What's with the Pineapple?

Hosted by Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to What’s with the Pineapple? A podcast about what’s happening in Michigan’s hospitality industry delivered directly through your speakers brought to you by the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association. We know that pineapples don’t grow in Michigan, but just trust us. Throughout this podcast, the MRLA will share a deeper discussion with you about current events, major headlines and trends, updates on what's happening at the Capitol in Lansing and Washington D.C., as well as welcome a new interview to each episode.

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60 recent

September 9, 202627 min

Ep. 63 - Lessons from the Drive Thru

What do a U.S. Army platoon and a Taco Bell restaurant have in common? More than you'd think — and Monica Rothgery has the war stories to prove it. Monica went from second lieutenant to COO of KFC to keynote speaker, and her through-line the whole time has been the most underleveraged person in any restaurant or hotel: the frontline manager. She joined us to give a preview of her upcoming keynote at the Women in Hospitality Leadership Conference in November and it took a lot of will (WIHL?) power to not giveaway all of the lessons. We got into what it actually means to lead people — not in theory, not on a vision board — but on a Tuesday when you're short-staffed and someone's shoes are falling apart. She talks about why your best operators are often doing everyone's job but their own, what it means to be a first boss, and why the unlock has nothing to do with speed of service or food quality. The big reveal? She's saving that for the stage. You'll have to come to WIHL Conference for that one. You can register at wihlcon.com .

August 6, 20268 min

Ep. 62 - Numbers Don't Lie

We're coming to you live from the 2026 MRLA Summer Board Meeting at Grand Traverse Resort, and we pulled Isaac Collazo aside before he took the stage to give us a few minutes of tell us more on the state of the hotel industry. Isaac leads analytics at STR, a division of CoStar Group — the people who quite literally wrote the book on hotel market data. If anyone knows where this industry is heading, it's him. We got into what actually drove that surprisingly strong June, what Michigan's numbers look like from the outside, and what operators should temper their expectations about heading into 2027. Spoiler: the World Cup isn't coming back next year. Our chairman Peter Beukema joins us too, with a Michigan operator's view from the ground. Short, sharp, and packed with data. This one's worth your commute. Listen to Isaac's podcast, Tell Me More, here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ac6rJ4AGSvWlNCMD7iqre

July 30, 202612 min

Ep. 61 - The British are Coming!

We're doing something we've never done before: skipping the news, ditching the segments, and handing the whole episode over to our guests. That's how excited we are about this one. Josh and Jase — the British content creators who dove headfirst into Michigan in the dead of winter and loved it enough to come back — are here. We talked Great Lakes polar plunge, Mackinac Island, the Big Home, pasties, and why Midwest nice might be the most disarming thing one can experience in America. Fair warning: if Eminem is listening, Jase says it wasn't stalking.

July 10, 202648 min

Ep. 60 - The Cherry On Top of the Budget

What does it take to cement a region as a premier culinary destination? This week, Justin and Emily sit down for an exclusive interview exploring the upcoming Traverse City Food & Wine Festival, unpacking the community partnerships and creative culinary forces driving northern Michigan's booming tourism scene. Plus, a marathon overnight session in Lansing results in a massive $75.2 billion state budget—we’re breaking down what a split Legislature's eleventh-hour deal means for local operators. We also dive into new data on how shifting American social habits are fast-tracking emerging trends in dining and look at the unexpected sporting event fueling late-night traffic surges for local bars. Bid on Michigan Hospitality Foundation auction here: https://www.mihf.org/summerauction.html Find out more about the Traverse City Food & Wine Festival here: https://www.traversecity.com/food-wine/

June 29, 202648 min

Episode 59 - Hollywood or Hospitality

Crown & Core opens with the world falling in love with America during the World Cup — free peanuts, affordable steaks, and apparently we've been sitting on a goldmine this whole time. Then we get into it: QSR traffic, the Chick-fil-A vs. Jersey Mikes (kind of), and a couple of plaudits worth raising a glass to. Our guest this week is Glenn Haussman — host of the #1 hospitality industry podcast No Vacancy, professional road warrior, and possibly the most optimistic person in a room full of optimistic people who he thinks should pump the brakes a little. We talk private equity knocking on hospitality’s door, AI that actually makes hospitality more human, and how to fake your way through any cocktail party conversation with complete confidence. Also tequila. Also Fish. Also Saskatchewan. Presented by Fahey, Schultz, Burzych, Rhodes PLDC. Find more information at https://fsbrlaw.com/

June 8, 202637 min

Ep. 58 - From the Counter to the Courtyard

Some episodes have a theme and this one is showing up. One hundred and fifty operators showed up to Capitol Day. Senate Bill 304 showed up across the finish line. A Detroit brewery makes sure it'll never stop showing up. And then there's Brandon Markle, who is showing up — behind a counter, in a hotel lobby, on a national awards stage, and in-person in the studio for this interview. The GM of the Courtyard by Marriott Lansing Downtown started behind a McDonald's counter and by 28 is running a hotel, winning awards, and building a team that actually reflects the community he serves. His take on authentic leadership, mentorship, and never letting frustration leak is the kind of conversation that makes you want to be better at your job. Whatever your job is. Presented by Fahey, Schultz, Burzych, Rhodes PLDC. Find more information at https://fsbrlaw.com/

May 8, 202656 min

Ep. 57 - We're Going to Netflix

Salad stuffed into a baguette is apparently the hottest thing in food right now, Mackinac Island's ferry system is under attack, and a proposed $4 billion service tax in Lansing has us paying very close attention. But honestly? You should listen in for the interview. Chef Andrew Sargent, winner of Netflix's Next Gen Chef, trained under Daniel Boulud at the eponymous Daniel before running day-to-day kitchen operations at Thomas Keller's three Michelin-starred Per Se — and he joins the pod to deliver one of our best conversations yet. Craft, pressure, mentorship, and why putting your personality on a plate is frankly a little self-indulgent. His words, not ours. We agree completely. Presented by Fahey, Schultz, Burzych, Rhodes PLDC. Find more information at https://fsbrlaw.com/

April 22, 202647 min

Ep. 56 - Living Like Gypsy (Distillery)

Today's episode opens somewhere more somber than usual. Justin and Emily take a moment to honor John McNamara — friend, colleague, and the record-holder for most guest appearances on this podcast — before getting back to the business of Michigan hospitality, which is exactly what Johnny Mac would have wanted. From there, the segments pick back up: Detroit lands in the newly launched Michelin Guide American Great Lakes edition, Open Table is mandating restaurants make it their system of record and the streaming rights chaos around NFL Sunday Ticket is creating real headaches for bars trying to keep the games on. Then Justin and Emily pour a drink and sit down with Adam and Michael Kazanowski, the brothers behind Gypsy Distillery in Northern Michigan. Their origin story involves moving to Colorado in pursuit of finding their life's passion, living out of a van working music festivals, and one letter that landed them with a view that would stop anyone in their tracks. They are, as Justin correctly identifies, storytellers as much as distillers, Cheers! Presented by Fahey, Schultz, Burzych, Rhodes PLDC. Find more information at https://fsbrlaw.com/

March 23, 202651 min

Ep. 55 - Take a Bite Out of Nationals

What's with the Pineapple is making history this episode — first ever remote segment (Justin's phoning it in from Traverse City, literally) and Emily's first solo interview. The segments cover a big tip credit win out of Chicago, where the City Council voted to halt the phase-out, Justin's productive DC fly-in for Restaurants Act, movement on Michigan's open and obvious doctrine, and Grand Rapids swinging big (hopefully) on a 600-room convention hotel. Emily also takes a massive bite out of Burget King's new marketing campaign. In the second half, Emily sits down with Diana Woodward of Plymouth Canton Educational Park and Katie Agacinski of DCTC at Riverview — first place finishers in culinary and management at this year's record-breaking ProStart state competition. They talk nationals, what makes ProStart students hireable, and why making a judge tear up is a legitimate benchmark for success. Presented by the MRL Fund. Find more information at mrla.org/mrl-fund.html Support MHF and send ProStart teams off to the National ProStart Invitational by attending ProStart in Paradies. Tickets available at https://www.mihf.org/prostartinparadise.html .

February 27, 20261 hr 2 min

Ep. 54 - Taking Hospitality to New Heights

Pete Beukema literally flies planes and wants Michigan's hospitality industry to reach similar altitudes. The new MRLA Chairman talks Brady Bunch-style family business dynamics, why property taxes are killing development deals, and how Pure Michigan keeps getting shortchanged while surrounding states actually invest in tourism. Crown and Core discovers protein infiltrating every menu, the GLP-1 fascination continues with new data showing users still dining out, and somehow the great pepperoni diversity debate makes an appearance alongside Justin's third Chipotle reference in as many episodes. Then For Forks Sake lives up to its segment name with topics on a proposed 6% sales tax on tourism services to fund property tax cuts and the governor's $88 billion budget proposals. Pete's vision is straightforward – stop chasing shiny corporate deals, help operators on every street corner and fund tourism like Michigan actually wants visitors. Presented by the MRL Fund. Find more information at mrla.org/mrl-fund.html