ABOUT THIS PODCAST 🔗
Most hospitality shows sound like a conference panel that never ends. Everyone nods along. Nobody actually risks anything. You forget it before you reach your car.
The Return runs the other way.
I spent my career on the floor, not in a studio, and that's the whole point. Every episode picks a fight the industry would rather avoid. The guest matters more than the employee. Margin erosion isn't a cost problem, it's a sign you stopped building value. Loyalty programs don't buy loyalty. The only number that survives the long run is whether people come back.
Guests get pressure, not a platform. We disagree on purpose. And every episode ends the same way, with one question nobody in this business wants to answer out loud: where is the industry lying to itself right now?
If you want comfortable, there are other shows. This one's for operators who'd rather be right than liked.
Hosts:
Update frequency:
biweekly
Average audio length:
17 minutes
Guest interviews
English
United States
18 episodes
since March 9, 2026
episodic
LATEST EPISODE 🔗
A three-location business has $50,000 to invest. Should it spend that money reaching new customers on connected TV, or improving the experience for the customers already walking through the door?Anthony Valletta and Kevin Planovsky of Sparkfly take opposite sides. Kevin argues that more accessible,…
PREVIOUS EPISODES 🔗
Restaurant technology is supposed to give your team time back. But what happens when it starts taking away the thinking that made them good in the first place?Anthony makes the case for automating as much back-of-house work as possible, while questioning the growing number of tools that replace hum…
Restaurant technology is supposed to give your team time back. But what happens when it starts taking away the thinking that made them good in the first place?Anthony makes the case for automating as much back-of-house work as possible, while questioning the growing number of tools that replace hum…
We have more guest data than we’ve ever had. And somehow, we may know our guests less than we ever did.Jen Dodd has spent more than 30 years in the restaurant business and believes data is essential, especially when you’re trying to scale hospitality across hundreds of locations.Anthony pushes back…
Every great GM is supposed to want the next title. Regional. Director. Bigger scope. More locations.But what if promoting your best operator is the fastest way to weaken your best restaurant?Anthony sits down with Christin Marvin of Columbine Hospitality to argue about the career ladder hospitality…
I argue loyalty programs don't create loyalty, they just find the guests who were already loyal and put a price tag on them.
Zach Goldstein, founder and CEO of Thanx, builds those programs for a living.
They get into why most loyalty metrics are meaningless, what the "40% of revenue through the…
Kathleen McDonough and Derek Williamson built Shifting People on a belief: take care of your people and everything else follows.
Anthony built The Return on the opposite arrow. Episode 2 puts both in the same room. No warmup, no panel-discussion politeness.
Kathleen makes the strongest case for…
We measure the wrong things in this business and then act shocked when the math quits on us.
Covers. Average check. Labor as a percentage. Every one of them looks backward, and every one of them can be juiced for a quarter while the real problem keeps growing underneath.
The number I'd trade all …
In this episode, JJ Perino of TwoTen Strategy discusses the evolving approach to site selection, emphasizing the importance of understanding what locations communicate about a brand beyond traditional metrics.
He explores how data, customer behavior, and brand strategy intersect to make smarter r…
This episode explores the challenges of hiring and talent retention in the hospitality and restaurant industry with Rikin Lakhani, a seasoned operator and recruiter.
It emphasizes the importance of trust, understanding the candidate's holistic profile, and adapting recruitment strategies to moder…
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Anthony Valletta, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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