Concessions is a whole different beast. It's not a restaurant, it's a very raw form of hospitality where you've got 30 to 40 seconds to make an impact on a customer you'll probably never see again.

In this episode of Pillar Mindset, Bob and John break down what it's really like running concessions at UTRGV football games, combining two national franchise brands (Dairy Queen and Schlotzsky's) under one stand, serving 13,000 fans in 4 hours, and why thin margins don't matter when the real goal is building core memories with the community.

Plus: the surprising Starbucks-in-Japan story about investing a decade into a community before it ever pays off, the problems that come with serving alcohol outside your core business, why queue lines are a love-hate relationship, building a positioning chart from scratch, and the moment that made all the hard work worth it: 2 Tootsie Rolls traded for a tray of Dilly Bars.

#PillarMindset #Concessions #DairyQueen #Schlotzskys #UTRGV #CommunityInvestment #RestaurantIndustry #Hospitality #FoodAndPeople #FMPGroup #BobLozano #JohnZertuche #RestaurantBusiness #TeamCulture

CHAPTERS 0:00 - Intro 0:22 - Welcome Back & Today's Topic: Concessions 0:56 - Football Season Kickoff & UTRGV Vibes 1:10 - What Surprised You Most About Running Concessions? 2:21 - Vaqueros Win 44-0 & Suite Hospitality Shoutout 3:41 - Concessions vs. Restaurants: A Different Beast 4:19 - 13,000 People in 4 Hours 4:30 - Running 2 Franchise Brands in One Concession Stand 5:41 - DQ Ice Cream + Schlotzsky's Food: How It Works 6:05 - Thin Margins & Why They Still Do It 7:00 - The Dilly Bar & Tootsie Roll Story 8:04 - F&P Brands Under One Roof 8:18 - Investing in Community Over Profit 9:10 - Building Core Memories with Fans 10:26 - Bob's Own DQ Core Memory 11:01 - The Long-Term ROI of Community Investment 12:05 - Effort as a Superpower 12:39 - What the Team Gets Back 13:02 - The Starbucks Japan Story 14:17 - Not Showing Up Empty-Handed & F&P's Long-Term Mission 15:26 - Problems They Ran Into: Serving Alcohol 17:34 - Draft Beer, Queue Lines & Operational Fixes 19:11 - Building a Positioning Chart from Scratch 20:08 - The Rush: Why They Keep Doing It 20:39 - Team Shoutouts & Leadership Recognition 21:20 - Team Camaraderie vs. Team Breakdown 22:07 - Final Thoughts: Ego, Community & Feedback 24:43 - What's Next: UTSA Game 25:20 - Outro

Welcome to Pillar Mindset, where we share real strategies, real data, and honest conversations that help restaurant operators and business owners build better companies.

About Bob Lozano: Bob runs F&P Group: 40+ restaurant locations, digital marketing, and real estate across Texas. He's built teams, scaled brands, and helped operators go from chaos to systems. Pillar Mindset breaks down what actually works in multi-unit operations, franchise growth, and building sustainable businesses in the restaurant industry.

About John Zertuche: VP of AI at F&P Group. Background in game design and software. Now leads AI implementation across the company.