Barry Bagel’s president on scaling a business as a second-generation owner
Take-Away with Sam Oches
Nation's Restaurant News
4.9 • 17 Ratings
🗓️ 1 October 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mark Greenblatt, president of Barry Bagel, a Toledo, Ohio-based franchise founded by Mark’s dad Barry Greenblatt back in 1972. He joined the podcast to talk about the lessons he picked up working alongside his dad, how he’s learned big lessons from dumb mistakes, and how he’s finding efficiencies in the business without messing with the good thing his dad started.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- You should consider the personification of your brand — and lean into it for marketing
- Brand leaders must lead by example if they expect hard work
- Your dumbest mistakes are a chance to learn your biggest lessons
- A hub-and-spoke growth model gives you great real estate flexibility
- Catering is a bigger opportunity than you probably realize
Register for CREATE, our event for emerging restaurateurs, by clicking here.
Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast for leaders of growing restaurant companies looking |
| 0:04.5 | to take their businesses to the next level. In nearly two decades covering the restaurant industry, |
| 0:09.6 | I have gained access to some of this industry's most influential decision makers, and I'm |
| 0:14.6 | letting you in on the conversations. In today's episode, you'll learn from a restaurateur who |
| 0:19.3 | inherited a brand from his father |
| 0:21.4 | and who has found a way to forge his own path as a second-generation owner while also honoring |
| 0:27.0 | the hardworking hospitable reputation that his late father left behind. Mark Greenblatt is the president |
| 0:33.1 | of Barry Bagel, a Toledo-based franchise that was founded by Barry Greenblatt back in 1972. |
| 0:39.9 | Mark was born a few years later, and now 11 years after Barry passed away, he's fulfilling |
| 0:45.4 | his dream of putting his father's name in lights all over the country. |
| 0:49.6 | Mark joined the podcast to talk about the lessons he picked up working alongside his dad, how he's learned |
| 0:55.2 | big lessons from dumb mistakes, and how he's finding efficiencies in the business without |
| 1:00.2 | messing with the good thing that his dad started. If you learn something from this episode, |
| 1:04.7 | go follow takeaway wherever you're listening and leave some feedback. It's the best way to get |
| 1:09.1 | that lesson to a fellow restaurant leader. |
| 1:11.6 | Jumping now into my interview with Barry Bagels, Mark Greenblatt. Also, don't forget to stick |
| 1:16.1 | around after the interview, as I will share my five takeaways from this discussion, |
| 1:20.2 | actionable insights that you can take with you on the go. |
| 1:26.9 | Okay, I'm sitting down with Mark Greenblatt, the president of Barry Bagels. Mark, thanks for joining me today. |
| 1:32.8 | Hey, thanks for having me. |
| 1:34.5 | All right, Mark, such a fun story. You being the son of Barry. You are the son of the founder of this great bagel concept. |
| 1:41.9 | Now you're running the show, but we've got to start way back. |
... |
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