Tabletopjournal

In today’s episode of Every Other Thursday, we launch a series called RECAST where we will occasionally take one of our past great guest conversations and offer it again for those who may have missed it on the first go round or perhaps are new to our Every Other Thursday Podcast. In this first RECAST, we bring to you our conversation with one our most fascinating guests – Philip Preston.   Philip Preston is a true entrepreneur and storyteller, whose entire life seems to be built around innovation and problem solving. Listen as Philip tells his story about the “how” and the “why” he brought these life skills to the world of foodservice and hospitality through his company PolyScience.

In today’s episode of Every Other Thursday, our rescheduled guest is “in the house” as Restaurant Manager Jason Craul joins us to talk about his journey out of the kitchen and into overall general management. Jason talks about the challenges, the opportunities, and why it was the right move for him. You’ll also learn a bit about his current company, a chain leader in an often-overlooked segment of the foodservice and hospitality world.   And, of course, we couldn’t let Jason join us without getting his take on current trends and the state of hospitality as we come out of the pandemic and into a time of financial change.

Gang of 3: Wrapping Up The 2022 NRA Show by TabletopJournal

In today’s episode of Every Other Thursday, our Gang of 3 give their wrap up of the just-completed NRA Show. Greg, Jay and Dave give their overall thoughts on the show after a 3-year absence, along with what impressed them, along with a few of the disappointments and what they thought were missed opportunities.   Covering more than just the tabletop sector, in this episode the Gang of 3 comment on food trends they saw, the overall show itself and much more in this episode. And, as always, the conversations is lively and unvarnished. Be sure to check out this episode of our Every Other Thursday Podcast and see if you agree – or disagree – with the comments from these experienced foodservice and tradeshow experts.

In today’s episode of our Every Other Thursday Podcast, marketing and brand expert Larry Deutsch joins us. Having spent his entire career driving business outcomes for brands both big and small, Larry Deutsch has an uncanny ability to take the complex and make it simple & straightforward. Currently, CEO & Co-Founder of Chicago-based DVK Marketing, Larry is a real-world marketer who also believes that great marketing does not always have to come from big budgets.   You will want to hear how Larry’s views on what makes a brand and where they are created, along with what he’ll be looking for at the upcoming National Restaurant Show.   You can learn more about Larry and his company by visiting 

In this episode of Every Other Thursday, foodservice and hospitality expert Marsha Diamond joins us. Marsha has a uniquely diverse background that spans the full range of foodservice from operations to sales/marketing, to being a Professor in the International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, to business developments and solution selling, and to executive management of a national association. With a Masters in Foodservice Business Administration from New York University, a Bachelor of Arts in Food and Nutritional Science from Queens College, a Registered Dietitian and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, it is little wonder that Marsha is in demand to work with foodservice operators of all types.   Today, Marsha gives us her perspective on the current state of our industry, the latest trends in menu development and the overall future – both short and long-term - of hospitality.

Coming of a well-deserved break, the Gang of 3 is back with a quick re-introductory episode of Every Other Thursday where they tell listeners who they are, what they’ve been up to and give a peek into where the podcast is headed in this new Version 2.0.   As always, you’ll hear the uncut skinny on what these foodservice and hospitality experts think of the current industry state of affairs, along with trends and a bit about other thought leaders that they’ll be bringing in on future episodes.

This week’s episode features Roger Least, Director of Dining Services for Brightview Senior Living. Drawn to his current company by their culture, in our conversation Roger explains why that culture is so important in the senior living segment and what it especially meant during the pandemic.   And, since we have tabletop in our DNA, we asked Roger his view of how the role that tabletop plays in the senior dining experience and just why the dining experience is so important in this growing sector. After our conversation it is easy to understand why Brightview is a regional leader in this all important segment and why they continue to attract top talent at all levels.

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 -  - 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.

This week’s episode features marketing veteran Marc Broccoli. Marc has been helping start-up and established brands grow for the past 20+ years by combining proven marketing strategies and tactics with both traditional and leading-edge methods. Recently, Marc has turned his attention to marketing within the foodservice sector.  So, in today’s conversation, we discuss with this veteran marketer how he views marketing versus sales and where he feels the future of marketing in foodservice is headed.   Marc’s experience includes working with companies of all sizes in both consumer and the B2B channels. To add to his marketing expertise, Marc started his business career in operations and, in addition, he has also spent time on the agency side of the brand building equation.   With a background of such wide – and deep – experiences, we were excited to sit with Marc Broccoli and get his take the future of marketing, in general…. and what he sees as the future role of brands in food

This week’s episode has us sitting with Ed Grocholski, Sr. Vice President – Brand at the organization. Recruiting employees and future leaders for the restaurant and hospitality industry currently is a real and present issue. We're fortunate to have Ed join us to discuss how his organization is working to develop top young talent that will hopefully be a source now and in the future for our industry!   If you're interested in having young people learn and join our industry, you'll want to check out what Ed has to say! And, like me, I think you’ll be amazed at both the scope – and the impact – of the Junior Achievement organization.

In this week’s episode, friend of the show Greg Kirrish returns to recap his just completed culinary sojourn to the Grand Canyon State of Arizona. Curious adventurer that he is, Greg gives us his food & beverage insights into the dining out goings-on in Tucson and Scottsdale, along with his encounters in the remote outposts of Sedona and Flagstaff.   And – bonus – Greg offers up the location for the best tacos he’s had ever! You’ll definitely want to hear of the discoveries that our wandering gourmand has made on his latest trip.

This week, we bring a tech touch to Seat Yourself when we are joined by John Kelly, CEO of Zenreach. Zenreach is a software and information company that helps restaurant operators connect the physical and digital journey for their customers. With customer acquisition and retention as their primary targets, Zenreach offers operators digital marketing that can be measured with in-store results.   With our industry’s return from the pandemic, we can’t think of a more important topic than new customer acquisition and retaining those most loyal pre-pandemic customers. What John has to say will be something that every operator – and supplier – will want to hear.

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!

This week, we head back to one of our favorite cities – Edinburgh, Scotland – to speak to founder and creative entrepreneur Nikki Gibson about her start up company This talented hospitality veteran seized the opportunity during the current pandemic to create a start to help both hotel properties and those who continue to work from home. Nikki will explain why her company Swurf is of great benefit to both the hoteliers and here Swurfer community, even after the pandemic is over.   In addition, Nikki will tell us why she feels challenging times are often the best time to begin something new and what some of her thoughts – and challenges – are in being an entrepreneur. Anybody considering a startup will want to hear what Nikki has to say.

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.

This week, friend of the podcast Zander Lauritzen Hansen returns to talk #tiki! We could not be more excited to have this cocktail savant return to give us his thought on this fun concept that will no doubt be riding the returning wave as the hospitality industry begins its comeback. The Tiki cocktail, and the entire tiki concept, is associated with fun and the world could use a bit more of that these days, for sure. We’ll talk about the history of tiki, what are some of the current trends and why it can be a profitable addition to almost any type of restaurant or bar. Plus, you can get a few ideas from Zander’s company - – by using the catalog link on the Seat Yourself website, just to right of this summary posting.

In this week’s episode, Dave discusses the #coretrait of being true to yourself and your dreams. And, he does it by discussing the future possibilities that lay in front for TabletopJournal as it approaches its 10th anniversary. Ambiguity and uncertainty are always a part of our future and Dave’s personal approach in this week’s episode brings it home with candor, personality and, as always, without varnish.

In this week’s episode, Jay Allie, friend and co-host of our other podcast Every Other Thursday comes on to discuss his lengthy sales and marketing career, the current state of the foodservice and hospitality industry. Jay also offers up his take on our Every Other Thursday podcast and how it differs a bit from this podcast. For those of you familiar with Jay, you know there’s never a shortage of stories so you’ll definitely want to tune into this episode.

This week, we travel to Europe as we speak with David Otto from Holland’s company. In our conversation with David, we discuss the current COVID-19 situation in Holland and the surrounding European countries, along with what David and his colleagues at Tovari are doing to prepare for when the HoReCa business returns. You may recognize David and Tovari from our interview that we did last year with him and Tovari owner Ivar van Riel. Their company represents some of the very best hospitality tabletop products and does an especially great job at merchandising in both their own catalogs and brochures, along with their showrooms and trade fair stands. Once again, our intention in each of our On The Frontlines conversations is to get expert commentary on what is happening in a particular market or region of the world. And we also want to understand what leaders are doing now to prepare for their eventual return to normal business conditions – whatever “normal” may mean then. The reason we’re sharing ideas on action