Naked Farmer is a fast casual restaurant chain that launched in Florida about six years ago with a plan to offer good meals with ingredients sourced from local farms. CEO and founder Jordan Johnson explains how the company builds direct relationships with Southeast farmers, plans seasonal menus nine to 12 months in advance, and applies fine dining culinary techniques in a fast casual setting. Johnson also discusses the company's origin story, including pivoting to a digital farmer's market during the pandemic, the challenges of entering new markets like Nashville and Charlotte, what makes an ideal restaurant location, and upcoming spring menu items like crispy sesame tofu and cucumber ranch salad. Now with 10 locations across Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, Johnson shares his vision for scaling regionally while keeping the mission of fixing the food supply system at the center of the brand.

James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL.

James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show

Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com

YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/

Read more retail research here: http://www.us.jll.com/retail

Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Mike Bennett was an unemployed artist in Portland, Oregon when he created a public art project that captured the imagination of the city during the pandemic. He then created art popups in increasingly large retail spaces, then Wonderwood Indoor Mini Golf & Cafe, and then The Portland Aquarium, an indoor cartoon aquarium. Bennett and his business partner Teddy Albertson discuss these spaces, their plans for their new Zooquarium brand, and how they're turning vacant retail spaces into community-driven immersive destinations that are getting national attention.

James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show

Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com

YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/

Read more retail research here: http://www.us.jll.com/retail

Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Sam Wang is Co-Founder and CEO of Mirra Immersive LLC, the creator of Mirra Arena, a competitive social VR arena that combines multiplayer active gameplay with large-format LED spectator displays. Wang explains how he and his partner conceived the concept during the pandemic and built a proprietary system where up to eight players compete in VR while friends watch the action on a massive screen in real time. He covers the company's flagship venue in Bellevue, Washington, its expansion through licensing deals in China, and the challenge of making location-based entertainment profitable. Wang also discusses the role of AI in personalizing the game experience and how his background in film, including work on Jackie Chan movies and the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, shaped his approach to creating cinematic, accessible games for a broad audience.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show

Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com

YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/

Read more retail research here: http://www.us.jll.com/retail

Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.