Closed Monday

Closed Monday Ever wonder what it really takes to go from one location to ten?

Every Monday, top restaurant operators share their actual playbooks for scaling - from site selection and systems to funding and team building. No basics, no fluff – just real conversations about what works (and what doesn't) in multi-unit growth.

09/09/2026

Four people at a hotel bar. All four looking down at their phones. Nobody talking. You see it all…the…time.

Then a clip comes on the TV and everyone laughs at the same time. They look up. A conversation starts.

In this episode, Kyle sits down with John Smolen on why the screen behind the bar decides whether your guests stay and spend more money, or leave.

New episode of Closed Monday.

09/08/2026

Two TVs above a bar in Austin.

Judge Judy on one, CNN on the other. Both muted.

That’s where Atmosphere TV started.

Live sports only run 17% of your open hours. The other 83% is dead air.

New episode of Closed Monday with John Smolen is out now!

09/08/2026

An AI that doesn’t just answer your questions. It does the job.

Rightwork’scalls it Rovis. It knows your schedule, your team’s availability, your forecast. Ask it to find coverage for a shift and it finds three people who can actually work it, messages them, and logs who responds.

That’s 30 minutes of a manager’s morning back. Every single day.

New episode with Will Stewart of Rightwork, recorded live at the National Restaurant Show.

Link in bio.

09/04/2026

Every manager working like your best manager, not just your best one carrying the location.

Will Stewart of RightWork sums it up like this - superstar GMs, the ones who coach well and handle the scheduling chaos, are rare.

Hard to find, harder to keep.

So instead of chasing more of them, build systems that make every manager perform at that level.

That matters most when you’re scaling. New locations only work if the labor runs efficiently everywhere, not just at your best store.

New episode with Will Stewart of Rightwork, recorded live at the National Restaurant Show.

Link in bio.

09/03/2026

Building in public isn’t a buzzword for RightWork.

It’s the entire roadmap.

One of the things thei customers told them that was actually killing them: too many logins.

Scheduling in one app, training in another, reporting in a third.

So Will Stewart’s team put it all in one place.

Less admin. Fewer logins.

More time for managers to be on the floor with customers instead of buried in tabs.

New episode with Will Stewart of RightWork recorded live at the National Restaurant Show.

Link in bio.

08/21/2026

Seven seasons on YouTube.

Then Pepsi sponsored season two on Amazon.

The finale left off on a cliffhanger: would the pop-up work?

Spoiler alert, it did.

Kings of Fi$H Web Series
Michael Ungaro
San Pedro Fish Market
Cali BBQ Media

08/20/2026

Kicked out of two parking lots. Built a 1,500+ seat “pop-up” out of shipping containers.

Open in 60 days.

$11M in sales.

Live with Michael Ungaro, CEO of San Pedro Fish Market at National Restaurant Assoc Show is out now!

08/11/2026

✨New✨episode is up.

Caught up with Mike Ungaro, CEO of San Pedro Fish Market and star of Kings of Fi$H Web Series back in May, on the floor at National Restaurant Assoc Show.

He built an $11M pop-up in a parking lot in 60 days!!

We got into the lease clause that almost cost him the sale of his business.

Link in bio.

07/01/2026

If you’re running multiple locations and you don’t have a real system watching what your team is spending, this one’s for you.

This week Kyle is live from the National Restaurant Assoc Show with Ty Wilson from Tab Commerce to talk about tail spend, corporate card controls, and the financial infrastructure every multi-unit operator needs before they scale.

🎙️Available wherever you listen to podcasts and on 📺YouTube.

Link in bio.

07/01/2026

We. Are. Back!

This week Kyle sits down with Ty Wilson from Tab Commerce to talk about tail spend, corporate card controls, and the financial infrastructure every multi-unit operator needs before they scale.

🎙️Available wherever you listen to podcasts and on 📺 YouTube. Link in bio.

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