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In this week’s Every Other Thursday episode host Greg Kirrish welcomes Janet Ady. Janet is an experienced economic development and site selection consultant, author, and speaker who focuses on helping both communities and companies meet their growth and diversification goals. Her knowledge and experience of the foodservice & hospitality sectors, along with multiple other industries, allows her to provide value to individual businesses as well as communities and regions targeting specific sectors.   Among the topics they discuss, Greg and Janet talk about how important foodservice is when it comes to creating great economic development success stories. After all, as Janet says “People want to live in cool places and cool places have great restaurants.”   President and CEO of her own company - Ady Advantage - for the past 17 years, anyone who is interested in foodservice and economic growth, in general, will definitely want to listen to what Janet Ady has to say.

On this week’s podcast, our “other” nomadic co-host Jay Allie heads back to The Sunshine State to work the St. Augustine Food & Wine event. Jay gives his insights to how people were reacting at event and, in general, as the re-opening of the hospitality industry continues.   And, of course, by now everyone knows that with Jay you can always expect a few updates and opinions on glassware trends and more. So, check out what our glassware expert has been up to  besides working on his tan in sunny Florida!

On this week’s podcast, our nomadic co-host Greg Kirrish gives us the skinny on his just-back-from trip to Austin, Texas. From culinary adventures to his musical impressions of Texas’ Capitol City, Greg tells it as he saw – and experienced - it. And, a bonus segment from Greg – we’ll also hear about his experience at recent Every Other Thursday guest Eileen Garcia’s award-winning Italian Chicago restaurant - Buona Terra. Not to be outdone, we’ve got Jay checking in from a road trip on his way to Saint Augustine, Florida for a wine & food event. And, of course, we’ll have the usual commentary and regular “not-to-be-missed” bs.

In this episode, we are joined by Chicago’s Steve Dolinsky. After 17 years as the food personality for local tv station ABC7, he’s well-known as a television food journalist, there’s more to Steve Dolinsky - much more. With his own, recently-launched media company, Steve is now bringing his expert brand building & storytelling skills to both suppliers and operators alike. In our conversation, Steve offers up why storytelling is so critical to success and what it takes to not only tell a great story, but also how that great story needs to be developed. Having such an experienced media talent on our podcast was certainly a developmental exercise for your hosts, but also one that listeners will find great benefit as well. To learn more listen to our episode and be sure to check out SteveDolinsky.com

On this week’s podcast, we take you to an unusual wine region of America and give you the behind-the-scenes peek at a new opening of a wine bar there. Admittedly, Missouri may not be first in people’s minds when thinking about America’s wine producing regions. However, Becky & Michael Lee have a host of reasons on why they believe their soon-to-open Wolf & Ferry Wine Bar in New Haven, Missouri will be a big success. Undertaking a wine bar can be challenging under the best of circumstances, but Becky and Michael have a strong family heritage dating back to the American revolution, Missouri’s legacy as a wine producing region (yes, it’s true) and a whole bunch of good karma to help them. To us, it was their trusting, positive approach to the entire project that makes us believe that they are building a new-generation story in this small town that will be successful both for them – and their community – for years to come. Listen to their story and we think you’ll understand why.

In today’s episode, our Gang of 3 reflect back on some of the incredible guests they’ve had on recently and offer thoughts on each of the stories told by Russ Finch, Eileen Garcia and Greg Traverso. From growing oranges in Nebraska and having an unending passion for serving others through the world of hospitality, and then on to exotic African journeys that transform our lives – each guest brought unique, thought provoking perspectives to our listeners.   Then in this week’s second segment, cohost Jay recants his recent trip to Florida and what his impressions of the restaurant and bar business is currently like in the most “open” of all the states here in America. And, as usual, Jay describes it all in his own inimitable style.

On this week’s podcast, we want to take you with us on a journey – a transformational journey to Africa. This week’s guest is Greg Traverso, from the adventure travel company Metamo. “Transformational” is a word that runs throughout the entire episode, from Greg’s descriptions of his first journey across Africa at age 31 which provided the genesis of his company - to what happens to the guests who join him and his team of travelers on the journeys to exotic destinations like Kenya, Tanzania and Mount Kilimanjaro.   There can little doubt that we live in transformational times where we are all pushing our own personal boundaries. Listen to Greg tell his story of how he leads his guests on life-changing journeys – and why he feels that Africa, its wildlife and its people are something truly special, along with being a place that the world needs to understand a little better and learn more about.   So, if you think a possible transformational journey might be interesting, this episode will definitely be for you. To learn more about Greg Traverso, his company Metamo and his transformative journeys, visit their website at https://metamo.travel/  or you can check out Metamo's podcast.   

Over the last twenty years, Eileen Garcia and her chef husband Chepe have literally built restaurants from the ground up.  Together, they turned Chicago’s Buona Terra and Hearth & Crust into iconic Chicago neighborhood destinations.  Along the way, they’ve overcome every challenge in the proverbial restaurant startup handbook.  In this episode, Eileen describes their path to success and what the current pandemic has wrought for them as they actually look forward to growth.   Eileen’s infectious optimism and common-sense approach to solving problems can provide inspiration and solutions for everyone in the foodservice world, especially during these tough times.  We encourage operators, suppliers, and anyone else interested in best-in-class hospitality to listen to her story, and when possible, visit their restaurants.  We can’t think of better ways to help set new goals as we begin to see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.  

On this week’s podcast, we are joined by entrepreneur & renaissance man Russ Finch. Russ is 89 years young and the designer, owner, & creator of the Greenhouse in the Snow. Russ has designed and perfected his greenhouse concept using low grade, geo-thermal energy in order to produce citrus, fruits, vegetables and flowers all year round in nearly any climate or locale. Restaurateurs, grocers, distillers and even hoteliers take note, Russ has developed a way to deliver sustainable, local and organic produce throughout the year wherever you are located. Think bananas from Montana!   Curious about how someone could grow oranges and lemons in Nebraska in the winter, we decided to invite Russ to join us on Every Other Thursday.    The result is a conversation that will appeal to anyone who loves fresh foods, grown locally no matter how exotic – and in a way that checks all the positive earth-friendly boxes – all for pennies a day! Have a listen to what Russ has to say about his “Greenhouse in The Snow” concept!

In our final episode for 2020, our Gang of 3 offer their reflections on the happenings of the past year and most especially, the list of impressive thought leaders who joined us as guests here on Every Other Thursday. Despite all its challenges, 2020 has been an engaging year and created a great foundation for the months ahead.   Speaking of the months ahead in 2021, our Segment 2 this week offers up what the Gang believes the landscape will look like as we begin the comeback from the coronavirus pandemic. What will hospitality look like? When will it feel normal again? And, what new menu and culinary concepts might we see in the new world of hospitality in 2021 and beyond!

In today’s episode, we are extremely excited to have well-known foodservice trend and research expert Nancy Kruse join us. Nancy is a nationally recognized authority and widely quoted expert on food and menu trends. As founder and president of The Kruse Company, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, she tracks trends and reports on hot-button issues in both the restaurant and supermarket industries.   Writer, speaker, and frequent lecturer, Nancy Kruse is the expert when it comes to what Americans like to eat – and where they like to eat it. Nancy gives us her take on what the growth in bologna sales might mean, where fine dining is heading and the menu items that will be changing the scene in 2021, along with their impact on tabletop products used to serve them. You’ll even hear why she calls today’s restaurants “America’s Test Kitchens”.   In addition to being a genuinely nice person, Nancy is a prolific food writer and a contributing editor and author of The Kruse Report, a popular column that appears in Nation’s Restaurant News. She also creates monthly feature stories for Restaurant Hospitality magazine. Always in demand as a speaker, Nancy served as executive vice president for Technomic, Inc., where she conducted a wide range of assignments for Fortune 500 food and restaurants companies.

As we head to the end of what can only be described as “incredible” or “once-in-a-lifetime” our Gang of 3 look forward to a new start for our industry in the new year of 2021. And, in looking forward at what the trends might be, what better place to start than the recently-released 2021 Annual Hottest Food & Beverage Trends in Restaurants & Hotels report from industry expert Michael Whiteman of www.baumwhiteman.com   Our never-shy hosts offer their thoughts and opinions on everything from A (ajvar) to Z (zones for pickup of online ordering) in this top-rated, #mustread trend report.

Food has always been a part of David Kramer's life since he was 12 and working in a family grocery business – all the way up to his current position as Chairman and Professor of the Culinary Arts Program at College of DuPage where he is training the great restaurateurs and chefs of tomorrow. From early on, David turned his interest turned into a passion, which he now shares with his students in the Culinary and Hospitality Management program. And throughout his career, David Kramer has always valued the experience. He himself is a graduate of COD's Foodservice Administration program, as well as of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and of Northwood University. David worked his way up from a dishwasher/prep cook to executive chef. Lovers of the Chicago dining scene will recognize the many restaurants where Kramer has worked, including Lawry's The Prime Rib, The 95th, Hyatt Hotels, the Art Institute of Chicago and Marriott Hotels. We were fortunate to have David join us for a few moments in this week’s episode. In our conversation, we covered a number of topics including the very progressive Culinary Arts Program at College of DuPage, how his experience helps David in his teaching role and, of course, his passion for inspiring the next generation of foodservice leadership.

This week’s opening, in the 1st year anniversary episode, our Gang of 3 discuss events of the past year and a few of each of their favorite moments.   Then, the team turns their attention to Greg’s recent culinary sojourn to the Southeastern states of America and the food & beverage surprises he found along the way. And, you’ll be interested to learn what tabletop items he found unexpectedly widespread in use that he hadn’t seen in a while.   And then, with lockdowns back on the increase, the group discusses the Chicago area and what the lockdowns on indoor dining and the arrival of cooler temperatures will mean to the overall foodservice business.

Passionate cocktail connoisseur Chris Kiertz joins us in this week’s episode and he comes at the whole cocktail landscape in quite a different way. A Boston-area tech marketer, Kiertz is not only all about the cocktails, but also about the data from the people who enjoy them. Combining another of his loves, Chris starts off with some great tips on how to take incredible cocktail photos without breaking the bank. As founder of HomeBarAwards.com with its 40K Instagram followers, Chris knows more than a thing or two about marketing and cocktail imagery. In Segment 2, we get into Chris’ newest passion called SideCar App, which is already in beta and about to go live. Designed to help people track their cocktail preferences, you’ll hear Chris describe how his new app will help both consumers, bartenders and even spirits companies. Finally, as a high-energy entrepreneur with lots of irons in the fire Chris also takes us through several of his other cocktail-centric adventures. We loved listening to Chris and his passionate, creative ideas and know that you will, as well.

This week, our Gang of 3 is a Gang of 2 as our colleague Jay is on assignment. But, not to worry Greg and Dave come with a great discussion on the future of dining. And, included are some great, specific ideas that operators can do to improve their takeaway and meal delivery experience for their guests. In addition, we review some of the great commentary and points made by our recent guests here on the podcast, along with a peek at the next episode’s guest and the interesting points of view that he will be bringing to the group.

This week, we are joined by global culinary and F&B expert Rainer Zinngrebe. Rainer has spent over 40 years in the food and beverage industry and has published two cookbooks, along with numerous other food and beverage training and guidance publications. Rainer has gathered his expertise from working with the some of the finest independent restaurants and luxury hotels all around the globe. Rainer Zinngrebe has recently started his own company – HKB Designs – to assist operators and owners with their own restaurants and culinary operations – from concept development all the way through to startup and beyond. Our session with Rainer was one of our most interesting podcast conversations to date and will leave you wanting to hear more from this talented, articulate food and beverage professional.

This week, we are joined by wine expert Madeline Triffon. Starting as a wine steward for Westin Hotels, Madeline used her wine skills and knowledge to go on to lead the wine programs at a variety of restaurants and restaurant groups, including Detroit’s prestigious London Chop House and the Rattlesnake Club Restaurant. In 1987, she was only the second woman ever to earn the title of Master Sommelier. Most recently, in 2011, Madeline joined Plum Market and in her current role she develops and executes wine and wine-related events for this growing upscale chain of gourmet grocery stores. Madeline Triffon’s experience in both the hospitality and the consumer food industry, combined with her vast knowledge of wines and her down-to-earth approach, made us particularly excited to have her join us on this week’s podcast.

This week, our Gang of 3 discuss the notion that perhaps the comeback of the foodservice & hospitality industry may already be underway, but just not easily visible to everyone just yet. And, to nobody’s surprise, the group has a variety of takes on just where we are along the comeback trail and just where the comeback might be visible first. Also, the group revisits our conversation with noted marketer Larry Deutsch with each of the Group of 3 offering up their favorite takeaway from Larry’s comments on building brands for companies both big and small.

This week, our Gang of 3 is joined by Larry Deutsch. A self-described bold futurist and alchemist, Larry is a co-founder & partner in the Chicago-based group – dvk marketing. With a background of consulting, along with both client and agency experience, Larry passionately champions collaboration, creativity and change. With experience working with companies large and small, in FMCG and in foodservice, Larry brings it all together with his partners to deliver solutions for their clients that unlocks growth and moves them forward with confidence and courage. In our conversation, you’ll hear Larry explain his 3 keys to building brands within the foodservice sector in a time where budgets are limited and the supply chain ever-changing. Along with that, Larry and the Gang of 3 will cover a variety of topics such as why inspiration is so critical and what empathy can do for both sellers and marketers in today’s foodservice industry.