In this episode, we sit down with Xavi Padrosa, co-founder and CEO of Teleferique Barcelona. A rapidly growing Spanish restaurant group with locations across Spain, California and Arizona. Known for authentic tapas, pinchos, paella and a hospitality experience designed to transport guests straight to Barcelona.

Before building Teleferique Barcelona, Xavi came to the United States as a teenager to pursue tennis, eventually staying in California for college after realizing a professional tennis career wasn’t in the cards. While his parents had already built a beloved restaurant in Barcelona, Xavi and his sister saw an opportunity to bring the concept to the U.S.

What started as a small 30 to 40 seat restaurant outside Barcelona turned into something much bigger after a real estate developer discovered Teleferique on his honeymoon and invited them to open in Walnut Creek, California. Despite having little restaurant experience, limited resources and no clear roadmap for U.S. expansion, Xavi and his family took the leap.

Today, Teleferique Barcelona has grown to 11 locations across multiple states with several restaurants generating millions in annual sales all while staying focused on authentic hospitality and Spanish culture.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Moving to the U.S. as a teenager to pursue tennis
• Taking over and modernizing the family restaurant business
• Opening the first Teleferique Barcelona location in Spain
• The unexpected honeymoon story that sparked U.S. expansion
• Raising money and opening the first U.S. location in Walnut Creek
• Adapting authentic Spanish cuisine for the American market
• Why many European restaurant concepts fail in the U.S.
• Scaling from one restaurant to 11 locations
• Managing rapid restaurant growth without private equity
• Why Xavi prioritizes balance over hyper growth
• How Ironman training changed his mindset as an entrepreneur

Whether you’re building a restaurant or scaling a hospitality brand, this episode is packed with practical lessons on adaptation, leadership and building something that lasts.

Resources & Links
Xavi Padrosa Email: xavi@telefericbarcelona.com
Telefèric Barcelona Website: https://www.telefericbarcelona.com/

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Andy Gottlieb is the founder of Sandwell. A New York City sandwich brand focused on serving healthy-ish sandwiches made with high quality proteins, fresh baked bread and simple ingredients. What started as a search for a sandwich he wanted to eat every day has grown into a restaurant brand serving hundreds of customers daily across multiple locations.

Before launching Sandwell and after studying finance preparing for a career in banking, Andy walked away from the industry to attend culinary school and pursue a career in restaurants. Over the next two decades Andy worked as a chef, helped build restaurant groups, managed hospitality real estate projects and eventually became CFO of a New York hospitality group.

From working under a former White House chef and recovering from life altering foot surgeries, to helping open restaurants across Washington D.C. and New York City, Andy shares the experiences that shaped his approach to hospitality. He discusses the realities of opening Sandwell, the lessons learned from growing the business and why creating a great customer experience matters just as much as creating great food.

Today, Sandwell serves hundreds of sandwiches per day across multiple New York City locations. Andy is building a restaurant brand designed to scale while staying true to the values that made it successful in the first place.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Why Andy walked away from a career in finance to attend culinary school
• Working under a former White House chef
• The foot injuries that unexpectedly changed his path
• Building restaurants, managing hospitality projects and becoming a restaurant CFO
• The inspiration behind launching Sandwell
• How Sandwell found its niche in the crowded sandwich market
• The economics of opening and operating a restaurant business
• Why hospitality matters as much as the food itself
• Growing from one location to multiple locations in New York City
• Using AI to improve marketing, operations and customer acquisition
• Building a sustainable restaurant brand without relying on viral moments

Resources & Links
Sandwell Website: https://www.getsandwell.com/
Sandwell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getsandwell/

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Liam Hyde is the founder of Clubhouse Golf. A premium indoor golf simulator concept in New York City that officially opened in April 2026. Designed as a 24/7, self-service golf experience, Clubhouse Golf is rethinking what indoor golf can look like.

Before launching Clubhouse Golf, Liam spent years working in tech sales at companies like Salesforce and MuleSoft. While building a successful career in software, he always knew he wanted to create something of his own. After noticing major gaps in New York City’s indoor golf scene and becoming frustrated with the lack of accessible options, Liam decided to leave the corporate world and bet on himself.

From touring nearly 50 spaces across New York City and negotiating leases as a first-time operator, to personally spackling walls at 2am and helping build out the entire space himself, Liam shares the realities of launching a new business. He navigated permitting delays, HVAC negotiations, construction setbacks and the challenge of bootstrapping a $250K–$300K buildout with limited outside investment.

With a private atmosphere, 24-hour access and a neighborhood focused membership model, Clubhouse Golf is building a new kind of golf experience while laying the foundation for expansion across New York and beyond.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Why Liam left Salesforce and MuleSoft to start Clubhouse Golf
• The inspiration behind launching Clubhouse Golf
• Touring nearly 50 locations to find the right space
• Negotiating leases and convincing landlords as a first-time founder
• HVAC setbacks, permitting delays and construction challenges
• Bootstrapping a $250K–$300K buildout with limited outside funding
• How Clubhouse Golf’s 24/7 self-service business model works
• Using AI to build custom software and improve operations
• The zero-interest lending resource that helped fund the business
• Lessons learned from launching a physical business for the first time

Resources & Links
Clubhouse Golf NYC Website: https://www.clubhousegolf.nyc/
Clubhouse Golf NYC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clubhousegolf.nyc/
Hebrew Free Loan Society Website: https://hfls.org/

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

In this episode, we sit down with Michelle Larivee, co-founder and CEO of WTHN. An acupuncture and wellness brand with multiple locations across New York City focused on making Eastern medicine more accessible through acupuncture, herbal therapy and holistic wellness products.

Before building WTHN, Michelle spent more than a decade in investment banking, finance and healthcare consulting at firms like Merrill Lynch, Deloitte and IFC. Michelle developed a deep understanding of America’s broken healthcare system. It wasn’t until a devastating ski accident left her dealing with chronic pain that everything changed.

After trying nearly every treatment available, Michelle discovered acupuncture and Chinese medicine. What started as a way to heal from pain quickly became something much bigger as she experienced improvements in sleep, stress, fertility and overall health. Frustrated by how difficult and expensive it was to access high quality acupuncture, Michelle saw an opportunity to build a more modern, accessible wellness experience.

Today, WTHN has grown into a multi-location wellness brand across New York with plans for national expansion. Within is helping bring acupuncture and preventative care into the mainstream.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Leaving a successful career in finance and consulting to become a founder
• How a ski accident inspired the creation of WTHN
• Michelle’s personal experience with acupuncture and chronic pain recovery
• Why Eastern medicine is becoming more mainstream
• Raising venture funding for a wellness business
• Building WTHN’s first location in Flatiron
• Navigating COVID shortly after launching the business
• How WTHN educates first-time acupuncture patients
• The rise of preventative care, longevity and holistic wellness
• Scaling a multi-location wellness brand in New York City
• What Michelle has learned about building a consumer healthcare brand

Whether you’re building a wellness business or curious about the future of preventative healthcare, this episode is for you.

Resources & Links
WTHN Website: https://wthn.com/
WTHN Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wthn/?hl=en

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Rick Rosenfield is the co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen. The restaurant brand that helped pioneer California style pizza and introduced the world to the iconic barbecue chicken pizza.

Before launching California Pizza Kitchen, Rick spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney alongside his law partner Larry Flax. Although both had successful legal careers, they shared a passion for food and entrepreneurship. At the age of 40, they left the practice of law behind to pursue an idea. At that time they had no name, no menu and no chef.

From personally guaranteeing their first lease and borrowing $250,000 to open the restaurant, to raising additional capital from friends and family before serving a single customer, Rick shares the story behind California Pizza Kitchen's early days. He discusses how barbecue chicken pizza became an overnight sensation, the mentors who encouraged them to take the leap, the challenges of scaling from one restaurant to 25 locations in just seven years and the lessons learned from partnering with PepsiCo during one of the restaurant industry's biggest acquisitions.

Today, California Pizza Kitchen remains one of the most influential restaurant brands of the last four decades. Through his new memoir, Rick reflects on the entrepreneurial journey, leadership principles and culture that turned a bold idea into a global restaurant company.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Leaving a successful legal career at age 40 to start California Pizza Kitchen
• How the idea for California Pizza Kitchen was born
• Building a business with no menu, no chef and no restaurant experience
• Raising capital from friends, family and early investors
• Creating the legendary barbecue chicken pizza
• Opening the first California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills
• Scaling from one restaurant to 25 locations in seven years
• Building a culture centered around Respect, Opportunity, Communication and Kindness (ROCK)
• Growing through shopping centers and national expansion
• Partnering with PepsiCo and the $100 million acquisition
• The challenges of rapid growth and maintaining company culture

Resources & Links
Rick’s Website: https://www.rickrosenfield.com/
Rick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-rosenfield-9185933a9

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

David Liu is the founder of Kinjo, a 14 seat omakase counter and cocktail lounge in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Before launching Kinjo, David spent more than two decades building one of the internet’s most recognizable consumer brands as the co-founder and former CEO of The Knot. The wedding planning platform that helped shape the modern wedding industry. After taking the company public and eventually selling it, David found himself buying oyster farms in the Pacific Northwest and unexpectedly entering the restaurant business.

What started as a search for something more “analog” led David to oyster farming, investing in hospitality and eventually co-founding Kinjo, an affordable omakase concept designed to bring high-quality sushi experiences to local communities.

Today, David and his team are working to scale Kinjo beyond New York with plans to expand into cities across the country while using food as a way to build connection, community and cultural understanding.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Building The Knot from the early days of the internet to a public company
• Why David walked away from tech after 20 years
• Buying and operating one of the country’s largest oyster farms
• The surprising economics behind omakase restaurants
• Why David believes sushi can scale across America
• Building Kinjo and expanding into multiple cities
• Using hospitality and food to bridge cultural divides
• Lessons from working alongside his wife for decades

Resources & Links
Kinjo Website: https://www.kinjodumbo.com/
David Liu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davdliu

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Franco Noriega is the founder of Fellini Coffee, one of New York City’s most popular coffee brands, with more than six locations opened in under three years. Before launching Fellini, Franco had an unconventional career path that included competing as a professional swimmer, qualifying for the Olympics, modeling for brands like Dolce & Gabbana, studying acting in New York and opening restaurants across the city.

After years in the restaurant industry building Baby Brasa, Franco discovered an overlooked corner space that had been used as a trash room for decades. That tiny 15 square foot space eventually became the first Fellini Coffee location in the West Village.

What started as a small luxury coffee window quickly turned into one of the city’s most recognizable and fastest-growing coffee brands. Today, Fellini has expanded across Manhattan with locations in Soho, Chelsea, Meatpacking, the Upper West Side and Upper East Side with even more growth planned.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Qualifying for the Olympics as a teenager
• Going from professional swimming to modeling and acting
• Becoming the face of Dolce & Gabbana with no modeling experience
• Opening Baby Brasa and nearly going bankrupt
• How the pandemic unexpectedly transformed the business
• Turning a former trash room into the first Fellini Coffee
• Building a luxury coffee brand in one of the most competitive markets in the world
• Scaling Fellini to multiple NYC locations without investors
• Using AI to streamline operations and growth

Resources & Links
Franco Noriega Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franconorhal/
Fellini Coffee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fellinicoffee/

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Dave Thibodeau is the founder of Ska Brewing, one of the early pioneers of the American craft beer movement. He started brewing beer in high school after discovering his dad’s old homebrewing logbook, which eventually led to launching Ska Brewing in the mid-90s.

Over the next 30 years, Dave and his partners grew the company from a small warehouse operation into a regional craft brewery producing tens of thousands of barrels annually and generating millions in revenue.

Along the way, they built their own manufacturing facility, launched a distribution company, opened a taproom and restaurant and experimented with new concepts. Including a brewstillery that famously opened and shut down the same day COVID hit.

Today, after decades of building the business, Dave has sold Ska Brewing and continues to help lead the company through its next chapter.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Starting a brewery from a homebrewing hobby
• Scaling from 78 barrels to 30,000 barrels per year
• The realities of distribution and shrinking margins
• Opening a brewstillery and shutting down in 71 minutes
• How COVID impacted the craft beer and hospitality industry
• Managing multiple revenue streams in one business
• Why Dave decided to sell after 30 years

Dave also shares the lessons he’s learned building a company over three decades, the biggest mistakes he made with contracts and scaling and why running a brewery is far more complex than most people think.

Resources & Links

Dave Thibodeau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skabrewdave/

Dave Thibodeau: Dave@skabrewing.com/

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/