I usually start the podcast with the first time I met someone. And I know we’ve spoken before about it, but the first time we met was in Vegas at an RFDC a million years back, through Zach Weprin and the guys from Fusion. And even with them when you first met them, I mean, when I first met them, they were young, they were a young brand. They were young guys, and they’re growing so much. So I know you’re not only working with the big guys, like you said, you are into emerging brands. Tell me some of the things that you’re seeing in that space that are just so exciting to you as it comes to those younger emerging brands that you’ve been hearing about?
Yeah, I think, certainly, everyone’s faced with the same headwinds, right? Whether you’re a small company, big company, in terms of staffing being the biggest one, food costs, and the supply chain, construction. I mean, those are all common threads. But, I mean, the industry is amazing. This is what I love the most, is how resilient the industry is. Everyone remains optimistic, I mean, cautiously optimistic. But I think, as an industry, we’ve been faced with the biggest challenges out there and overcome those. So I think what we’re hearing from brands, whether it’s young or older brands is we’ll make it through this as well. And growth, we have seen growth maybe taper off a little bit as it relates to target. A lot of our brands are saying, ‘Hey, we were originally going to open, maybe 10-12 units, it has now been more like six.’
Slowing down a little bit.
Yeah, slowing down a little bit. But that’s where the cautious optimism comes in.
Yes, exactly.And I think a lot of people listening probably got to know you a little bit better over the COVID period, when you did the Step Up to the Table and Helen on the Move, and all that amazing social media and outreach that you did. During that time, you also started doing some other brand extensions. Or I guess not brand, but service extensions to the company, like getting more involved in some of the franchise space. Could you talk a little bit about what you’re doing with those companies and who some of them are?
Yeah, that sounds great. Dana, we actually had started a completely different division at one point. And what we realized is it just needed to be rolled up underneath our existing team and brand. So we actually are still working. We’re not really taking on clients, I would say, but what we found was that ClearPath was really in the center of executive talent, leadership, capital, and then also great brands. And so when you think about great brands, I think, for me, I was like, gosh, we could actually pull all three of those together. Whether somebody needed the operator, that’s obviously what we do. But we’re in the middle of this information. So how can we pull this all together? And so while we don’t have the ClearPath franchise match division anymore, we did take on some incredible clients that we’re extremely proud of, that we still go out and tell the story about, hoping that sophisticated franchisees will actually look to bolt onto their portfolio. So I think about Mighty Quinn’s in New York, I think about Dog Haus out in Pasadena and certainly, Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay.
Yeah. And having worked with Lawrence and Bobby, you know how much I love them and support the growth of that brand. And it really is funny, right? When we think about executive matchmaking, the traditional thought about it is finding a CEO or finding a CFO. But really, it’s so much deeper, right? Yes, there is the person who might only do a CFO search, or might do a retain search versus a success fee search. But there really is room for everyone in the market, right? Like, everyone has their differentials.
It’s so true, there’s room actually. I always tell candidates this when we’re talking to them. If you are actively looking, you should let every executive search firm know, because the truth is, we’re never going to win all the searches, corn fairies, not winning them all. I mean, it’s just there’s room for all the players. And so, I’m really proud to obviously represent this industry. And last week, something interesting – I shared this with my team – I was talking to a CEO of a brand. And he was saying the difference with ClearPath. And he was kind of talking about us compared to the really big folks and some of the really small folks. The value you bring is really your interpretation of their experience. Sometimes what we hear is just what you find on the LinkedIn profile, or what’s on paper already. And so getting your context around the person beyond the paper is so valuable. And that’s the difference between a recruitment firm and an executive search firm. And I thought that completely resonated with me. I never really thought about it like that. But we always present the person beyond the experience.
Right, and that’s why I say all the time how good of a listener you are, and I try to push you into matchmaking for the personal side, too. Nobody listens and knows more people than you do. But no, the perception is someone’s reality, right? So if you listen, and you’re able to tell the story, you’re able to communicate much more than someone just going on LinkedIn and saying, I’m looking for a fill in the blank.
Yeah, and everybody can read that, right? So it’s really, it’s not our secret sauce. It’s actually what everybody should be doing is we’re reaching out to hundreds of leaders. We talk to hundreds of leaders a week. And oftentimes it’s actually just checking in with them, and understanding maybe what’s changed. They’ve become an empty nester, they are now relocatable, where maybe they weren’t. Because we called them a year and a half ago, right? So, timing is everything.
Absolutely. And I think that that’s super important, that constant touch point. I mean, I know, at least for me, I have a list of about 15 people that I try to talk to at least once a month. Sometimes it ends up being more, sometimes, like us, we try our best and it goes two months. But there are certain people that even just from having that half hour conversation, something sparks to get you to think about something else. And it really is just listening and figuring out what the best fit for different people are.
Yeah, absolutely. It’s huge. And I’m so happy that you found your spot at Aprio. I mean, our wonderful, wonderful friend. Really, really happy for you.
Thank you. Yeah, it’s been great here. And again, I think that’s a big change here, for me, similar to what we were just saying is, I’m working with a really amazing team. And one of the differentials that we have is we’re able to bring in, because we’re a smaller firm, we have a little bit more ability to be nimble. And when I go to a proposal meeting or talk to a prospect or even a center of influence, we’re having those calls with someone from my audit team, someone from my tax team, myself on advisory. We’re not really a siloed group. We’re a cohesive team. And I think that’s what’s been really fun about being at Aprio. And some of the new clients we’re working with are able to bring that full scope of services to somebody as opposed to just an audit or a traditional one service firm. But again, I think that’s kind of like what you guys were doing with the franchise stuff, right? As you saw the ability that you’re talking to private equity groups, and you’re talking with money and you’re talking to existing franchisees who are looking to grow their brands and great people. How no one thought to do this sooner, I guess is just even the more fascinating part.
Yeah, it’s a lot of work. There’s no question about it, Dana, but I still believe in it 100%. I am so convinced that there’s still this gap there, and we’re looking to fill that and hopefully be able to deliver some really great franchisees for our partners.
So anyone who’s listening who’s interested call Helen. What else? What are we seeing? We’re optimistic, cautiously, like we said. We know that there’s no one better at being scrappy than people in the restaurant and franchise space. Any trends in food, fun? Anything else that we’re thinking about that you’re seeing?
I’d say pickleball. Have you played pickleball?
I don’t. And we’ve now noticed that I think we’re the last two left. So we’re going to find a pickleball court in Orange County, and we’re going to learn. We think that this is, obviously, it’s growing, but you think it’s brandable? Has anyone branded it yet?
I mean, I think I’ve heard of several actually, that are branded, but I think there’s a lot. I’m hearing a lot of athletes are actually investing in teams. But I’ve never seen a craze start as quickly as this. I mean, literally every person I know plays pickleball.
Old, young, in between.
It’s true.
Every socioeconomic, it has resonated through everywhere. It’s fascinating.
Yeah. And so we’re seeing a lot of brands kind of pulling it together with food and beverage and making that a component versus just a court. But I’ve actually heard of six different pickleball concepts that are still in development.
That’s fantastic. Any other trends or hot topics or anything else you’ve been seeing? We know a lot of automation, a lot of technology.
There’s a lot of technology. I mean, it’s moving so fast, Dana. Just in terms of how they’re utilizing, I mean, obviously, we’ve been talking about DSPs, and all of that, but I’m just talking collectively. In technology, people are talking about AI. I mean, there’s so many different service models out there. I mean, sometimes I feel like I’m constantly trying to keep up with it. But yeah, I think there’s a lot of investments that maybe the restaurant industry hasn’t made in the past. And it’s moving even faster now.
It’s like everyone’s trying to play catch up. But we caught up and now somehow we’re ahead.
Yeah. Because it’s so antiquated, right? In terms of restaurants for a long time. They didn’t make the investment. But we’re seeing a lot of brands making a significant investment in technology, and what’s to come.
And then you said, again, we know that on the front of house staff, we know it’s hard. But we’re going to find people and we’re going to figure it out. Are there jobs you’re seeing more on the executive search side becoming more available? Or that you’re seeing more talent now in the talent pool, whether it be because of mergers or just different stuff? Are you seeing new job opportunities? Where are you seeing the most opportunity right now for an employee or an employer?
So it’s interesting, I think that there is some really great talent out there for operations. And I say that only because there’s so many more operators, right? When I think about the executive at the executive level, finance has a very specific skill set. Operations, you’re kind of pulling from a very, very large pool. We are seeing great talent out there across the board. But I would tell you, there’s a number of operational roles. We’re seeing a ton of shared service platforms come where fans are merging together. I mean, I think about Hopdoddy and Grub. I mean, we could probably name – there’s many out there. And so what that leads to is a combination of two teams, and creating a platform of some kind, where all the back office and HR and different roles kind of get consolidated.
Right. So then it puts some really amazing, amazing talent out back in the marketplace, which is good for those brands that are growing and young.
Exactly. And there’s so many emerging brands too, right? So I think it’s matching up the talent with the right opportunities.
Well, no one does it better than you. So thank you. And Helen, I love speaking to you. Any final thoughts or anything else before we sign out?
Just appreciate all the – I was thinking about it over Thanksgiving – that I am so grateful for the connections, the relationships, the friendships that have been built like ours. And relationships are at the core of what we do. So whether it’s accounting services, recruiting services, but we’re really grateful for that.
Yeah, well, Helen, thank you as always, and I look forward to speaking to you soon.
Okay. Thanks, Dana.
Thank you to all of our listeners to the Dana Delivers by Aprio podcast. If you liked today’s podcast, please hit the subscribe button. Dana Delivers is brought to you by Aprio, a premier accounting and business advisory firm with offices across the US and clients around the globe.
About Helen Lao:
Helen Lao is founder and CEO of ClearPath Solutions, an executive search firm focused on matching founders and entrepreneurs of emerging brands with top leaders in the industry.
Passionate about the restaurant industry, especially during the height of the pandemic, she started initiatives like Step Up to the Table, which encouraged people to dine at their favorite restaurants, and Helen on the Move, where she documented herself on social media supporting local restaurants herself.
Lao received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Bryant University.
The post Seeking Emerging Brands and Top Talent appeared first on Aprio.
Welcome to Dana Delivers by Aprio podcasts, the podcast that helps restaurant owners and operators learn from industry experts about trends and opportunities. On every episode, Dana Zukofsky, the leader of Aprio’s restaurant advisory team, explores a topic impacting our industry in a candid conversation. And now, let’s hear what Dana is serving up on this episode.
Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us today. As our guest, we have Andrew Glantz, who’s the founder and CEO of GiftAMeal. Thanks, Andrew, for joining us.
Yeah, thanks for having me, Dana. I really appreciate it.
Of course. So, usually, I start the podcast, any of our listeners know, with the first time I met someone. Although Andrew and I have not yet met in person, he did see that I’m speaking at the Restaurant Finance Conference, reached out to meet and talk and mentioned some of my favorite people that he’s going to be working with. And usually when people name drop, I always am like, ‘Oh, whatever.’ But when you mention certain names, I get really excited. So anyone out there working with GiftAMeal already, I’m excited for you, and whoever is not, Andrew, why don’t you kick it off and tell us a little bit about what GiftAMeal is?
Absolutely. So I founded GiftAMeal as kind of that blend of marketing and giving back. I saw that with restaurants, there were a lot of financial incentives like coupons and discounts and things like that. But there wasn’t a lot out there that was really building an emotional connection between the customer and the restaurant. And I really wanted to find a way to involve the guests in a giveback experience that makes them feel that sense of connection to the restaurant and their community as a whole. And so the basic way the GiftAMeal program works is that the guest simply takes a photo of their food or drink at the restaurant, or at home of their takeout or delivery order, and when they do that, we make a donation to a local food bank to help give a meal to someone in need in that restaurant community. And so the photo is taken for free by the customer either through the GiftAMeal mobile app, which is free, or it can be by scanning a QR code and taking a photo in a web browser in Chrome or Safari without having to download a mobile app for posting it through GiftAMeal, one meal. And then the guests can share on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. And we give an extra meal for each platform they share on. It’s owned by the restaurant and free for the customer.
That’s unbelievable. And we know that people like to take a picture of their food anyway. So if you’re doing it already, and now you could help out someone who needs it, why not? And Andrew, what was your background? Tell me your background and where this stems from, because just kind of relating it to me, I grew up in a family where we were very fortunate. But my mother made it very clear to us that there were people who are food insecure. We always did have to go to different events, and we did turkey packs for Thanksgiving, and even now I’m super involved in City Harvest because of that. Where did your passion for this come from?
Similarly to you, it’s just the way that I was raised. As early as I can remember, when I was five years old, I was volunteering alongside my parents, and they really taught me never to take anything for granted and to really not just focus on giving back, but treat each person with dignity and respect and recognize the challenges that people are going through are sometimes circumstantial and out of their control. And making sure that everybody has access to opportunities is something that I’ve been really passionate about. So growing up, I did a lot of volunteering at different food banks and volunteering helping tutor underprivileged children. And I got involved in a kind of kids for kids nonprofit that I was vice president for four years when I was in high school.
Wow, that’s great.
Yeah, and we raised about $350,000 for kids in need in my community across education, hunger, and mobility. And so I saw the impact that could be made, and then applying that impact. So giving back was something important. And then I went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, and was an owner of a nonprofit storefront promoting reuse and sustainability on campus for a couple of years. And then I had an internship at a venture capital firm where the managing partner exposed me to the idea of a profit with a purpose business model and how profit and purpose can be consistent goals. And so it took my passion of giving back and then also looking at something that could be scalable and grow to make a really large impact and be something that can help multiple stakeholders. And I had the very original idea for GiftAMeal when I was in college after that internship and yeah, so I started off just like a local program. I didn’t have a car and I was going up and down the street in this node, a mom and pop restaurant, to get some early traction and have them test it out. I grew this out in the St. Louis market and graduated. And then I went full time on GiftAMeal, and raised some funding from investors, I could grow out the team. And then we started to expand nationally. And now we have over 500 partner restaurants in 27 states all across the country. Oh, and we’ve given over a million meals to those in need so far. We hit that milestone a couple months ago.
And a million meals, that’s a lot of meals. And again, having been involved with different food charities over the years, we know that these charities where you’re giving the money to, they really make the dollar go far. But someone listening, I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t want to help and give back. But here someone is, a single unit operator, they have one restaurant. They’re listening to this and saying, ‘What’s the catch?’ Explain exactly how the GiftaMeal, like if you could put some dollars and cents to it to make the listener, who is the restaurateur, understand the real value here for them as the owner, but also how they’re going to give back to the community.
Absolutely. And we want to make sure this is not just a meaningful social impact for their community, but it’s also a meaningful business impact in terms of the marketing return on investment for the restaurant, whether it’s an independent operator, a franchisee, or a corporate chain. And for the independent operator, they’re paying $79 a month on our standard plan to be on GiftAMeal. For a chain, we discount that price down to as low as $34 a month per location as a flat monthly rate. So it’s really predictable from a budgeting standpoint. In terms of what they get out of it, customers sharing out photos on social media is great because it’s them being advocates for the restaurant. There’s no ratings or reviews, it’s strictly positive.
But in addition to that, we’ve seen that the guests that are using GiftAMeal are having an uplifting experience, or feeling that sense of emotional connection and satisfaction with the brand, to the point that, on average, GiftAMeal customers are returning to that restaurant 39% more frequently. They’re spending 20% more per visit and tipping 32% more on average. So yeah, increase in check size, tip size, visit frequency, and customers are more satisfied and promoting the restaurant on social media – a lot of good things that can come out of this, in addition to a really meaningful social impact that can help those in need in a restaurant community.
Right, and one of the other things I thought was pretty cool is you’re giving back to the community where the restaurants are. So even though you’re based in St. Louis, all of the funds that you collect, and then the meals you distribute, are being given back to the local areas where the people are from, not where you’re based.
Yes, exactly. So for instance, one of our partners is Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, and they cover the cost at the corporate level from their ad funds for all 130 locations, franchisees across the country.
Hold on a second. Listen, franchisors, we have that ad fund. This could be a really great opportunity.
That is true, that is true. Like we have some where the franchisors pay for the franchisees, we have some where it’s like a preferred vendor agreement and they introduce us to the franchisees and franchisees pay for it if they don’t have an ad fund. And some franchisees just come to us themselves. But yeah, I mean, we’ve seen a lot of success, where for those Lee’s Chicken locations, we’re donating to local food banks all over the country. So instead of having to have 130 different community engagement programs with locations, with the click of a button with signing up for GiftAMeal, they have something that’s hyper local to each location in terms of that social impact and a local marketing impact. It’s meaningful to customers, staff and franchisees, and they’re able to have it be a consistent message across the entirety of the brand. And so it’s good from that overall branding perspective, and then also for each individual location.
I mean, it’s really just unbelievable. And again, somebody who’s maybe not as familiar with how some of the giveback programs work. Someone says, ‘Oh, $79.’ Well, that means the most imprints I’m going to have is 20 because they think a meal costs $4. You and I, having been involved, know that that’s not the case. You want to talk a little bit about how much money a meal really costs when you work?
Yeah, that’s a great point. So when we say we’re providing a meal, it’s not the restaurant providing their food. They don’t need to deal with any food logistics or anything like that. It’s donating money to the food banks. The food banks get food donated to them by supermarkets, food distributors, community food drives, and the food gets stored up in their big distribution facilities. And then we’re covering their costs of getting that food from these big facilities to the hundreds of neighborhood pantries in their areas where there’s a need to access it. And so when they’re distributing those healthy groceries in bulk, they’re able to get the cost down per meal. So one meal is 1.2 pounds of groceries being distributed to a pantry and we’re covering that cost of getting the trucking, the labor, and refrigeration to get it there. And so on average, when they distribute food in bulk, a food bank approximately can provide four meals per dollar donated. So 25 cents per meal and they usually have this on the donate page of their website, whether they say we can provide 10 meals for every dollar donated, or three meals for every dollar donated, or four meals or five meals. On average, it’s about four meals per dollar for a food bank. And so that’s the donation we’re making them using the exact same messaging for transparency and consistency.
Right, because a lot of these food banks really are just logistics companies doing good for people.
And it’s all about just getting the food where people can access it. If somebody lives in a food desert, and they don’t have access to healthy, consistent food, they might just have a convenience store or McDonald’s in that neighborhood, or the shitty grocery store might not have hours open when they’re working multiple jobs to be able to access that food at a food pantry near them. It’s something that can make a really, really big impact for them and their kids.
And when we’re looking at the impact that we’re looking at solving, a lot of people think that it’s just the people you see on the street that are the homeless, but food insecurity is so much bigger than that. If you’re looking across America, it’s nearly one in six kids that face food insecurity, meaning they don’t know where they’re going to find their next meal. And if somebody has something happen on the health side, and they have a really big health bill, that can push them over the edge. I was speaking with one of the people at the food bank, the community members at a food bank that I was volunteering at, and she mentioned about how there was a fire at her house. And then that caused her to have to be crashing on the couch with friends and taking care of her 15 year old daughter and going to the food pantries for support. There’s a lot of restaurant employees that I’ve talked to that have faced some food insecurity at different points in their life, or have friends that face that as well. And so, it’s something that I really look at is, hunger can happen to anybody. And so we all kind of have that obligation to be there for each other, just as we would want somebody to be there for us if we were going through something.
Right, and just a cross promotion here to an earlier podcast and charity that I’m a very big fan of. If you are a restaurant worker listening and you do have an issue, you can also reach out to Giving Kitchen because they too are very involved in helping out the restaurant worker. So this was really important to me to have this conversation now. It’s going to be out right before the holiday season. We know the economy’s maybe not the best it’s ever been. And we’re all trying our best. And there is going to be – there is a little more food insecurity during this time. It’s also interesting that we spoke about children because in the summer, when the kids, when there’s no school, a lot of kids, that’s where they depend on getting their meals from. Are there any special other times of year or programs or anything that are extra important for you as someone who’s seeing on the philanthropy side and on the charity side, when the food banks are reaching out a little bit more?
Yeah, absolutely. And you can kind of think about it as filling the meal gap. So for kids, if they get lunch at school, it’s about making sure they have dinner at home, on the weekdays, the weeknights, and then also food on the weekends. And then like you mentioned for the summer, that they have food when they’re not getting food at school, and then in winter, there’s always the rise in food insecurity as well.
So one of the food banks that we work with, Operation Food Search, we actually volunteered along with a group of 50 GiftAMeal customers as well. And that was the max they could have to volunteer in this space. That was about a week and a half ago. We packed about 2000 meals of food that was for a program called Operation Backpack, where they actually go and deliver the food in bags, and they put them in the backpacks of the kids when they’re in class so there’s no stigma associated with it. The other kids don’t know that they’re getting that food and they can take that home.
Operation Backpack is one of the most amazing programs ever because of what you just said, it takes the stigma away from all of this.
Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So having that sense of humanity with it. And then also making sure that it’s actually effective and making the intended impact are both things that I really look at. With GiftAMeal, after a customer takes their photo to gift a meal, we actually display a story of somebody who has agreed to share their story, how they have been helped by the food banks and everything. And when you read about their stories, it’s something that can humanize hunger and feel that sense of connection. So it’s not just number. A million meals is a lot of meals. We’re doing nearly 40,000 meals donated per month. And that’s incredible. But I also want to make sure we’re not just getting caught up in the number, and we recognize each of those meals as helping a person at the end of the day because that’s what the impact is all about.
Right. No, I couldn’t agree more. And I do think it’s just such a shame in a country with such abundance that there are people, and like you said, one in six children are food insecure. And I appreciate you and I appreciate all that you and your company are doing. Anyone listening who wants to get involved with Gift A Meal for them as a restaurant level or as a consumer, Andrew’s information – do want to just, Andrew, quickly shout out your email?
Absolutely. You can email at Andrew@GiftAMeal.com. You can also book a demo or self sign-up really easily at GiftAMeal.com/partner. And we can launch a new restaurant within a week, if you’re an independent restaurant. And if you’re a chain, we can launch it as soon as two weeks. So this is something that you can get started on really quickly, in order to get the program going, and really get something started. It’s also month to month, no commitment. So really risk-free for a restaurant, not a huge cost and can have a really great impact for the communities you serve and your business. And then for people that are listening that just want to eat out at restaurants and want to help support, you can download the GiftAMeal app for free on iPhone or Android. Just search GiftAMeal on the App Store or Google Play Store, and search for GiftAMeal and download the app and you can see all the different restaurants that participate.
Anyone who’s listening knows that I only share things that I truly believe in, and I think are wonderful. Andrew, you’re the first person who we’ve had on who truly, not only was here to talk about their company, but really gave a plug at the end, because I do think that this is so important to give back to your community. So again, thank you so much to you and to everyone at GiftaMeal, and thank you everyone who’s listening. We look forward to hearing from you in the new year. Thank you.
Absolutely, thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Thanks.
Thank you to all of our listeners to the Dana Delivers by Aprio podcast. If you liked today’s podcast, please hit the subscribe button. Dana Delivers is brought to you by Aprio, a premier accounting and business advisory firm with offices across the US and clients around the globe.
About Andrew Glantz:
Andrew Glantz is the Founder & CEO of GiftAMeal, the nation’s most-awarded charitable marketing platform for restaurants.
He started GiftAMeal in 2015 while studying at Washington University in St. Louis, using his knowledge of running nonprofits. Currently, over a million meals have been provided through this organization to people facing food insecurity.
Glantz made the Business Journal’s “30 under 30” List and regularly lectures to college students on topics like restaurant marketing to negotiations. He serves on the Alumni Board of Governors for Washington University and mentors young entrepreneurs through the Future Founders organization.
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Welcome to Dana Delivers by Aprio podcasts, the podcast that helps restaurant owners and operators learn from industry experts about trends and opportunities. On every episode, Dana Zukofsky, the leader of Aprio’s restaurant advisory team, explores a topic impacting our industry in a candid conversation. And now, let’s hear what Dana is serving up on this episode.
Well, on today’s podcast, we have John Goldasich from Lazard with us. John, thanks for joining.
Thank you, Dana. Thanks for having me. Excited to be here.
Thank you. So Lazard is new to you, so why don’t you tell our listeners a little bit about you, the firm and what you’re doing there?
Absolutely. Yeah, thrilled to be with Lazard. Lazard is a 175 year old global investment bank. They have 41 offices in 25 countries around the globe and have just widely been considered one of the leading advisory firms to companies on Wall Street. They are an independent advisor, they don’t have a balance sheet, and have just always been focused on really specific strategic M&A for leading companies around the globe. I joined back in July to lead the firm’s efforts in the restaurant space and in franchising and multi-unit consumer services. Prior to Lazard, I was with a boutique consumer focused investment bank for the last 16 years where I focused and led efforts in M&A in the restaurant space as well. Very excited to be a part of Lazard platform and have a broader global reach and depth and bring what Lazard can bring to other industries to the restaurant industry.
That’s amazing. And you just hit on the global reach. So before a little more national, now a little global as well. What are you seeing in the marketplace? We’re seeing a lot of slowdown in our M&A practice, right? A lot less QV is going on. Everyone’s taking a beat, they’re waiting for the election cycle. You’re on the other side, you’re the one who’s seeing it before we do. So talk a little bit about what you’re seeingin the market.
Yeah, we’re seeing the same thing. I mean, I was in London earlier this week, and was pitching on a new opportunity and took the time to meet with some European-based sponsors. And they’ve completely ground to a halt. And they have a much more negative view of the deal environment than we do in the US at the moment. And I think that’s the key term, is that it’s at the moment, it’s momentarily. In the US, I think there’s still pockets of activity, but not in the traditional sense where you have institutional private equity groups that are driving a lot of the deal volume. You’re still seeing some select growth equity financings getting done, you’re seeing family office and high net worth individual investments in the emerging brands. There has been some select strategic M&A. But for the most part, what has driven M&A in the US for over a decade has been private equity volume and at the moment, nobody in the private equity world wants to be the individual that goes to their investment committee pitching a restaurant deal at the moment, just with labor pressures and supply chain pressures and macroeconomic pressures. But I think it’s temporary. And I think everybody that I’m talking to is prepping to get something launched by early to mid next year. But people want to see some visibility into future cash flows in some way, shape or form. And right now, there’s just a lot of uncertainty. And we haven’t even talked about the slowdown in the debt markets yet. But I think that things will pick up and everybody’s eager to deploy capital and eager to continue to support the restaurant industry. It’s just a momentary slowdown.
Right. And I guess with deployed capital, some of the conversations we’ve been having is people want to put it to work really bad, but with interest rates where they are, sometimes putting it in the bank might just be a better idea.
Yeah, that’s right. That’s right.
That’s not the fun part for us.
Yeah, as with my new role at Lazard, I get access to so much macroeconomic data, and we have economists on staff, and it’s something that I’ve really been following more than I ever have in my career. Nobody has a crystal ball. But we don’t think this is going to be a slow down for years. It’s going to be a slow down for months. And I think it’ll be really interesting. You and I are talking right now, and I’ll see you in a couple of days at our RFDC. But it’ll be very interesting. We have a full slate of conversations at the Restaurant Finance Conference, and it’ll be interesting to see what people’s view on the deal environment and just what the next 12 to 24 months are gonna hold for the restaurant industry.
Yeah, for sure. And I think what you said before about who was looking to buy, how there are strategic acquisitions or strategic mergers going on, that’s what we’re seeing the most of, is someone owns 60 in a brand, they buy 60 more. Are you guys seeing that as well, globally, and through other brands?
Yeah, I think it’s opportunistic. I mean, just recently MTY has been acquisitive. They bought Wetzel’s and Barbecue Holdings. You’ve got a handful of other strategic deals. And look, there’s been a lot of activity within the franchisee community. Franchisees buying other franchisees. I think that’s slowing down a little bit as well, because so much of that is fueled by the debt markets, and the debt markets are really tightened up in certain areas, including the restaurant space at the moment.
Right. What do you think happens there? You think those are going to start to loosen? Or do we think that’s going to be a little longer?
Gosh, that’s the billion dollar question. I think people want visibility in the future. They want visibility in the future cash flows in some way, shape, or form, whether it’s the labor pressures loosening, supply chain pressures loosening.
Combat any prices.
Yeah, exactly. I read an article where this is actually pro-restaurant industry at the moment. But it said that for the average US family, it would be cheaper for them to actually go to the restaurant and eat Thanksgiving dinner instead of cooking at their house right now, because of inflationary pressures.
Well, I did my FreshDirect order for Thanksgiving. And I compared it to last year’s FreshDirect order, just because it seems a little high. And it’s one and a half times what it was last year for the same stuff, like turkey. But I said, I thought this was cheaper last year.
That’s nuts.
Right. So yeah, what happens to people in other situations with big families and going out? We’ll figure it all out, I guess.
I mean, honestly, I think that’s the thing that unchartered waters, so to speak, in terms of, finance professionals. We’ve all lived through downturns and through economic softness, but none of us have been through economic softness where there’s been so much pressure on the US consumer, just with inflationary pressures. So you have a downturn in the economy mixed with inflation. I think that’s where there’s just so much uncertainty, because it’s something that we haven’t seen before.
Right.
But all that being said, look, we’re focusing a little bit on the negative. I mean, the restaurant industry is extremely resilient. And I’ve always been a firm believer that really high quality assets, premium concepts, they’ll find a way to find capital, they’ll find a way to flourish. The consumer is not going away, they’re just picking their spots, and maybe they tighten their belts, in one way or another. But there’s some really interesting and innovating things going on in the restaurant space.
I guess that’s what I was just gonna ask. So you have access to all these things, right? Because you’re seeing a lot first. You’re seeing people who want to go out, sell, or do whatever they’re doing. What did you see that’s innovative, or fun or a little bit different? If you don’t want to give a brand, that’s okay. But any great ideas out there?
Yeah, no, there’s so much. I mean, I think that one of the great things, but also, a criticism of the restaurant space, is that there’s a lot of me toos, there’s a lot of knock offs, or, ‘Hey, this guy’s doing this, and we’re gonna do the same thing.’ But I think in this environment, people have had to get even more innovative and whether it’s around different ways to get product to the consumer, you have fast casual concepts that are exploring drive thru, you have QSR that are getting deeper into delivery and things of that nature. I really like limited format, what’s going on in the beverage space, I mean, concepts like Scooters and Big B and Swig out in Salt Lake City, what they’re doing on the beverage side with a drive thru only and a small labor force. I really like what’s going on on the experiential side and concepts like chicken and pickle and Puttshack and Popstroke. And I think everybody is realizing that they have to be on their game in this consumer environment in terms of quality and service, and you’re seeing concepts that focus on that really rise to the top.
Right. And as we said earlier, quality and service right now are just – quality we could do, but service is just so hard.
Yeah.
But again, the people have to go back to work somewhere. We have to find them. So what else is going on? So we talked a little bit about what you’re doing, what you’re seeing. Any other words of wisdom or any other things you want to share with our listeners about what you’re seeing or going on more on the US side as opposed to global?
What I love about the restaurant industry, more than anything, is just the culture among operators and among vendors and capital sources. And I’m so excited to go to the Restaurant Finance Conference and see everybody in person, share ideas, and collaborate. And my advice would just be if you’re an operator, don’t operate in a vacuum. Talk to the market, talk to capital sources, talk to advisors, talk to service providers and vendors, because that’s where there’s a free sharing of ideas, where you see how other people have pivoted or been able to navigate a certain environment. And then, on the capital raising or M&A side, I think the back half of 2023, assuming that the Fed stops raising rates, or when they stop raising rates, and we start seeing more visibility and future macroeconomic conditions, that there’s going to be a lot of pent up demand. And we’re already hearing it from private equity groups and from operators who are saying, ‘Hey, we’re not going to do anything right now. But let’s prep, let’s get our house in order, so to speak, to be in a position where we can hit the market and get something done in the back half of 2023 or early 2024.’
I agree with all of that. With going to these conferences, sharing, I always do find it amazing that as a community, how much we all do share. I tell friends who work in other industries that people talk as much as we do, and they can’t believe it. ‘But what about proprietary information and all that, it doesn’t matter?’ We’re feeding people, we’re not saving the world here. So I will see you next week. I love talking to you. I appreciate your time. And in just closing remarks, thank you. And if anyone who is listening has questions, reach out to John. His information is in the bio.
Thank you, Dana. Big fan of yours and a big fan Aprio. And I really appreciate you letting me chat with your audience today.
Awesome. Thank you so much, and I’ll see you next week.
Thank you to all of our listeners to the Dana Delivers by Aprio podcast. If you liked today’s podcast, please hit the subscribe button. Dana Delivers is brought to you by Aprio, a premier accounting and business advisory firm with offices across the US and clients around the globe.
About John Goldasich:
John Goldasich is a Managing Director with Lazard Frères & Co, a global investment bank. He has over 18 years of experience in capital markets, merging, and acquisitions. He serves clients across the franchising, restaurant, and consumer services sector. Prior to joining Lazard, he was a partner at Arlington Capital Advisors, leading the franchising, restaurant, and consumer services practice.
John received his master’s degree in Management, Economics, & International Relations from the University of St. Andrew and his BA in political science from Lipscomb University.
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In this episode, Dana talks to Kyle Gerstner, who owns nine Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers franchises, about his acquisition of Rock N’ Roll Sushi, the current state of the labor market, automation in restaurants, and more. Listen as they discuss what’s up and coming in the industry right now.
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In this episode of Dana Delivers, John Hamburger, discusses the state of the economy and how it relates to the restaurant industry. Tune in to hear more about rising labor and capital costs, lack of labor availability, and what the future looks like as generational change occurs and technology becomes more integrated into newer restaurant brands.
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In this episode, Dana joins Samantha Brown, host of the PBS show Places to Love, to discuss unique destinations worth traveling to, how to find local and underappreciated talent, and the heart and soul behind owning a restaurant.
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We're here again today with Spike Mendelsohn, and I'm really excited about his new venture into the digital world to learn about NFTs, how Spike is using them, and what he thinks about it.
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Join Dana as she talks with Spike Mendelsohn, a television personality and chef best known for his appearance in season four of Top Chef, in the first of a two-part series. In this first part, Spike shares his food journey across continents, life as a restaurateur, and his experience with plant-based foods, and how they all have affected his career.
Get the full show notes and more resources at https://www.aprio.com/category/dana-delivers/
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Ever noticed the lack of options food service workers have when they face a catastrophe like a broken limb or a house fire? In today’s episode of Dana Delivers, Jen Hidinger Kendrick, co-founder of Giving Kitchen, talks about the beginning of the organization, who and how it helps, and how listeners can contribute to the cause – financially or otherwise. Jen also touches on the importance of community, especially to Giving Kitchen’s mission.
Get the full show notes and more resources at https://www.aprio.com/category/dana-delivers/
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In today’s episode of Dana Delivers, Lauren Fernandez, CEO of Full Course, discusses the importance of helping diverse restaurant owners with their development and growth, not just investment. She also speaks on the lack of fair capital, how education makes a difference to all business owners, and how food connects people of all cultures in a unique way.
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Have you ever wondered what inspires the food products that hit grocery store shelves? Melanie Bartelme is one of the experts working behind the scenes to help companies understand what consumers want and why. In this episode of Dana Delivers, Melanie, who is the Associate Director and Global Food Analyst at Mintel, gives listeners an…
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Restaurant owners walked away from the pandemic with plenty of a-ha moments and lessons learned. But for Chris Johnson, there is one lesson that is more relevant than ever: move faster. In today’s episode of Dana Delivers, Chris — the Founder, President and CEO of Rackson Restaurants, which counts Burger King and Dave’s Hot Chicken…
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As a member of a family franchising legacy, Susan Black-Beth cultivated a successful career as a franchise licensee, operator and eventually investor. But in the wake of a life-changing event, she tapped into a different perspective and found a new professional purpose. In this episode of Dana Delivers, Susan, who is the Founder and Managing…
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Inflation is high, supply chains are strained, and agricultural shortages are turning up the heat on restaurants and franchises. The question is, have we seen this before? What can we learn from the past to proceed with confidence in today’s volatile market? In this episode of Dana Delivers, we sit down with Kevin Burke, Managing…
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Today’s franchisees are pushing the envelope to transform the traditional dining format into a creative experience that customers remember. In this episode of Dana Delivers, SG Ellison, President of Diversified Restaurant Group and Franchisee of Taco Bell and Arby’s, reveals how his firm has embraced influencer and experiential marketing tactics to drive growth and keep…
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It’s been a long two years for the restaurant business — but according to our guest, Jim Balis, there is a lot to look forward to heading into the end of the year. In this episode of Dana Delivers, the CEO of Sizzling Platter and Managing Director of CapitalSpring, a private equity firm that focuses…
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