Tastemakers Podcast

This is a conversation with Rob Lynch. Rob cut his teeth at P&G and Heinz before moving into restaurants as the VP of Marketing at Taco Bell. In 2013, he became the Brand President and CMO at Arby’s. They became an Ad Age Top Ten Marketer after a massive brand turnaround and Rob was named CMO of the Year by PR World. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with a member of restaurant royalty, David Morton. His father was the right-hand man of Hugh Hefner, where he launched the worldwide chain of Playboy Clubs before founding Morton’s Steakhouse and the Taste of Chicago. The Morton family has since launched more than 100 concepts including the Hard Rock Cafe and Pink Taco. In 2009, David partnered with 5 time James Beard award nominee Michael Kornick to open DMK Restaurants. They’ve since launched the DMK Burger Bar, Fish Bar, and Ada Street in Chicago, among others. In a few months, he’ll launch MB Steak at Hard Rock in Las Vegas with his brother Michael. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Tony Lavely. He has been the CMO of some of the largest restaurant and QSR brands in the US including Burger King, Domino’s, Long John Silver’s, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Church’s Chicken and Friendly’s Ice Cream. He currently works with Urban Plates as a part of his consulting business.  We talked about his epic career and the evolution of the industry over the past 40 years. Enjoy!

‘This is a conversation with Rom Krupp. Rom spent nearly two decades working in restaurant technology before founding Marketing Vitals in 2013. In 2014, they won startup of the year. In 2015, they won Company of the year in Food and Rom was named Executive of the Year. They are one of the most innovative companies in restaurant analytics today and have grown tremendously because of it. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Denise Lee Yohn. She was the director of market research and strategy at Jack in the Box and the VP of brand and strategy at Sony before starting her own consultancy working with brands like Burger King, Sprouts, Dunkin’ Donuts and Jamba Juice. She is also a TED veteran, a keynote speaker and the author of What Great Brands Do, and Extraordinary Experiences, What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Kyle Brooks, the President and Director of Marketing of the East Hampton Sandwich Company. They opened their first restaurant in 2012 and are now one of the fastest growing restaurant groups in Texas. They were also named one of the 21 best sandwich shops in America and the best sandwich shop in Dallas. Enjoy!

This is a conversation with Lisa Gross, the founder of League of Kitchens. They have been featured on the Colbert Show and Today on NBC, and David Plotz called it “probably the greatest thing that’s ever been created in the world.” Enjoy!

This is a conversation with the founder of Cane Rosso, Cow Tipping Creamery and Zoli’s NY Pizza, Jay Jerrier. Jay has restaurants in Dallas, Houston and Austin and has owned the title of best pizza in Dallas for 5 years running.

This is a conversation with the CMO of Snap Kitchen, Tressie Lieberman. Snap Kitchen has 45 stores nationwide with aggressive growth plans and more than 50 million in funding so far. Previously, Tressie was the head of digital innovation and on demand at Taco Bell, and was the mind behind many of their buzziest social and technology initiatives over the past 5 years.