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Menu TalkAuthor: Restaurant Business Online
Menu Talk, formally Menu Feed, is a podcast hosted by Pat Cobe of Restaurant Business and Bret Thorn with Nations Restaurant News. We are veteran reporters on the menu beat and eager to bring you inspiring conversations about whats happening in restaurant kitchens, including weekly interviews with chefs, operators and food professionals. Language: en-us Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group blends front- and back-of-house expertise to deliver what today's diners want
Tuesday, 6 January, 2026
To earn her own way through theater school in Philadelphia, Tai Ricci bussed tables at one of Stephen Starr’s restaurants. With her naturally outgoing personality and drive, she moved up the ranks to become a high-earning server and realized the restaurant business was her true calling.That calling took her to LA and eventually San Francisco, landing at one of Michael Mina’s restaurants and meeting up with Ryan Cole and Chef Jason Halverson. Over lunch one day, the three came up with a plan to open their first restaurant. Twelve years later, the partners lead Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group in the San Francisco area and operate five diverse independent restaurants that have become neighborhood favorites.Ricci oversees events and people operations for the group, developing a vibrant team culture that fosters growth and creates a workplace where the next generation of hospitality professionals can thrive. But she also has a keen sense of what diners are seeking in restaurants today, and the group’s concepts including Trestle, MAMA Oakland and The Vault Steakhouse deliver on that with their menus, ambience and service.Listen as Ricci shares how her love for hospitality has shaped Hi Neighbor’s restaurants into dining destinations admired by guests and team members alike.
