Restaurant Leaders Unplugged

About Restaurant Leaders Unplugged

Real conversations with the people transforming the restaurant industry—from the inside out. Restaurant Leaders Unplugged goes beyond the headlines to bring you raw, insightful, and inspiring interviews with the most respected founders, operators, and executives in hospitality. Hosted by Sebastian Stahl, former restaurant operator turned growth strategist and founder of Breadth Marketing, this podcast is where real operators get real about what it takes to build brands that last. If you're tired of surface-level chatter and want to hear how industry leaders are actually navigating growth, tech, culture, and private event revenue—this is the show for you. You’ll learn how to: Build restaurant brands that guests (and staff) love Scale without losing your soul or your culture Use tech and automation without killing hospitality Create “guest-for-life” experiences that drive revenue Convert more private event leads without paid ads No fluff. No hype. Just unplugged conversations with the minds behind the brands. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe and grow with us.

Publisher

Sebastian Stahl

Category

business · business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Apr 2024

Latest episode

28 Nov 2025

Latest episodes

37 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Nov 2025

   How Hosty AI Turns Missed Calls Into Revenue with Randall Hom

   Restaurant phones never stop ringing, but you cannot afford to miss a single call. In this episode of Restaurant Leaders Unplugged, Randall Hom from Hosty AI shares how he went from stressed-out operator in San Francisco to building an AI voice assistant that answers calls, protects hospitality, and turns missed calls into real revenue. Randall walks us through: Growing up in a family of operators and launching his own restaurant, BackpackThe pain of having calls forwarded to his cell, even o...

2. 

   19 Nov 2025

   Turn Unhappy Guests Into Superfans with Zack Oates (Ovation)

   What if your most loyal customers are the ones who had a problem… and you fixed it? In this eye-opening conversation, Ovation founder Zack Oates explains why guest recovery is the single biggest loyalty lever in restaurants. We break down the “first date” framework for guest experience, how to remove friction from the journey, and why consistency creates trust across locations. Zack also shares how Ovation aggregates reviews and real-time feedback from first-party surveys and public pla...

3. 

   22 Oct 2025

   From Chef to Restaurateur to Broker: Lessons from 37 Years in Hospitality

   In this episode of Restaurant Leaders Unplugged, host Sebastian Stahl sits down with longtime Miami restaurateur Jimmy Carey, whose journey from dishwasher to chef to multi-location owner and now restaurant broker is filled with hard-earned lessons and practical wisdom. Jimmy shares his 37-year journey through the highs and lows of the restaurant business — from underfunded beginnings and expansion challenges to understanding people, systems, and profitability. Learn how he reinvented himself...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.