FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

We’ve been sold the lie that freedom comes after the exit. But what if we built businesses we never wanted to leave? That’s exactly what Elliott Bisnow did. As co-founder of Summit and Powder Mountain, he’s created a movement, not just a company—one built on authenticity, community, and the belief that life and work should be equally inspiring. In this episode, Elliott breaks down the power of big ideas, the myth of the exit strategy, and how living your brand is the real key to long-term happiness and success.Takeaways:Focusing on niches can lead to unique business opportunities.Building community is essential for entrepreneurial success.Authenticity is more valuable than perfection in leadership.Managing expectations is crucial for customer satisfaction.Creating leaders within organizations fosters a positive culture.Mentorship plays a significant role in personal growth.Co-founding a business brings diverse perspectives and skills.Living the brand enhances personal fulfillment and business success.Intentional living can lead to a more balanced and fulfilling life.____________________________________________________________Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars

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, more successful businesses.In this episode, I break down how AI can be a game-changer for restaurant owners, not by replacing people, but by freeing them up to focus on what actually matters. We’re talking automation, streamlined marketing, and strategic delegation—because the secret to scaling isn’t working harder, it’s working smarter. I’ll walk you through how AI and well-crafted SOPs can help you reclaim your time, reduce the daily chaos, and set your restaurant up for long-term success. And here’s the kicker—you don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. Start small, build momentum, and watch how AI helps take your business to the next level.Takeaways:Money is the primary problem for restaurant owners.AI can help delegate tasks effectively.Overwhelm often comes from mismanaged tasks.Automated task audits can identify inefficiencies.AI can create structured SOPs from recorded tasks.Marketing consistency is key for restaurant success.AI can generate comprehensive marketing calendars.Engagement can increase with AI-driven marketing.Start with small AI implementations for better results.AI is a tool to amplify leadership in restaurants.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Profitability02:06 Leveraging AI for Restaurant Efficiency05:49 Streamlining Marketing with AI10:03 Implementing AI in Manageable StepsIf you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but in the restaurant industry, the right picture is worth thousands of dollars. Zaheer Bhyat and Ray Erickson have built their careers mastering the art of visual storytelling—helping brands create food photography that doesn’t just look good, but actually drives sales. In this episode, we break down why most restaurant images fail, the psychology behind visuals that make customers take action, and the simple changes that can turn your food photos into a powerful marketing tool. If you want to learn how to make your food look irresistible, this is the episode for you. To learn more about their expertise in brand storytelling and high-converting food photography, visit https://pacificnexus.com/____________________________________________________________Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars

In this episode, Josh Kopel and Michael Benson sit down with Brad Block, a top restaurant builder who has worked on some of LA’s most high-profile hospitality projects. With countless operators now facing the challenge of rebuilding, Brad shares insider strategies on how to reopen faster, smarter, and stronger—without getting caught in costly delays or unnecessary expenses. Whether you’re in LA recovering from the fires or a restaurateur thinking about renovations, this episode breaks down construction shortcuts, cost-saving strategies, and future-proofing techniques that will make your next restaurant build a lasting success.This series was created in collaboration with Michael Benson of Southern California Restaurant Design Group. When the fires devastated LA’s restaurant community, Michael saw an opportunity to bring together experts who could provide real strategies and solutions for operators facing the challenge of rebuilding. Each conversation in this series is designed to deliver practical insights, industry trends, and actionable steps to help restaurant owners in LA—and beyond—come back stronger.

How do you scale a brand without losing the magic that made it special in the first place? Chris Schultz has spent his career answering that question. From Starbucks to Mod Pizza to his current role as CEO of Voodoo Doughnut, Chris has helped transform cult brands into national powerhouses—all while keeping them authentic, quirky, and loved. In this episode, we dive into what it really takes to grow without losing your identity, how Voodoo is defying industry norms, and why staying weird might just be the ultimate strategy for success. To learn more about Voodoo Doughnut and how they’re keeping the magic alive while growing nationwide, visit https://www.voodoodoughnut.com. ____________________________________________________________Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars

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, more successful businesses.In this episode, I break down why the old-school mentality of treating your team like “family” is actually holding you back. Look, I love my people, but a real family won’t fire you for showing up late. A restaurant, on the other hand? It’s a business. And if we want to build sustainable, profitable businesses, we need to stop running our teams on emotions and start leading with clarity, accountability, and mutual investment. I’ll walk you through the leadership shifts that changed everything for me—how setting clear expectations, constantly recruiting, and focusing on performance over sentiment will transform your restaurant from a revolving door into a powerhouse of talent. If you’re tired of losing good people and constantly hiring, this one’s for you.Takeaways80% of restaurants barely break even.If you can't keep people, the problem might not be them.Great restaurants aren't a family. They're a high-performance team.A players do not elevate the performance of B and C players.People don't leave places that invest in them.We need to be recruiting all the time, not just when we're desperate.Set clear expectations from day one.Externalize the rules and accountability.Lead from the front and invest in your team's goals.Build relationships with potential hires before you need them.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Profitability Challenges02:15 The Leadership Problem in Restaurants03:44 Building a High-Performance Team06:40 Mutual Investment in Employee Growth09:34 The Importance of Constant RecruitmentIf you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.

Legacy brands can either fade into the past or evolve to meet the future. Mohaimina Haque is making sure Tony Roma’s does the latter. As a lawyer-turned-CEO, she’s bringing a fresh, analytical approach to a 50-year-old brand, modernizing its operations, embracing AI and robotics, and redefining what a franchise model can be. In this episode, we unpack how she’s steering the company through innovation, why she believes in out-innovating rather than replicating, and how independent restaurant operators can apply these same strategies to scale smarter. To learn more about the reinvention of Tony Roma’s and its next evolution, visit https://www.tonyromas.com.____________________________________________________________Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars

If you’re struggling to stand out, it’s not because your product isn’t good—it’s because your story isn’t strong enough. Bill Harper has spent decades mastering the art of strategic storytelling, helping brands cut through the noise and connect with their ideal customers. From repositioning legacy businesses to turning underdog brands into industry leaders, Bill knows what it takes to make people care. In this episode, we dive into the psychology of great branding, why simplicity wins every time, and the secret sauce behind marketing that actually works. If you want to build a brand that people can’t ignore, this episode is a must-listen. To learn more about his work at BrandBoss HQ and how to craft a brand story that sells, visit https://www.brandbosshq.com.____________________________________________________________Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars

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, more successful businesses.In this episode, I dive into why most restaurants struggle to make money and what we can do about it. The hard truth? Discounting isn’t the answer. Slashing prices might get people in the door, but it conditions your guests to expect deals instead of value. Instead, I break down how to create offers that actually influence customer behavior—offers that build demand, drive revenue, and make your restaurant the place to be.We’ll also get into the psychology behind urgency and scarcity, and how those two factors can supercharge your marketing. Bottom line: You don’t need to race to the bottom to win in this industry. You just need to understand what your guests truly want—and then give it to them in a way that keeps them coming back for more.Takeaways80% of restaurants barely break even.It's not your fault, it's your system's.Stop trying to force behavior.Create exclusivity, not a fire sale.Incentivize upsells instead of discounts.Create experiences, not sales.People just want to be told what to do.A great offer gets them in the door at the right time.People don't act unless they feel like they're going to miss out.The best restaurant marketing gets the right people spending the right money.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Profitability Challenges01:48 The Importance of Effective Offers06:01 Crafting Offers that Influence Behavior08:56 Creating Urgency and Scarcity in OffersIf you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.

What if everything you thought you knew about running a restaurant was wrong? Douglas Keane, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Cyrus, has spent the last decade rethinking fine dining from the ground up. After closing his acclaimed restaurant in 2012, Douglas refused to return to the same broken model—so he built something completely different. In this episode, we dive into how he’s engineered a new kind of restaurant: one where teams thrive, work-life balance exists, and profitability isn’t a pipe dream. If you’ve ever wanted to challenge the status quo of this industry, this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss. To learn more about his groundbreaking approach to fine dining, visit https://www.cyrusrestaurant.com. His story proves that rethinking the rules isn’t just possible—it’s the future of hospitality.____________________________________________________________Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars