{"podcast":{"title":"\"Fine\" Dining","slug":"fine-dining-5768145","podcast_index_feed_id":5768145,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/432342/rss","website_url":"https://www.finediningpodcast.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/4/d/f/b/4dfb339f63440d2bd959afa2a1bf1c87/Spotify_Apple_Amazon_Podcast.png","author":"Michael Ornelas","episode_count":173,"summary":"Comedian Michael Ornelas dives deep into the stories behind your favorite chain restaurants like Domino's, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and Long John Silver's before determining if they are better or worse than Chili's: the most mediocre restaurant in America.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fine-dining-5768145"},"episode":{"title":"Zaxbys: Chicken Fingerz, The \"Sauce Boss,\" and The Letter \"Z\"","slug":"zaxbys-chicken-fingerz-the-sauce-boss-and-the-letter-z","published_at":"2026-04-15T07:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fine-dining-5768145/zaxbys-chicken-fingerz-the-sauce-boss-and-the-letter-z","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fine-dining-5768145","url":"https://www.finediningpodcast.com/","audio_url":"https://pdcn.co/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/9369c4b7-1e7b-4d55-9b95-8001ab364097/AUDIO_S04E08_Zaxbys_Pt_1_FINAL.mp3?dest-id=3605298","summary":"πŸ—πŸ”₯ Zaxbys: Sauce Boss, $16K Beginnings, and the Cult of the Z πŸ”₯πŸ— Brought to you by the 2025 Septemburger Tournament bracket winner Craig Majors , this week, I'm joined by actress and improvisor Alex Stedman (@alex.paisley.stedman) to break down the history of Zaxbys . From a tiny college chicken joint called \"Zax\" to a 1,000+ location powerhouse, this is a story of an obsession with the letter Z that borders on ztupid. We dig into their rise, their ownership changes, and how this Southern favorite carved out its niche in the chicken wars. Also which is a better improv name: Tony Townley or Bernard Acoca? πŸ— Humble Beginnings: Just $16,000 and a Dream Called \"Zax\" πŸ“ˆ Rapid Growth to Over 1,000 Locations Nationwide πŸ’° Acquisition by Goldman Sachs (Now Do Me Next!) πŸ‘” New Leadership from a Former El Pollo Loco CEO πŸ“Ί \"Sauce Boss\" Ads That Don't Deliver on the Promised Vibe πŸ”€ A Brand Identity Built Almost Entirely Around the Letter Z 🚽 Alex's Dream Restaurant #1: Eat on a Toilet for Maximum Efficiency πŸ’˜ Alex's Dream Restaurant #2: A Dining Experience for Singles to Meet ⭐ Yelp from Strangers: Ken R. Decides His Wife Also Won't Be Returning πŸ’¬ COMMENT BELOW: Is the Zaxbys branding genius, or just a little too Zilly (I'm not proud of that...)? πŸ“’ SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY: πŸŽ‰ Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast πŸ’¬ Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4 πŸŽ₯ Watch full episodes: youtube.com/channel/UCLbraNhL6KhDPkdSWt2yiuw πŸ”— All links: linktree.com/finediningpodcast 🎀 Guest: Alex Stedman | IG: @alex.paisley.stedman Patreon Producers: Sue Ornelas & Joyce Van Patreon Subscribers: David Ornelas, Kellie Baldwin, Jeremy Horwitz, Herbert Amaya, Simone Davalos, Scott Bennett, Amy Reinhart, Josef Castaneda-Lil…","meta_description":"πŸ—πŸ”₯ Zaxbys: Sauce Boss, $16K Beginnings, and the Cult of the Z πŸ”₯πŸ— Brought to you by the 2025 Septemburger Tournament bracket winner Craig Majors , this wee…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2741,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fine-dining-5768145/episodes/zaxbys-chicken-fingerz-the-sauce-boss-and-the-letter-z/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fine-dining-5768145/zaxbys-chicken-fingerz-the-sauce-boss-and-the-letter-z.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}