Yelp Tampa Bay Podcast

Brett sits down with his favorite local radio hero, Drew Garabo! While most of the guests so far have been affiliated with local businesses, Drew is a local media personality who happens to share the Yelp mantra for supporting local businesses. The discussion covers a variety of topics, such as: -Drew’s evolution on how he viewed Yelp and Yelping over the years. -Drew’s past life working in the restaurant industry. -367 days since Drew’s last Yelp review. -Drew’s biggest pet peeve at a restaurant. -Brett’s Top 10 favorite local businesses of Tampa Bay. -Drew’s favorite local businesses of Tampa Bay. -The Brunch Czar of Tampa Bay. -The only difference of opinion Brett & Drew have on a particular restaurant, or in life in general. -Drew raising a future Yelping son. -Staying healthy and fit while working in radio. -The FM Talk Format working in the Tampa Bay market. -Drew’s aspirations before his radio career and how his career developed. -Drew working for the Orlando Magic when his Orlando station flipped

I journey up to the Heskett household in Land O' Lakes to talk Tacos... Capital Tacos specifically, with Bobby! Topics include: -Hearing from people wanting Capital Tacos to be closer to where they live. -Opening their 2nd location in Wesley Chapel, and the bombshells that were dropped the day beforehand. -The ungodly hour that Bobby wakes up every morning. -Is there time for vacation as a restaurant owner? -Coming up with new menu items. -Coming up with the menu item names. -Having enough good people to operate two restaurants. -Breakfast Tacos -The ever-delicious deep-fried chips -The beginning of Capital Tacos. -Project X??? -Taco Boss Status -Taco Collaborations with other restaurants -Check out Capital Tacos on Yelp: Land O' Lakes & Wesley Chapel -And follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. -Follow Yelp Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Thanks to Genghis Flan, for providing our theme song, royalty free.

Mini Doughnut Factory landed 100 Yelp reviews in less than 100 days of being open! How did they accomplish this amazing feat? I sit down with owner, Patrick Ruddell to find out what they attribute their lightning-quick success to, and we talk about some other things as well: -Why he chose mini doughnuts as a business.  -More Mini Doughnut Factories in the future?  -How they decide on the different concoctions and flavors for the menu.  -Weird flavor combinations that customers have ordered.  -Doughnut shakes!  -A day in life of a business owner where the doors open at 6:30a.  -How flipping houses in their previous lives helped with the build-out of the shop.  -The reason for the Ruddell’s career change.  -The ideal box of donuts according to the expert.  -Yelp from a business owner’s perspective.  -What to expect when you’re expecting (to visit Mini Doughnut Factory.) -Follow Mini Doughnut Factory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and of course, Yelp! -Follow Yelp Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

I sit down with Derek Scanlon, Co-Owner of Ginger Beard Coffee to discuss all kinds of silliness: -Why they chose the inside of a bar for the location of their business. -What exactly is nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee? -Combining beer and coffee. -How they discovered the art of perfecting this type of coffee. -Differences in flavors and native regions of coffee. -Food at Ginger Beard. -The vision for Ginger Beard. -Growlettes of coffee to take home to prevent death. -Beard Talk! -Ginger… BREAD Coffee? -More Beard Talk! -Having a nearly perfect Yelp score. -Follow Ginger Beard Coffee on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and of course, Yelp! -Follow Yelp Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Thanks to Genghis Flan, for providing our theme song, royalty free.

Jay Wells is the General Manager at Ciro's Speakeasy and Supper Club in South Tampa, which is where you can find some of the best cocktails in the Bay Area. We discuss a variety of topics: -How does one gain entry into Ciro’s? -The evolution of Jay’s ability to mix drinks. -How Jay finds the area’s best bartenders. -The most labor intensive cocktails. -Jay’s favorite cocktail and liquor brands. -The famous Ciro’s appetizers and under-appreciated dishes. -How Ciro’s views Yelp. -Upcoming events at Ciro’s -Follow Ciro's on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and of course on Yelp! -Follow Yelp Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Thanks to Genghis Flan, for providing our theme song, royalty free.

Brooke Palmer Kuhl is the Director of Public Relations for Bern's, so as you can imagine, we had much to discuss: -Why SideBern’s transformed into Haven. -The relationships between neighboring restaurants. -Bern’s standing the test of time. -How Brooke got involved with Bern’s. -Valentine’s Day at Bern’s. -What separates Bern’s from other high-end steakhouses? -The path to being a server at Bern’s. -Locals vs Tourists visiting Bern’s. -How many bottles of wine does Bern’s own? -The myth of the expense of eating at Bern’s. -Bern’s Wine Fest coming up April 10-17. -Follow Bern's on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Follow Yelp Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Thanks to Genghis Flan, for providing our theme song, royalty free.

Andy Salyards started Urban Brew & BBQ in 2013, and has since opened Urban Comfort (2015), Urban Provisions (2015) and Urban Creamery (coming mid-Feb 2016.) We talk about a myriad of topics:   -Andy’s humble beginnings starting out coming from California. -The building of all of these businesses. -Offerings equity to his employees. -The life of the buildings prior to Urban. -Pride in his bathrooms. -How Andy chooses what type of businesses to open. -What region of BBQ does Urban BBQ fit into? -Dealing with critics. -The labor of BBQ. -Urban Provisions. -Urban Creamery. -How does one have enough time to own 4 businesses? -Managing a bigger restaurant. -Taking feedback from Yelp reviews and making adjustments. -The effect of the Tampa Bay Rays on nearby local business owners. -The future of Urban. -Follow Urban Brew & BBQ, Urban Comfort, Urban Provisions, and Urban Creamery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Follow Yelp Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -Thanks to Genghis Flan, for provi

Tom + Chee is one of the bigger success stories to come from Shark Tank, and after years of hearing about its deliciousness in other part of the country, we finally have one in our own backyard here in St. Pete. Holly Mace, and her husband of course, are responsible for bearing us with these wonderful, grilled cheese gifts. We talk about a lot of topics related to being a franchise owner: -Holly and her husband Matt’s life before Tom + Chee and Shark Tank. -Why they chose the Tampa Bay area, and specifically St. Pete. -Future Tom + Chee locations in the Tampa Bay area. -What makes Tom + Chee feel more like a local business, than a national chain. -Bringing the local flavor with things like a Cuban grilled cheese sandwich. -The crazy amount of menu items in the recipe book. -Tom + Chee taking over the building and making it their own. -The demographics that go into choosing neighborhoods for future locations. -The time frame for future locations. -The day of actually opening the restaurant after all of the pla

Contrary to popular belief, Gasparilla is not something that just runs itself! The fine folks at Event Fest make the third largest parade in the country happen every year, and Event Coordinator, Maiken Stefany, sits down with me to chat all about it. -What EventFest does to make Gasparilla happen.  -How many Gasparilla’s Maiken has attended.  -All of the other Gasparilla named events.  -The challenges of Gasparilla happening on Super Bowl weekend.  -Being at the mercy of weather for such a tough event.  -The future of Gasparilla and changes in the years ahead.  -Cell phone service improvements during the Pirate Fest.  -How important Gasparilla is to the community.  -Other events that EventFest is involved with.  -Visit the best resource for Gasparilla FAQ’s – www.GasparillaPirateFest.org  -PRO TIP: Don’t bring coolers to Gasparilla or glass bottles to Gasparilla!  -Charity-based vendors at Gasparilla keep 100% of the proceeds made at Gasparilla.  -Darrell Stefany’s history with Gasparilla and EventFest.  -PRO

"Commanding Officer" of CQ Tactical, Jay Baldwin sits down to talk about his very high-tech laser tech facility. We discuss: -Jay's current day job, and how he came to starting up CQ Tactical. -How they developed a business plan, when there's no business like it. -How they develop new games and missions. -The best strategies for playing the games at CQ Tactical. -Customers suggesting different missions. -Jay's favorite missions. -What happens when military guys play laser tag. -How to train a staff for such a unique business. -Keeping the missions focused on teamwork. -Laser Tag tournaments. -The best way to sign up to play. -How a new business deals with reviews. -The 3rd Wednesday of every month will be couples night, for a different kind of date. -Fundraisers for military and law enforcement groups. Be sure to follow CQ Tactical on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and of course YELP! And as always, thanks to Genghis Flan for providing the theme song, royalty free!

Chef and co-owner of Piquant in Hyde Park, Rosana Rivera, joins us to talk about a variety of topics: -Her recent trip to San Francisco for "Coast to Coast," a gathering of superstar business owners from around the world. -Piquant's strategies on Yelp. -Small businesses sticking together to create a community. -Yelp's Business Owner event at Roux on 11/16/15. -Reviews of Piquant that she loves and shares with the staff. -Cronuts and the Cronut Burger -The process for creating new menu items. -The unsung heroes for Piquant. -Life before Piquant for Rosana.   Follow Piquant on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! A huge thanks to Genghis Flan for providing our official theme song of the Yelp Tampa Bay podcast!

The very first episode of the Yelp Tampa Bay podcast! Suzanne Perry of Datz, Dough, and Roux talks about all kinds of fun things: -Her recent trip to San Francisco for "Coast to Coast," a gathering of superstar business owners from around the world. -How she deals with Yelp reviews (good and bad.) -How Yelp reviews affect changes at her restaurants. -Menu items that surprise the staff with their popularity. -Roux hosting 100+ business owners in Tampa Bay, for Yelp's first business owner event on 11/16! -Suzanne and Roger Perry's non-restaurant background. -How the Perry's manage the work/life balance. -What to do when one employee has a bad day, that results in a bad Yelp review. -What's next? Follow Datz, Dough, and Roux on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, if ya know what's good for ya! And thanks to Genghis Flan for providing our theme song, royalty free!

Community Director, Brett Nehls, previews the new Yelp Tampa Bay podcast!