PODCAST

Corner Booth Podcast

Chris Tripoli

Candid Conversations with Today’s Restaurant Entrepreneurs

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

45:23

Episode 124: Shawn Lalehzarian with Red Chickz

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/11/18

In this Corner Booth episode, host Chris Tripoli interviews Shawn Lalehzarian, founder and CEO of Red Chickz, a fast casual restaurant concept specializing in Nashville hot chicken. Shawn shares his journey from dishwasher to entrepreneur, detailing how his experience managing airport food operations helped shape his approach to restaurant concept development. His passion for flavor and crunch led to the creation of Red Chickz in 2018, with a menu that includes inventive items like Nashville hot

47:39

Episode 123: Carol Irwin with Buttermilk Cafe

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/11/05

After operating her tea house for 15 years in the Gruene, a historic community located within the city limits of New Braunfels, Texas, Carol Irwin decided it was time to think bigger. Irwin explored the larger New Braunfels market. And there she found the right spot for a breakfast, lunch, and brunch cafe concept. In the summer of 2011, she and her daughters opened Buttermilk Cafe, which quickly became a New Braunfels’ favorite. In fact, its popularity presented the only downside of the

45:39

Episode 122: Billy Downs with Ford's Garage

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/10/21

Billy Downs learned the meaning of hospitality from his grandmother. “With 30 grandchildren, Grandma Betty was always ready to entertain,” he recalls, adding, “She was welcoming and appreciative of the chance to serve others.”Downs began his career in foodservice as a teen serving ice cream before working his way into the kitchen and front of the house positions. After graduating from Michigan State University, Downs managed casual theme restaurants. He later moved overseas to gain experience in

49:58

Episode 121: Dan Sidner with Black Shoe Hospitality

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/10/07

A Cornell University School of Hotel Administration graduate, Dan Sidner worked in country clubs, mastering the art of service and enology before leaving to spend a few years working throughout France. Upon his return to the U.S., Sidner entered the independent restaurant market segment, working in fine-dining concepts in North Carolina and Colorado, where for six years he owned and operated his first restaurant, Zino Ristorante, in Vail Valley. He later moved to Wisconsin to raise his family and in

39:50

Episode 120: Aaron Anderson with Sunrise Social

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/09/23

Aaron Anderson’s restaurant career began as a five-unit franchisee of The Hot Dog Factory in Philadelphia prior to creating his own concept. "I felt there was a void in the casual breakfast-brunch market segment in the Northeast and decided to jump in with both feet," says Anderson, who was inspired by the success of his two favorite restaurants, Waffle House and Raising Cane's.He opened the first Sunrise Social unit in 2023. The 2,500 sq. ft. casual full-service concept quickly became

48:40

Episode 119: Jeff Mauro a Food Network Celebrity Chef

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/09/09

Jeff Mauro's influence on hospitality started at a very young age. "My family always entertained. Our house was the place to be for good food and fun with family and friends."Mauro graduated from Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and worked as a private chef and instructor while pursuing a theater career. His talent for combining cooking with comedy helped him win the seventh season of "Food Network Star" and launched his career as a television personality. Mauro hosted the television show "The

52:24

Episode 118: John Young with Young's Jersey Dairy

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/08/26

John Young is CEO of Young's Jersey Dairy, a 120-acre family-owned and operated Yellow Springs, Ohio, hospitality destination established 156 years ago. As its name suggests, the business began as a dairy in 1869. It added a bakery later. In the 1990s, it expanded to an event destination, with a restaurant, mini golf course, train, batting cage, and carousel. Today, Young's Jersey Dairy hosts events for as many as 5,000 guests."We are still best known for our ice cream,” says Young, explaining,

48:09

Episode 117: Bryan Lockwood with Artistry Restaurants

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/08/12

Growing up in Peoria, Bryan Lockwood’s first job in the restaurant business was working with his mother at a diner. Fast forward to his first industry career position as a manager at Bonanza Steakhouse. He enjoyed the work and was promoted to a multi-unit franchise supervisor before becoming a franchise owner-operator in Jacksonville, Ill. At 25, Lockwood sold the business and moved to Florida where, in 2003, he and his partners created the Tavistock restaurant development and management

41:06

Episode 116: Troy Hooper with Pepper Lunch

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/07/29

In 2022, Troy Hooper was introduced to the private equity owner of Pepper Lunch. He had assumed they would be discussing a short-term consulting position; however, it became a full-time position as CEO of the global quick-casual brand with hundreds of locations in 15 countries. Pepper Lunch is a Teppanyaki concept. Teppanyaki, which is often called hibachi in the U.S., uses an iron griddle to cook food. Pepper Lunch entrees are served on a 500-degree F iron plate. Open for lunch and dinner, the

51:00

Episode 115: Shahpour Nejad with Pizza Guys

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/07/15

While in college studying mechanical engineering in the ‘80s, Shahpour Nejad worked part-time making and delivering pizzas. "It stuck with me. I am still loving the pizza business." After moving from Cleveland to Sacramento, Nejad opened the very first Pizza Guys in 1986. "What a learning experience,” he says, adding, “We had 65 seats and offered a pretty extensive menu featuring a lunch buffet. We became much smarter opening our second location at a 1,200 square-foot counter-service, take-out and

44:10

Episode 114: George McLaughlin with Vicious Biscuit

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/07/01

George McLaughlin had been a successful McAlister's Deli franchisee prior to selling his interest in 2007. "Being out of the business was tough on me," he recalls. "I really missed the guest interaction and working with the staff.”So, 10 years later, McLaughlin opened his first Vicious Biscuit unit in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the counter-service breakfast and brunch concept offers fresh-baked "plate-sized" biscuits, sandwiches, and

36:42

Episode 113: Jose Salazar with Safi Wine Bar,...

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/06/17

Award-winning Chef Jose Salazar was born in Colombia and raised in Queens, New York. His career includes working with Jean George Vongerichten, Thomas Keller, and other culinary luminaries. In 2008, he and his family moved to Cincinnati, where he now operates four successful concepts, including Salazar, Safi Wine Bar, Mita's, and Daylily."I found Cincinnati to be a big, small town, where word of mouth drives the success or failure of your restaurant,” says Salazar. “We were fortunate to develop a

40:41

Episode 112: Nelson Monteith with Honest Mary's

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/06/03

Inspired by the trend of healthy menu options in quick-service dining, Nelson Monteith, founder and CEO of Austin, TX-based Honest Mary's, left the oil and gas industry to become a restaurant entrepreneur. Monteith’s confidence in Honest Mary’s was fueled by months visiting similar concepts in California and Florida, as well as researching the quick-service sector. However, he was not as confident in his ability to run the business. ''I worked making smoothies as a teenager, but was unaware of the

38:05

Episode 111: Sam Ballas & Sammy Gianopoulos with...

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/05/20

Sam Ballas grew up in a restaurant family, but he chose a career in finance upon graduation from college. However, 19 years later, he met Chef Sammy Gianopoulos, a Johnson & Wales University graduate with acclaimed culinary success at multiple concepts, and decided to return to the restaurant business. Gianopoulos yearned to create a high-quality, counter-service restaurant that could easily be replicated. In this episode, Ballas and Gianopoulos explain how combining their culinary expertise

44:05

Episode 110: Kacie Dancy with Pop's Beef

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/05/06

Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage (“Pop’s Beef”) has been a Chicagoland favorite for more than 45 years. The original Pop’s Beef store, located at 7153 W 127th Street in Palos Heights, IL, was opened March 24th, 1980, as a small family-run sandwich concept operation. Today, it is a successful franchisor with 17 locations. “I was born in the business,” says Kacie Dancey, the eldest of founder Frank Radochonski’s four children. A University of Illinois graduate with a degree in finance, she worked in

47:06

Episode 109: Hamp Lindsey with Wade’s Restaurant

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/04/23

Hamp Lindsey's parents founded a small neighborhood grocery store 77 years ago. Today, it is a landmark restaurant in Spartanburg, SC. “My father was always an entrepreneur,” says Lindsey. “He added a dining room to the store in 1949 and Wade’s Restaurant grew from there.” Lindsey held various positions at Wade’s before he left to study engineering at Clemson University. In 1977, he returned to Wade’s desiring to run the restaurant more like a business. “Creating a business has always been a

43:43

Episode 108: Ford Fry with Rocket Farm Restaurants

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/04/08

As a youngster traveling and dining out with his grandparents, William “Ford” Fry developed an interest in restaurants. "I wasn’t a very good student in school and didn’t do well working restaurant front-of-house positions, but when I attended culinary school in Vermont, something clicked and I found a love for cooking," says Fry. That love for cooking and his creativity led him to develop 26 award-winning restaurants in five states. “I started slow,” he explains. In 2007, he opened Junction, a

55:39

Episode 107: Federico Castellucci III with...

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/03/25

Knowing full well the challenges of the restaurant business as a line cook at his family’s Atlanta restaurant, Federico Castellucci chose to study finance at Cornell University. However, he switched to the university’s hotel administration & hospitality program where his enthusiasm for the restaurant business was fueled by encounters with luminaries such as Danny Meyer and Michael Mina.Castellucci went on to assume a failed franchise location to create and launch Sugo, his first concept in

53:27

Episode 106: Jacob Monty, Immigration Attorney

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/03/11

“There is a lack of information and some actual misinformation regarding current immigration policies to deal with today,” says immigration attorney Jacob Monty, a partner with Texas law firm Monty & Ramirez, LLP.Monty serves on both the James Beard Foundation and the Texas Restaurant Association boards of trustees and advised the George W. Bush administration on immigration reform. “When it comes to targeted arrests, the hysteria is much worse than the reality," says Monty. "Violators have

45:30

Episode 105: Sarah Lieberman and JC Ricks with...

Corner Booth Podcast ·

2025/02/25

Long Before Sarah Lieberman and J.C. Ricks were awarded “Best Chicken & Waffles” in the country by Good Morning America in 2023, they were running Dandelion Cafe, their 40-seat breakfast and brunch concept in Bellaire, TX. As a teen, Lieberman worked in her parent's pizza restaurant. After a brief career in the oil industry, she returned to hospitality in 2016 to open Dandelion Cafe. Ricks had studied culinary arts and began his career in fine dining before meeting Lieberman and joining her at

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