New York's Rebel Anti-Caterer, From Stoner Food to Vagina Monologues

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New York's Rebel Anti-Caterer, From Stoner Food to Vagina Monologues

Chef Rossi, of the renowned Raging Skillet, is a master storyteller, and this episode doesn't disappoint. She is not your ordinary chef. She credits her success to everything from "kishka and grits" to marijuana munchies to the Hasidim in Crown Heights to foul-mouthed bar tending. Her stories are phenomenal, worthy of a Moth competition. Oh, and don't take my word for it: her cookbook (!)/memoir is being turned into a play and screenplay!

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A Crash Course on Taking on Centuries-Old Brands... and Succeeding

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A Crash Course on Taking on Centuries-Old Brands... and Succeeding

When you are getting 90+ ratings and Gold Awards, when Forbes is saying your flagship artisan spirits product is "far superior" to that of your counterparts, waxing poetic and promising "trust me when I say you will love this rum," it would make sense that you would charge an arm and a leg for such a product, right? Wrong. Conventional wisdom doesn't help you compete against the billion dollar big boys.

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You've Found The Best Space for Your Restaurant, So You Call Up Your Lawyer...

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You've Found The Best Space for Your Restaurant, So You Call Up Your Lawyer...

Before plunking down a binder on a restaurant, you need to know so much more than the cost of rent. This is a complex startup operation, even if you're opening a tiny "hole-in-the-wall." When checking out different places with your realtor, have you gotten a copy of a sample lease?  Do you know the terms of the lease? How long will you have the space for?  Understand that it often takes time to become an "overnight success."  You don't want a landlord wielding too much leverage just when you get goin'.

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