Food, Restaurants & CPG Episodes

Anna Dey is a multi-unit and multi-brand franchise entrepreneur who has spent the past decade building businesses across Northeast Ohio. Since getting her start in franchising with an Anytime Fitness location in 2012, she has...

Anne Hartnett is a neighborhood developer and entrepreneur focused on creating spaces where community, well-being, and small business can thrive. She is the founder of Harness Cycle and CEO of HCO Partners, a Cleveland-based ...

Michael and Tory Waxman — the founders of Sundays for Dogs, the Cleveland-based company designed to make dog parents’ lives easy. What began with their own dog, Mabel, and a simple but powerful question — why does feeding dog...

Perry Stancato is the founder and CEO of Signature Sauces and a third-generation operator of the beloved Cleveland institution, Stancato’s Italian Restaurant. This conversation with Perry explores the entrepreneurial journey ...

Andy Tran has lived more lives than just about anyone I know. He’s a serial entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses across industries, including tech, ammunition manufacturing, defense contracting, and tequila, among...

Ali Bonar — CEO & Co-Founder of Oat Haus, a food company bringing fun and play to eating. Their flagship product, Granola Butter, is the world's first oat-based spread and while Oat Haus was born out of Ali's decade-long batt...

Aaron Hoffman and John Zinno — co-founders of DeliverThat, based in Canton Ohio. Friends for life, the two of them started this business out of Ohio University in 2016 off the bat of a viral tweet and have since proceeded to ...

Mike Malley, President and CEO of Malley's Chocolates . If you grew up in northeast Ohio it’s very likely you know of Malley’s Chocolates, a staple of this community, providing delicious chocolate candies & treats for over ei...

Mitchell Vargo, Partner at Forward Hospitality Group. Since its founding in 2015, the Cleveland-based Hospitality Group has built out unique entertainment, bar, and restaurant experiences locally and all across the country — ...

Kyle Maggard , Founder & CEO of Over Easy. Kyle started OverEasy in the fall of 2018, reflecting on his time as a former college athlete at Westpoint and as an Army Captain where living a healthy and active life wasn’t just h...

Nick Dadas — Co-Founder of University Tees, SISU Lifestyle, Acton Academy Lakeside, ISI, and MasterPlan Coach. In 2003, still a sophomore at Miami University, Nick co-founded University Tees after trying to organize a t-shirt...

Reilly Berk , CEO of Berk Enterprises. Founded back in 1946 by her grandparents, Suzanne and Harold Berk, Berk Enterprises boasts a diverse history that began with the creation of the "QuicKill" insecticide and the subsequent...

Ethan Holmes — founder and CEO of Holmes Mouthwatering , a Cleveland-based manufacturer of all-natural applesauce, made with Ohio-grown apples, pears, and local apple cider. To date, over 50,000 customers have purchased and c...

Our conversation this week is with Tom Lix — founder & CEO of Cleveland Whiskey — on pushing the boundaries of convention while building on tradition to artfully blend science with craft to create unique award-winning Whiskey...

Todd Goldstein — Founder & CEO of Whoa Dough In 2008, Todd co-founded LaunchHouse with the mission to invest, develop, and foster promising idea-stage startups in Northeast, OH through Community, Education, Coworking, and Inv...

Tory and Michael Waxman — the founders of Sundays (>$14 million raised, Cleveland-based) — on building Sundays for Dogs to become a leading dog food brand offering the first human-grade, air-dried dog food, made with 100% all...

Julia Solooki & Lior Shafir — the co-founders of Smart Soda, headquartered here in Cleveland — on revolutionizing the beverage industry! The revolution is taking the water and soft drink industry by storm where for many conse...

Adrian Bota — co-founder and CEO of ORIGIN Milk — on creating the superlative, regenerative A2 heritage milk company! Adrian’s roots in farming go back to his father working on a farm in Romania. Adrian’s parents and four sib...

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Brian Folmer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Brian has boomeranged back to Cleveland after 6 years in NYC and starting his own company. Brian is the founder of FirstLook.vc and Dist...

Adam Fleischer — President of Cleveland’s Entrepreneurs' Organization and founder & co-owner of The Wine Spot here in Cleveland Heights. A proud product of Cleveland, Adam joined the United States Air Force just after graduat...

Aleksandra Brankov and Cole Worley — the co-founders of Cafilia, a Cleveland startup and network of curated local coffee shops where people can purchase monthly memberships and enjoy a sustainable and community-driven coffee ...

Jeremy Umansky, the renowned chef and owner of Larder! Larder Delicatessen and Bakery — as it’s known in full — is a staple and favorite of many here in Cleveland, housed in the historic Ohio City Firehouse, where the from-sc...

Aaron George — Founder/CEO of SupplyNow — on building the on-demand wholesale grocery delivery market for foodservice and his journey as an immigrant founder working as Global Entrepreneur in Residence with Global Cleveland

Raji Sankar — co-founder of Wholesome International & co-CEO of Choolaah — on building best-in-class restaurants, culture, and customer experiences after more than a decade in the restaurant industry.