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27 episodes

The Hospitality Hangout | Hospitality Podcast

by Michael Schatzberg & Jimmy Frischling - Hospitality Insiders | Expert Strategies & Trends.', Hosts: Michael Schatzberg and Jimmy Frischling | Branded Hospitality Media, Hospitality Insiders | Michael Schatzberg & Jimmy Frischling | Branded Hospitality Media · English

The Hospitality Hangout is where the restaurant industry gets real. Hosted by Schatzy, the Restaurant Guy, and Jimmy, the Finance Guy, this funny, unfiltered hospitality podcast dives into restaurant trends, food service innovation, hospitality technology, and the investment strategies shaping the future of the industry. With decades of hands-on experience operating restaurants and structuring capital markets deals, these two bring real-world insight from the kitchen to the boardroom. They connect the biggest operators, boldest founders, and sharpest investors in hospitality for conversations you won’t hear anywhere else. Each week you’ll hear from C-suite restaurant executives, franchise leaders, emerging brand founders, hospitality tech innovators, and private equity investors who are building the next era of food and hospitality. Expect insider stories, sharp opinions, real numbers, and plenty of laughs. No fluff. No corporate spin. Just honest conversations about what is actually happening in restaurants and food service. If you care about scaling restaurants, raising capital, building brands, or staying ahead of hospitality trends, this is your show. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and let’s talk shop. Welcome to The Hospitality Hangout.

Latest episodes

All episodes

White Castle: The Burger People Plan Road Trips Around

Built Hospitality’s AI concierge for restaurant loyalty, plus a deep dive into White Castle marketing, brand staying power, and craveable packaging/LTOs.

10 Nov 2026 · 38m · 21 chapters

The Foodfluencers: Dana’s Bakery Started With a Craving for Birthday Cake Macarons

Dana Pollack, founder/CEO of Dana’s Bakery, discusses how she built a direct-to-consumer macaroon brand, her career pivot from photo editing to pastry, and her gluten-free cookbook Bake It…

5 Nov 2026 · 43m · 18 chapters

Einstein Bros., Bruegger’s, Noah’s and Manhattan: Four Takes on the Morning Bagel

Bagel Brands’ COO Adam Modzel discusses running four breakfast bagel chains under one operating model, adapting from Starbucks-style speed to neighborhood hospitality, and differentiating brands…

3 Nov 2026 · 26m · 14 chapters

The Foodfluencers: One Trick Pony on Becoming Your Favorite Peanut Butter

Two parts. First, Built Hospitality’s AI concierge platform for restaurants—using reservations, guest preferences, VIP management, and payments to personalize the full guest journey (e.g., timing…

29 Oct 2026 · 49m · 16 chapters

Mellow Mushroom Refuses to Be Just Another Pizza Chain

Mellow Mushroom’s 50th-anniversary strategy and rebrand, plus how it’s modernizing guest experience with loyalty, counter-service expansion, and digital/phone ordering improvements.

27 Oct 2026 · 48m · 20 chapters

The Foodfluencers: Gato Dates Went From Shabbat Dinner to Erewhon

The Foodfluencers CPG episode profiles Gato Dates—how two founders turned a Shabbat dessert (“gato dates”) into a packaged, chocolate-dipped date brand—and discusses their go-to-market strategy (zero…

22 Oct 2026 · 46m · 18 chapters

Farrelli’s Pizza and Why People Come Back for More Than the Pizza

Built Hospitality’s AI-driven guest recognition and loyalty for restaurants; how Ferrelli’s Pizza drives repeat visits through hospitality, “working man’s pizza” style, menu innovation…

20 Oct 2026 · 38m · 20 chapters

The Foodfluencers: Why Alice Mushrooms Wants You to Eat Chocolate Every Day

Dr. Charlotte Cruz, co-founder of Alice Mushrooms, explains how the brand makes functional mushroom chocolates (not psychedelic mushrooms) feel accessible, tasty, and motivating for daily use.

15 Oct 2026 · 42m · 21 chapters

No Child Should Go Hungry: Billy Shore on Building Something Bigger Than Yourself

Conversation with Billy Shore about Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry movement to end childhood hunger, plus how restaurants and other partners can help.

13 Oct 2026 · 35m · 12 chapters

The Foodfluencers: Free the Hummus With Little Sesame’s Nick Wiseman

Little Sesame’s Nick Wiseman discusses how a basement hummus pop-up in Washington, D.C.

8 Oct 2026 · 46m · 18 chapters

Greg Zamfotis on Community, Coffee and Gregorys’ Next Chapter

Greg Zamfotis (Gregory’s Coffee) discusses coffee as a “third place” for community, why specialty coffee is growing faster than mainstream coffee, and how Gregory’s scales via new formats (including…

6 Oct 2026 · 36m · 15 chapters

The Foodfluencers: Before Food Influencers Had a Name | Jackie Gebel of No Leftovers

The “Foodfluencers” miniseries episode centers on how food influencers shaped restaurant discovery before “food influencer” was a label, plus Jackie Gabel’s career path and modern strategy.

1 Oct 2026 · 45m · 22 chapters

IHOP Is 68 Years Young: Lawrence Kim on Evolving an American Icon

Lawrence Kim’s first months leading IHOP (joined Jan 2025) and how he’s evolving the legacy brand—“68 years young”—through breakfast-focused innovation, value, off-premise growth, and guest/loyalty…

29 Sep 2026 · 29m · 15 chapters

The Foodfluencers: The Foodie Magician on What’s Actually Worth the Hype

The episode mixes two threads: (1) Built Hospitality’s AI concierge and guest-loyalty platform for restaurants (reservations, guest preferences, VIP management, payments, and “agentic” experience…

24 Sep 2026 · 47m · 22 chapters

Inside Yum! Brands: How Taco Bell, KFC and Habit Run at Global Scale

Yum! Brands operations at global scale, plus guest recovery and loyalty tech.

22 Sep 2026 · 41m · 20 chapters

The Foodfluencers: Cassie Yeung on Viral Food, Gordon Ramsay and Reinvention

Food influencer Cassie Yeung (Cassie Young Money) discusses how viral, simple recipes drove massive attention (carrot ribbon salad; “wet, wet sauce”), her career shift from dancer/fitness to…

17 Sep 2026 · 44m · 22 chapters

Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s CMO on Building Awareness, Joy and Purpose

Tropical Smoothie Cafe CMO Debra von Kutzleben discusses building brand awareness and joy/purpose through major campaigns, menu innovation (e.g., spicy wraps), partnerships, and cause marketing with…

15 Sep 2026 · 37m · 16 chapters

How GOODLES Made Mac and Cheese for Grown-Ups | Foodfluencers

Foodfluencers episode featuring Goodles co-founder/CEO Jen Zezit and a discussion of (1) Built Hospitality’s AI concierge for restaurants and (2) how Goodles reimagined mac and cheese for adults via…

10 Sep 2026 · 53m · 23 chapters

Jo Lambert on Olo’s Big Bet to Give Restaurants Their Guests Back

Olo’s “big bet” on restaurant guest loyalty and engagement, including Built Hospitality (AI concierge for reservations/preferences/VIP/payment and journey-wide personalization), and Olo’s own…

8 Sep 2026 · 32m · 15 chapters

Hospitality Insiders: Nadeem Bajwa’s Journey From Pizza Delivery to Franchise Empire

Nadeem Bajwa’s journey as the largest Papa John’s franchisee (276+ units) and how his holding company (Bajwa Group/“BadgeCo”) builds in-house capabilities—call center, POS/AI systems, construction,…

2 Sep 2026 · 40m · 15 chapters

The Friday Feeling: Inside TGI Fridays’ Comeback

TGI Fridays’ comeback strategy and how the brand is rebuilding food quality, hospitality, technology, and off-premise growth; includes a sponsor segment on Built Hospitality (AI concierge for…

1 Sep 2026 · 34m · 16 chapters

The 2 P.M. Snack Brand Taking Over Grocery Shelves

Midday Squares’ rise as a functional chocolate snack brand built around “the 2 p.m.

27 Aug 2026 · 41m · 13 chapters

The SONIC Way: Custom Drinks, Drive-Ins and Doing It Their Way

Sonic’s brand strategy and guest experience—nostalgia, customization, loyalty/app, and AI/tech for operators—plus a promo for an upcoming Sonic LTO on Aug 24.

25 Aug 2026 · 40m · 20 chapters

Why Busy Restaurants Still Fail: Bruce Nelson on the Math Behind Profit

Bruce Nelson explains the “math behind profit” in restaurants—why many fail due to pricing and cash-flow mistakes, and how CFO-level oversight and reliable POS/data systems matter.

18 Aug 2026 · 29m · 14 chapters