Shawn Walchef: So You Want a Restaurant Everyone Talks About?
Description
🔥 How Cali BBQ Turned Digital - and Why Every Restaurant Needs to Think Like a Media Company 🎥
In this episode, Shawn Walchef, founder of Cali BBQ 🍖 and Cali BBQ Media 💻, shares how he built a San Diego barbecue restaurant into a national digital hospitality brand. From opening in 2008 to launching a full media arm, Shawn breaks down how storytelling, community, and technology fueled his success.
He opens up about pivoting during the pandemic, embracing social media and video 📱, and how authenticity and vulnerability became the secret sauce of his brand. Plus, we talk about the future of restaurants → from AI 🤖 and digital marketing to why every business today should think like a media company.Â
If you’re in the restaurant world 🍴 (or just building a brand 🚀), this episode is packed with lessons on growth, content, and connection in the digital age.













