Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates
Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast is your backstage pass to the minds of hospitality leaders, innovators, and operators who are redefining what it means to serve. Hosted by Zack Oates, founder of Ovation, each episode dives into real-world tactics and inspiring stories from restaurant pros who know how to create five-star guest experiences—both in-store and off-premise.
From fast casual to fine dining, catering to curbside, learn how to drive loyalty, empower your staff, and deliver hospitality that hits home. Whether you're a restaurant owner, operator, marketer, or tech partner, this podcast will leave you with practical insights and plenty of reasons to celebrate and Give an Ovation.
Episodes
446 episodes
Keeping Restaurant Management Rreal With Damian Otero
Damian Otero is the CEO of Real Tacos, authentic Mexican street food based out of Atlanta. The chefs at Real Tacos strive to recreate the characteristics of tacos from various regions of Mexico using the freshest cuts of meat and cooking with i...
Being A Guest Services Multiplier With Jesse B Good
Jesse B Good is the Chief Multiplier of Aprendey, a company grounded on people skills and the guest experience. Jesse has over 20 years of experience leading front-line customer service teams and developing successful CX programs. In addition, ...
Empowering Brands While Involving Third Party With Alex Blum
Alex Blum is the Founder and CEO of Relay Delivery. Relay Delivery enables brands to expand their reach while increasing their margins. Alex Blum noticed a major gap in operations for restaurants who relied on their own in-house couriers ...
Let's Talk Tech With Rob Grimes
Rob Grimes is the Founder and CEO of the International Food and Beverage Technology Association (IFBTA), a nonprofit trade association, that promotes the use of technology within the global food and beverage industries. Rob is paving the path f...
Brewing a Culture of Connection With Leigh Gower
Leigh Gower is the Chief Technology Officer at Dutch Bros Coffee. Not only recognized for their variety of drinks, Dutch Bros is known for their exceptional hospitality and ability to connect with drive thru guests. As CTO, Leigh Gowers talks a...
The Future of the Virtual Table Touch With Dustin Mares
Dustin Mares is the Co-Founder of Meal Outpost, a pioneer in developing the virtual table touch. Meal Outpost enables restaurants and staff to create an additional revenue stream by licensing existing brands from an established brick-and-mortar...
The Perfect Mixt of Tech and Food With Leslie Silverglide
Leslie Silverglide is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mixt Greens. Mixt Greens makes healthy fast food accessible and sets the bar on sustainable restaurant operations. With education from John Hopkins, Oxford, AND Stanford Leslie is not just a think...
Delivering on Expectations with Harold Walters
Harold Walters is the CEO and Co-founder of Shootz, a growing Hawaiian fast-casual brand in southern California. Prior to co-founding Shootz, Harold founded and operated multiple 6 and 7 figure ecommerce brands, a direct response marketing agen...
Giving Guests a Voice with Abe Ruiz
Abe Ruiz is a restaurant veteran with over 30 years in the industry! He's got a lot going on these days, as the owner of the Spanish Madrid Taverna, the VP of Strategic Growth and Innovation for Green Turtle, and several other ventures.
Shaping The Guest Experience With Joanne Heyob
Joanne Heyob is the Senior Vice President of Operations at WD Partners. WD Partners is global & integrated services that include strategy & insights, brand & design, operations planning & design, architecture & engineering a...
At the Forefront of Restaurant Marketing with Casey Hilder
Casey Hilder is the Director of Marketing at Starbird Chicken, one of strongest and fastest-growing restaurant brands in the country. We were excited to have him on this edition of Give an Ovation!On this episode, Casey and Zack discuss...
Updating Restaurant Systems With Scott Landers
Scott Landers is the Co-Founder of Figure 8 Logistics, a digital service that is helping to pioneer the world's leading food delivery experts of tomorrow. From workshops and industry insights to on-demand support, Figure 8 Logistics truly lends...
Unity, Drive, and Diversity With Lauren Fernandez
Lauren Fernandez understands what it means to hustle. Whether it's paving the way as a first generation Cuban American, starting her own business, or helping restaurant brands grow from 1 to 2 units, to 10, and then to 20 and beyond. Lauren is ...
Making The Customer Experience Happen With Tanvir Bhangoo
Tanvir Bhangoo is truly a jack of all trades. As a digital executive and advisor working with global brands, member of the Forbes Technology Council, former VP of Tech at Freshii, AND Director at Restaurant Brands International, Tanvir understa...
Using Hospitality Tech To Help The Heart of Restaurants With James Passafaro
James Passafaro is the Co-Founder of Opsi, a daily management tool built to progress the way modern operators manage their restaurant. James channeled his experience as a chef and the issues he saw with tech and employees into restaurant tech. ...
Meeting Guests Where They Are with Erin Levzow
There may not be anyone with a more impressive hospitality marketing pedigree than Erin Levzow! We can't list it all here, but she has experience marketing for Caesars, MGM, Palms Casino, Wingstop, and is now the VP of Marketing Technology at D...
"Ketch"ing Up On The Development of Consumer Packaged Goods With Carl Starkey
Carl Starkey is the Co-Founder of AWSM Sauce, the world's first sustainability focused sauce and condiment company. If that doesn't scream innovation, I don't know what does! Carl is an expert in all things CPG (consumer packaged goods). Carl p...
Investing in Restaurant Leadership with Kathleen Wood
Kathleen Wood! She has 30 years of restaurant leadership experience, she was the Co-founder and President of the Leadership Institute at Elliot Group, President and COO of Rasing Cane's Chicken Fingers, Founder of Suzy's Swirl, and for 14 years...
Looking Out For The Little Guy With Marie Smith
With a stack of credentials, Marie Smith has established herself as a leader inside and out of the restaurant industry. As the CIO and Co-Founder of Data360, Smith has dedicated herself to helping the non-tech savvy individuals conquer tech and...
Growing Your Restaurant Through Athlete Endorsements with Xavier Jackson
Xavier Jackson is a former D1 basketball player turned entrepreneur, and the President of Coinlete. Coinlete's mission is to create a community of brands and athletes that recognize the power that each one holds in the relationship + continue g...
Using Tech To Bring Food To The Table With Arne Saupe
Arne Saupe is the VP of technology at Farmer's Fridge. Farmer's Fridge started out offering smart fridges but have grown into at home delivery. Farmer's Fridge's goal? To provide fresh healthy meals whether you’re on the go or at ho...
Restaurant Advertising Strategy with Paul McEnany
Paul McEnany is a content strategist, product wizard, Host of the Tastemakers podcast, and Co-CEO of Plein Air Agency - a creative company for restaurant brands. Paul brought a breath of fresh/plein air to Give an Ovation!On this episod...
Connect Marketing and Food Services With Lloyd Oshiro
Lloyd Oshiro is the VP of Marketing Innovation at The Food Connector. The Food Connector helps companies to develop and execute marketing plans. With heightened innovation and the ability to see the bigger picture, Lloyd brings his expertise to...
Restaurant Media Tips and Tricks with Aaron Roberts
Aaron Roberts is the President and Executive Producer at Rising Tides Creative, an all in one creative resource which is used by some of the most forward-thinking restaurants in the industry such as Cali BBQ. Rising Tides Creative is known for ...
Giving Customers Control With Tim McLaughlin
Tim McLaughlin is a restaurateur and restaurant tech extraordinaire. Having owned two restaurants, Tim understand the grit, innovation, and drive that it takes to run a business in the restaurant industry. Now, as the CEO of GoTab, Tim ap...
