711: Denyelle Bruno on Social Psychology and Hospitality
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 05/04/2020
1267: Ron Cardwell, Director of Commodity Strategy at Restaurant Technologies
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Ron Cardwell is the Director of Commodity Strategy at , where he oversees cooking oil sourcing, pricing, and risk management for foodservice operators across the country. With more than two decades in agriculture, energy, and vegetable oil markets, he has managed global corn oil and biodiesel trading, logistics, and policy engagement at ADM and other major firms. Ron now helps restaurants navigate everything from flavor profiles and performance to sustainability and cost savings, including how to get the most out of every pound of cooking oil. Join RULibrary: Join RULive: Set Up...
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1266: Randy Hines, CEO and Partner at The Kolache Shoppe
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Randy Hines joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on May 4th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Randy Hines is the CEO and owner of , a beloved Houston bakery that has been serving made-from-scratch kolaches since 1970. A former CPA and consultant, Randy fell in love with authentic Texas kolaches while growing up in the state’s “Czech belt,” and later...
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1265: Christian Wiens, Founder and CEO of Loman AI
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Christian Wiens joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on May 4th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Christian Wiens is the Founder and CEO of Loman AI, a leading voice AI platform built specifically for restaurants that answers every call, takes orders, and helps operators capture missed revenue while easing front-of-house labor pressure. Since launching the...
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1264: David T. Denney and Chelsea Masters, Partners and Denney Law Firm
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Today's guests join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 27th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! David T. Denney is the founder of Denney Law Group, a Dallas-based firm that counsels startups and growing companies on corporate transactions, business litigation, real estate, franchising, and beverage alcohol licensing, with a particular focus on the food,...
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1263: Eric Reed, Chief Development Officer at Layne’s Chicken Fingers
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Eric Reed and Natalie Hurley (also of Layne's) join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 20th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Eric Reed is the Chief Development Officer at Layne’s Chicken Fingers, where he leads the brand’s aggressive growth and real estate strategy as the company scales its footprint across existing and new markets. With more than two...
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1262: Natalie Hurley, VP of Marketing at Layne’s Chicken Fingers
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Natalie Hurley and Eric Reed (also of Layne's) join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 20th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Natalie Hurley is the Vice President of Marketing at Layne’s Chicken Fingers, where she leads brand strategy and growth for the “Soon to be Famous” chicken finger franchise as it expands nationwide. With nearly 20 years of...
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1261: Alex Camp & Cuyler Esposito, VP of Operations Services, VP of Culture Operations at Layne's Chicken Fingers
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Alex Camp and Cuyler Esposito join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 13th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Alex Camp is the vice president of operations services at Layne’s Chicken Fingers, where he serves as the “central nervous system” of the brand’s rapidly growing franchise system. After joining Layne’s in 2024 as senior director of...
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1260: Albert Sanchez, Co-Founder of Beto’s Mexican Restaurant
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Albert Sanchez and Chris Schultz join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 6th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Albert Sanchez is the co‑founder and owner of Beto’s Mexican Restaurant, a family‑owned Mexican restaurant based in Grand Prairie, Texas, that has been serving the community since 1993. A lifelong Grand Prairie resident and graduate of South...
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1259: Chris Schultz, CEO of Velvet Taco
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chris Schultz joins the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on April 6th, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Chris Schultz is the CEO of , a fast-casual taco brand known for its globally inspired, chef-driven tacos and cult-favorite Weekly Taco Feature program. He brings more than 30 years of restaurant leadership experience to the role and is focused on leading Velvet...
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1258: Jo Irizarry, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor at Barbs-B-Q and Thorn & Bred
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jo Irizarry and Skeeter Miller join the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for a live Q+A on March 23rd, 2026 at 11AM EST. To join us and engage with all our guests and events, go to restaurantunstoppable.com/live -OR- to just catch today's guest, head over to restaurantunstoppable.com/cwe and we will get you a link to join that specific event for FREE! Jo Irizarry is an investor and mentor in the modern Texas barbecue scene, best known for backing nationally acclaimed concepts like Barbs-B-Q and butcher shop and restaurant Thorn & Bred. As an early believer in Barbs-B-Q, Jo helped support...
info_outlineCalifornian, Denyelle Bruno is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of San Francisco where she earned a BA in Psych, and a MA in Organization Development. While in college she climbed the corporate ladder at Macy's, before being recruited by Apple to be a part of their retail team. Other career highlights include 2 years as VP of Retail with PureBeauty, 6 years with Peet's Coffee & Tea as VP of Retail Marketing, and Operation, and 3 years as President for Drybar. Today, and for the past 2.5 years, Denyelle has served Tender Greens as CEO.
Check out Punchh as mentioned in today's episode.
Show notes…
Calls to ACTION!!!
- Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
- Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
- Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "Failure depends on when you end the story"
In today's episode with Denyelle Bruno we will discuss:
- Psychology in hospitality
- Psychology of retail
- Living in chaos
- Bullies
- Going from slacker to badass boss
- Realizing that asking for help is better than thinking you know everything
- Vulnerability and self-awareness
- Importance of finding a company with a good culture fit for you
- How to retain customers in an oversaturated market
- You NEED a loyalty program
- Incentives
- COVID-19 best practices/advice - How do we plan for the future?
- Adaptability is key
Today's sponsor:
Restaurant365 is a cloud-based, all-in-one, restaurant-specific accounting and back-office platform that seamlessly integrates with POS systems, payroll providers, food and beverage vendors. It generates accurate real-time reporting and analysis in user-friendly dashboards, facilitating immediate, data-driven decision making. Restaurant365 eliminates manual, error-prone processes and is designed to help restaurant businesses grow with functionality that helps optimize labor costs, reduce food costs and increase revenue.
- cteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Confidence
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Ice cream
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- What is your go-to karaoke song?
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- COVID-19
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- To speak up
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Not speaking from a script
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Eat at other people's restaurants
- Name one service you've hired.
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
- If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
- Break the rules
- Failure is necessary
- You're gonna die anyway
Contact info:
Instagram: @denyellebruno
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!
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Huge thanks to Denyelle Bruno for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!