The Build Season 3 with El Camaron Peludo: Square x TILIT

The Build, Season 3

If you’re a restaurant owner, odds are you’re always thinking about what’s next. Because building something meaningful is only the beginning. This season, we’re following the team behind Taqueria Ramirez as they scale their restaurant group with the opening of El Camarón Peludo in New York’s West Village. The wins and the setbacks. The plans and the pivots no one saw coming. It’s all here on The Build.

Episodes

Episode 1

Restaurant 201: From Taqueria to Restaurant Group

Who’s on

Jenny Goodman, Host

Jenny is the CEO of TILIT, a fashion-forward workwear brand built for the restaurant and hospitality industry. Prior to founding TILIT, Jenny was a restaurant owner.

Alex McCrery, Host

Alex is co-owner and chief creative officer at TILIT. He is a former chef and restaurant owner turned apparel entrepreneur serving the hospitality industry.

Giovanni Cervantes, Star

Giovanni is the co-founder of Taqueria Ramirez, the group behind Carnitas Ramirez, Socceria, and El Camarón Peludo. A James Beard Award finalist, he's now leading its most ambitious project yet.

Tania Apolinar, Star

Tania is the co-founder of the Taqueria Ramirez group, home to some of New York's most celebrated taco spots. A photographer by trade, she pivoted to restaurants during the pandemic.

Carlos Barrera, Star

Chef Carlos is a Mexico City–born chef leading the kitchen at El Camarón Peludo, the group's new Mexican seafood bar.

Thomas McNaughton, Guest

Thomas McNaughton is the founding partner, co-chef and CEO of Flour + Water Hospitality Group. A New Jersey native, McNaughton graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York before relocating to the Bay Area where he expanded his repertoire at La Folie, Gary Danko and Quince.

Ryan Pollnow, Guest

Ryan Pollnow is the co-chef of Flour + Water Hospitality Group, a culture-driven San Francisco-based company. Pollnow and co-chef Thomas McNaughton’s restaurants showcase regional Italian traditions and Northern California influences with hand-crafted pasta and pizza at the center.

Jimmie Johnson, Guest

Jimmie Johnson is not only one of the greatest racecar drivers of the modern era - but he is also one of the most accomplished professional athletes in sports. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Johnson remains the only racecar driver in history to be named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (2009).

Chintan Pandya, Guest

Chintan Pandya is the Mumbai-born chef behind New York's Dhamaka, Adda, and Rowdy Rooster restaurants, and is the first Indian chef to win a James Beard Award. His mission is to expand what Indian food means in America.

Roni Mazer, Guest

Roni Mazumdar is the restaurateur behind Unapologetic Foods, the group whose New York restaurants include Dhamaka, Semma, Adda, and Rowdy Rooster. Alongside chef Chintan Pandya, he has built a business on serving lesser-known regional Indian cooking without compromise.

Kristen Hawley, Guest

Kristen Hawley is a freelance journalist and the founder of Expedite, a newsletter about restaurant technology and the future of hospitality. Her recent work has appeared in Fast Company, Food & Wine, and Caper. She lives in San Francisco.

James Schonzeit, Guest

James Schonzeit is Head of Food & Beverage at Square, where he leads efforts to build technology that helps restaurants run and grow. He works closely with restaurant operators to help more restaurants—and the people behind them—thrive.

Lauren Fernandez, Guest

Lauren is the CEO and Founder of Full Course, a restaurant development and investment firm that incubates and accelerates emerging food and restaurant brands. She also serves as Managing Partner of the Full Course Funds, supporting expansion through early-stage investment and hands-on operational guidance.

Missy Robbins, Guest

Missy Robbins is a James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, author, and cofounder of Grovehouse Hospitality, the company behind the Brooklyn restaurants Lilia and Misi, as well as Misipasta, the company’s pasta and specialty retail brand.

Play Episodes

Episode 1 — 44 min

Restaurant 201: From Taqueria to Restaurant Group

Taqueria Ramirez became one of New York’s hottest restaurants by doing one thing exceptionally well. Now Giovanni and Tania are betting that what got them here can turn them into a restaurant empire.

LISTEN NOW

From 2 restaurants to 4: The Expansion Map

Episode 2

From 2 restaurants to 4: The Expansion Map

Every opportunity in the hospitality industry looks good until you have to choose. Giovanni and Tania break down the framework behind the Taqueria Ramirez expansion map and what it actually costs to say yes.

Episode 3

Meet El Camarón Peludo

A seafood wine bar with a name that makes you look twice? Count us in. El Camarón Peludo is its own thing, and the Taqueria Ramirez team is learning exactly how much a new concept can borrow from the brand that built it.

A New Chef Partnership Brings New Opportunities

Episode 4

A New Chef Partnership Brings New Opportunities

Bringing in Chef Carlos is inviting him into the center of the Ramirez group’s decision-making table. This episode is about what happens when you bring in a partner and have to figure out where the lines are, and where the goodness begins.

Scaling Restaurants: The Tech That Actually Helps

Episode 5

Scaling Restaurants: The Tech That Actually Helps

Seafood, natural wine, and small bites look great on a mood board. But food waste, station load, and margins are the real test. The Taqueria Ramirez team is finding out which dishes hold up when the restaurant is actually open.

Episode 6

Funding the Next Restaurant

Construction and permits always move slower than you’d think. The Ramirez team pulls back the curtain on the part of expansion nobody puts in the pitch deck.

Episode 7

You Can’t Clone the Founders

Giovanni and Tania built Taqueria Ramirez on instinct, relationships, and their own magnetic personalities. Now they need a team that can carry all of that into rooms they can’t be in. But can you really bottle up culture?

Episode 8

Ready or Not, It’s Opening Time

It’s opening week at El Camarón Peludo. The critics are her, and diners are showing up with high expectations. Behind the counter, the team is finding out if all the prepping and planning was worth it as they come head to head with service.

Episode 9

The Morning After Opening Night

The cameras are gone and this is the moment El Camarón Peludo becomes a real restaurant. Giovanni, Tania, and Chef Carlos take stock of what the data is actually showing, and what they’re changing up.

Episode 10

Bigger Without Losing the Magic

Watch an exclusive video episode of The Build, where the team answers the question that matters most: how do you build something bigger without losing what made people love you in the first place?

Welcome to The Build.

Listen Now

The Build, Season 3

Episodes

From 2 restaurants to 4: The Expansion Map

Meet El Camarón Peludo

Who’s on

Jenny Goodman, Host

Alex McCrery, Host

Giovanni Cervantes, Star

Tania Apolinar, Star

Carlos Barrera, Star

Thomas McNaughton, Guest

Ryan Pollnow, Guest

Jimmie Johnson, Guest

Chintan Pandya, Guest

Roni Mazer, Guest

Kristen Hawley, Guest

James Schonzeit, Guest

Lauren Fernandez, Guest

Missy Robbins, Guest

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Watch the trailer

Play Episodes

From 2 restaurants to 4: The Expansion Map

Meet El Camarón Peludo

A New Chef Partnership Brings New Opportunities

Scaling Restaurants: The Tech That Actually Helps

Funding the Next Restaurant

You Can’t Clone the Founders

Ready or Not, It’s Opening Time

The Morning After Opening Night

Bigger Without Losing the Magic

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