About this episode
Kyle Inserra discusses restaurant real estate challenges with Shawn Walchef ahead of the 2026 National Restaurant Show.
In this episode, Kyle sits down with Shawn Walchef , founder of Cali BBQ and Cali BBQ Media to preview the 2026 National Restaurant Show and call out the conversation nobody's having: restaurant real estate. Shawn runs a 220-seat barbecue restaurant where off-premise revenue now exceeds dine-in. The show floor he's preparing to walk has 70,000 people and barely any conversation about leases, occupancy, or the squeeze choking first-time operators. Kyle gets blunt about the post-COVID lease problem and walks through the exact conversation operators should be having with their landlord before the doors close. Connect with Shawn: LinkedIn: Shawn P. Walchef | calibbqmedia.com Free tool : Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/ Services: Lease Review: https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/lease-review LOI Review : https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/presigning-site-loilease-review What you'll get: How to use AI to plan a 70,000-person show floor before you land Why drone delivery is operational, not aspirational What off-premise revenue exceeding dine-in means for site selection How to clean your data before stacking AI on…
People in this episode
Host: Kyle Inserra
Guest: Shawn Walchef
Topics covered
- restaurant real estate
- off-premise revenue
- lease negotiation
- post-COVID challenges
- AI in planning
- drone delivery
Keywords
- restaurant real estate
- off-premise revenue
- lease negotiation
- AI planning
- drone delivery
- COVID impact
- site selection
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cali BBQ, Cali BBQ Media, Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator, 10 Rep
Places: 2026 National Restaurant Show
More episodes of Closed Monday
- What Should You Actually Negotiate in a Restaurant Lease? (It's Not the Rent) · May 26, 2026 · 17 min
- The Quiet Way Restaurants Overpay for Space · April 30, 2026 · 18 min
- Robots Are Killing Corner Locations · April 8, 2026 · 9 min
- How Tech Is Reshaping Franchise Site Selection · March 26, 2026 · 41 min
- The Blind Spot In Franchise Due Diligence · March 5, 2026 · 19 min
- You Snooze, You Lose... · February 5, 2026 · 16 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Closed Monday podcast page.