

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution
Josh Kopel
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 3, 2024 • 38min
John Haggai on the leadership skills needed to grow a brand
Everyone wants the blueprint to scale their restaurant business but knowledge isn’t enough. It’s not just about what you need to know, it’s about who you need to become. Today I sit down with one of the strongest leaders in our industry. John Haggai has spent his life in the restaurant industry and the lessons he’s learned on his way to the top can help us all reach the summit. Get ready to learn how to build and lead the team that is going to give you the momentum you need to grow your brand.
For more information on the restaurant, visit https://burtonsgrill.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

Aug 30, 2024 • 36min
Kyle Ewing on mastering menu design
No one would argue that QR codes are popping up more and more but the physical menus still reigns supreme. That being the case it made sense to bring in the master of the menu Kyle Ewing. Kyle and his company TerraSlate have crafted millions of the most durable menus on the planet and that gives him a unique perspective. Today we sit down to discuss the best practices he sees across the best menus so that we can scale revenue by using the most powerful tool in our arsenal.
For more information on TerraSlate, visit https://terraslatepaper.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

Aug 27, 2024 • 39min
Francesco Zimone on importing and scaling a prolific restaurant brand
On paper it seems like a no brainer…simply take one of the most famous restaurant brands in Italy and open it in the United States. What could go wrong? Just months into Francesco Zimone opening L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Hollywood the global pandemic hit. Leveraged to the hilt, Francesco set about creating a comeback so epic it could have been a Hollywood blockbuster. Today we sit down to discuss how he turned near failure into a national brand.
For more information on his restaurants, visit https://damicheleusa.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

Aug 23, 2024 • 36min
Cody Pruitt on the business plan for a blockbuster restaurant
While so many of us spent the pandemic scrambling, Cody Pruitt spend that time planning. Cody is literally the only first time restaurateur I know that opened a restaurant in a major city and managed to adhere to the plan. Today we sit down to discuss how to build and stick to a restaurant business plan and how he managed to blow his revenue targets out of the water.
That’s Cody Pruitt. For more information on Cody and Libertine, visit https://www.libertinenyc.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

Aug 20, 2024 • 35min
Scott Lawton on the blueprint for becoming a restaurant lifestyle brand
You walk into a restaurant and it just makes sense. It all feels right…the decor, the menus, the music and you know that they’re selling more than a meal, it’s a lifestyle. Today we sit down with Scott Lawton, the co-founder of bartaco, to discuss the foundational elements of the bartaco brand and how those elements come together to make the guest feel like they’re a part of something special.
For more information on Scott and bartaco, visit https://bartaco.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

Aug 16, 2024 • 35min
Bob Spivak on building a Hollywood hotspot and scaling it nationally
Do you feel like you should be further along in your career–that you should be more successful than you are today? Had you met Bob Spivak at 39 years old, you probably wouldn’t have thought much of him but, in his 40’s, he would go on to create one of the most prolific restaurant brands in Hollywood and then scale it nationally. Today, we sit down with Bob to discuss what created this massive tidal-change in his career and the lessons we can learn from his successes.
You can pick up Bob's book “Saved by a Blonde & a Chicken Pot Pie” wherever books are sold.
____________________________________________________
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

Aug 13, 2024 • 39min
Michael Ungaro on what it takes to run a profitable 3,000 seat restaurant
San Pedro Fish Market is one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in the US. Once we’ve taken a moment for that to sink in, we need to talk about how it became one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in America. To have that conversation, we’re sitting down with Michael Ungaro, San Pedro’s CEO to discuss how narrowing focus and scaling attention leads to massive revenues. As it turns out, more eyeballs and fewer ideas are all we need to win the day.
For more information on Michael and the market, visit https://www.sanpedrofish.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

Aug 9, 2024 • 34min
Andrew Glantz on harnessing the power of “cause-marketing”
I have yet to come across an independent restaurant owner that didn’t open their restaurant to better serve their community. But things get tricky when we try to get granular. We all aspire to serve our communities but with tight margins and low profits, most of us struggle to fulfill our lofty goals around community impact. Enter Andrew Glantz of GiftAMeal. Andrew has built an ecosystem that helps restaurants earn more and market better while providing over 2 million meals to local food banks. Today we sit down to discuss how cause-marketing impacts local restaurants and the communities they serve.
For more information on GiftAMeal, visit https://www.giftameal.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

Aug 6, 2024 • 36min
Luke Reyes on how narrowing focus leads to profitable restaurants
Chef Luke Reyes is a master of mastery. I’ve worked with Luke in the past and I’ve followed his career as he’s worked to reinvent himself and contemporary cuisines over the last almost two decades. We’re both a bit older and wiser and today we sit down to discuss what’s worked and what hasn’t over the course of our careers. This is a masterclass in the art of narrowing your focus to scale your business.
For more information on the chef and his latest venture, visit https://www.ritasdeluxe.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

Aug 2, 2024 • 38min
Hamed Mazrouei on transforming your POS data into a marketing machine
Today is a great day because today I got to sit down with my friend, Hamed. There are so many things that I love about this guys but–above all others–Hamed is relentless. In another life, I’m sure he was a prolific restaurateur. In this life, he’s a technologist and an entrepreneur working to solve the foundational issues within our industry. Today we sit down to discuss how he’s building a POS system built to put me out of business. I teach restaurant marketing, Hamed’s Milagro point of sales has mastered marketing. We dig deep to discuss why he felt the need to build Milagro and why he’s chosen to give it away for free to restaurants.
For more information on Milagro POS, visit, https://www.milagrocorp.com/fullcomp/.
____________________________________________________
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