Summary:

In this episode we sit down with 2 of the coolest dudes we’ve ever met, Zach Weprin and Stephan Harman, to talk about their journey (along with Zach’s brother, Josh) to create the restaurant chain Fusian. Fusian is now at 9 locations and growing across Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. We cover everything from the childhood of Zach, Josh, and Stephan, to the ups and downs they’ve experienced getting Fusian to where it is today. This is one of the funnest episodes we’ve done yet, so we hope you enjoy it!

Episode Milemarkers:

00:00 – Intro
02:30 – The ‘typical” day
04:40 – Mission Coffee plug
05:25 – The heat of the battle with 9 locations and growing
07:25 – No one can copy our culture
09:45 – Competition just makes us stronger
10:45 – How it all started, and Josh’s pooper scooping business
14:40 – The 1st store, the only Fusian investor ever, all the trouble Zach, Stephan, and Josh caused as kids, capturing Stephan’s creativity
17:00 – The business of Mr. Weprin (Zach and Josh’s dad)
18:15 – Taking it from idea to actuality
20:30 – We couldn’t figure out how to make the rice, so we almost went out to business in the first week
22:30 – We stole Nick from Traverse City, Michigan and never let him go back
22:45 – Some of our mentors along the way
27:25 – The first name: SOHO Sushi, and how Fusian evolved into Fusian
35:30 – Sourcing fresh, high-quality product
40:00 – The experience is everything, and eating is emotional
43:30 – Learning from our mistakes as we grow
44:40 – Getting feedback from the customers

Links:

fusian.com
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