How to Build a Restaurant That Can Survive: Dan Simons of Founding Farmers
From FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution by Josh Kopel
June 9, 2026 · 42 min · Season 15 · Episode 200
About this episode
Dan Simons discusses the essential elements for building a sustainable restaurant business.
Dan Simons had the systems. He had the corporate restaurant training. He had the operational discipline. And his first independent restaurant still failed in 14 months. That failure became the foundation for Founding Farmers. In this episode, Dan breaks down the third question every operator has to answer: can this business actually survive? We talk about why good food, good service, and even good systems are not enough if the concept is misaligned with the market, the business is undercapitalized, or the ownership structure is built for short-term pressure instead of long-term durability. Dan explains how Founding Farmers was built around alignment between farmers, investors, employees, guests, and leadership, and why that alignment matters more than most operators realize. We also get into product-market fit, capital, team retention, sustainability, AI visibility, PR, and what it really takes to build a restaurant that is still here tomorrow. This is the episode for operators trying to make it through the early years and build something durable. To go deeper, download the free 2026 Restaurant Playbook at joshkopel.com/square…
People in this episode
Host: Josh Kopel
Guest: Dan Simons
Topics covered
- restaurant survival
- business alignment
- operational discipline
- product-market fit
- sustainability
- team retention
Keywords
- restaurant
- business survival
- operational discipline
- capital
- team retention
- sustainability
- AI visibility
Sponsors
Square
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Founding Farmers
More episodes of FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution
- Kim Alter: Control Is the Growth Strategy · June 12, 2026 · 34 min
- Peter Wright: Stop Chasing New Customers · June 5, 2026 · 35 min
- How to Build a Restaurant People Actually Want: Josh Halpern, Big Chicken & Craveworthy Brands · June 2, 2026 · 29 min
- No Classics, No Apologies: Jenn Saesue & Chat Suansilphong on the Identity-First Strategy That Built Their Empire · May 29, 2026 · 39 min
- How to Build a Restaurant People Can Remember: Scott Snyder, Badass Coffee of Hawaii · May 26, 2026 · 43 min
- Your Best-Selling Dishes Might Be Killing Your Restaurant: Amanda Maneesilasan on Letting Go to Level Up · May 22, 2026 · 39 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution podcast page.