Art, Escapism, and the Cult of Community: Brandon Hoy on Building Roberta’s Into a Movement

What if your restaurant wasn’t just a place to eat, but a world people stepped into to feel something?

Brandon Hoy didn’t set out to build a pizza place, he set out to create a party, a refuge, a piece of living art in a neighborhood hungry for connection. As co-founder of Roberta’s, he tapped into timing, tribe, and a radical commitment to craft to turn a scrappy Bushwick pizzeria into a cultural institution.

In this conversation, we get into why community beats marketing, how mythology makes brands magnetic, and why defining what your restaurant means matters more than what it serves. Brandon breaks down the tension between consistency and evolution, and why the brands that survive are the ones willing to move with the wind.

If you’re building more than a menu—if you’re building a movement—this conversation is for you.

To learn more about Roberta’s and explore what they’re building next, visit robertaspizza.com.

_________________________________________________________

Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.

Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com