Jay Ashton and Domenic Pedulla welcome Australian direct response marketer John Dwyer, JD, founder of The Institute of Wow, for a blunt, funny, and practical conversation about restaurant marketing.

JD breaks down why restaurants lose revenue when they fail to collect customer data. He shares how one seafood restaurant built a 92,000-person database, filled empty seats with simple text messages, and used direct offers to drive real sales.

The episode covers Facebook contests, customer databases, high-value incentives, strong calls to action, and why random social posting is not a marketing plan.

With classic Late Night chaos, NEXT Food Expo talk, and a few wild ideas from Jay, this episode gives restaurant owners smart ways to bring guests back, increase visits, and build marketing systems that work.

Your food might be exceptional, but if your communication isn't, your customers never get the full story.

This week on The Late Night Restaurant Podcast, Jay Ashton and Domenic Pedulla sit down with Joshua from Beltway Media to explore one of the most overlooked areas in hospitality: strategic communications.

From building trust and shaping customer perception to branding, storytelling, AI, and the future of restaurant marketing, this conversation dives into why communications is no longer optional for restaurants and hospitality businesses.

Joshua explains the difference between marketing and communications, why authenticity outperforms perfection, and how every customer interaction, from your website and social media to your menu, music, and dining experience, shapes your brand.

If you're a restaurant owner, hospitality leader, marketer, or entrepreneur looking to strengthen your brand and build lasting customer trust, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply today.

What does it take to walk away from a successful corporate career and risk everything to build your dream?

This week on The Late Night Restaurant Podcast, Jay Ashton and Domenic Pedulla sit down with Brandon McCraney, Owner and Master Blender of Old Raleigh Distillery in North Carolina.

Brandon shares the incredible story behind launching a distillery during the height of COVID, surviving construction setbacks, nearly losing everything, and building an award-winning whiskey brand through grit, creativity, and relentless determination.

The conversation explores entrepreneurship, hospitality, customer experience, government regulations, distillery operations, importing whiskey, and why telling your story matters as much as the product you create.

Whether you're a restaurateur, beverage professional, entrepreneur, or someone thinking about taking the leap into business ownership, this episode delivers honest lessons from someone who's lived every challenge.

Listen now and hear why persistence often becomes an entrepreneur's greatest asset. The Late Night Restaurant Podcast Brandon.