FULL COMP: Restaurant Tactics, Tools, & Strategies

Hosted by Josh Kopel

Business Entrepreneurship

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715

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Aug 2026

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About the show

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 their biggest wins, hardest lessons, and the strategies that changed everything. No fluff, no filler—just actionable insights to help you boost profits, build your brand, and create the kind of restaurant you’ve always dreamed of. So, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing results, hit subscribe.

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60 recent

August 21, 2026Episode 22143 min

Nick Wong & Lisa Lee: We Opened at 40 on Purpose

What if the smartest thing you can do for your restaurant is refuse to rush it? Nick Wong spent twenty years in kitchens like Momofuku and UB Preserv while peers opened their own places at 28. He waited until 40, and his partner Lisa Lee left a tech career at companies like DoorDash and Facebook to build it with him. Together they opened Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner in Houston, on their own terms: two days off a week and staff benefits from day one. In this conversation, we get into why patience beats FOMO in a fear-driven industry, how they engineered product-market fit for a category of one, and why they invested in their team before profitability made it easy. If you're rushing to prove something, this one will make you slow down. That's Nick Wong and Lisa Lee. To learn more about Agnes and Sherman, visit agnesandsherman.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

August 18, 2026Episode 22034 min

Dave Shah & Camilla Caremoli: One Unforgettable Restaurant Beats Twenty

What if the operators most likely to build something unforgettable are the ones who have never run a restaurant? Dave Shah and Camilla Caremoli had never worked a shift in hospitality before opening CasaDamí. Dave built a global tech studio and thinks in brand. Camilla comes from four generations of an Italian food family and thinks in operations. A year in, they've built the kind of room a community actually shows up for. In this conversation, we get into why they chased one unforgettable location instead of twenty, how they learned to separate real feedback from noise, and why the relationships built inside a room outlast any menu, wine list, or buildout. If you're an operator who believes experience is the only edge that counts, this one will challenge you. That's Dave Shah and Camilla Caremoli. To learn more about CasaDamí, visit casadami.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

August 14, 2026Episode 21938 min

Hamed Mazrouei: Thin Margins Are a Lie

What if the thin margins crushing your restaurant aren't the industry's fault at all? Hamed Mazrouei came into restaurants as a total outsider. He built Vivant, the managed network company that keeps thousands of restaurants online, and he refuses to accept the beliefs operators treat as gospel. In this conversation, we get into why the thin margins operators blame on the industry actually come down to volume, why guest retention is the highest-leverage metric almost nobody fixes, and why simplification is the one trait every successful founder shares. If you've been blaming the business for numbers you have the power to change, this one will make you rethink everything you assumed was fixed. That's Hamed Mazrouei. To learn more about Vivant, visit vivantcorp.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

August 11, 2026Episode 21840 min

Ryan Volberg: Double Revenue Without New Guests

What if the new customers you keep chasing are the reason your restaurant isn't growing? Ryan Volberg has spent more than two decades building the tools restaurants actually needed, from the first cloud POS to earned wage access. Now, as founder of Guestologie, he's attacking the most expensive blind spot in hospitality: the anonymous guest who walks in, gets seated, and leaves without anyone realizing they could have been a regular. In this conversation, we get into why frequency beats acquisition every time, why status is the cheapest loyalty tool you own while discounts are the most expensive, and how to grow revenue from the guests already sitting in your dining room. If you're spending to fill seats instead of keeping the right ones, this one earns its time. That's Ryan Volberg. To learn more about Guestologie and how they help restaurants see and keep their highest-value guests, visit guestologie.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

August 7, 2026Episode 21736 min

Adam Weisblatt: How Smaller Restaurants Win

What if the smartest way to grow in a market full of closures is to keep every restaurant small? Adam Weisblatt co-founded Last Word Hospitality and turned Found Oyster, a 777-square-foot oyster bar, into a seven-restaurant group that keeps expanding while famous names around it close. In this conversation, we get into why a tiny footprint takes the pressure off your rent and your margins, why he builds every concept around talented people instead of clever ideas, and why making your operators owners is the only way to grow without burning out. If you're convinced you need a bigger room to make real money, this one will change how you think about scale. That's Adam Weisblatt. To pre-order his upcoming book, For the Love of Restaurants, visit https://a.co/d/0cGZmQ5t . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

August 4, 2026Episode 21638 min

Jon Murray: Get More Profit From Your People

What if spending more on your staff is the fastest path to a more profitable restaurant? Jon Murray washed dishes at Applebee's and spent six years in music before rising to Chief Restaurant Officer at Indigo Road, running more than 20 concepts on someone else's terms. Then he walked away to build Noko and Kase in East Nashville on a people-over-profit model most operators would call reckless. In this conversation, we get into why he hands 5.5% of sales back to his team, how four-day workweeks and free therapy dropped his turnover to 15% in an 80% industry, and why he believes loving your people is the real driver of margin. If you think you can't afford to treat your people well, this one will change the math. That's Jon Murray. To learn more about Noko and Kase, visit nokonashville.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

July 31, 2026Episode 21541 min

Tobin Ellis: Your Labor Problem Is a Design Problem

What if your biggest profit leak is hiding behind the bar, in the engine your guests never see? Tobin Ellis spent 30 years behind the stick before he started designing bars for a living. As founder of Studio Barmagic, he's redesigned everything from NFL stadiums to five-diamond resorts, once lifting a landmark hotel bar's revenue 131% in a single quarter. In this conversation, we get into why your labor problem is really a design problem, why the money is made during peak volume instead of slow Tuesdays, and why he builds every bar for the bartender first, the guest second, and the investor last. If your margins are thin and your weekends are leaving money on the table, this one shows you where to look. That's Tobin Ellis. To learn more about his work designing high-performance bars and to grab his book, Bar Design Essentials, visit barmagic.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

July 28, 2026Episode 20539 min

Helen Johannesen: Ownership Isn't the Win You Think

What if owning a restaurant isn’t the win you think it is, but a risk most people misunderstand? Helen Johannesen didn’t just step into ownership, she sacrificed for it. Walking away from financial stability and taking a major pay cut, she bet on herself and a single restaurant that could have gone either way. Today, she’s a partner behind one of LA’s most respected hospitality groups and the force behind a wine brand built on trust, not intimidation. In this conversation, we unpack what ownership really demands, and why it’s not a universal path. Helen breaks down the illusion of revenue versus profit, why equity isn’t the right incentive for most teams, and how she built a wine program that rejects exclusivity in favor of access. If you’re chasing ownership—or questioning it—this episode will force a reset. To explore her selections and join the club, visit helenswines.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

July 24, 2026Episode 21435 min

Brendan and Bianca Shah: Collaborate, Don’t Compete

What if the smartest thing you can do with your single biggest advantage is hand it to the competition? Brendan and Bianca Shah run Chado Tea Room and the wholesale arm, International Tea Importers, the family business their father Devan built into one of the engines of America's specialty tea culture. When he died in 2016, the two of them inherited a company that lived entirely in his head and rebuilt it from first principles. In this conversation, we get into why selling their best tea to direct competitors grew the entire category and made the brand their real moat, how the wholesale and retail sides power a single flywheel, and why paring a 300-tea catalog down to its essentials is what unlocks growth. If you're competing on product alone, this shows you what it looks like to build something nobody can copy. That's Brendan and Bianca Shah. To learn more about Chado Tea Room, visit chadotea.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

July 21, 2026Episode 21339 min

Jeremy Lett: The Product Failed, Not You

What if the real thing holding your restaurant back is your refusal to trust your own taste? Jeremy Lett spent 26 years at Bloomin' Brands building food for Outback, Carrabba's, Fleming's, and Bonefish before taking over innovation at Cracker Barrel, a 650-unit institution he joined right as the brand was weathering its biggest public firestorm in decades. In this conversation, we get into why a great menu grows through subtraction, how to separate a product failing from you failing, and why your taste, earned over thousands of reps, is the one competency no spreadsheet can replace. If you're sitting on a concept people respect but won't repeat, this one will show you where to cut and what to trust. To learn more about his work leading culinary innovation and product development at Cracker Barrel, visit crackerbarrel.com . _________________________________________________________ Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com