The Restaurant Incubator

Brandon Sharp

This is NOT the average, tired interview of the average, tired Chef! Hell no -- The Restaurant Incubator is on a TACTICAL, ACTIONABLE MISSION to help you open, operate, and profit from your restaurant venture without wasting time or money in the process. Get the knowledge and info you need -- from those of us who have made the mistakes that we don't want you to repeat. Hosted by Chef Brandon Sharp, 7x Michelin star recipient and owner of Hawthorne & Wood, Bluebird, and Proximo, all in Chapel Hill, NC.

  1. 30/10/2025

    #70 Profit First: Kasey Anton

    Kasey Anton is (where do I start?) a restaurateur, financial whiz, coach, podcaster, and author of Profit First for Restaurants. In her own words, "People don’t open restaurants because they just want to start a business. People open restaurants because they are building a dream. You can create the restaurant of your dreams, be profitable, pay your vendors, your staff, yourself, and savor the joys of hospitality, without the stress and uncertainty." Would-be successful restaurant owners: avoid this episode at your own peril! Photo Credit: Rachel Carroll

    53 min

  2. 23/10/2025

    #69 Brought-Ins Welcome: Newman Miller

    Chef Newman Miller joins me from deep in the heart of bourbon country for this episode. As the owner of Mr. Tubs and Scout and Scholar, Newman explains how, after cooking all over the world, he's been able to focus on his craft as a chef and entrepreneur only a few miles from the tobacco farm where he grew up.

    54 min

  3. 17/10/2025

    #68 Relentless Growth: Franck Desplechin

    Who wrote the book on relentless growth in the hospitality industry, and specifically the professional kitchen? None other than Chef Franck Desplechin, who joins The Restaurant Incubator today and offers up some incisive tips and strategies for enhancing your own career and your team's as well. Don't forget to share this episode and give us five stars. That's the only way this podcast can grow!

    55 min

  4. 13/10/2025

    #67 Learning Never Ends: Chetan Shetty (NYC)

    Chef Chetan Shetty of Passerine in NYC embodies Fernand Point's reflection that when it come to cooking, one must be a student for life. Today's conversation ranges from the granular (scaling out your recipes in grams and training your cooks on technique) to the grand (designing your restaurant space to maximize form, function, and profit). If you need help planning or developing the business side of things for your own restaurant, check out these templates. Hit the subscribe button--and don't forget to give us five stars! Photo credit Todd Holder

    59 min

  5. 07/10/2025

    #66 Money

    Ready to open your restaurant but unsure how money actually gets from the guest's wallet to your bank account? Or what to do with it then? I break it down for you at a granular level in this episode. Follow us and give us five stars! It's the only way this podcast will grow and help the chefs and entrepreneurs who can benefit from this information. If you want budgeting and business planning help, I've built tools for you to use. Stay humble, stay hungry, and let's get this bread.

    25 min

  6. 01/10/2025

    #65 Save $500,000: Christin Marvin

    Christin Marvin is an industry voice to whom you should listen. On the heels of a 20+ year career in restaurants, rising from line cook at 15 to managing partner and scaling brands to 48 locations, she founded Solutions by Christin and created the Independent Restaurant Framework (People, Process, Profit). Listen closely for her generous free offer to Restaurant Incubator listeners near the end of the episode!Christin is the author of ‘Multi-Unit Mastery’ and ‘The Hospitality Leader’s Roadmap’, showing operators how to grow without burning out.She's also the host of The Restaurant Leadership Podcast, a top-ranked show for restaurant owners and operators worldwide. If you are working on your own concept and would like budgeting and business planning templates, I've created these for you. Don't forget to give this podcast five stars on your streaming platform!

    48 min

  7. 25/09/2025

    #64 Atelier D'Appalachia: Ian Boden (VA)

    What's it like to be one of the NYTimes' 50 Best Restaurants in the USA? Oh, AND a James Beard Best New Restaurant? Ian Boden joins The Restaurant Incubator to answer those questions. The chef and owner of The Shack and Maude and The Bear, Ian has made a home for the past twenty years in Staunton, VA. He tells us about the difficulties of opening an inn, the bare-knuckle financing of The Shack, and how he expects his team to hold their own standards independent of what guests think. Still thinking about opening your own restaurant? I've built budgets and business plans for you already--click here to find them. Stay humble. Stay hungry! Photo credit: Stephanie Whitehall Photography

    45 min

  8. 19/09/2025

    #63 Heads Carolina: Tal Blevins (NC)

    A partner in San Francisco's Lazy Bear and principal of the heralded Machete and Yokai (in Greensboro, NC), Tal Blevins brings a wealth of knowledge about service culture, staff knowledge and training, and restaurant build-outs to today's episode--but that's just the tip of the iceberg. We don't accept sponsors or paid ads--so do us a favor by rating us five stars wherever you get your podcasts! That's the best way to tell your streaming service that this information needs to go out to more people like you. Stay humble. Stay hungry!

    59 min
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About

This is NOT the average, tired interview of the average, tired Chef! Hell no -- The Restaurant Incubator is on a TACTICAL, ACTIONABLE MISSION to help you open, operate, and profit from your restaurant venture without wasting time or money in the process. Get the knowledge and info you need -- from those of us who have made the mistakes that we don't want you to repeat. Hosted by Chef Brandon Sharp, 7x Michelin star recipient and owner of Hawthorne & Wood, Bluebird, and Proximo, all in Chapel Hill, NC.

Information

  • Creator
    Brandon Sharp
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Brandon Sharp
  • Show Website
    The Restaurant Incubator