Lawrence Longo has turned a handful of beloved, almost-lost restaurant concepts into a growing hospitality company. As CEO of Best Buddy Hospitality, he brought Prince Street Pizza west from New York and helped resurrect the long-shuttered Irv's Burgers, a Los Angeles institution dating back to 1946. Lawrence Longo sat down with Sean Kelly on the Digital Social Hour to talk about what it takes to build a food brand people actually line up for.
From the instincts that led him into the restaurant business to his read on which American cities are becoming food destinations, the conversation covers both the practical and personal sides of running a hospitality company.
About Lawrence Longo
Lawrence Longo is the founder and CEO of Best Buddy Hospitality, the company behind Prince Street Pizza's westward expansion, the revival of Irv's Burgers, Bar Next Door, and Sparky's Sports Bar. He is also the founder of Off The Menu, an experiential food platform behind pop-up events and festivals such as Tenderfest and Wingfest.
Longo partnered with original Irv's Burgers owner Sonia Hong to reopen the West Hollywood stand after it had sat closed for years, and has since grown Prince Street Pizza into multiple markets across the country. His approach centers on pairing quality ingredients with genuine hospitality, treating fast food as a premium experience rather than an afterthought.
What Lawrence Longo and Sean Kelly Talked About
- How Prince Street Pizza expanded from a single New York shop into a multi-city brand
- The story behind reviving Irv's Burgers, a Los Angeles institution since 1946
- What makes a restaurant concept worth scaling versus keeping small
- Building Off The Menu into a platform for food festivals and pop-up events
- Lessons on hospitality, consistency, and treating fast food as a premium experience
- Which American cities are emerging as the country's best food destinations
- The realities of running multiple restaurant brands under one company
Why This Conversation Matters
Food entrepreneurship is often romanticized and rarely explained, which is what makes Lawrence Longo's conversation with Sean Kelly worth hearing. His track record turning overlooked concepts like Irv's Burgers into thriving, multi-location brands offers a real playbook for anyone thinking about building in hospitality.
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube
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About Sean Kelly & the Digital Social Hour
Sean Kelly is an entrepreneur and the host of the Digital Social Hour, one of the fastest-growing interview podcasts in the world, where he sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and cultural voices for candid, long-form conversations. The show draws over 100 million views a month across platforms. Explore more guest features on SeanKelly.io.
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