EP54
Almost overnight, Lauren rolled up her legal degree, bought a pair of non-slip clogs and went to work in the restaurant industry. After getting a first-hand look at the challenges new restaurant owners face, she founded Full Course, a development and investment firm that incubates and accelerates emerging fast casual restaurant brands. In this episode of Forktales, Joseph and Lauren break down the in’s and out’s of investing in new restaurants. The menu includes discussions about what makes an effective manager, the importance of cleanliness and what’s on the horizon for new and emerging restaurant brands.
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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 54: Lauren Fernandez / Founder of Full Course, Legal Scholar & Restaurant Franchise Expert
Almost overnight, Lauren rolled up her legal degree, bought a pair of non-slip clogs and went to work in the restaurant industry. After getting a first-hand look at the challenges new restaurant owners face, she founded Full Course, a development and investment firm that incubates and accelerates emerging fast casual restaurant brands.
In this episode of Forktales, Joseph and Lauren break down the in’s and out’s of investing in new restaurants. The menu includes discussions about what makes an effective manager, the importance of cleanliness and what’s on the horizon for new and emerging restaurant brands.
Ep 53: Jonathan Weathington / CEO of Shuckin’ Shack & Lobster Roll Lover
Jonathan Weathington knows oysters. He also knows how to grow and build a restaurant brand, which is why he’s the CEO of Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar. From his days of crashing on the co-founder’s couch to today, Jonathan has helped turn Shuckin’ Shack into a thriving 16-location chain in five states.
In this episode of Forktales, Joseph and Jonathan talk about seafood, the challenges with dealing with franchisees, how to maintain a happy staff and what oysters and french fries have in common when it comes to delivery.
Ep 52: Kevin Bentley / VP of Technology & Automation for Papa Gino’s Pizzeria
After a 10-year career as an NFL linebacker, Kevin shifted his focus to technology. He’s a self-described “glutton for pain” when it comes to education with an MBA from Rice, a Masters’s in Technology from Northwestern, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in organizational leadership at USC.
Today, he’s the VP of Technology & Automation for Papa Gino’s Pizzeria where he’s helping to take the wildly popular New England brand to the next level thanks to his NFL leadership skills and his razor-sharp understanding of technology and its place in the modern restaurant.
Ep 51: Daniel Gonzalez / Co-owner of Simply Salad & Chicken Sandwich War Veteran
Daniel knows how to make a killer chicken sandwich. He was part of the team at Popeyes that went toe-to-toe (or bun-to-bun) with Chick-fil-A in the chicken sandwich wars. Daniel also knows his way around a healthy salad. That’s how he spends his time today as co-owner of Simply Salad.
In this episode of Forktales, Daniel and Joseph talk about how to make a killer chicken sandwich (and why so many challengers fail), how to grow a salad restaurant in non-traditional markets and how to have a big brand launch without a big brand budget.
Ep 50: Ellis Winstanley of Axial Shift, El Arroyo & More
When Ellis Winstanley and his wife, Paige, bought El Arroyo in 2012, they were buying more than just a popular local Tex-Mex restaurant. They were buying a brand that would become internationally recognized – thanks in large part to the restaurant’s witty marquee messages – despite only having a single location in Austin, Texas.
In this episode of Forktales, we talk with Ellis about El Arroyo and its iconic marquees. We also talk about Axial Shift, a software platform founded by Ellis that’s changing the way restaurants motivate and reward employees.
Ep 49: Alan Hickey / Founder of Vromo, Delivery Gamechanger
Third-party delivery is here to stay, but tools like VROMO allow restaurants to manage their own delivery fleets and take back ownership of the customer experience. That’s the dream that became a reality when Alan Hickey teamed with Brian Hickey (no relation) to create VROMO in 2016.
In this episode of Forktales, Alan and Joseph talk about the pandemic’s impact on delivery, the ROI with services like VROMO and exactly when we can expect to see pizza delivered by drones.
