FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

Dan Simons had the systems. He had the corporate restaurant training. He had the operational discipline. And his first independent restaurant still failed in 14 months.That failure became the foundation for Founding Farmers.In this episode, Dan breaks down the third question every operator has to answer: can this business actually survive?We talk about why good food, good service, and even good systems are not enough if the concept is misaligned with the market, the business is undercapitalized, or the ownership structure is built for short-term pressure instead of long-term durability.Dan explains how Founding Farmers was built around alignment between farmers, investors, employees, guests, and leadership, and why that alignment matters more than most operators realize. We also get into product-market fit, capital, team retention, sustainability, AI visibility, PR, and what it really takes to build a restaurant that is still here tomorrow.This is the episode for operators trying to make it through the early years and build something durable.To go deeper, download the free 2026 Restaurant Playbook at joshkopel.com/square_________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com 

What if the biggest risk in scaling your restaurant isn’t the market, but the people you trust to grow it?Peter Wright has spent decades inside brands like Starbucks, Panera, and now Jollibee, building systems that scale through people. But what he’s learned is simple: most operators focus on experience and capital, while the best brands optimize for something far less obvious.In this conversation, we get into how to identify franchise partners who will actually protect and grow your brand, why humility beats track record, and how values move from posters on a wall to decisions on the floor.If you’re thinking about scaling through people, this is the filter you didn’t know you needed.To learn more about Jollibee Group North America and their expanding franchise program, visit jollibeefoods.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Celebrity can create trial. It cannot create loyalty.Josh Halpern helped take Big Chicken from 2 units to nearly 50, but in this conversation he is clear about the trap behind celebrity-backed restaurant brands: people may come once because of the name, but they only return if the operations, service, product, and guest experience hold up.In this episode, Josh breaks down the second question every operator has to answer: does the market already have a reason to choose this?We talk about the difference between the shopper and the consumer, why operators confuse attention with demand, and how to build a restaurant around real guest occasions instead of wishful thinking. Josh also shares how Big Chicken thinks about LTOs, frequency, loyalty, craveability, value engineering, and the three moments that matter most in the guest journey: desire, decide, and delight.This is the episode for operators who want to stop chasing generic traffic and start owning a specific role in their guests’ lives.To go deeper, download the free 2026 Restaurant Playbook at joshkopel.com/square_________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

What if the fastest way to stand out in a crowded market is to say no to the one thing everyone expects?Jenn Saesue and Chat Suansilphong didn’t just open another Thai restaurant, they rejected the playbook entirely. No pad thai. No bloated menu. Just a clear point of view and the conviction to back it up.In this episode, we get into how complementary skill sets—not identical ones—became their competitive edge, why hiring experts early (especially around money) gave them control instead of costing it, and how they used data like a weapon to run smarter, not harder.If you’re tired of playing it safe and blending in, this is the conversation that will challenge how you build, hire, and position your brand.To learn more about Fish Cheeks and Bangkok Supper Club, visit fishcheeksnyc.com and bangkoksupperclubnyc.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

Most restaurant brands think their problem is sales. Scott Snyder thought he was walking into a franchise sales problem at Badass Coffee of Hawaii. What he found was much bigger: a brand with enormous recall, loyal memories, and a great product, but almost none of the infrastructure required to grow.In this episode, Scott breaks down the first question every operator has to answer before opening or expanding: will anyone remember this?He explains why a restaurant needs more than good food, good coffee, or a clever name. It needs a unique, ownable truth that guests can feel, repeat, and share. From there, the business has to support that promise through product, systems, training, technology, franchisee trust, and a guest experience that delivers consistently.We talk about brand memory, social storytelling, local content, merchandise, franchisee buy-in, and why being memorable is not the same thing as being ready to grow.This is the episode for anyone trying to build a concept that does not disappear into the noise.To go deeper, download the free 2026 Restaurant Playbook at joshkopel.com/square_________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com