Corner Booth Podcast Chris Tripoli

Business school graduate Darren Spicer studied the success factors of the growing regional coffee sector while managing a unit of drive-thru coffee chain Dutch Bros. He and his two co-founders developed the drive-thru specialty beverage concept Clutch Coffee Bar, which was launched in 2018 in a second-generation drive-thru location in Mooresville, North Carolina.
 
“We succeed because of our commitment to offering quality and a well-trained staff that remains focused on the guest,” says Darren. “Mastering the brief conversation is what we like to call our approach to guest service. It has become our motto.”
 
The 450- to 850-square-foot walk-up and drive-thru kiosks are popular havens for those looking for freshly roasted coffee, cold brews, specialty energy drinks, smoothies, and shakes. Growth came quickly, with the concept’s second through fifth locations in second-generation takeovers that required little remodeling. The three owners each assumed responsibility for different areas of the business, allowing Clutch Coffee Bar to succeed in operations, marketing, and expansion more quickly. With 10 units and plans for nine more, Clutch Coffee Bar is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing concepts in the Carolinas.  

As a child, Sarah Johnston, founder of Houston’s Fat Cat Creamery, hand-cranked creative homemade ice creams for family and friends. Following a career as a commercial real estate marketer, she leased space in a neighborhood strip mall to turn her childhood love of craft ice cream into a successful business. 
 
Fat Cat Creamery offers quality uniquely flavored frozen desserts and baked goods. “I started working with alcoholic beverages in some of my ice cream creations and it soon became my specialty,” says Sarah. “Waterloo Strawberry and Cream” made with gin and “Milk Chocolate Stout” with beer are among the concept’s signature products. Add handmade waffle cones, fresh-baked cookies, brownies, and old-fashioned sodas to complete the menu.
 
Sarah shares how monthly “flavor meetings” promote creativity and staff engagement. She also explains how seasonal tastings for customers helped build the business’s loyal following. From a single retail location, Fat Cat Creamery has grown to distribute its wares via wholesale distribution and an airport kiosk location. 

Garrett Reed, CEO of Layne's Chicken Fingers, said he fell in love with the Texas-headquartered concept as a student at Texas A&M University. The original College Station, Texas unit began operations in 1994. In 2015, Garrett approached the concept's owner to express his interest in expanding the brand. He became the concept's owner two years later.
In this episode, Garrett tells how he leveraged his passion for the company's products and his respect for its culture with standardization of operations and franchising. He also explains how he converted second-generation restaurant locations into Layne's Chicken Finger units as an effective expansion tactic.
Listen and learn how Garrett selects franchisees and manages the fast-paced growth of Layne's Chicken Fingers. The brand continues to emerge in the Lone Star State, with its reach including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and units soon to open in the District of Columbia and Virginia. The company projects it will be operating 14 units by the end of 2024. 

Chef Emeka Onugha’s passion for healthy food predated his meeting with real estate developer Adenah Bayoh when they launched Brick City Vegan in 2021. “From inception, our approach wasn’t to simply present an imitation of meat, but to create new flavors and textures in popular menu items,” says Emeka of his Montclair, New Jersey counter-service concept. 
Montclair is proximate to Newark, which is known as the “Brick City” for its beautiful brickwork architecture. Emeka’s eponymous concept offers vegan burgers, bowls, sandwiches, and salads for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
“We have established our brand around the popularity of three creative offerings," says Emeka. “The “Black-Eyed Pea”, “Sweet Potato, and “Chickpea” burgers have become our signature items.” 
Emeka’s expansion plans for Brick City Vegan include a second New Jersey location, a unit in Brooklyn NY, and the addition of a breakfast day part. In this episode, he discusses:
Promoting a vegan menu to non-vegans. 
Managing margins with relatively expensive local organic ingredients.
His strategy to bring the signature burger patties to retail.

Kelli Ferrell's dream of a small, limited-menu restaurant serving her favorite Southern dishes started with a vision board, a collage of images that represent and help manifest one’s goals. Eight years later, she purchased a shuttered burger restaurant in her neighborhood and created Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles. “I had no restaurant experience, but I was driven by my passion to serve people, my love for good food, and my marketing ability," says Kelli.
Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles became a popular Atlanta breakfast, brunch, and lunch concept. Kelli is active in the community, has authored a cookbook titled “Kooking with Kelli”, and has been featured on local television programs, including multiple appearances on the Food Network.
With two Atlanta locations. Kelli sets her sights on continued expansion and retail distribution of her concept’s signature waffle mix and syrups. In this episode, Kelli discusses:
Building a brand.
Active social media and community-based marketing.
Why her best managers started as line employees.
The growth opportunities of limited-menu concepts that require less square footage and fewer staff.
How secondary markets and franchising figure into concept expansion.

Seek Hannemann is one of two brothers who assumed the operation of their parents' grill on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. One by one their other five brothers joined the business and Seven Brothers was created. The 2,400-square-foot counter service concept offers burgers with a Hawaiian flair, french fries, salads, and coconut macadamia shrimp.
 
The success of Seven Brothers led to additional locations in the Hawaiian Islands and expansion to the U.S. mainland. In this episode, Seek shares the story of Seven Brothers' creation and discusses:
The decision to expand to the mainland.
The challenges of maintaining a strong family business culture with multiple units.
Why franchising became the concept’s expansion strategy and how it succeeded.
How focusing on the customer and community-based marketing became the concept’s cornerstones of franchisee success.
Why smaller units with drive-thru and delivery services are “What’s Next".