The Greg Scheinman Podcast

107: Jonathan Horowitz - CEO of Legacy Restaurant Group

Jonathan Horowitz As the CEO of Legacy Restaurant Group, which owns and operates The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation and the Antone’s Famous Po’ Boys restaurants, Jonathan Horowitz already has a lot on his plate. However, he’s also currently serving as board president for the Greater Houston Restaurant Association and generously accepts multiple speaking engagements for The Texas Restaurant Association, American Marketing Association and Rice University School of Business. He’s been listed as one of “5 Houstonians to know” by Houston Business Journal and also made their 40 under 40 list back in 2011 when he was indeed under 40…. He’s a friend, a client and one of the most down to earth entrepreneurs and CEO’s I know. He’s a passionate foodie and family man and I really enjoyed having him on the podcast to talk about the expansion of both Ninfa’s and Antone’s, the challenges he’s faced stepping into the company and his role in defining and scaling these two iconic brands. I’ll definitely have him back on as we barely scratched the surface on all that he’s into so enjoy this first part of our conversation.

Episode 108: Nick Adair - Houston Resturant Entrepreneur

Nick, along with his sister Katie is the entrepreneur behind several Houston restaurant concepts including the successful Adair Kitchen,  the recently opened Eloise Nichols restaurant in River Oaks and the fresh new concept Bebidas; a super cool new juice bar and café where you can find me having some amazing breakfast tacos and juice most mornings.  Nick grew up in the restaurant business as his father and family are the owners of Adair Family Restaurants  the group behind Los Tios Mexican Restaurants, and Skeeters Mesquite Grill) and has an amazing story so let’s get to it – Nick Adair on the Greg Scheinman podcast.  

Episode 106: Dave Maloney - The D10 Decathlon

When David Maloney started The Decathlon in 2008, it was to settle a friendly bet among a bunch of Wall Street jocks. He and his friends had each competed in sports at a Division 1 level in the 1990s, were about to turn 30, and had spent the better part of the previous decade busting each other’s chops over who was the best athlete in the group.

Now, The D10 has grown to 5 cities – NY, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston and is a nationally televised event consisting of 10-events traditionally performed in the Olympic decathlon and NFL Scouting Combine.  With 100% of the money raised by competitors going to support pediatric cancer institutions over $8.0M has been raised to date.  

I absolutely love what Dave is doing and had the privilege to compete in the Houston D10 and look forward to competing again.  It’s a very special network that he’s built and continues to build and getting the chance to sit down and talk with Dave about getting the D10 started, scaling it and everything that goes along with creating a world-class level sporting event concept while still finding the time to train, be a husband and a father to his adorable kids was a really inspiring and thought provoking conversation….So, here’s the show – Dave Maloney Founder and executive producer of the d10 Decathlon

Episode 105: Anna Catalano

I was introduced to Anna Catalano by my good friend Naren Aryal – the entrepreneur and founder of the amazing self publishing company Mascot Books who’s currently working with Anna on her first book. 

Anna has an amazing and unique background and she’s incredibly candid and open about her journey and brings a really fresh perspective to conversations. 

She manages an active board portfolio, serving on the Boards of Directors of Mead Johnson Nutrition, Willis Towers Watson, Kraton Corporation, and Chemtura Corporation, and an advisor to numerous organizations. She is a certified Board Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and board member of the Texas/Tri-Cities Chapter. In the not-for-profit sector, she is a member of the National Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association, the Houston Grand Opera, and an honorary co-founder of the Kellogg Innovation Network at Northwestern University.

With over 30 years of corporate experience, Ms. Catalano is a renowned expert and frequent speaker on the topics of innovation, corporate governance and leadership, and an outspoken champion for advancing women in business. Having held executive positions in Asia, Europe, and North America, she holds a broad perspective on the challenges of operating in a global environment.

As BP’s global head of marketing, she was instrumental in repositioning its corporate brand, and a primary voice behind its “beyond petroleum” campaign. She has advised numerous organizations on the topics of strategic marketing, brand and reputation, and purposeful leadership in an environment of skepticism around corporate governance and responsibility.

Ms. Catalano has been recognized in Fortune Magazine’s ranking of “The Most Powerful Women in International Business”. She is a wife and mother of two, and a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She shares her thoughts on various aspects of leadership as author of the blog, www.shades-of-leadership.com.

Episode 104: Bridget Dunlap - Creative Entrepreneur

Bridget Dunlap is the creative entrepreneur and driving force behind some of Austin's most exciting entertainment concepts. The company's current portfolio includes Lustre Pearl, Lustre East, Container Bar, Clive Bar, Bar 96, Trackside, Collide ATX and Parlor & Yard. We talked about her being a single mom and being forced to make things happen for herself and her son, how she’s managed success and learned to deal with ego and failure and what it’s like going from being on your own to having hundreds of employees and responsibilities. 

Episode 103: Shawn Cirkiel - Parkside Projects

Shawn Cirkiel is the entrepreneur and visionary behind Parkside Projects – his restaurant group that owns and operates Parkside Restaurant, Backspace, Olive & June, Bullfight, 800 Congress and soon to be more exciting parkside projects that are in the works.  We had a chance to talk about what inspires him, challenges he’s faced along the way and continues to face in expanding his businesses, finding balance in life and where he’s looking to take himself both personally and professionally in the future. 

Episode 102: Aaron Lyons - Founder and Owner of DISH SOCIETY

Aaron Lyons is the Founder and Owner of DISH SOCIETY

A fast growing group of  casual farm to table restarts featuring local ingredient driven & chef inspired options for breakfast, lunch dinner, social hour and brunch.  Aaron sits down to talk with Greg Scheinman about his entrepreneurial journey to get Dish Society started and scaled.

Episode 101: Thomas Nguyen - Co-Founder Peli Peli Restaurant Group

Thomas Nguyen - Co-Founder Peli Peli Restaurant Group

 

Thomas is a co-founder of the Peli Peli Restaurant Group, with three locations in Houston, Texas. Currently Peli Peli is ranked in the Top 5 in Houston on both Tripadvisor and Yelp.

 

In 2015, Thomas was named as one of Houston Business Journal's 40 Under 40 for his philanthropic efforts.

 

Thomas, along with his partners Chef Paul Friedman and Michael Tran, were featured in an episode of Restaurant Startup (Season 3) on January 27, 2015 and received the largest offer in Restaurant Startup history.