What does fresh citrus actually cost your restaurant? Beyond the price of lemons and limes, you’re paying for prep labour, waste, spoilage and inconsistent juice yields.

Zack Lister, Calgary entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Bodega Brands, joins us to discuss citrus sourcing, cocktail mixers and the hidden costs facing Canadian foodservice operators.

Zack founded Well Juicery in 2014, taking it from his home kitchen to thousands of retail locations across Canada. Today, he leads Bodega Brands, developing beverage brands and helping partners bring products to market across North America.

Its flagship brand, Drink Arté, works with producers in Mexico to supply premium juices and cocktail mixers to Canada’s hospitality industry.

In this episode, we explore the citrus supply chain from Mexico to Canada, Mexico’s influence on cocktail culture, and the operational tradeoffs between fresh squeezing and prepared juices. Zack also shares lessons from building and scaling beverage businesses.

If you own a restaurant, manage a bar or oversee food and beverage purchasing, this conversation offers a closer look at your citrus costs, prep time and margins.

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Every unanswered restaurant call puts a reservation, private event, takeout order, or future guest at risk.

Jay and Dom sit down with Randall and Vanessa from Hostie to explore how AI is changing restaurant communication while protecting the human side of hospitality.

Hostie answers calls and texts, books reservations, handles guest questions, supports multiple languages, and gives restaurant teams more time to serve the guests in front of them.

The numbers make missed calls hard to ignore. One restaurant receives 40 per cent of its calls outside business hours. Cactus Club Cafe recorded more than 100,000 calls across its locations in three days, with 60 per cent resolved by AI.

You’ll hear where restaurant AI is heading, how operators retain control of every guest interaction, and how Hostie gets a personalized virtual host running in about an hour.

If your phone keeps ringing while your team is in the weeds, this episode is worth hearing.