The Frontline

Khanh Nguyen, CEO Zalat Pizza

Zalat Pizza is a mission from the gods to make the best pizza in the Universe. In the latest episode of The Frontline, Opus CEO Rachael Nemeth was on the road and live at the Texas Restaurant Show in Dallas Texas where she chats with Khanh Nguyen, CEO of Zalat Pizza. In this episode hear them talk about strategies for increasing product and brand consistency through training in the QSR space. Learn how Zalat got its name and how the role of Pizza Sheriff is a key ingredient their secret sauce.

Andrew Jacobson, Co-Founder of DIG

Andrew Jacobson is the Co-Founder of DIG, a farm-to-counter, fast-casual restaurant group with 26 locations. Andrew’s passion for re-building the food system lead to the creation of DIG in 2011.  In this episode of the frontline, Rachael sits down with Andrew to discuss the state of hospitality training and how DIG is setting up “training centers” that leverage a unique approach to train their frontline and create pathways for growth.

Josh Allen, Director of Training And Development, of Paris Baguette America

Josh Allen is the Director of Training And Development of Paris Baguette America, an international, company-owned, and franchised fast-casual bakery-café. Paris Baguette specializes in both French and Asian-inspired goods, in over 4,000 locations worldwide. Josh specializes in culturally-adaptive learning systems, coaching, public speaking, and big ideas. In this episode of the frontline, Rachael sits down with Josh to chat about what's next for frontline training in 2022, the fight of the war for talent, and the innovative training strategies he's embarking on at Paris Baguette.

Tom D'eri, Co-founder of Rising Tide Car Wash

Tom D'eri is the COO and co-founder of Rising Tide Car Wash, a multi-unit car wash operator based in Florida. The story of Rising tide is personal one for Tom and his family. One which they leveraged into a vision to build a business designed around a frontline workforce that employs individuals with autism. The CDC reports that there is an estimated 5.4 million adults in the US with autism spectrum disorder. Among that population, there’s a 90% unemployment rate. Rising Tide is addressing the root causes of that and what they’re doing to solve for it is working. They have a retention rate 5 times that of their competitors. In this episode, I sat down with Tom to talk about what he’s doing differently with training and technology in order to maintain Rising Tide’s competitive advantage.

Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez - Daily Provisions (Union Square Hospitality Group)

Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez is the Managing Director of Danny Meyer's Daily Provisions at Union Square Hospitality Group. Daily Provisions is an all-day café and bakery with four locations and growing in NYC. Jessamyn is also the founder and served as the CEO of Hot Bread Kitchen, a social enterprise in New York City, that trains low-income and immigrant women in culinary and professional skills as well as HBK incubates, a small-business incubator that assists entrepreneurs in opening culinary businesses.  In this episode of the frontline, Rachael sat down with Jessamyn to chat about the state of the industry, what's next in frontline training, and and what she's doing at Daily Provisions to trail-blaze in the new era of work.