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Hear from two emerging operators on the challenges and triumphs of running restaurantsHear from two emerging operators on the challenges and triumphs of running restaurants

Mehdi Zarhloul, CEO and Founder of Crazy Pita, and Zandrique Harrold, director of operations for Milk & Honey, join the Extra Serving podcast this week

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

November 22, 2023

 

We’re coming at you a bit early this week with our episode of Extra Serving because of the holiday, but we didn’t want to leave you hanging. This week is a special episode because we’re bringing you two interviews with emerging restaurateurs. You’ll hear from Mehdi Zarhloul, CEO and founder of Crazy Pita, and Zandrique Harrold, director of operations for Milk & Honey.

These two emerging brand leaders were at CREATE: The Experience in Palm Springs, and since it’s chilly in many parts of the country this week, we thought we’d bring you an episode that harkens back to the warmth of Palm Springs.

Crazy Pita is a four-unit brand based in Las Vegas that specializes in fast-casual Mediterranean food. This emerging brand just opened in Texas and has plans for more stores.

Milk & Honey was a 2023 Hot Concept winner. It began as a single-unit café before garnering the attention of Warren Thompson of Thompson Hospitality Group — and the rest is history.

Check out these two emerging restaurateurs and we’ll be back next week for a regular episode.

 

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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