LIVE from the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, the guys catch up with the visionaries of emerging restaurant brands, unpacking their innovative concepts and roadmaps to expansion!

In today’s episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” are joined by Prakash Karamchandani, Chief Executive Officer of Balance Pan-Asian Grille; Chris Medhurst, President and Chief Operating Officer of District Taco; and Chad Coulter, Founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly.

Key Takeaways:
– Prakash Karamchandani shares his journey of opening an Asian restaurant post-2008 recession job loss.
– Explore the fascinating world of growing your own produce through an aquaponics system.
– Unlock the secrets of franchising growth for emerging brands with insights from Pivotal Growth Partners (PGP).
– Delve into post-COVID growth strategies.
– Prakash’s take on the Wendy’s Dave Combo: Spice is Right!
– Peer into the crystal ball as the discussion turns to upcoming trends in AI martech and back-of-house operations.
– Rapid-fire questions in the Branded Quickfire round with Prakash.
– Chris Medhurst outlines growth plans for District Taco in New York and other East Coast markets.
– Uncover the brick-and-mortar story effect contributing to District Taco’s success.
– District Taco’s expansion into New York and New Jersey.
– Chris takes the mic to discuss advertising strategies.
– Chad Coulter, Founder of Biscuit Belly, shares insights on focusing biscuit business growth in the Southeastern US.
– The intriguing origin story of Biscuit Belly.
– Chad’s journey into the restaurant business and the learning curve.
– Explore the uptick in breakfast and brunch business.
– Differentiating fast-casual from craft-casual.
– Discover where Chad envisions growth for Biscuit Belly, particularly in the Southeast.