Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News.

I am Sam Ocas editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access

pass to the restaurant industry's most influential decision makers.

This week, I'm sharing two interviews that I recently conducted in person at the

restaurant leadership conference in Phoenix. First up is Alicia Flores, the CEO of L&L Hawaiian

Barbecue, who joined me to talk about why she decided to step into a leadership position

with the brand that her father co-founded and how she plans to capitalize on Americans' growing

interest in global flavor profiles. After that, I chat with Beto Guajardo, the CEO of Blaze Pizza,

who sat down to talk about his first year on the job and the opportunities that he sees

for brand evolution in the fast casual pizza category. Each of these interviews

gets to the heart of what it takes to be the leader of a restaurant brand at a time when the

challenges are many and the change is frequent. And these two leaders really demonstrate how

passion for your brand can be the core ingredient that helps you to conquer the hard times.

In these conversations, you will learn more about why leaders of franchise businesses live

to fulfill others' American dreams, why you need to find a balance between the bells and whistles

and the things that customers love you for in the first place, and why there is opportunity

in leaning into your headwinds.

Jumping now into my interviews, first with L&L Hawaiian Barbecue CEO, Elysia Flores, then with

Blaze Pizza CEO Beto Guajardo.

Also, don't forget to stick around after these interviews, as I will share my five

takeaways from these discussions, actionable insights

that you can take with you on the go.

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