No experience. No roadmap. Just two cousins who committed to figuring it out. In this episode, Sabin Lomac shares how a wild idea with his cousin Jim Tselikis turned into Cousins Maine Lobster — now spanning 100+ locations and multiple countries.

This isn’t a story about restaurants — it’s a Founder’s journey in grit and reinvention. In this episode, Joe Fontana shares what happened before the breakthrough: the setbacks, the risk that nearly derailed him, and how Fry the Coop came out the other side.

Daniella Senior launched her first business at 13, baking out of her parents’ home in the Dominican Republic. Today, she’s the Founder and CEO of Colada Shop, Bresca, Serenata, and Zumo — and on a mission to scale Colada Shop nationwide. Here’s how focus is fueling that growth.

What happens when a visionary Founder and a passionate Franchisee come together to build something bigger than burritos? In this episode, Randy Wyner and Caleb Walker share the real talk behind Chronic Tacos — from the risks of scaling too fast to the culture that keeps franchisees loyal.

Grit, drive, and a dream — that’s all Mehdi Zarhloul had when he arrived in America at 15. In this episode, the Founder of Crazy Pita shares how he turned relentless innovation and authentic flavor into a scalable, multi-brand restaurant legacy.

What if your next breakthrough came from a dishwasher-turned-founder or a tech innovator who transformed chaos into a scalable business? In this episode, Shawn Lalehzarian of Red Chickz and John Dorer of EB3.Work share the real-world insights behind their journeys to the American Dream.

Evonne Varady started by prepping meals for six women. Today, she and her husband Don have scaled Clean Eatz to over 400,000 meals a week across 110+ franchise locations. In this episode, they share the grit, growth, and heart behind that journey.

Every once in a while, you meet a Founder who reminds you why you started in the first place. Denise Tran’s story is what’s called a “power of one” moment — one decision, one trip, one bite that changed everything. In this episode, she shares how she left law behind to build Bun Mee from scratch.

After walking away from a handshake deal with nothing in the bank, James Bonanno and his Co-Founder spent a week scrambling to raise six figures — and Tap Room was born. In this episode, he shares the wins, challenges, and mindset shifts behind building Upstream Hospitality Group.