26 MAY 2021 · This episode of The Cutting Onions podcast features my conversation with Dan Fogarty, Founder of Call Fogarty, an agency that helps cool companies become cult brands. Dan was also one of the earliest Marketing executives at Chipotle, first on the agency side, and then working directly for Chipotle for many years creating the iconic brand voice we had in those early days. He was responsible for leading the team that created the legendary advertising and branding messaging that resonated with our guests in ways we could have never predicted, and connected marketing directly with the culture we were building. And they did it on a shoestring budget. For me, as a young multi-unit leader back in 2002, getting to experience the way Chipotle approached Marketing impacted me forever, because it was the first time I looked at Marketing and Operations as being interconnected. They were then, and they still are today. In this amazingly fun conversation Dan unpacks so many things including: - How Marketing and Culture are connected - Using every medium we had to communicate with the guest: What Dan calls the “cereal box strategy” - Using our food as currency - Marketing to solve a problem - The importance of a words and tone of voice and how they add a whole other dimension - How a brand is a chair, music, napkin, and the bathrooms - Teaching people how to cook - How we advertised before Facebook and Instagram - Teaching people you could get great food served fast in a time when most restaurants were focused on cheap price points And so much more. Dan and I talked at length about the early lessons that we learned at Chipotle and how those early marketing decisions helped influence how we built the brand. This was such a great conversation, truly showing that culture and marketing are one, and completely connected to operating a great restaurant. It was so great getting to revisit the history of Chipotle marketing in the early days, and then realizing how much of that approach still resonates in today’s marketplace for any brand out there. If you are a small brand, you can do these things, and I highly recommend you listen to Dan’s advice and implement some of these tactics where you can. They may look a little different in 2021, but the spirit of this approach is timeless. Stay tuned at the end for a couple of bonus radio spots that will bring a smile to your face…”Chicken Man” and “Salad Kountry”.

5 MAY 2021 · Thanks for joining me for this episode where I speak with Restaurant CMO Tim Hackbardt. Tim is a 25+ year restaurant industry veteran who has served 25 restaurant chains across QSR, Fast Casual and Full Service Restaurant categories. A few of these brands include Del Taco, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Rubio’s, Pieology, Steak ‘n Shake, Johnny Rockets, and Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. He is currently Chief Marketing Officer for Del Taco where he oversees brand strategy, marketing and menu strategy. Del Taco (NASDAQ: TACO) is the second largest Mexican quick service restaurant chain with over 600 locations in 16 states. Previous to his role at Del Taco, he was the CEO of the consulting firm BrandTrip Partners. His firm served restaurant chains primarily in the areas of distressed turnarounds, brand reinventions and new restaurant concept development. One of his most interesting projects during this time was to develop a new pizza chain in the Middle East for a multi-national company located in Saudi Arabia. Today there are eight Turnstone Pizza restaurants open around the city of Riyadh. Tim is originally from Michigan and is a graduate of Central Michigan University with a BAA in Broadcast & Cinematic Arts. Today, he resides in the San Diego area with his wife of 31 years. When he is not eating for his job, he is usually burning off the calories training for endurance races. A 2X Ironman, and 5X 70.3 Ironman, he also enjoys ultra trail running and cycling adventures in the Pyrenees, Sierras, Rocky Mountains and Dolomites to name a few. Tim can be contacted and followed here: linkedin.com/in/timhackbardt www.oldguywhotris.com https://www.facebook.com/oldguywhotris https://www.instagram.com/oldguywhotris/

21 APR 2021 · Here is my amazing conversation with Max Kotin, Chief Storyteller for Dodo Brands. Max shared so much great information about Dodo Brands, how they started, and how they have created the fastest growing pizza concept in the world according to Technomic. Dodo Pizza now operates more than 700 pizza shops in 14 countries, including its first US unit located in Oxford, Mississippi. But Dodo is so much more than pizza. They have developed a portfolio of digital-first QSR brands including DrinkIt, Doner42, and Dodo Pizza.

14 APR 2021 · Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast! Please enjoy my conversation with Chef Jeremy Barlow. Jeremy has been an innovative force in Nashville's chef scene for over 18 years and has several amazing concepts including Tayst and Sloco. Jeremy has also been a champion of food sustainability and creating accountability around sourcing and how the supply chain is managed. He walks us through the evolution of the food system. As he says, everything happens around the table. I loved hearing about what Jeremy has been doing in Nashville over the last several years! We had an amazing conversation that covered a wide range of topics including: - The magic formula of pop ups and how they work - Are events worth it? - Finding efficiencies in the QSR segment and combine it with the fine dining world to define what the next food system will be - Why food policy matters - And his exciting new concept, Fryce Cream, which has been in development on 12 South in Nashville and has already gotten rave reviews! You do not want to miss this inspired conversation! He also tells a hilarious story about putting pork belly on the menu about two years before it was trendy to do so and he couldn't sell it! Now of course it is everywhere! You can find Jeremy on Instagram as well! Check out his channels: @slocosammies @the_green_tayst @frycecream

7 APR 2021 · Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! In today's episode I chat with Jason Brooks, Chief Operating Officer of Zalat Pizza in Dallas, Texas. My conversation with Jason was so inspired and I think you will be too. Zalat Pizza is committed to not only serving amazing hand-crafted pizza out of their ghost kitchen model, but also to creating a strong culture for his employees.

16 MAR 2021 · About a year ago I found a picture of myself as an employee of the McDonald’s in Blue Springs Missouri back in 1984. Since then I have been thinking about my sixteen-year-old self and what I was dreaming about back then. Where I thought I was going. Who I thought I would become. What I thought my life would be like. My life since that picture taken at age sixteen has been working in my chosen profession: the restaurant industry. And it has changed my life in so many wonderful and profound ways. It created opportunities for me that I wouldn’t have dared to dream about back then. At age 16, I was excited. I was passionate. I was dreaming. I felt connected. I found a family I didn’t really have at home at the time. I knew I wanted more of all those feelings. And here I am. All these years later. Still excited. Still passionate. Still dreaming, and hopefully a bit wiser. I consider it my life’s work to create opportunities for others that otherwise might not exist, and pay forward the generous investment that many different leaders have made in my development over the years, and create those same feelings I had at age 16 for other young leaders. And that work has been, and continues to be, very fulfilling...

27 MAR 2020 · In this short episode I do something a little bit different. Instead of interviewing someone in the industry, I read the introduction to my new book, Cutting Onions. It was super fun to do and there's a fun story in there about one of my early leadership influences and it may surprise you to hear who it was. Hint: It was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer!

18 MAR 2020 · One of the questions I like to ask in the midst of a challenge is: “What does this make possible?” That’s an important question to ask during times like these, when the media is bombarding us with all of the negative around COVID-19.

9 JAN 2020 · Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast, where we celebrate culture that develops leaders. This is Episode 26. In this conversation I sit down with Chris Cargill. Chris is a long-time HR professional with a passion for creating strong people cultures and connecting with people in a genuine way to help them accomplish their hopes and dreams. The work Chris has done in Human Resources has covered retail, restaurants and professional services and he has made an impact everywhere he’s been. He has razor sharp instincts and intuitively understands people, which has helped him build strong relationships within the organizations he’s been a part of that transcend what people normally think of when they think about HR. Starting his HR career in 1997 after working in customer service he immediately saw the correlation between customer service and HR and went to work. Working with two different startups and having to build the infrastructure from scratch, it helped Chris figure out how to connect with people and keep it real. Chris is one of the most authentic people I know and sees the work he does as a calling and not just a role in an organization and I think that’s where the magic happens. He didn’t start out to be an HR professional and his journey to where he is today is an incredible inspiration. Fun fact: Chris has a passion for music and also produced the amazing track titled Walking Strong that I use for the intro and outro of my podcast.

26 DEC 2019 · Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast where we celebrate culture that develops leaders. In today’s episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast I sit down with Libby Balsiger, founder of Chica Communications, where she is passionate about advancing socially conscious efforts that underscore corporate integrity and global responsibility. Libby was also one of the early marketing leaders at Chipotle when it was all about grassroots and field marketing strategies. She did some incredible work in building the brand in those early days when sales weren’t great, there was doubt about whether we’d make it in California, and the moment that changed everything. Libby and I talked about how her work at Chipotle influenced her in the important work she is doing now around growing creative startups, many of which are led by female entrepreneurs and helping them market their businesses. Libby is an incredible leader and is continuing to make a huge impact in organizational culture and in the lives of those creating that culture. She is an inspiring mentor for so many leaders looking to do big things. It was such a pleasure chatting with her. She’s the real deal. Here is my conversation with Libby Balsiger. See you on the other side.