15: SPECIAL GUEST - The Kitava Story | Sam Oches interviews Bryan Tublin about Kitava

Update: 2023-04-04

Description

This week we’re flipping the script.

Guest host Sam Oches, Editorial Director of Informa’s Restaurant & Food Group, interviews Bryan about his journey to start and grow Kitava.

Sam and Bryan discuss Kitava’s origin story, including the path from pop-ups and farmers markets to opening a brick-and-mortar location inside an old McDonald’s.

Other topics covered include:

- How Bryan merged his business with his eventual co-founder’s to form Kitava

- The process of coming up with a name and brand that would resonate with consumers

- Adjustments Kitava made in the early days after opening

- How Covid changed Kitava

- The most significant lessons learned since starting Kitava

and much more.

Please enjoy this special episode of My First Restaurant!

––

Where to find Sam Oches’ work:

––

Where to find Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-oches-5923bb13/

––

Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

––

Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

––

Referenced:

––

In this episode, we cover:

(02:25 ) What Bryan’s life was like before Kitava
(04:27 ) The spark to take action and create a restaurant business
(06:53 ) How Bryan went from pop-up to brick-and-mortar
(10:49 ) Joining forces with Jeff Nobbs and making a partnership work
(12:30 ) Coming up with a name and building a brand that would resonate with consumers
(15:22 ) Opening in an old McDonald’s storefront
(23:57 ) The initial response from consumers after opening, and adjustments the team made
(28:39 ) How Covid changed Kitava
(32:32 ) Scaling to a second location and beyond
(35:22 ) The most significant lessons Bryan’s learned through starting Kitava
(37:29 ) On The Fly Segment