Jeff Zalaznick, co-founder of Major Food Group behind Carbone, ZZ's, and The Pool, explains how his lifelong obsession with food led him from a J.P. Morgan analyst job to building 77 restaurants (76 still profitable). He details the $40 million restoration of The Pool—the only interior landmark restaurant in America—and the counterintuitive decision to close lunch to make The Grill a dinner destination. Zalaznick articulates the company's thesis: take something everyone loves and make the best version ever done, exemplified by Carbone's 70-item menu and spicy rigatoni vodka. He describes finding partners Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi after being blown away by their food at Torrisi, and the story of Carbone's iconic neon sign, broken by the previous owner but retained. The episode covers their expansion into private members clubs (ZZ's) with subscription models and a culinary concierge, and their rapid Miami growth—opening Carbone on Collins in 100 days without moving a single wall, achieving over $30 million in annual revenue. Zalaznick also shares their move into hotels, branded residential towers, and even Carbone tomato sauce sold in thousands of stores.
Jeff Zalaznick is co-founder of Major Food Group, the hospitality company behind Carbone, ZZ's, Torrisi, The Grill, and The Pool. He has opened 77 restaurants and bars and 76 are still operating and profitable. He is now building Major Food Group into a fully vertically integrated hospitality company spanning restaurants, private members clubs, hotels, and branded residential towers. Zalaznick was obsessed with food from childhood, watching cooking shows on PBS while other kids watched cartoons and memorizing the Zagat guide. His first job out of college was as an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan, but he knew it wasn’t his dream. He walked out on his birthday, talked his way into any job at the newly opened Mandarin Oriental, built a restaurant website, and eventually partnered with restaurateur Joe Bastianich to get a front-row seat to the business. Watching Joe work, he realized: "I can do this, and I can do it my way." He quickly sold his companies, and set out to open his own restaurant. The idea was Carbone — elevated Italian-American food built on a simple thesis: take something everyone already loves and make the best version of it ever done. He found his partners, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, and opened Carbone in March of 2013. It’s now one of the most recognizable restaurant brands and sought-after reservations in the world. From there, they’d go on to launch Major Food Group, and the success has continued. Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/jeff-zalaznick Made possible by Ramp: https://ramp.com AppLovin: https://applovin.com Deel: https://deel.com/senra HubSpot: https://hubspot.com/startups David Senra Website: https://www.davidsenra.com X: https://x.com/davidsenra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidsenra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsenra Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/company/senrashow Threads: https://www.threads.com/@davidsenra Spotify: https://spti.fi/TVrr557 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4msoZtb Jeff Zalaznick Website: https://www.majorfood.com/about LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-food-group Chapters 00:00:00 Seventy-Seven Restaurants, Seventy-Six Still Winning 00:03:16 The First American Menu Written In English 00:04:41 JFK's Cream Of Asparagus 00:09:49 Fifty Years Of Smoke, Forty Million To Restore 00:13:32 One Text: "Four Seasons?" 00:16:17 Always Bet On Who Wants It Most 00:19:13 Kill Lunch To Own Dinner 00:24:00 The Only Thing That Matters Is If They Come Back 00:29:37 Going Viral Isn't The Same As Being Good 00:36:39 Watching Cooking Shows Instead Of Cartoons 00:41:47 The Men At The Top Were Miserable 00:43:21 Walking Into The Mandarin To Beg For Any Job 00:49:40 A Front-Row Seat To His Hero 00:53:06 Belief Comes Before Ability 00:55:35 Burning The Boats 00:57:31 Marry The Chef, Don't Hire Him 00:59:25 The Best Version Of Something You Already Love 01:03:56 The Hail Mary Call At Ten O'Clock 01:08:29 "A Piacere" — Whatever You Want 01:13:24 The Broken Neon Sign That Became An Icon 01:18:17 Go With Whatever Feels Natural 01:22:27 A Ten-Dollar Jar Of The Restaurant 01:24:15 Your Mediocrity Is My Opportunity 01:27:34 Netflix With A Restaurant 01:32:11 The Club Where The Food Comes First 01:37:07 Miami Was New Year's Eve Every Night 01:40:45 Carbone Miami In 100 Days 01:46:08 The Greatest Beach Club In America