Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates

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Will Stewart, Founder and CEO of RightWork, joins Zack Oates to explore how labor decisions directly shape the guest experience. With a background as a data scientist at Starbucks, Will brings a unique perspective on how restaurants can use data to make smarter operational decisions.
Zack and Will discuss:
 Why labor should be seen as an investment, not just a cost
 How understaffing impacts both guests and employees
 The importance of scheduling with more granular data
 Why every location requires a different labor strategy
 How to balance profitability with guest experience
 Ways to scale consistency across multiple locations
Thanks, Will!
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-stewart-23339b66/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightwork-inc/about/
https://right.work/

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Zack Oates sits down with Kevin Boehm of Boka Restaurant Group to explore the mindset behind building one of the most respected hospitality groups in the country. From early career risks to scaling multiple award-winning concepts, Kevin shares how creativity, consistency, and resilience shape long-term success.
Zack and Kevin discuss:
 Building Boka Restaurant Group into a nationally recognized brand
 Why creativity matters more than ever in hospitality
 Lessons learned from opening and scaling restaurants
 The role of storytelling in guest experience
 How resilience shapes great operators
Thanks, Kevin!
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-boehm-4826a326b
https://www.instagram.com/kevinboehmboka/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/boka-restaurant-group/
https://www.bokagrp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bokarestaurantgroup/

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Zack Oates sits down with Jeff Galletly of Brooklyn Dumpling Shop to unpack what it really takes to scale a brand across both restaurants and retail. Jeff shares how the company has grown rapidly while improving guest experience, and why everything starts with getting the food right before anything else.
Zack and Jeff discuss:
 Building Brooklyn Dumpling Shop across restaurants and CPG
 Why restaurants act as the “front porch” of the brand
 How improving food quality transformed guest ratings
 Balancing speed, accuracy, and consistency in operations
 Why great food is still the foundation of guest experience
Thanks, Jeff!
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-galletly-792b523/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/brooklyndumplingshop/about/
https://www.brooklyndumplingshop.com/

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David Youngberg, CEO of Stonefire Grill, and Matt Calabrese, CTO, join Zack Oates for a deep dive into what it actually takes to scale a restaurant brand without losing what makes it special. From feeding 5,500 guests in under an hour to building a business where catering drives over 20% of revenue, they share real operational insights from inside the brand.
Zack, David, and Matt discuss:
 How catering can become a powerful growth and acquisition channel
 Why meeting guests across every channel is no longer optional
 How fast feedback loops are reshaping decision making
 The role of technology in supporting, not replacing, hospitality
 Why consistency is the foundation of trust and long term loyalty
 How to grow a brand without drifting from its core identity
Thanks, David and Matt!
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dyoungberg/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-calabrese-5657252/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/stonefire-grill-inc/
https://www.stonefiregrill.com/

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Jessica Serrano, CMO of Bagel Brands, joins Zack Oates to share how marketers can better understand what makes a brand truly stand out. With experience across Burger King, Taco Bell, and Dig In, Jessica brings a sharp perspective on how guest insights shape strategy.
Zack and Jessica discuss:
 Finding what makes your brand uniquely valuable
 Why scrappy guest research often beats big budgets
 How to balance data with real world observation
 The importance of timing and context in guest communication
 Why simple brand guidelines outperform complex ones
 How to improve guest experience by doing the next right thing
Thanks, Jessica!
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacausse/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bagel-brands/