“Back to Basics” with Rachael Nemeth
Back to Basics podcast cuts through the noise to focus on what matters in hospitality. Join Rachael Nemeth, CEO of Opus Training, as she talks with service industry leaders who are shaping today's workforce.
Episodes
Ep. 23: You Can't Fake Family Culture with Neil Amin, Shamin Hotels
"The best competitive advantage isn't your brand. It's your people."Neil Amin, CEO of Shamin Hotels, joins Rachael Nemeth to discuss how one of the nation's largest privately held hotel operators has built a people-first culture that continues to thrive across 76 hotels, six states, and more than 3,000 associates.Growing up living in motels before beginning a career at Gol
EP22: The Secret to Better Training? Build Systems People Actually Use
“Culture isn’t built through policies. It’s built through people.”Heather McKeon, COO of Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen, joins Rachael Nemeth to share her unconventional journey from hostess to executive leadership and the lessons she’s learned helping grow one of Texas’ most beloved restaurant brands.After nearly three decades with Gringo’s, Heather has experienced almost every part of the business fir
EP21: Why People and Systems Are the Real Growth Bottleneck in Fitness
“Growth doesn’t break businesses. Weak systems do.”Julian Barnes, Co-Founder and CEO of BFS Network, joins Rachael Nemeth to unpack what’s happening across the boutique fitness industry and why many of the challenges operators think are unique are actually shared by almost everyone trying to scale.With visibility across thousands of fitness, wellness, and self-care businesses, Julian brings a pers
EP20: Scaling Consistency Across 3,700 Employees in Fitness
“When consistency is the product, simplicity becomes the strategy.”Chris Griebe, COO of VASA Fitness, joins Rachael Nemeth to break down what it takes to deliver a consistent, high-quality member experience across a rapidly scaling fitness brand where thousands of daily interactions determine whether members stay or churn.Stepping into 70+ clubs and 3,700 frontline employees mid-expansion, Chris s
EP19: Scaling the Experience Economy, From Escape Rooms to 100 Units of Play
“When the product is the experience, service isn’t support — it’s the show.”Jason Thompson, COO and Co-Founder of Sounds Fun Entertainment, joins Rachael Nemeth to unpack what it really takes to scale experiential brands where technology, energy, and frontline teams collide in real time.As the parent company behind Activate Games and Breakout Games, Sounds Fun operates 50+ locations with plans to
EP18: Great Service Isn’t Expected in Recreational Sports and That’s Why It Works
EP18: Great Service Isn’t Expected in Recreational Sports and That’s Why It Works“In service businesses, the win isn’t the task—it’s the relationship.”Gary Archer is CEO and President of a leading indoor soccer facility with 19+ locations across 9 states, built on a simple idea: great service is relational, not transactional.In this episode, Gary joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down what
EP17: How to Build the Modern Franchisor Without “One Size Fits All”
“Modern franchising isn’t about more support—it’s about smarter, scalable support.”Jenna Henderson has spent nearly two decades inside franchise systems, operating across field ops, brand services, development, growth, and tech. After almost 15 years at Saladworks, she stepped into SaaS as COO at WorkMerk (helping build the ServSafe Ops platform), then returned to franchising leadership as Group C
EP16: How to Scale 19 Brands Without Breaking the P&L
"Brand building starts with your P&L, not your logo."Josh Halpern has one of the most unconventional careers in the industry: P&G, Clorox, Anheuser-Busch, CEO of Big Chicken, and now Chief Business Officer of Craveworthy Brands—leading strategy across 19 concepts while still running Big Chicken. In this episode, he joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down what brand building
EP15: How to Scale Hospitality Without Losing the Human Touch
"If you want to scale hospitality, don’t add more tech—make people feel seen."Anthony Valletta, CEO of bartaco, started flipping pizzas at 13 and spent two decades across QSR, premium casual, and Michelin-level dining before taking the helm at bartaco. In this episode, he joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus Training CEO) to unpack how he delivers full-service hospitality at fast-casual labor cost
EP14: The Real Work of Turning Smashburger’s CEO Vision Into Rapid Execution
"If you want people to move fast, you have to make it easy for them to do the right thing."Kelly Saunders, SVP of Restaurant Experience at Smashburger, has spent 14 years transforming how one of America’s fastest-growing burger brands trains, communicates, and executes. In this episode, Kelly sits down with Rachael Nemeth (Opus Training CEO) to unpack how she migrated 200 locations to Op
EP13: The Real Math of Restaurant Expansion
"Most people build for average, but new stores almost never open at average." Jason Morgan, former CFO turned CEO of Original ChopShop, has spent decades in the restaurant industry learning the hard truths of growth—and watching others get crushed by them. In this episode, Jason sits down with Rachael Nemeth to unpack what separates scalable operations from overbuilt failures, why he won
EP12: Building the Field Leadership Team from a Field Leaders' POV
"District managers are the brand—they're the stamp for everything we stand for." Elle Piper learned this truth the hard way, starting as an undertrained district manager who had to ask her own direct reports to teach her the basics. Now as Senior Director of Operations at 7 Leaves Cafe, she's helped grow the brand from a handful of stores to 41+ locations by focusing on what mo
EP11: Playbook For Scaling From 10 to 50+ Units
When you open your second location, everything changes. You can't be in two places at once, and suddenly you realize: you need to shift from operator to CEO. Carl Bachmann learned this lesson as a 12-year Ruby Tuesday franchisee before leading turnarounds at Smashburger and BurgerFi. Now as President and COO of Riko's Pizza, he's building franchise infrastructure from scratch. In th
EP10: Breaking the Turnover Cycle That Kills Restaurant Expansion
Etkin Tekin left his corporate strategy position at AB InBev's innovation arm to co-found one of the Northeast's fastest-growing restaurant concepts. While most operators struggle with an expensive recruiting cycle—hire, train, lose people, repeat—Haven Hot Chicken broke this pattern. In this episode, Etkin reveals how they built an internal pipeline that promotes 40% of store leadership
EP9: Training as Brand Strategy
In this episode of Back to Basics, Rachael Nemeth sits down with Suzie Tsai, CEO of Bonchon, who brings a rare and refreshing perspective to restaurant leadership, with over 25 years of experience in brand and marketing at companies like Chili’s, On the Border, and Brinker International.Now leading Bonchon through explosive growth—from 150 to 500 locations—Suzie shares how marketing instincts help
EP8: Scaling the Brand, Not Just the Business
In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Fassio, Chief Retail and Operations Officer at Verve Coffee Roasters—a 14-unit third-wave coffee brand based in Santa Cruz, known for its relationships with growers, surf-town roots, and quality-first approach.Anthony’s specialty is taking craft brands from cult-favorite to national name without losing their “soul”. From Shake Shack to Salt & Straw to
EP7: Innovating the Fast Food Experience Through People Development
In this episode of Back to Basics, we sit down with Aaron Noveshen, Founder and CEO of Starbird Chicken, and one of the leading innovators in fast casual dining.Aaron shares how Starbird is rethinking people development in one of the most competitive hiring markets—from building an internal leadership pipeline, to implementing transparent pay bands, to offering unique education and ownership oppor
EP6: Scaling a Franchise Through People Development and Purpose
In this episode, we sit down with Blake Buchanan, Founder and CEO of Bahama Buck’s—a 100+ unit Midwest-based franchise known for its tropical shaved ice and culture-first approach. Blake started the business as a college student in a 240-square-foot snow shack, and by store #2, he was already franchising—a bold move that sparked what’s now a 35+ year legacy.Blake shares how Bahama Buck’s has susta
EP5: Building a Sustainable System of Hospitality
In this episode, we sit down with Andy Hooper, restaurant industry leader and former CEO of Hart House, to talk about how people development drives long-term success in hospitality. With experience scaling mission-driven brands and advising operators across the country, Andy offers a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to build teams that deliver consistently excellent service.Hear Andy’s take
EP4: Scaling Business through Customer Experience, Speed, and Connection
In this episode, we sit down with Darren Spicer, Co-Founder and CEO of Clutch Coffee Bar, to explore how his brand is revolutionizing the drive-thru coffee experience. With a focus on speed, service, and personal connections, Clutch Coffee has grown to 15 locations across the Carolinas, with plans to double by 2025.Darren shares his journey from barista to CEO, the operational strategies behind Cl
EP3: The State of Operations: 2025 Hospitality Training 360 Report Recap
In this episode of Back to Basics, we explore the findings of the 2025 Hospitality Training 360 Report, focusing on the current state of learning and development (L&D) in the hospitality industry.To practice what we preach, we leveraged Google's NotebookLM to transform our written report into an audio format (yes, these speakers are AI-generated!) to demonstrate our commitment to accessib
EP2: Building a People First Culture: Training, Hiring, and Leadership in the Service Industry
Celton talks about his leadership journey from store manager to CEO at CC’s coffee, the importance of maintaining a people-first culture (a la southern hospitality + mentions to qualities he looks for in candidates), and the challenges of training and developing employees in the service industry. Celton shares insights from his recent store visits, emphasizing the need for effective training and t
EP1: AI in L&D for Frontline Workers with Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands
Get ready for a dynamic conversation as Rachael Nemeth and Gregg Majewski dive into the game-changing impact of AI on the restaurant industry. They break down the biggest challenges—shifting consumer habits, soaring costs, and ongoing labor shortages—while exploring how AI is reshaping everything from customer service to operations. Timestamps:00:02 Introduction00:32 Guest Introduction03:53 The Ev
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