Noah’s New York Bagels sells a hot dog wrapped in bagel dough, and it caused a debate inside the company. Adam Modzel, COO of Bagel Brands, says the team couldn’t decide whether the Bagel Dog belonged with the sandwiches. His ruling: it’s a sandwich. Schatzy calls it a pig in…
Pineapple on pizza: hot. "Put whatever you want on a pizza, make it yours," says Ahsan Jiva of Mellow Mushroom. In a round of Hot or Not with Schatzy and Jimmy, he also rules on ghost kitchens (not hot), calling it a "pie" (hot), and AI phone ordering (hot, when…
That pink peanut butter jar on the shelf is upside down on purpose. Lucy Dana kept hearing the same complaint about natural peanut butter: oil on top and a cement-hard layer at the bottom. So One Trick Pony spent a year designing a jar that sits lid-down in stores. When…
Ahsan Jiva spent his college money on pitchers at the Mellow Mushroom in Auburn. Years later, after consulting at Ernst & Young on customer experience and digital transformation, he met the chain's leadership and saw a brand with great food that hadn't caught up digitally. He moved to Atlanta and…
Remember frozen pizza rolls? Mellow Mushroom asked how to make them "really damn delicious," says Ahsan Jiva, EVP of Strategy and Transformation. The answer is Mellow Rollz, made from the chain's stone-baked pizza dough. Schatzy tries the Greek Feta version, full of feta and mozzarella and served with a creamy…
Instagram or TikTok, if you could only keep one? Gabi picks Instagram. Tonya picks TikTok. The co-founders of Gato Dates split on the first question of Branded Quickfire with Schatzy and Jimmy, then compare Uber ratings and name their dream collab: Goop Kitchen. Watch the full conversation with Gabi and…
Why do people plan trips around White Castle? CMO Jamie Richardson joins Hospitality Hangout to talk about lifelong Cravers, family ownership, the story behind the Crave Case, and bringing sliders from late-night restaurant runs to your freezer. Recorded at QSR Evolution in Atlanta.
Scooping out the inside of a bagel: smart move or a crime? The co-founders of Gato Dates, Gabi Labi and Tonya Reznikovich, weigh in on one of New York's longest-running food debates with Schatzy and Jimmy. Watch the full conversation with Gabi and Tonya in the related video.
Coffee people care which farm their beans come from, so why not peanuts? Lucy Dana brought that idea from Blue Bottle Coffee to One Trick Pony, a peanut butter made from Argentinian peanuts with no sugar or palm oil. She explains why nobody in the US was doing single-origin peanut…
Does everything need protein now? The founders of Gato Dates have thoughts. Gabriella “Gabi” Labi and Tonya Reznikovich join Schatzy and Jimmy on The Foodfluencers, a Hospitality Hangout miniseries, for a food trend debate featuring two memorable responses: “I’m a carb girl” and “We’re all about fiber.” The conversation moves…
Everything bagels get all the love online, but they aren’t the best seller. Adam Modzel, COO of Bagel Brands, says the most popular bagel at Einstein Bros. is the plain bagel. That’s also how he eats his every day: plain, with plain cream cheese, not toasted. Schatzy can’t believe it,…
Crunchy peanut butter starts out as smooth peanut butter, with crushed peanuts mixed back in. Lucy Dana, co-founder and CEO of One Trick Pony, explains that and more in a rapid-fire round with Schatzy and Jimmy. She calls herself a smooth girl now, picks toasted sourdough for her PB&J, and…
Lucy Dana went to Argentina for her brother’s wedding and came home with a business idea. She tasted the local peanut butter, and her brother and sister-in-law, who run the Call Your Mother bagel delis, needed a new peanut butter supplier. They became One Trick Pony’s first customer. More than…
Your morning bagel might have more protein than you think. Adam Modzel, COO of Bagel Brands (Einstein Bros., Bruegger's, Noah's and Manhattan Bagel), says a plain bagel made with high-protein wheat has 10 to 15 grams. He also rates cereal-flavored everything, drone delivery and AI phone ordering, and says police…
Schatzy asks Mellow Mushroom’s Ahsan Jiva for the last thing he Googled. Ahsan has every opportunity to give a safe answer. He tells the truth: he needed underwear. Schatzy guesses Kmart. Ahsan went with Amazon. And yes, he wanted a fresh pair for his appearance on Hospitality Hangout. Jimmy tries…
Ever been halfway through a shift and thought, “If they’d just change this one thing, my life would be so much easier”? Adam Modzel remembers having that thought behind the counter at Starbucks. He went from barista to regional vice president there. Now, as chief operating officer of Bagel Brands,…
Ask Lucy Dana about pickle flavor on everything and you can hear the exact moment she gives up on it: “I think it used to be hot. We’ve reached not.” Schatzy keeps going. Everything bagel seasoning on everything? No. Truffle everything? Also no. Then he asks about the flavors you…
“Is a hot dog a sandwich?” The first two answers: “Yeah, absolutely.” “No, a hot dog’s a hot dog.” So National Sandwich Day is off to a good start at Hospitality Hangout. Then somebody says a sandwich can come on a bun. “Wait a minute. He said a bun.” Suddenly…
Einstein Bros. and Bruegger’s share a company, but the bagels are a different story. Bagel Brands COO Adam Modzel joins Schatzy and Jimmy in Atlanta to talk about what he learned behind the counter at Starbucks, why the words “New York bagel” make people hungry, and which bagel actually sells…
Two dates. Peanut butter in the middle. Press them together. Somewhere in their conversation with Schatzy and Jimmy, Gato Dates founders Gabriella “Gabi” Labi and Tonya Reznikovich get pitched a snack they haven’t made before: a date sandwich. Sweet, sticky, and probably impossible to eat neatly. Now we want a…
You can love a pickle without wanting it in absolutely everything. That’s where the Gato Dates founders land when Schatzy and Jimmy start running through food trends. Dubai chocolate gets an easy yes. But the moment “protein everything” comes up, Gabi Labi and Tonya Reznikovich are out. They’re still excited…
Pepperoni, sausage, and a finishing drizzle of honey cream cheese. Would you try it? Clayton Krueger, Chief Marketing Officer of Farrelli’s Pizza, joins Hospitality Hangout for a lightning round about his favorite orders. His personal pick is James’ Favorite, and his favorite topping is crisp and curl pepperoni. But for…
What’s so “super” about a Medjool date? The Gato Dates founders make their case. Gabriella “Gabi” Labi and Tonya Reznikovich join Schatzy and Jimmy on The Foodfluencers, a Hospitality Hangout miniseries, to discuss the fruit at the center of their brand. Medjool dates’ natural sweetness, fiber, and versatility act as…
