Mar 27, 2026

Phil Colicchio is co-founder of Central Perk Coffee Company and head of Colicchio Consulting. Phil shares the origin story of how a pitch meeting at Warner Bros. about a sandwich concept unexpectedly led to a license for the globally iconic Central Perk brand from the hit TV show Friends. He discusses the challenges of...

Mar 24, 2026

Paul Sill uses data and predictive analytics to help retailers, restaurants, and other brick-and-mortar businesses make site selection decisions. Paul explains the critical difference between correlation and causation in retail data, explaining that misreading data can lead to costly mistakes. He also discusses how new...

Mar 20, 2026

Walter Wahlfeldt is Midwest Retail Lead at JLL. He discusses the state of retail real estate in Chicago, from the recovery of the central business district to the evolving Magnificent Mile. He covers return-to-office trends, shifting retail rents, the grocery wars heating up in the market, and what makes Chicago a...

Mar 13, 2026

Uli Stosch is Chief Officer of Strategic Development at Planet Aid, Inc., a nonprofit organization that collects and resells used clothing and textiles through nearly 10,000 donation bins across 15 states. Uli explains Planet Aid's mission to divert textiles from landfills, support reuse over recycling, and fund...

Mar 6, 2026

Taeyun Kim is Chief Development Officer at CJ Foodville US, the parent company of Tous les Jours, a French-Asian bakery cafe chain with over 180 locations across 31 states. Taeyun discusses the company's ambitious expansion plans to reach 1,000 stores by 2030, explaining the brand's unique positioning as a neighborhood...