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

I'm 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 talking with Sean Portie Moore, the executive chairman and co-founder of Luna Grill, as well as Rich Pinella, the brand's CEO.

Sean and his wife Maria founded Luna Grill back in 2004 in San Diego,

initially opening the Mediterranean Fast Casual as a destination for healthier,

higher quality foods than the typical QSR.

The brand started scaling in 2010, and by 2019

had expanded to more than 50 locations between California and Texas, but it paused

growth that year in order to right size its infrastructure and its systems. That included

bringing in Rich, who spent more than 20 years at Taco Bell, who was recently

promoted to CEO as Luna Grill looks to once again ramp up its expansion.

Sean and Rich joined the podcast to talk about the steps that restaurant companies should

take ahead of scaling and how they have built a culture designed to win.

In this interview, you will learn more about why the team that builds a brand from scratch

isn't necessarily the same one that can scale it, how growth can be aggressive and responsible

at the same time, and why competitors in your category aren't necessarily a bad thing.

By the way, if you enjoy this conversation and you want to connect

in person with the team at Luna Grill, you should join us in Nashville this October 15th

through 17th for Create the Event for Emerging Restaurant Tours. Sean is taking the main stage

as part of our founder on founder session where brand founders will interview each other about the challenges

that they have faced on their growth journeys. Other participating founders include those from

Salton Straw, Swig, Insomnia Cookies, Lazy Dog, and Starboard. This is just one of dozens of dynamic

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