Corner Booth Podcast

Chef Emeka Onugha’s passion for healthy food predated his meeting with real estate developer Adenah Bayoh when they launched Brick City Vegan in 2021. “From inception, our approach wasn’t to simply present an imitation of meat, but to create new flavors and textures in popular menu items,” says Emeka of his Montclair, New Jersey counter-service concept. Montclair is proximate to Newark, which is known as the “Brick City” for its beautiful brickwork architecture. Emeka’s eponymous concept offers

Kelli Ferrell's dream of a small, limited-menu restaurant serving her favorite Southern dishes started with a vision board, a collage of images that represent and help manifest one’s goals. Eight years later, she purchased a shuttered burger restaurant in her neighborhood and created Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles. “I had no restaurant experience, but I was driven by my passion to serve people, my love for good food, and my marketing ability," says Kelli.Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles became a popular Atlanta

Seek Hannemann is one of two brothers who assumed the operation of their parents' grill on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. One by one their other five brothers joined the business and Seven Brothers was created. The 2,400-square-foot counter service concept offers burgers with a Hawaiian flair, french fries, salads, and coconut macadamia shrimp.The success of Seven Brothers led to additional locations in the Hawaiian Islands and expansion to the U.S. mainland. In this episode, Seek shares the story

Co-founders Jason Sobocinski and Etkin Tekin opened the first Haven Hot Chicken in 2020 and have quickly grown to 8 locations throughout Connecticut. They created a unique blend of marination and pressure frying that provides their chicken with what they call a “Crispy Crust Adhesion," which is flavorful and prevents the crust from separating. These efficient 1200 to 1500-square-foot spaces offer very little dine-in seating and post 90 % of revenue from online order pick up, delivery, and walk-in

Hannah McClain is director of culinary and training for Louisville, KY-based Biscuit Belly, a fast-casual regional franchise in the U.S. South, Midwest, and Southeast. McClain has been promoting the company’s motto “Grab Life By The Biscuit!” since 2019. The rapidly expanding counter-service concept offers a wide variety of creative Southern-style biscuit meals such as the Boozy Bird, Biscuit Beenie, Belly Board, and the Love Shack."I just knew cooking would be my future,” says McClain, adding, “I