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-reviewLOI 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 top of it
• The framework for renegotiating a lease that's no longer working
• Why landlords will take the call in 2026 — if you make it first

Email: kyle@10rep.co | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra | www.10rep.co

Kyle Inserra is a commercial real estate broker and founder of 10 Rep, a fractional director of real estate service for restaurant brands nationwide. Former chef and restaurateur with 20+ years across hospitality and CRE.

Chapters

:00:00 Cold open

01:00 Why Kyle is going to NRA this year

02:30 The scale of the show

04:30 Using AI to prep the show floor

06:30 Starbucks rolls out AI for baristas

08:00 Zipline drones — Rwanda to Dallas

10:00 The last-mile problem and the developer gap

12:00 Off-premise > in-store at Cali BBQ

13:30 Shawn's NRA schedule and Rising Tide meetup

17:00 Why real estate is missing from NRA

17:30 The post-COVID lease squeeze

18:30 How to approach your landlord

23:00 Clean data before stack

24:30 Wrap