Podcast Summary: RESTAURANT STRATEGY – ENCORE with Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands

Host: Chip Klose
Guest: Gregg Majewski
Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores how small restaurant brands scale to become national players. Host Chip Klose and Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands and former Jimmy John’s CEO, discuss career lessons, leadership, empowering staff, leveraging technology, and the essential elements Craveworthy looks for when acquiring or incubating brands poised for growth. Their wide-ranging conversation offers actionable insights for ambitious independent operators seeking sustainable, profitable expansion.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gregg Majewski’s Path to Restaurants and Leadership

• Falling into Restaurants by Accident
  Gregg began as a delivery driver in college due to financial necessity, quickly moving into corporate roles, eventually becoming Jimmy John's CEO in under two years.

  "Like most people, you fall into the restaurant industry by accident. My story is no different." – Gregg [04:30]

• Early Career Lessons
  His rapid rise was driven by relentless work ethic, willingness to ask for help, and humility.

  "I took charge by leading by example, not by being the smartest in the room... I educated myself, surrounded myself with people in the industry." – Gregg [07:47]

2. The Value of Mentorship and Curiosity

• Both highlight the unique openness within the restaurant industry to mentorship and knowledge-sharing.

  "I walk into every room thinking that I'm the dumbest person... There's something I can learn from every interaction." – Gregg [16:18] "I wish that when I was younger, I had the wherewithal to ask more questions and just be a sponge..." – Chip [15:12]

3. Listening to Staff to Drive Systems and Efficiency

• Empowering Employees
  Chip and Gregg share stories about learning from dishwashers and line staff, not just managers or chefs.

  "Our best ideas continually come from our employees because they're the ones using [the systems] every day." – Gregg [22:13]

• Rewriting Systems as Needed
  Regular operational meetings at Craveworthy start with system reviews to identify needed improvements.

4. Education and Empowerment in Hitting Goals

• Goal Setting, Not Just Directives
  Chip outlines an approach where managers are educated on goals (e.g., labor cost targets) and empowered to find their own solutions:

  "Give a very clear goal and say, I trust you... Most of the problems will solve themselves." – Chip [25:29]

• Creating Ownership Among Staff
  Gregg notes buy-in drives better execution and builds store culture:

  "The more you can get an employee or a group to buy in, the greater success you’re going to have running any business." – Gregg [28:01]

5. Craveworthy Brands: A Platform for Rapid Brand Growth

• What Craveworthy Does
  Craveworthy acquires or develops emerging restaurant brands, providing centralized expertise in finance, marketing, operations, and purchasing – advantages rarely available to small chains.

  "We bring in all that buying power and knowledge and tech that they need to compete against the big boys of the industry." – Gregg [35:38]

• Selection Criteria for Brands

  • Outstanding Food: The core product must be “awesome.”
  • White Space Opportunity: Either an unoccupied niche or a chance to be #2 in a large existing market.

  "If the food isn't already... on the upper echelon or something different, it’s not motivating for me to get involved." – Gregg [36:58] "You can't stop tweaking until you feel it's absolutely perfect and that you have those raving fans." – Gregg [37:45]

• Case Studies:

  • Genghis Grill (innovation in Asian stir fry, quick customization)
  • Wingin’ On (best-in-class sauces, challenging Wingstop)
  • Dirty Dough (vertical integration via owning production for cookies)

6. Tech in Restaurants: Seamless, Not Disruptive

• Guiding Principles for Tech

  1. Must ease the customer experience.
  2. Must make staff’s job easier—if it’s burdensome, it’s out.
  3. Cannot diminish hospitality.

  "If tech hurts hospitality, I don't want the tech in the industry because we're a hospitality industry." – Gregg [42:50]

• Tablet Hell and Integration
  Consolidating online ordering into one system is crucial; avoid adding steps for staff or splintered systems.

• Loyalty Programs: Only When Ready
  Gregg advises against premature tech adoption, especially loyalty programs for small chains; start with email/text before adopting full loyalty platforms.

7. Effective Restaurant Marketing: Simplicity Wins

• Food Giveaways & Community Engagement
  Sampling, pounding pavement, and community outreach are more powerful than expensive ad campaigns, especially for new openings.

  "If your food is king... then give it away." – Gregg [54:26]

• Classic Loyalty & Word of Mouth
  Old-school punch cards and referral programs are still highly effective at building repeat business.

  "Every kitchen has a junk drawer... And there were these pizza box cutouts... and guess where we order from nine out of ten times now?" – Chip [52:49]

• Three Marketing Pillars:

  1. Get them in (acquisition)
  2. Get them back (retention)
  3. Get them talking (evangelism/word of mouth)

8. The Future of Restaurants: Tech and Simplicity in Service

• Tech as Enabler, Not Replacer
  Gregg and Chip agree the best applications free staff up for human, high-impact hospitality—not to simply cut labor.

  "You never have an interaction; you never know that the restaurant is thankful... you're just a transaction if you don't have any interaction." – Gregg [61:49]

• Trend Toward Menu Simplicity
  Specialization and menu “shrinkflation” will continue; operators will focus on refining their core offer.

  "You're going to see a higher-end focus on being good at only what you’re great at–not trying to be everything for everyone." – Gregg [69:11]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Openness to Mentorship:
  "Everybody in the majority of this industry will bend over backwards to answer a question or give someone advice." – Gregg [17:57]

• On Leadership and Ownership:
  "If you can calmly teach where you want to go, people will follow." – Gregg [28:01]

• On the Significance of Restaurant Work:
  "Every day you get a different interaction... you get to touch somebody's lives in some way or form." – Gregg [29:00]

• On Trust in Dining:
  "We trust people to not put broken glass in our burger, and we just put ketchup on it and start eating it." – Chip [31:02]

Key Timestamps

• 04:30: Gregg’s entry into the restaurant industry
• 07:45: Rapid career ascent; importance of work ethic
• 16:18: Openness to learning from everyone in the company
• 22:13: Building systems based on employee input
• 25:29: Empowering staff with goals, not just systems
• 34:12: Craveworthy Brands purpose and platform model
• 36:58: What Craveworthy looks for in brands to acquire
• 42:50: Approaching technology—must serve customer & staff, not replace hospitality
• 47:23: Concrete examples of good vs. bad tech implementation
• 50:49: When small brands should adopt loyalty/marketing tech
• 54:26: The power and value of sampling and classic marketing
• 61:49: Using technology to free staff for better guest interaction, not to eliminate jobs
• 69:11: Future of restaurants: Simplicity and specialization

Five Quickfire Questions with Gregg Majewski

1. Last great meal:
   • Conn’s in Portland [67:06]
2. Last memorable hospitality touch:
   • Pilot distributing coffee to delayed flight crew, lifting spirits [67:29]
3. Genie wish for the industry:
   • A more stable and predictable economic environment [68:35]
4. Advice to first-time restaurateurs:
   • "Be patient, follow your game plan and continue to ask advice from others." [68:51]
5. Prediction for the next 5 years:
   • Trend toward menu simplicity, focusing on what you do best, from major chains to independents [69:11]

Final Takeaways

• Work ethic and humility drive upward mobility in hospitality.
• Listen and learn from every level—your staff and guests know where improvements lie.
• Empower teams: Share goals, not just directives, to create ownership.
• Great food and clear market opportunity are prerequisites for scalable growth.
• Appropriate technology should make life easier for both guests and staff, but never at the cost of hospitality.
• Old-school, direct marketing—sampling, relationships, and word of mouth—remains highly effective.
• Simplicity and specialization are the direction for the future.

Connect with Gregg & Craveworthy

• Web: craveworthybrands.com
• LinkedIn: Gregg Majewski
• Email: gregg@craveworthybrands.com

"Continue to have fun. This is an incredible industry and treat people the way you want to be treated and you always win."
– Gregg Majewski [70:23]