Dan Costello oversees nine Chicago area pizza shops and a thriving frozen pizza brand as the CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza. That position gives him a front row seat in the battle for hearts, minds and stomachs in the Pizza Capital of the World.
In this episode of Forktales, Michael and Dan talk about brand storytelling, creating synergy between restaurant brands and CPG brands and, of course, pizza. Specifically, they discuss the origins of the Home Run Inn Pizza name, which meat tops more Chicagoland pizzas (hint: it’s not pepperoni) and whether deep dish pizza is really just a casserole disguised as pizza.
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Forktales is a podcast and video series that feeds the food, beverage, restaurant, and hospitality industries with insights, innovations, and incredibly entertaining stories. Each episode we interview the industry's leaders from veterans to the up and comers, to get a glimpse of trends, trials, tribulations, and more.
Ep 71: Dan Costello / CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza
Dan Costello oversees nine Chicago area pizza shops and a thriving frozen pizza brand as the CEO of Home Run Inn Pizza. That position gives him a front row seat in the battle for hearts, minds and stomachs in the Pizza Capital of the World.
In this episode of Forktales, Michael and Dan talk about brand storytelling, creating synergy between restaurant brands and CPG brands and, of course, pizza. Specifically, they discuss the origins of the Home Run Inn Pizza name, which meat tops more Chicagoland pizzas (hint: it’s not pepperoni) and whether deep dish pizza is really just a casserole disguised as pizza.
Ep 70: Joseph Szala / Digital Guru & Bullhearted Author
Joseph is a vice president of digital experience, an author of multiple books about modern marketing and brand-building and a board advisor to restaurant tech companies and startups. He’s also the former host of Forktales.
In today’s episode, we meet the new host of Forktales, Michael Pavone (President and CEO of Pavone Group, which includes Vigor). Michael and Joseph talk about how to be a good podcast host, effective email marketing, the future of the restaurant industry and we play a game that tests Joseph’s knowledge of past guests and Forktales episodes.
Ep 69: Caroline Skinner / COO of Tupelo Honey
It’s no secret that attracting and retaining high-quality employees is one of the restaurant industry’s biggest challenges. Caroline Skinner knows that. She’s also leading the way at Tupelo Honey when it comes to implementing industry-leading hiring practices and building a strong, hard-working and happy employee culture.
In this episode, Caroline shares tips for how to build employee support programs that work, how to use technology to build stronger relationships with customers and one of the most effective ways to communicate with younger employees.
Ep 68: Carl Orsbourn / COO and Co-Founder of JUICER
Ready or not, dynamic pricing is coming to the restaurant industry. Carl Orsbourn and JUICER helps restaurants embrace the new pricing model, boost its bottom line and do it in a way that doesn’t alarm or anger its loyal customers.
In this episode of Forktales, Carl and Joseph talk about the challenges and misconceptions about dynamic pricing, delivering the digital restaurant, and why Taylor Swift tickets are so darned expensive.
Ep 67: Justin Bartek / VP of Marketing at Dog Haus
As the VP of Marketing at Dog Haus, Justin Bartek knows hot dogs. And not just hot dogs, but REALLY GOOD hot dogs. He also knows how to grow brands, which is one of the reasons Dog Haus added him to the team in 2022 to help lead the restaurant in its next phase of growth.
In this episode of Forktales, Justin dishes up lessons on the importance of quality, the challenges of doing delivery well, the value of good package design and the difference between an $8 hot dog and a $1.50 hot dog.
Ep 66: Troy Guard / Chef & Founder of TAG Restaurant Group
Troy Guard was born and raised in Hawaii. He eventually traded that surf and sun for the mile-high atmosphere of Denver when he opened his first restaurant. Today, he oversees 10 restaurants and four concepts under TAG Restaurant Group.
In this episode of Forktales, Troy shares his thoughts on building strong restaurant culture, the importance of core values and how his first restaurant went from $40,000 in the hole to a $40,000 profit in just four months.
