Mitchell Vargo, Partner at Forward Hospitality Group.

Since its founding in 2015, the Cleveland-based Hospitality Group has built out unique entertainment, bar, and restaurant experiences locally and all across the country — from here in Cleveland to Chicago, Miami, and beyond!

The breadth of concepts spans FWD — the large-scale day and nightclub built on a shipyard in the East Flats with a quintessential Cleveland industrial backdrop, coined the Ibiza of the midwest and pulling some of the largest names from EDM and beyond, like Rick Ross, DeadMau5, Steve Aoki, Afrojack and more … also my personal favorite. Across the spectrum, Forward has built out Goodnight John Boy, the 70’s-themed disco bar, Welcome to the Farm, a Nashville-inspired country music bar, Shake It, a casual burger joint, and lots more.

This conversation was a lot of fun — Mitch and I unpack the intersection of hospitality and entrepreneurship, the perception, branding and evolution of Cleveland as a city, the business of nightlife, Mitch’s path to this line of work and how he manages himself and others through it, and a whole lot more!

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LINKS:

Forward Hospitality Group: https://www.forwardhg.com/
FWD Day + Nightclub: https://www.forwardhg.com/fwd-day-nightclub
Goodnight John Boy: https://goodnightjb.com/

Follow on Instagram: 

• https://www.instagram.com/mitchvargo/
• https://www.instagram.com/forwardhospitality
• https://www.instagram.com/fwdnightclub/

Connect with Mitch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchell-vargo/

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As we’ve heard time and time again from entrepreneurs on Lay of The Land — many of whom are proud alumni of John Carroll University —  success in this ever-changing world of business requires a dynamic and innovative mindset, deep understanding of emerging technology and systems, strong ethics, leadership prowess, acute business acumen… all qualities nurtured through the Boler College of Business!

With 4 different MBA programs of study — spanning Professional, Online, Hybrid, and 1-Year-Flexible — The Boler College of Business provides flexible timelines and various class structures for each MBA Track — including online, in-person, hybrid and asynchronous — to offer the most effective options for you, in addition to the ability to participate in an elective International Study Tour, providing unparalleled opportunities to expand your global business knowledge by networking with local companies overseas and experiencing a new culture.

The career impact of a Boler MBA is formative and will help prepare you for this future of business and get more out of your career. To learn more about John Carroll University’s Boler MBA programs, please go to business.jcu.edu

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Past guests include Justin Bibb (Mayor of Cleveland), Pat Conway (Great Lakes Brewing), Steve Potash (OverDrive), Umberto P. Fedeli (The Fedeli Group), Lila Mills (Signal Cleveland), Stewart Kohl (The Riverside Company), Mitch Kroll (Findaway — Acquired by Spotify), and many more.

Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/

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