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Josh Kopel Podcasts

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What if I told you that the difference between struggling and thriving in the restaurant industry is just one conversation away? I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur who’s spent decades building blockbuster brands across every tier of dining. I know the challenges you’re facing—because I’ve been there. That’s why I created FULL COMP. Every week, I go one-on-one with the smartest minds in the game: restaurateurs, chefs, and industry insiders who’ve cracked the code. Together, we un ...
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Created in partnership with Yelp for Restaurants, Restaurant Marketing School provides daily marketing tips, tricks and tools, giving restaurateurs the tools they need to communicate with their existing customers and reach an entirely new customer base. Hosted by Michelin-rated restaurateur Josh Kopel, RMS brings a fresh perspective to traditional marketing in the hospitality space. Each episode is only 4-7 minutes, providing bite sized, actionable information that listeners can implement in ...
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Restaurant Owners Uncorked is a Top-5 Worldwide Hospitality Podcast. Successful independent restaurant owners and franchise CXOs share their stories, advice, wisdom, lessons learned and more. Hosted by Schedulefly (www.schedulefly.com), a restaurant employee scheduling business with super simple software + legendary customer service, serving over 5000 restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, hotels, hotels, and other badass hospitality businesses.
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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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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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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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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…
  continue reading
 
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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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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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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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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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…
  continue reading
 
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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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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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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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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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…
  continue reading
 
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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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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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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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…
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Summary: This episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked features Molly Engelhart, a former Los Angeles vegan chef turned Texas cattle rancher and author of “Debunked by Nature: How a Vegan-Chef-Turned-Regenerative-Farmer Discovered that Mother Nature Is a Conservative.” Molly shares her journey from operating five vegan restaurants to running a regener…
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What if the goal wasn’t retirement—it was alignment? Derek Coburn spent decades helping high-net-worth clients chase the dream of early retirement. Today, Derek argues for a radical new philosophy: build a life so meaningful, you wouldn’t want to retire from it. In this conversation, we dig into the emotional and financial toll of deferring joy, ho…
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In this Restaurant Owners Uncorked episode, Wil speaks with Or Peleg of Tel Aviv Restaurant Group in Los Angeles about his journey from aspiring lawyer to restaurateur, his group’s six kosher restaurants, and the realities of running hospitality businesses in a challenging post-COVID LA environment. Or shares insights on balancing high service stan…
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In this lively and entertaining episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil Brawley sits down in the famed Branded Hospitality studio with Michael “Schatzy” Schatzberg and Jimmy Frischling, the duo behind Branded Hospitality Group. What begins as a nostalgic look back at their individual paths into hospitality, Schatzy from dishwashing at a bagel sh…
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What if the hardest part of change isn’t strategy—it’s psychology? Mark Politzer walked away from fine dining to lead Norms, a 76-year-old family-style chain deeply rooted in Southern California. Now he’s balancing evolution with preservation, trying to modernize a beloved brand without breaking what makes it work. In this episode, we talk about ho…
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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…
  continue reading
 
In this episode, Wil chats with longtime friend and restaurateur Drew Moore of Carrboro, NC. Drew shares updates on his ventures, including Venable Bistro, B-Side Lounge, Auto Strada Pizza & Panini, Auto Strada Gelato & Coffee, and the upcoming House of Gatewood Chop House in Hillsborough. He explains how a 2022 trip to France and Italy inspired Au…
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In this episode, Wil sits down with Maneesh Goyal and Alvina Patel Buxani, the co-founders of Passerine, a neighborhood-focused Indian restaurant in New York City. What emerges is a conversation about risk as a path to fulfillment, the power of storytelling in hospitality, and the intentional way they’ve built a brand that’s as much about people an…
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Cooper Vaughan didn’t plan on being a caterer—he was trying not to be. But what started as a side gig in Lexington, Kentucky, turned into Apiary: one of the most creative and complex hospitality companies in the South. And the key to its success? Reinvention. From fine dining drop-offs during the pandemic to immersive, ticketed culinary experiences…
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Most people don’t make it out of nightlife. Jamey Shirah didn’t just make it out—he turned the lessons from late nights and crowded bars into a powerhouse hospitality group that’s redefining what Southern restaurants can be. As the founder of Revival Restaurant Group, Jamey shares how he navigated the leap from nightlife to high-end dining, what he…
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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…
  continue reading
 
Dean Neff didn’t set out to build the biggest seafood restaurant—he set out to build the most meaningful. At Seabird in Wilmington, North Carolina, Dean’s created a model where purpose isn’t a marketing angle—it’s the operating system. From sourcing to storytelling to team education, his restaurant is a case study in how to scale impact without sac…
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Episode Summary: In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil interviews Sean Marsiglia, an entrepreneur who owns several restaurants in Tampa, including Three Brothers Pizza, and other ventures such as a bagel shop and a baseball facility. Sean shares his journey from a promising baseball career cut short by injury to working at Chili’s, bec…
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What if the most powerful list in restaurants isn’t about food—it’s about influence? William Drew runs the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the ranking that can transform a chef’s life overnight. But behind the glitz is a story of politics, pressure, and purpose. In this episode, we go deep on how the list really works, who gets included, and what it r…
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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…
  continue reading
 
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