

FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution
Josh Kopel
What if I told you that the difference between struggling and thriving in the restaurant industry is just one conversation away?
I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur who’s spent decades building blockbuster brands across every tier of dining. I know the challenges you’re facing—because I’ve been there. That’s why I created FULL COMP.
Every week, I go one-on-one with the smartest minds in the game: restaurateurs, chefs, and industry insiders who’ve cracked the code. Together, we unpack their biggest wins, hardest lessons, and the strategies that changed everything.
No fluff, no filler—just actionable insights to help you boost profits, build your brand, and create the kind of restaurant you’ve always dreamed of.
So, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing results, hit subscribe.
I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur who’s spent decades building blockbuster brands across every tier of dining. I know the challenges you’re facing—because I’ve been there. That’s why I created FULL COMP.
Every week, I go one-on-one with the smartest minds in the game: restaurateurs, chefs, and industry insiders who’ve cracked the code. Together, we unpack their biggest wins, hardest lessons, and the strategies that changed everything.
No fluff, no filler—just actionable insights to help you boost profits, build your brand, and create the kind of restaurant you’ve always dreamed of.
So, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing results, hit subscribe.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 14, 2022 • 38min
Restaurateur Will Guidara on delivering unreasonable hospitality
World-famous restaurateur Will Guidara is back with his latest project — and it’s not a restaurant, it’s a book. Will was made famous by the over the top service he provided at Eleven Madison Park and, as it turns out, there was a method to the madness.
In this episode, Will and I sit down to discuss the formulaic way that he set expectations for his guests' experience and the process he created to exceed those expectations.
Be sure to pick up a copy of Will’s book, “Unreasonable Hospitality”, when it releases on October 25th.
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Oct 11, 2022 • 36min
Chef Ray Garcia on owning your niche
Chef Ray Garcia is known for far more than his successful restaurants, he created an entirely new category of cuisine. Being a culinary pioneer isn’t without its difficulties though, and today we discuss how challenging his community’s perceptions around food created a landmark restaurant.
For more on Chef Garcia and his upcoming projects, visit https://chefraygarcia.com/.
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Oct 7, 2022 • 37min
Chef Melissa Martin on unique alternatives to the traditional restaurant model
There are folks out there who see the world differently, and those visionaries are building very different restaurant concepts. In reinventing the model, they have no competition and there’s a ton we can learn from the trail they’re blazing.
Today we chat with Chef Melissa Martin of Mosquito Supper Club, a new kind of restaurant located in a very old place. In our conversation, Melissa shares the inspiration behind the unique concept and how she’s built a national audience off the back of a local restaurant.
For more on Mosquito Supper Club, visit http://www.mosquitosupperclub.com/.
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Oct 4, 2022 • 38min
Vitaliy Katsenelson on how to win the game of business
If we want to run a better restaurant business, we need to become better businesspeople. Today we chat with Vitaliy Katsenelson about improving our lives and our businesses by getting our soul in the game.
This isn’t about self help or aligning your chakras, this is practical advice built on real life experience. Vitaliy’s decades of experience as a value investor provide a unique perspective into what makes a business sustainable and how business owners can evolve into founders.
Check out Vitaliy Katsenelson’s book “Soul in the Game, Volume One” wherever you buy books.
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Sep 30, 2022 • 38min
Timm Chiusano on why your story matters
I don’t know today’s guest, Timm Chiusano, personally…but I do. I do because I follow him on TikTok where he crafts daily stories that walk you through his life. Timm’s not a daredevil or a world traveler, he’s just a regular person. A corporate executive with a wife, a child and a penchant for protein bars.
So why do I tune in daily to see what he’s up to? Honestly, I’m not sure and I thought that was worth a conversation. So I’m sitting down with Timm to figure out what makes him interesting enough that I and half a million other people follow him daily.
You can check out all things Timm by visiting www.timm.work.
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Sep 27, 2022 • 32min
Sergio Perez on creating an omnichannel brand
Maybe we’re trying too hard with all of the discounts and specials. Think about it, what would your favorite restaurant need to do to convince you to come back? Very little, right? More than anything, you just need to remind your best guests that you still exist and that’s where a guy like Sergio Perez comes into play.
Sergio is the head of omnichannel for Bojangles and he’s taken this regional brand and given them a national audience. If you’re looking get more digital face time with your guests, this is the guy to listen to.
For more on Bojangles visit https://www.bojangles.com
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Sep 23, 2022 • 35min
Karl & Sarah Worley on building a better business plan
Great restaurants stem from running great businesses and today we’re going to talk about the business of running restaurants. Our guides on this exploration of what a successful business plan looks like will be Karl and Sarah Worley, a married couple who turned their love of biscuits into a thriving restaurant brand.
They’ve built their business on the back of foundational principles and bleeding edge management strategies that have revolutionized their lives and their restaurant. Today we unpack the tactics, tools and strategies they’ve used to scale Biscuit Love from a food truck into a regional brand.
For more on Biscuit Love visit https://www.biscuitlove.com
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Sep 20, 2022 • 37min
LA Chef Conference on how to build community within our industry
Brad Metzger has been the glue binding our industry together for more than a decade. He and his team have helped set the trajectory for countless chefs, owners and operators, helping them build the teams they need to thrive.
He’s one part career counselor, one part therapist and one part big brother, and when he decided to bring our industry together by creating a first of its kind conference in Los Angeles, everyone was impressed but no one was surprised. Today we sit down with him, his partner in crime Jacqui and celebrity chef Burt Bakman to discuss what it takes to create community and why it’s desperately needed at this moment.
For more on LA Chef Con visit https://www.lachefconference.com
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Sep 16, 2022 • 36min
Bruce Nelson on the numbers behind profitability
Bruce Nelson never dreamed of becoming the Chief Financial Officer of a restaurant group, he wanted to be a restaurateur just like the rest of us. But, when he achieved his dream of restaurant ownership, his life became a nightmare. Coming off hard years and the closure of the restaurant, he took the time to figure out why.
It was the math. On a foundational level, his business was doomed to fail from the beginning because he was using bad math. In today’s conversation Bruce walks us through what a sound financial strategy looks like to create a wildly profitable restaurant.
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars

Sep 13, 2022 • 37min
David Morton on the formula for successful scaling
David Morton is a restaurateur and a student of the game. His ambitions go beyond making food or money, he’s trying to make a difference. David is blazing new trails in our industry, establishing partnerships and opening restaurants in ways that haven’t been done before.
In this episode, I sat down with him to discuss his family’s restaurant legacy and how the businesses he’s building today will influence the restaurant industry of tomorrow.
For more on his restaurants, visit https://www.dmkrestaurants.com
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Full Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.
We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:
Restaurant Marketing School
Restaurant expert videos & webinars


