The h.wood Group founders on using exclusive experiences to drive business
Take-Away with Sam Oches
Nation's Restaurant News
4.9 • 17 Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with John Terzian and Brian Toll, cofounders of The h.wood Group, an LA-based hospitality group that owns restaurants like Delilah and Nice Guy as well as nightclubs like Keys and Poppy. John and Brian first got into the nightclub business back in 2008 and used their extensive network of celebrities and VIPs to establish their clubs as exclusive, see-and-be-seen destinations. Eventually they expanded into restaurants and infused their concepts with the same experiential factor that helps them stand out in busy nightlife scenes like L.A., Las Vegas, Miami, and Nashville. John and Brian joined the podcast to talk about the importance of word-of-mouth marketing when getting a business off the ground, and about the details you can’t miss when designing a restaurant experience.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- You should build your network before you open your doors
- Word of mouth buzz is stronger than any other marketing
- The less available your business is, the more your community will crave it
- The rise of AI will have a corresponding demand for real experiences
- Little details make a big difference in restaurant experiences
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 Okas, a podcast for leaders of growing restaurant companies looking to take their businesses to the next level. |
| 0:08.0 | In nearly two decades covering restaurants, I've gained access to some of this industry's most influential decision makers, |
| 0:14.3 | and I'm letting you in on the conversations. In today's episode, you'll hear from the founders of a Los Angeles-based restaurant and nightclub empire |
| 0:22.3 | about how to create an exclusive experience that customers can't help but seek out |
| 0:27.6 | and why the human experience provided by restaurants is even more important in our AI-dominated world. |
| 0:34.9 | John Terzian and Brian Toll are the co-founders of the H. Wood Group, |
| 0:39.2 | an L.A.-based hospitality group that owns restaurants like Delilah and Nice Guy, as well as |
| 0:44.7 | nightclubs like Keys and Poppy. John and Brian first got into the nightclub business back in |
| 0:50.2 | 2008, and they used their extensive network of celebrities and VIPs to establish their |
| 0:56.4 | clubs as exclusive CNBC destinations. Eventually, they expanded into restaurants, and they |
| 1:03.2 | infused their concepts with the same experiential factor that helps them stand out in busy |
| 1:08.7 | nightlife scenes in cities like L. like LA as well as Las Vegas, |
| 1:12.6 | Miami, and Nashville. John and Brian joined the podcast to talk about the importance of word |
| 1:17.6 | of mouth marketing when getting a business off the ground and about the details that you can't miss |
| 1:22.6 | when designing a restaurant experience. In this conversation, you will learn more about why you should build your network before |
| 1:29.2 | you even open your doors, why the less available your businesses, the more your community |
| 1:34.1 | will crave it, and why little details make a big difference in restaurant experiences. |
| 1:40.0 | If you learn something from this episode, go follow takeaway wherever you listen to podcasts |
| 1:44.0 | and leave some feedback. |
| 1:45.5 | It's the best way to get these lessons to fellow restaurant leaders. |
| 1:49.7 | Jumping now into my interview with the H. Wood Group founders, John Terzian and Brian Toll. |
| 1:54.8 | Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview, as I will share my five takeaways from this discussion, |
... |
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