In this episode, Akash Kapoor, Co-Founder, CEO, and self-described “Chief Troublemaker” at Curry Up Now, shares the biggest challenges he’s encountered growing the company, if he thinks ethnic fast-casual restaurants face a different set of roadblocks than more traditional offerings do, and why the restaurant-bar duel concept is becoming a key part of their brand.

Emerging Brands Podcast

Meeting The Consumer Demand Of Ethnic Fast Casual

In this podcast episode, Charlie Guzzetta, chief brand development officer at BurgerFi, shares how BurgerFi keeps customers coming back with their NAE (no antibiotics ever) beef, how they’re expanding into nontraditional spaces such as airports and military bases, and why offering plant-based options is an essential part of their business model.

Emering Brands - BurgerFi

As they drove from Los Angeles to Phoenix for a bike race, Field Failing and a group of his cyclist friends grew hungrier by the minute, and frustrated with the lack of healthy offerings they had on the road. Eventually stopping at a Subway, Failing wondered why there weren’t more accessible options for him to get lean protein, whole grains, and fresh vegetables to fuel his long rides. So, he started Fields Good Chicken in 2014, focusing on the protein he’d been obsessed with for most of his life. While many fast-casual restaurants focus on fried chicken, Fields Good Chicken opts for a 24-hour slow roasting process to make their signature “damn good” poultry. In this episode, Failing shares how he has succeeded in his mission to deliver superior chicken and give back to his community.

Emering Brands - Fields Good Chicken

Veza Sur on Craft, Collaboration, and Competition

Learn about Gauthier’s background, the differences between lunch and dinner customers, and switching Mulberry & Vine to cashless service!

Mulberry & Vine on Transparency, the Fast Casual Space, and Expansion

Learn about the chain’s sustainability efforts, commitment to reviewing and adjusting to customer feedback, and how Firebirds gives back to its community.

How Firebirds is Adapting to On-Demand Culture

Learn more about the Modern Market ethos, the restaurant’s investment in innovation and local supply chains, and what lies ahead for the brand.

Modern Market on Scaling a Sustainable, Health-Focused Restaurant

The market is oversaturated, and differentiating your restaurant from similar concepts can be complicated and time-consuming. Cowboy Chicken seems to have unearthed the right recipe. The chain specializes in all-natural, wood-fired rotisserie chicken—unlike most chains, which offer fried chicken—paired with a wide variety of homestyle sides. Check out this episode to hear more about how Cowboy Chicken is confronting the current challenges in the industry head-on, and what lies ahead for the fast casual chain.

Cowboy Chicken Goes Back to the Basics

Upon moving to Chicago, Dewjee and his wife quickly discovered that the food experience they grew up with was not readily available in the city. With Bombay Wraps, they hoped to “break the misconception that Indian food or ethnic food has to be a hole in the wall.” He and his wife wanted to craft a place that offered authentic ingredients and flavor combinations in an environment that was modern, clean, and accessible to people of any background.

Bombay Wraps Brings Fast Casual to Indian Cuisine

Charles Bililies, the CEO and founder of Souvla, shares his vision for the fast-fine dining restaurant on this episode of Emerging Brands. Based in San Francisco with four current locations, Souvla—a reference to the Greek word meaning “spit” or “skewer”—offers a modern version of traditional Greek gyro and souvlaki sandwiches with rotisserie roasted and naturally-raised meats, and features the only all-Greek beverage menu available in any United States restaurant. Frozen Greek yogurt is served for dessert. Listen now to learn more from Bililies on the Souvla experience and what lies ahead for the company, and check out the Emerging Brands podcast to learn about other rising brands and innovators in the restaurant industry.

How Souvla is Revitalizing Fast-Fine Dining

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Joe DeLoss—the founder of fast casual restaurant chain Hot Chicken Takeover—discusses bringing Nashville-style fried chicken to Columbus, Ohio. Inspired by Nashville restaurant favorites Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack and Monell’s, Joe DeLoss decided to create his own hot chicken restaurant chain.Monell’s had family-style southern meals every day of the week,” says DeLoss. “You would join a table with ten other people, and I fell in love with the communal experience. Most guests walking into a fast casual restaurant don’t remember being called out or greeted—our question was, how do we build the infrastructure of our restaurant around recreating that communal experience for our guests and employees?”Over the last decade, Joe DeLoss has worked in a number of industries in an effort to create employment opportunities for people experiencing or who have experienced incarceration, homelessness, and other hardships. Founded in 2014, Hot Chicken Takeover has become a breakout brand in the Midwest. The chain boasts an excellent employee retention rate and an ever-growing customer base.In this podcast, DeLoss details his retention and employee development goals as well as the core values of the fast casual chain.The Hot Chicken Takeover team endeavors to operate from a place of “bold humility” in everything they do. “We listen to everything we hear and take it very seriously. Our goal is to acknowledge and address trends that our customers are experiencing before they become large problems,” explains DeLoss. “We know that we can always improve, and we’re unwilling to get in the way of progress. We measure an employee’s performance against that.”

How Hot Chicken Takeover is Reinventing the Fast Casual Experience

An emerging restaurant brand has to be so much more than just an innovative food concept. Nowadays, the market is highly saturated, especially in the QSR and fast casual segments. But emerging brand concepts are outperforming the rest. They are not only doing this by resonating with customers but are also redefining the restaurant business. The California-based Starbird Chicken hasn't been just wingin' it. "Starbird Chicken is really different from other chicken concepts in that we have modernized the entire food experience. We set out to really reinvent everything from food quality, ingredients, design, and convenience in the fast-food space. We reinvented the experience for the modern consumer," says Aaron Noveshen, founder & president of The Culinary Edge, the parent company of Starbird. Noveshen hatched the Starbird concept back in 2014 with the goal to offer a “super premium fast food" experience for guests. But just because the food is served fast, doesn't mean Starbird skimps on food quality. "In terms of Starbird staying on top of food quality control, it's a relentless commitment to greatness every single day. But ultimately, we are constantly thinking about new ways to improve our product. We taste it, I'm in the restaurants a lot and we're trying the food all the time and are being highly self-critical," says Noveshen.Learn what else Starbird Chicken is doing to continue to outshine the competition in today's market in the Emerging Brand podcast above. According to Foodable Labs data, chicken increased in mentions by 12.9 percent by millennials and was featured on 82.5% of chefs menus. So, how are you showcasing chicken on your menu? Food sourcing plays a pivotal role when it comes to quality and consistency. Finding the right supplier is the first step. Tyson Foods, for example, works with partners to find exactly what they’re looking for. Learn more at Tyson Foods now.

How Starbird Chicken is Changing the Fast Food Experience

Samantha Stephens, chef and founder of OatMeals shares with Foodable the origins of her single-ingredient fast casual concept and how she built it from the ground up.

How The World's First OatMeals Cafe Has Reimagined The Use of The Traditional Grain

Tom Holt, Founder and CEO of Urbane Cafe, shares insightful information about focusing on the consumer and their demands to sustain growth.

Tom Holt, Founder and CEO of Urbane Cafe

Seasoned food industry leader, Joe Guith, President of McAlister’s Deli®, shares his ideas about the future outlook of the brand.

Joe Guith, President of McAlister's Deli

Emerging brands are redefining the restaurant business with innovation, and creativity by taking the road least traveled. We explore the trailblazers that are creating a whole new expectation in food today. This podcast is a must listen if you are just beginning your journey or a veteran seeking a new direction to success for your brand. You'll get insights, ideas and action items from the best leaders, change makers and innovators in the business, as they tell the story that has set them apart from the rest of the field!

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Emerging Brands Podcast

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