Restaurant

Rigo Espinoza shares journey from 12-year-old busboy to Raw Kitchen owner—grandfather's 1976 fish taco bicycle legacy, made-up-on-spot COVID restaurant concept, family "your time to shine" support, and learning customers vote fish taco number one over elevated gourmet presentations.

April King of Restaurant PhD shares her journey from restaurant server to consultant, revealing how a professional breakdown led to breakthrough systems helping multi-unit operators achieve record performance and reduce turnover.

Steve Lombardo, CEO of Gibson's Restaurant Group, shares how he went from corporate M&A lawyer to leading Chicago's most iconic restaurant group and what it really means to run a business where every customer must leave happy.

Higor Valle shares how he went from a canceled visa and a 7-Eleven job to corporate wine director at Mr. Hospitality Miami, building Lafayette's entire wine program in six weeks and founding Wise Cellar consulting along the way.

Michael Dorf shares how he built City Winery from a 2008 financial crisis pivot, survived COVID by laying off 1,490 people in one day, and why live music and human connection can never be replaced by technology.

Ryan O'Malley shares how he grew Wendy's of Bowling Green from a family legacy to 150 restaurants, raised $3 million for adoption, survived COVID with record sales, and built a people-first culture that drives growth.

Randy Wyner of Chronic Tacos shares how he turned a $90K Newport Beach gamble into a 30-plus location franchise built on authentic recipes, street culture, and people-first hospitality.

Dave Domzalski of Barmetrix shares how weekly bar audits, four referability habits, and a people-first culture helped him grow 560% post-COVID and write the hospitality industry's playbook.

Craig Cooper, CFO of Chef Tim Love's Love Management, shares lessons from Cheddar's rapid growth, navigating personal crisis, and scaling Paloma Suerte across Texas and beyond.

Deric Rosenbaum shares how he built Groucho's Deli into an 85-year brand with a franchise system, AI-powered operations platform, and internal training podcasts while spending five years as his daughter's medical advocate.

Dave Nitzel shares how he went from Fortune 500 supply chain to hospitality consultant, why his worst-selling book was his best work, and how a self-funding bonus program quadrupled a bar owner's profits in one year.

Danny Bendas shares 35 years of restaurant consulting wisdom at Synergy, from cutting kitchen waste by 50% in Guatemala to surviving cancer while doing client Zoom calls from the infusion chair.