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PODCAST

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution

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

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

11:23

Office Hours: Doing Less To Earn More

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2026/01/15

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.In this episode, I talk about why the start of a new year feels so hard for so many restaurant owners. The problem

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39:14

Invisible Work, Unshakable Standards: Wesley Sohn on...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2026/01/13

What if the best hospitality isn’t taught – it’s demonstrated, brick by brick?Wesley Sohn didn’t just walk away from a promising finance career, he ran toward something deeper. Something messier. Something real. He started as a food runner, not to climb the ladder faster, but to understand the foundation better. And it shows. Today, Wesley helps lead one of the most intentional hospitality groups in the country, where culture is lived—not laminated—and SOPs don’t kill creativity, they fuel

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38:17

When Staying Small Wins: Fred Piehl on Profit, Joy,...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2026/01/09

What if staying small was actually the boldest move you could make in restaurants?Fred Piehl didn’t come to San Diego chasing an empire; he came with Paris training, a place to sleep, and a 30–seat bistro he found on Craigslist that became The Smoking Goat.In this conversation, we break down why he and his wife Tammy treat restaurants like “leaky buckets,” how he built a life where skiing trips, summers in New Hampshire, and family dinners matter as much as Saturday covers and how he’s

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37:51

The Case for Bold Action: Johno Morisano on What It...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2026/01/06

What if the best restaurant stories aren’t about food—they’re about identity, risk, and reinvention?Johno Morisano didn’t set out to open a restaurant—he set out to escape. But a chance encounter with a Greyhound bus station, and later, chef Mashama Bailey, sparked something deeper: a creative and cultural reckoning that became The Grey.In this conversation, we unpack how Johno turned personal uncertainty into professional clarity, why the partnership with Mashama worked when others would

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43:15

The Power of Not Knowing: Alex Pincus on Risk,...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2026/01/02

What if knowing nothing was your greatest strategic advantage?Alex Pincus didn’t grow up in restaurants—he grew up on boats. And when he stumbled into hospitality, it wasn’t with a plan. It was with a floating bar, a donated ship, and zero experience. In this conversation, we unpack how that ignorance created freedom, why top-line success almost hid the real problems, and how grief rewired his entire relationship with risk. We explore the tension between magic and margin, the beauty of

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38:27

Invent Less, Execute More: Chris Gannon’s Hard Truth...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/30

What if the biggest threat to your restaurant’s success isn’t a lack of ideas—but too many of them?Chris Gannon built BOLAY with the DNA of a legacy brand—his father helped launch Outback Steakhouse. But unlike the bloomin’ days of casual dining, fast-casual success demands ruthless focus.In this episode, Chris shares how over-innovation almost broke his business, why the need to be creative can kill consistency, and the real lesson behind scaling a scratch-made concept. We get into why

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36:10

Divide and Conquer: Michael Mina and Patric Yumul of...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/26

Michael Mina is the best in the biz. He's mastered excellence at scale. What's equally impressive is that he's done it alongside his partner Patric Yumul for the last 20 years.Think about how much our industry has changed in the last 20 years. Today, the three of us reflect back on their decades long partnership together and look forward to the next chapter of their partnership.For more on the Mina Group go to

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38:46

She Thought She Wasn’t Ready—Then She Won It All:...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/23

What if imposter syndrome wasn’t a weakness, but a compass?Emily Brubaker didn’t think she was ready to run a resort kitchen. She didn’t think she’d win a national TV competition. But she did both—by betting on her values, not her ego.In this episode, we get into the real story behind her journey from Vegas fine dining to Omni La Costa. She opens up about leaving the kitchen to raise kids, coming back through heartbreak and grit, and the radical changes she’s making to leadership culture in

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37:29

Lauren Fernandez on Perfecting Restaurant Profitability

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/19

Lauren Fernandez went from working in restaurants, to working on restaurants, to influencing the industry at scale. After cutting her teeth as a corporate executive turned franchisee, she’s taken the lessons she’s learned and crafted not only an educational platform, but an investment engine for those that come after her. Today, we discuss what she's built and how it works to ease the burden of independent restaurateurs.For more information on Lauren and Full Course, visit

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40:08

No Playbook, No Apologies: Alon Shaya on Leading with...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/16

What if the most powerful thing you bring to your restaurant isn’t a recipe—but your story?Alon Shaya built Pomegranate Hospitality not on a model, but on a mission: to lead with identity, not conformity. In this episode, he shares how embracing his immigrant past changed everything—from how he cooks, to how he hires, to the way he gives back. We get into the power of cultural storytelling in a commodity industry, the systems that let passion scale, and why he built an entire nonprofit

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35:49

Fabio Viviani on Crafting a Concept Guaranteed to...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/12

The pandemic taught many of us many different lessons but it taught Chef Fabio Vivani how to fight back. The chef spent the years rebounding from the pandemic curating a concept that he believes is not only recession proof, it’s pandemic proof. Today we sit down to discuss the formula he’s crafted for guaranteed success so that we too can protect our businesses from what’s lurking around the corner. For more information on the chef, visit

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8:44

Office Hours: Why You Shouldn’t Reward Regulars

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/11

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.Today I dig into what customer loyalty really means and why so many programs miss the mark. Loyalty is not about

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40:33

Stop Playing It Safe: Katherine Miller on the Real...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/09

What if staying quiet is the riskiest move you can make?Katherine Miller built her career where politics and policy collide—and she’s not afraid to bring chefs into the fight. From her early days in democratic campaigns to working with global nonprofits and the UN, Katherine’s mission has been clear: empower the most trusted voices in food to influence the systems that shape it.In this episode, we dig into why chefs are uniquely positioned to drive real change, how restaurant owners can

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36:29

The Prince of Portland: Celebrity Chef Gregory Gourdet

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/05

When you open a restaurant you've investing in more than a business, you're investing in a community. As we change and evolve as individuals so do our communities and few places more beautifully illustrate this capacity to change more than Portland, Oregon. Today's we chat with, Portland's adopted son, Celebrity Chef Gregory Gourdet. Instead of staking his claim in his hometown of New York or following the trends out to Los Angeles, Gregory has chosen to walk a more complicated path, using

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8:14

Office Hours: Influence Fatigue — Why Your Customers...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/04

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.In this episode, I dig into what real storytelling looks like and why so many brands get it wrong. Authenticity is

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64:36

Your Tech Is Costing You More Than Labor. Ankit Gupta...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/12/02

What if the biggest threat to your restaurant isn’t bad food or poor service—but bad tech?That’s the bet Ankit Gupta is making. After shaping food delivery at tech companies globally, he saw a blind spot no one was fixing: restaurant tech was leaving restaurants behind. Now he’s leading the product team at Otter, and his mission is clear: to completely redefine what a restaurant point of sale system is and how it can holistically serve the changing needs of restaurants today.In today’s

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33:25

Ellen Yin on Building an Unbreakable Restaurant Culture

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/11/28

I believe restaurants have always had a pervasive culture, albeit at times not the healthiest culture. Restaurateur Ellen Yin is out to change that and she’s leading by example. Today we sit down to discuss her unorthodox path through the industry and how in breaking the mold, she’s developed the formula to heal our industry. To learn more about Ellen and her restaurant group, visit https://highsthospitality.com/_________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant

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8:28

Office Hours: Stop Fixing Symptoms — The Real Reason...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/11/27

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.In this episode, I break down a problem I see all the time in our industry: identity drift. When your purpose,

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38:49

Fun Is Non-Negotiable: Andy Shallal on Culture,...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/11/25

What if the only way to build a restaurant worth running was to make it fun—even in crisis?Andy Shallal didn’t set out to be a restaurateur. He left a stable path in medical science, waited tables to get by, and discovered something powerful: hospitality could be a vehicle for joy, justice, and deep human connection.In this episode, Andy shares how he built Busboys and Poets into a mission-driven brand that prioritizes people over profits—and why “fun” is his north star, even through

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37:38

Restaurateur Will Guidara on Delivering Unreasonable...

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry... ·

2025/11/21

World-famous restaurateur Will Guidara is back with his latest project — and it’s not a restaurant, it’s a book. Will was made famous by the over the top service he provided at Eleven Madison Park and, as it turns out, there was a method to the madness.In this episode, Will and I sit down to discuss the formulaic way that he set expectations for his guests' experience and the process he created to exceed those expectations.Be sure to pick up a copy of Will’s book, “Unreasonable

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