Brick & Mortar Reborn

From Vision to Vitality: Kraig Torres on Navigating Boxcar Through the Brews and Blows of the Pandemic

Many small restauranteurs are struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but today’s guest shows that it is possible to survive even in a challenging environment. Kraig Torres is the founder and CEO of HopCity Craft Beer and Wine, and he joins the podcast today to talk about his restaurant Boxcar – how he decided to open it, what challenges he faced along the way, and how his company has been faring during the current crisis. Listen in to hear what Kraig has to say about what Boxcar is all about, how COVID-19 affected Kraig’s business, and what changes he’s adopted that are here to stay.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Boxcar is all about
✔ What inspired Kraig to start the company initially
✔ The hurdles Kraig faced growing his company
✔ Things Kraig wishes he’d done differently
✔ How COVID-19 has affected Kraig’s business
✔ What changes Kraig’s restaurants have adopted that he thinks are here to stay
✔ New technologies Kraig has added because of the pandemic
✔ Shifts in how Kraig’s customers interact with the restaurant
✔ What’s different about inside dining in Kraig’s restaurant
✔ How Kraig’s employees feel about the changes
✔ Recommended resources for similar small operations
✔ Technologies that Kraig is thinking about adopting in the future
✔ Tips for restauranters
✔ Kraig’s favorite must-visit locations in the Atlanta area
Resources:
Kraig Torres
Boxcar
QUOTES:
“I very quickly realized that the beer we were drinking back at home in the 80s maybe wasn’t as good as beer got.”
“The third challenge was, of course, finding that right team and making sure everybody agreed with your vision forward.”
“We have seen our most loyal fans become even more loyal.”

Pivoting to Thrive: Seth Gordon on Navigating the Fitness Landscape from B2B to B2C Amidst a Pandemic

In some cases, business owners have not only changed the way that they do business because of the pandemic, they’ve also had to change what kinds of customers they serve. That’s what today’s guest discovered as his business, which had been primarily in the B to B space, started serving consumers more directly in the midst of the pandemic.
Seth Gordon is the owner and CEO of Comm-Fit Holdings and the Flo Wellness group, and he joins the podcast today to talk about his organization’s experience in the fitness industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and how things in that industry are changing. Listen in to learn about how his company’s consumer service has changed, how the company changed internally, and what trends Seth sees coming in the future.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Comm-Fit and Flo Wellness do
✔ How Seth moved from sales and investments into fitness
✔ How COVID affected Seth’s business
✔ How the company’s consumer service has changed due to COVID
✔ The changes Seth’s company had to make internally
✔ The most difficult part of COVID-related changes
✔ What resources Sam looked to during the changes
✔ Behavior trends that Sam noticed before COVID
✔ Trends that Seth expects to see over the next few years
✔ Whether the fitness industry will see new demands from consumers in the future
✔ Advice for business owners trying to get back into the groove of their business
✔ Seth’s favorite places to visit in the Dallas area
Resources:
Seth Gordon
Comm-Fit
Sales@Comm-Fit.com
QUOTES:
“But all in all, you know health and wellness is more important than ever.”
“You can look at downcycles or pandemics in one of two ways. You can look at is as “woe is me” or you can look at it as an opportunity to develop and improve your organization.”
“We look at the families of our team members as our extended family.”

From Hummus to Resilience: David Wiseman on Little Sesame’s Journey Through the Pandemic and Crafting a Flavorful Future

What are your company’s core competencies, and how can you use them to get through the pandemic and thrive in the future? That’s what today’s guest joins the podcast to talk about David Wiseman is the co-founder of Little Sesame, a D.C. restaurant specializing in hummus. Listen to the episode to hear David discuss how his restaurants were impacted by the pandemic, what changes his team has made in order to adapt, and where David sees Little Sesame going in the future.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ How Little Sesame got started
✔ Little Sesame’s locations
✔ How Little Sesame has been impacted by the pandemic
✔ Changes that Little Sesame has made that David thinks are here to say
✔ David’s plans for Little Sesame’s future
✔ How David transitioned from law into the restaurant world
✔ Where the name Little Sesame came from
✔ David’s future aspirations
✔ Things David’s restaurant has done that other businesses could learn from
✔ David’s advice for other businesses
✔ What David recommends checking out in D.C.
Resources:
David Wiseman
Little Sesame
QUOTES:
“One of our big primary goals with Little Sesame was to give people kind of an escape. Because when you take warm pita and you’re ripping it into hummus, you can’t really be on your phone.”
“I think a trend that’s really going to be here to stay is how do you meet the customer where they are?”
“We really believe in the power of the chickpea, the power of the shared meal, and it’s something we want to bring to a lot of people.”

Navigating the New Normal: A Deep Dive with Mall of America’s Jill Renslow on Pandemic-era Trends and the Future of Shopping Malls

COVID-19 has impacted different types of brick and mortar consumer spaces in different ways, but malls, which contain retail spaces, restaurant spaces, and entertainment spaces all in one spot have been affected in multiple different ways at once. How does a big mall handle all of the COVID-related changes and challenges? Today’s guest, Jill Renslow, is the EVP of Business Development at the famous Mall of America. In today’s episode, she discusses generational marketing, new mall trends that have emerged during the pandemic, and what malls might look like during the holiday shopping season.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Jill’s role at Mall of America
✔ What Jill focuses her time on
✔ Experiences that Jill has been most excited about rolling out
✔ Technologies that Jill thinks have been helpful for retail stores and mall operators during COVID-19
✔ How to improve generational marketing
✔ Early signs of customers being comfortable coming back in
✔ Whether trends like smaller footprint stores will be visible in the Mall of America
✔ Shopper trends that Jill thinks have been most important over the past few years
✔ Guidance that can help operators adopt the right technologies
✔ What Black Friday might look like this year
✔ Whether COVID-era changes will change or revert to the way they were before
✔ Mall of America’s green initiatives
✔ Places in Minnesota that Jill recommends visiting
Resources:
Jill Renslow
QUOTES:
“It is a very challenging time, but we also are embracing those changes and understanding that we have to accelerate what we had planned for the next 2-5 years, knowing that that needs to happen now.”
“We’ve been able to really save on labor sources without impeding on the guest experience.”
“As soon as we closed, the first thing we thought about was how are we going to reopen and what do we need to do to prepare for it? And safety is the number-one priority.”

From Brick-and-Mortar to Click-and-Order: Navigating a Pandemic with Annie Cantrell of Blue Ribbon General Store

General stores are important to their communities for a lot of reasons, but many have had to adjust quickly in order to stay in business through the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's guest is Ann Cantrell, the owner of Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store. In today's episode, Annie explains how she decided to open a general store in the first place, what happened when the pandemic first hit, and how she thinks that things will change – or not – as things begin to return to normal.
Topics Discussed in Today's Episode:
✔ How Annie ended up opening her own store
✔ When Annie's store officially opened
✔ Annie's initial feelings about shutting down for COVID-19
✔ Changes Annie made for COVID-19
✔ What types of products people were looking for as the pandemic went on
✔ The increase that Annie's store saw in online sales
✔ How competition was affected by the pandemic
✔ Whether online sales will be more dominant as things return to normal
✔ New York's workshare program
✔ Resources for businesses in danger of shutting down
Resources:
Ann Cantrell
Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store
QUOTES:
"I joke that it was ten years before I opened, but it was really, I'd say, longer than that, and my friends and family can attest to that.”
"In social media, specifically Instagram, we communicated often about what we were doing to keep people safe and what products we had.”
"I've always said that puzzles were our secret sauce.”

Brewing Through Adversity: Crafting the Future of Taprooms with Jake Rouse of Braxton Brewing Company

Is the continuing pandemic holding brands back or helping to push them into the future? Today’s guest is Jake Rouse, co-founder and CEO of the Braxton Brewing Company, a Cincinnati brewing company that bills itself as the Taproom of the Future. In today’s episode, Jake discusses how COVID-19 has affected the brewer, what changes in strategy and technology the company has made as a result of the pandemic, and how those changes will affect the future of his brand and others.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ How Jake moved from tech to brewing
✔ Why Jake’s brewery calls itself the Taproom of the Future
✔ How COVID-19 has impacted Jake’s business
✔ What changes Jake has had to make over the past few months and what changes he anticipates in the near future
✔ Whether Jake’s brewery is using different technology since the beginning of the pandemic
✔ Resources that Jake would recommend
✔ What changes will remain post-COVID
✔ What growth looks like for Braxton Brewing
✔ Advice for brands who think it’s time to throw in the towel
✔ Where brands should get started
✔ Fun places to visit in Cincinnati
Resources:
Jake Rouse
QUOTES:
“We really wanted to blend technology and beer together, because my take on the beer industry is that it was really ripe for disruption.”
“The biggest changes we made were definitely in our marketing.”
“It’s been amazing to see people pivot into a subscription type environment for beer.”

Resilience in Reps: Navigating Fitness and Business Amidst a Pandemic with Stephanie Tieman of CoreStrong

Just like many industries, the fitness industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and people working in the fitness industry have had to get creative in order to stay in business and meet the needs of their customer base. In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Stephanie Tieman, founder of CoreStrong. Listen in to hear what Stephanie has to say about how she got started with her business, how she was affected by the pandemic, and what she’s done to keep her business going.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ How Stephanie got into the fitness industry
✔ How Stephanie started CoreStrong
✔ How COVID-19 has affected CoreStrong
✔ Whether Stephanie will go back on location once things get back to normal
✔ How Stephanie came up with strategies to keep her business alive
✔ How Stephanie has seen others come up with ways to keep their businesses alive
✔ Whether Stephanie plans to grow her business
✔ Stephanie’s advice for others who are struggling and considering closing
✔ How often Stephanie posted workout demos
✔ What Stephanie sees coming for the future
✔ The nutritional element of CoreStrong
✔ Advice for listeners
✔ What Stephanie recommends for visitors to
Resources:
Stephanie Tieman
QUOTES:
“If your core ain’t strong, you ain’t strong.”
“We took CoreStrong on the road, which has been pretty awesome.”
“We’ve just got to keep up with the times and see what happens.”

Gaming Through Adversity: Navigating Omnichannel Experiences with Luisa Woods of Delaware North

Entertainment experiences that require going out into public spaces have definitely been hit hard by the pandemic. How have they been adjusting, and how have their customers’ behaviors changed in recent weeks and months? Today’s guest is Luisa Woods, the VP of marketing for gaming and entertainment at Delaware North. In today’s episode, she discusses her own day-to-day routines, the factors that draw in customers to online gaming and to brick and mortar gaming facilities, and how to create an omnichannel experience in the gaming space.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Luisa’s day-to-day responsibilities look like
✔ Biggest changes that Luisa has seen in customer behavior
✔ The connection between the draws for online gaming and land-based gaming
✔ What people in the gaming space get wrong when it comes to the omnichannel experience
✔ Whether Luisa thinks that recent changes will be temporary or permanent
✔ How adversity affects people
✔ Luisa’s approach to creating on-location experiences
✔ Luisa’s favorite stores to shop in
✔ Creating experience based on knowledge about customer behavior
✔ Technologies that are being adopted at a faster pace than Luisa expected
✔ Places that Luisa recommends visiting
Resources:
Luisa Woods
QUOTES:
“I think that the gaming industry, in particular, is going through unprecedented change.”
“It’s a question of recognizing the right opportunity, the right experience, the right offer to a customer at the right time.”
“I think we’re never going to go backwards. I think that we will go forwards into a new normal.”

Innovative Intersections: Converging the Retail Experience with Paul Chapuis of OnQ Technology

Paul Chapuis is the founder and CEO of OnQ Technology. OnQ is a Bay Area retail display company. The company’s location and function put OnQ into the position of needing to continually come up with new, innovative ideas for their clients, which gives Paul a unique perspective on retail. Listen in to today’s episode to hear what Paul has to say about converging in-store and online experiences, the role of the mobile phone in retail, and some key takeaways for retailers working on designing in-store experiences.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Paul’s company does
✔ Biggest changes in consumer behavior Paul’s seen over the last few years
✔ Recent changes that may be adopted at a faster pace than previously
✔ Recommendations for helping retailers converge experiences
✔ The role of the mobile phone
✔ What retailers should avoid doing when creating in-store experiences
✔ Some of Paul’s favorite in-store experiences
✔ Paul’s favorite store to shop in
✔ Key takeaways for retailers designing an in-store experience
✔ Technologies that Paul thinks were adopted faster than expected in the US
✔ Technologies that Paul believes will have the biggest impacts on shopping
Resources:
Paul Chapuis
QUOTES:
“Because we’re in the middle of the Bay Area and as a retail display company for those types of customers, we end up being probably the number one display company on the planet that’s pressed to come up with new, interesting, innovative things.”
“We’re seeing it go from just a way to get things from a manufacturer to a person to something that’s just much deeper than that.”
“Whenever you’re doing an interactive experience, you have to figure out how to have that thing know who the person is and be able to follow up.”

Digital Dawn: Transforming Brick and Mortar for Tomorrow with Alex Kinnier of GetUpside

Today’s guest is helping brick and mortar retailers transform themselves digitally in order to keep up and thrive in an increasingly online world. Alex Kinnier is the co-founder and CEO of GetUpside, a company that was specifically founded in order to transform physical commerce for the digital world. Listen in to hear what Alex has to say about the changes he’s seeing in consumer behavior, what retailers get wrong when building digital experiences, and what experiences Alex appreciates in his personal favorite brands.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What GetUpside is all about
✔ What made Alex want to start GetUpside
✔ The biggest changes that Alex has seen in consumer behavior
✔ How to use data to reach out
✔ Changes that are long-term vs. changes that will go away once the pandemic is over
✔ What has not changed in restaurants and retail over the last few decades
✔ What retailers get wrong when building digital and offline experiences
✔ Best in-store experiences that Alex has seen
✔ Personal brands that Alex loves because of the experience
✔ How GetUpside is helping to accelerate the digital transformation for its clients
✔ Technologies on the merchant side that are being adopted faster than Alex expected
✔ Best things to do in Maryland
Resources:
Alex Kinnier
QUOTES:
“I also value a world where people can gather, physical merchants can thrive.”
“Traffic is down substantially in every brick and mortar business except potentially grocery.”
“For me, my best experiences are the local merchants I work with here in Bethesda.”