Best Josh Kopel Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 608: From Burnout to Breakthrough: Josh Kopel’s Restaurant Journey 41:19

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24d ago41:19

41:19

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil talks with restaurateur-turned-coach Josh Kopel about his journey from running highly successful, Michelin-rated restaurants in Los Angeles to how he ultimately transitioned to teaching profitability and marketing. Kopel emphasizes that hospitality is fundamentally about people, not products, and t…

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Episode 614: Built from Scratch: Chris Moran on How Bullet Grill House Became a Lake-Town Anchor 57:08

3d ago57:08

57:08

Wil sits down with Chris Moran, owner of Bullet Grill House in Point Blank, Texas—an hour north of Houston by Lake Livingston. Chris traces a winding path from teenage shifts at Big Boy to Pizza Hut GM postings across the Midwest, a pivot into automotive/oil & gas, and a “nights-and-weekends” stint at Ted’s Montana Grill that rekindled his hospital…

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Perfect Meals Don’t Matter: Sara Fay Egan on Experiences That Scale 37:16

4d ago37:16

37:16

If your guests remember the night but forget the meal, did you succeed? Sara Fay Egan never planned to run restaurants—she built experiences. After a career in high-end event planning, she was thrust into leadership at Beale Street Blues Company after the sudden passing of her father. But instead of mimicking traditional models, she brought an outs…

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Episode 613: From Door Hangers to Franchise Owners: Edward & My’s Pizza Guys Playbook 46:52

5d ago46:52

46:52

Edward (26) and Myi (27) went from hanging door flyers and delivering pies in high school to owning two Pizza Guys franchises in California’s Inland Empire. They share how a decade of on-the-line learning beat any business textbook, why the right partner matters, and what it took to pioneer a NorCal brand in SoCal—leases, permits, delays, and all. …

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Episode 612: Discipline, Storytelling, Failure, and the Fibonacci Sequence: Inside Chef Sam Hart's Vision 1:13:22

6d ago1:13:22

1:13:22

Sam Hart's journey into hospitality is a story of resilience, risk-taking, and reinvention. After dropping out of college multiple times and living out of his car, he discovered a passion for cooking while scraping by on cheap pasta and tomato sauce. That spark led him back to Charlotte, where he left a lucrative advertising career to attend culina…

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Competition Isn’t Your Biggest Threat: Jean-Pierre Lacroix on the Power of Relevance 39:12

7d ago39:12

39:12

What if your restaurant’s biggest threat isn’t your competition—it’s your own irrelevance? Jean-Pierre Lacroix has spent decades helping brands regain their footing after losing touch with what made them matter. In today’s conversation, we unpack what’s killing restaurant loyalty—and it’s not what you think. Jean-Pierre argues that operators are ov…

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Episode 611: Buying the Past, Serving the Future: Saving Legacy Restaurants, Anthony Hamilton, Icon Group Hospitality 50:18

10d ago50:18

50:18

Wil talks with Anthony Hamilton of Icon Group Hospitality about building people-first restaurant businesses that last. They riff on digital minimalism (Wil’s flip phone!), presence with family, and the hard edges of hospitality—burnout, 24/7 crises, substance abuse—then pivot to how thoughtful leadership, balance, and systems can make the work sust…

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Quality is Overrated: Allan Dib on Scaling Sales the Smart Way 39:20

11d ago39:20

39:20

Most restaurant owners think better food or better service will win the game. But Allan Dib has a different take: your product is not your problem—your marketing is. Allan is the best-selling author of The 1-Page Marketing Plan, and in this conversation, he dismantles the myths that keep restaurants stuck. We get into the high cost of bad positioni…

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Office Hours: Enrollment Beats Training 7:23

12d ago7:23

7:23

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter…

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Episode 610: New Series: What Independent Restaurant Owners Are Doing Right in 2025 11:30

11d ago11:30

11:30

Part I: People-First Leadership → Culture Over Everything

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Episode 609: Drive-Thru Hospitality: CEO & Co-Founder Darren Spicer on How Clutch Coffee Wins with Service 44:04

12d ago44:04

44:04

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil welcomes Darren Spicer, co-founder and CEO of Clutch Coffee Bar, a fast-growing drive-thru coffee concept with 17 locations across the Carolinas. Darren shares his journey from bagging groceries to working at Dutch Bros, then taking a leap from a successful medical sales career to build Clutch Coff…

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Burnout Isn’t a Badge: Ahu Hettema on Risk, Reinvention, and Building Restaurants That Work 35:19

14d ago35:19

35:19

Ahu Hettema didn’t hedge her bets—she burned the boats. No Plan B. No safety net. Just a belief that betting everything on one restaurant could rewrite her life. And it did. But not through stubbornness. Through adaptation. In this episode, Ahu breaks down how listening—really listening—to her guests saved her concept, why comfort matters more than…

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This Is What Luxury Actually Feels Like: Chris Adams on Culture, Tech, and the Soul of Service 36:59

18d ago36:59

36:59

Chris Adams does. He’s built a business on showing some of the biggest brands in the world how to make guests feel something—without faking it. In this episode, we dig into what defines modern luxury and why it has less to do with money and more to do with culture, people, and emotional precision. Chris shares how AI and tech can enhance—not replac…

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Office Hours: Acquire Talent, Don’t Nurture It 9:00

19d ago9:00

9:00

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter…

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From Maxed-Out Credit Cards to 41 Locations: John Gelastopoulos on Building Broken Yolk’s Lasting Momentum 35:49

21d ago35:49

35:49

Most people buy a restaurant and inherit someone else’s problems. John Gelastopoulos bought a closed breakfast spot, maxed out his credit cards to keep it alive—and turned it into a 41-location powerhouse. The secret? Relentless persistence and an obsession with people. In this conversation, John shares how he went from washing dishes to franchisin…

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Geoff Alexander on Leveling Up Leadership Skills 37:57

25d ago37:57

37:57

After 30 years with restaurant conglomerate Lettuce Entertain You, Geoff Alexander could teach a masterclass on building and scaling a restaurant brand. And that’s exactly what he’s done for us today. In this far reaching conversation we discuss the essential elements of leadership, how to build a brand from the ground up, turnaround strategies for…

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Office Hours: Sell the Thing People Dream About 7:42

26d ago7:42

7:42

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter…

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Brad Wise on Transforming a Bad Launch Into an Epic Brand 31:30

28d ago31:30

31:30

Sometimes the only difference between those who succeed and those who fail is the decision to not give up. Today’s guest, Chef Brad Wise, is a testament to the grit required to build something prolific in our industry. In our conversation we discuss how to overcome a slow start and how he turned a failed bar into the hottest steakhouse concept on t…

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Episode 607: Welcome Home: Tom and Amy Johnson on Building B-Side the Tracks Brewing Co. 1:00:57

28d ago1:00:57

1:00:57

Tom and Amy Johnson are turning a years-long dream into B-Side the Tracks Brewing Company in Conyers, GA. Amy, a 30-year finance pro turned American Brewers Guild grad, will helm the brewhouse. Tom will run front-of-house and a small distillery (bourbon, whiskey, vodka; rum later). Their vision is a true “third place” with standout hospitality, piz…

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Bruce Bromberg on the Fundamentals of Scaling 39:14

1M ago39:14

39:14

Chef Bruce Bromberg is not the typical restaurant magnate that comes to mind when you think of a national restaurant group. More than anything, he’s a chef, leveraging the universal truths he’s learned over the years in innovative ways. His ability to translate the fundamentals of cooking to the fundamentals of business has led to his meteoric succ…

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Episode 606: From Franchisee to CPA: Nick Patel’s Restaurant Accounting Journey 1:26:59

1M ago1:26:59

1:26:59

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil sits down with Nick Patel, a CPA who left corporate accounting to become a multi-unit franchise restaurant owner before pivoting back into accounting, this time with a focus on helping restaurant operators. Patel shares his personal journey from owning restaurants in Florida, the challenges of part…

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Office Hours: Stop Chasing Customers & Start Programming Behavior 7:21

1M ago7:21

7:21

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter…

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Lisa Dahl on Building an Empire and a Legacy 32:07

1M ago32:07

32:07

I always looked at the big restaurant groups out there with envy. How amazing must it be to own 6, 8, or more locations? At what point do you get rich? At what point do you go from backup dishwasher to brand evangelist. Chef Lisa Dahl has grasped the brass ring. Over the last two decades, she’s built a restaurant empire. In today’s conversation, we…

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Episode 605: Relentless Growth: The Story of Award-Winning Chef, Consultant and Leadership Expert Franck Desplechin 1:02:51

1M ago1:02:51

1:02:51

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil sits down with Chef Franck Desplechin, a French-born chef, pastry chef, and hospitality leader with over 26 years of global industry experience. Franck shares his journey from growing up in Brittany, France, to working in Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury hotels, and now stepping into authors…

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From Failures to Michelin Stars: A Restaurateur's Journey with Josh Kopel 29:26

1M ago29:26

29:26

In this conversation, Shane Murphy interviews Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and restaurant consultant. They discuss the importance of marketing in the restaurant industry, the journey of a restaurateur, and the significance of menu engineering for profitability. Josh emphasizes that sales should be viewed as a service, enhancing the c…

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Rebuilding Through Hospitality: Robért LeBlanc on Culture, Storytelling & Second Chances 41:03

1M ago41:03

41:03

What if a restaurant wasn’t a business—but a way to rebuild a broken city? That’s how Robért LeBlanc saw it after Hurricane Katrina. He didn’t just open a venue—he created a space to reconnect a fractured community. In this episode, we go deep on how Robért has used hospitality to heal, unite, and inspire. From the ethos behind his post-Katrina nig…

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Episode 604: From Credit Card Cash Advance to Muli-Unit Restaurant Owner: The Story of Restaurant Owner Pat Fowler 1:04:33

1M ago1:04:33

1:04:33

Wil speaks with longtime Schedulefly customer and Chicago restaurateur Pat Fowler. The conversation covers Pat’s unexpected path into hospitality, the risks he took to buy his first restaurant, and the challenges and opportunities facing independent restaurants today. They discuss economic pressures like rising costs, changing consumer habits, and …

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Office Hours: How to know when it’s time to open the next location 7:03

1M ago7:03

7:03

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter…

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From Fine Dining to Fast Casual: John Karangis on Scaling Taste Without Losing Soul 37:24

1M ago37:24

37:24

What if you could take the precision of fine dining and scale it to millions of people—without diluting the magic? That’s the challenge John Karangis has spent a lifetime solving. From the kitchens of Paris and Gramercy Tavern to leading culinary innovation at Shake Shack, John has mastered the art of translating high-end experience into high-volum…

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Episode 603: Sprints Within the Marathon: Life in Restaurants with Ross Davis of REV Mex in OKC 1:07:26

1M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

Wil has a great conversation with Ross Davis, a longtime restaurant professional and operator in Oklahoma City. Ross shares his 29-year journey in restaurants, from waiting tables to management, and reflects on the evolution of restaurant culture, from high-stress, Gordon Ramsay–style management to today’s more intentional, people-centered leadersh…

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Why He Refuses to Market and Still Sells Out: Giancarlo Pagani on Experience-First Restaurants 37:58

2M ago37:58

37:58

What if the best restaurant marketing isn’t digital—it’s emotional? Giancarlo Pagani has built some of the most talked-about restaurants in LA, not with ads or gimmicks, but with atmosphere. In this episode, we get into the blueprint behind Mother Wolf’s success, why frequency—not first-timers—is the real metric to chase, and how to design concepts…

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Episode 602: From $300 to 12 Restaurants: Chopped Season 61 Champion Kasem “Pop” Saengsawang 1:09:52

2M ago1:09:52

1:09:52

Summary In this inspiring episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Pop, a Thai-born entrepreneur, shares his remarkable journey from arriving in the U.S. in 2005 with only $300 and dreams of becoming the next Bill Gates, to building a 12-restaurant hospitality empire. Initially working in restaurants to pay the bills, he discovered his true calling a…