
FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution
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 unpack their biggest wins, hardest lessons, and the strategies that changed everything.
No fluff, no filler—just actionable insights to help you boost profits, build your brand, and create the kind of restaurant you’ve always dreamed of.
So, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing results, hit subscribe.
Latest episodes

Jul 20, 2024 • 3min
Follow These Steps to Scale Your Restaurant
Sign up for this next week's 5-Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting www.joshkopel.com
Here's a Preview of the Amazing Stuff You’ll Learn:
Day 1: You’ll learn the 3 Keys to Profitability that scale your restaurant’s cash flow without increasing your expenses so that you can stop worrying about money. Day 2: You’ll learn how to Master Margins, giving you the tools you need to scale your per customer average spend and increase perceived value for your restaurant.Day 3: You’ll learn how to Scale Income by optimizing your floor plan and turn times, serving more guests better and faster.Day 4: You’ll learn how to Diversify Revenue by scaling Event and Catering business through our proven outbound strategy. Day 5: You’ll learn how to Scale Awareness and Customer Frequency creating a flood of new and repeat customers without spending one dollar on ads.
Space is limited.
Go to www.joshkopel.com to register today.

Jul 19, 2024 • 36min
Kassady Wiggins & Sammy Monsour on scoring a lucrative cookbook deal
The band is back together. Today, we sit down with my old partners in crime from my restaurant group, Executive Chef Sammy Monsour and Beverage Director Kassady Wiggins. We’re discussing how to score a lucrative cookbook deal, what we would do differently if we could start all over again, and how to create a company culture so amazing, employees flock back years after we exited.
Check out their cookbook, Salt and Shore: Recipes from the Coastal South wherever books are sold.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jul 16, 2024 • 33min
Sujan Sarkar on elevating cultural cuisine for the masses
What does it take to win a Michelin star in the midst of a global pandemic? It’s easy to look at Chef Sujan Sakar’s success today and see a charmed life but this is a man who has paid his dues. Sujan spent decades traveling the globe to hone his craft. Today we sit down to discuss how a broad education led him right back to the cuisine that he grew up with and his mission to innovate that cuisine for the world.
For more information on the chef and his restaurants, visit http://www.sujans.com/.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jul 12, 2024 • 40min
Anthony Mangieri on the path from restaurants to the grocery aisle
It feels like it would be glamorous to be a pioneer of a new cuisine in a new city but rarely does that translate into success. It’s hard enough to sell something someone has heard of before. Today we sit down with the exception to the rule. Chef Anthony Mangieri is almost singularly responsible for the introduction of neapolitan pizza to New York. He’s built a reputation for himself while building awareness for his greatest passion. We discuss, what it took to inform the market, the evolution from chef to restaurateur, and the path from that restaurant to the local grocer’s freezer section.
For more information on the chef and his concepts, visit https://unapizza.com/.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jul 9, 2024 • 37min
Duke Harten on how to go viral on social media
Before he was repping underwear for Shinesty on social media, Duke Harten was repping wine at a local Los Angeles restaurant. Today, with millions of views under his belt, Duke seems to have cracked the code for viral marketing online. Today we sit down to discuss the formula he’s developed for Shinesty’s social media success and how we can leverage it for our restaurants.
For more information on Shinesty or to pick up a pair of underwear, visit https://www.shinesty.com/.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jul 5, 2024 • 36min
Hunter Evans on winning awards without losing yourself
I can’t tell you how many folks reach out to me with struggling businesses. Interestingly enough, they’re not interested in learning how to run a better business, they’re interested in learning how to win awards. Something as significant as a Michelin star or as simple as a James Beard Nomination can mean the difference between a busy dining room and closing your doors. Today we sit down with Hunter Evans, the chef/owner of Elvie’s to discuss the blessings and the curses that come along with the accolades we desire and most certainly deserve.
For more information on the chef and his restaurant, visit https://www.elviesrestaurant.com/.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jul 2, 2024 • 36min
Zachary Engel on building a high performance team
Building a restaurant is hard. Building a high performance team to work in that restaurant is harder. Today we sit down with chef/owner Zach Engel to talk about how the culture he grew up in informed the culture of his company. We discuss the merits of mutual investment, how to hire correctly, and how to create a company culture so pervasive that your team sets the standards.
For more information on the chef and his restaurant, visit https://www.galitrestaurant.com/.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jun 28, 2024 • 38min
Rosalie Guillem on the growth strategy from one to 67 locations
There’s power in focus and I can’t provide a better example of how that power translates to success than Rosalie Guillem. She took a simple cookie and turned it into a national brand. Today we sit down to discuss how she’s methodically grown this focused brand over the years and the decisions she’s made that directly led to her meteoric success.
For more on Le Macaron, visit https://lemacaron-us.com/.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jun 25, 2024 • 38min
Renee Guilbault on transforming your restaurant career
Your employees deserve a career they can get excited about, and so do you. Today we sit down with Renee Guilbault, an industry expert, to discuss how intention, modeling, and roadmapping can give us a clear path forward for ourselves and our teams. As it turns out, a clear vision of the future reveals the path to get there.
Pick up Renee’s book A Taste of Opportunity wherever books are sold.
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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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Jun 21, 2024 • 37min
Tomer Blechman on the path from chef to entrepreneur
If only knowing how to cook was enough to guarantee success as a restaurant owner…In today’s competitive environment, our industry requires excellence in both menu development and business strategy but I have yet to find a school that teaches both. Those that make it, like Tomer Belchman, pick up culinary skills in culinary school and business skills in the school of hard knocks. Today we sit down to discuss his path to financial success in the restaurant industry and the mistakes we should avoid along the way.
For more information on the chef and his concepts, visit https://www.missadanyc.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 Podcasts
Restaurant expert videos & webinars