The Hospitality Hangout
The Hospitality Hangout
Join Michael Schatzberg aka Schatzy (The Restaurant Guy) and Jimmy Frischling (The Finance Guy) on The Hospitality Hangout as they explore hospitality, food service, and investment trends while connecting with industry leaders. Each week, receive insider insights and funny stories that shape the hospitality landscape. They live at the intersection of hospitality, food service, technology, and investment, connecting the biggest players and boldest ideas shaping the industry.
Each week, they serve up funny, informative, and wildly entertaining conversations with the insiders who are leading a new era of hospitality. From emerging brands and breakthrough tech to industry trends and restaurant success stories, no topic is off the table.
It’s where the who’s who of hospitality hangs out – packed with expert insights, laugh-out-loud moments, and must-know trends that keep you ahead of the game.
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Oct. 22, 2026

The Foodfluencers: Gato Dates Went From Shabbat Dinner to Erewhon

The Foodfluencers: Gato Dates Went From Shabbat Dinner to Erewhon
The Foodfluencers: Gato Dates Went From Shabbat Dinner to Erewhon
The Hospitality Hangout
The Foodfluencers: Gato Dates Went From Shabbat Dinner to Erewhon

Gato Dates began with a Shabbat dinner dessert Tonya couldn’t stop requesting. Founders Gabriella “Gabi” Labi and Tonya Reznikovich join Hospitality Hangout’s The Foodfluencers to talk chocolate-covered dates, their path to Erewhon, creative collaborations and building a following without paid ads. Plus, the Snickers debate and their dream dessert collaborations.

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Tonya Reznikovich kept asking her friend Gabriella “Gabi” Labi for more of the chocolate-covered dates she made for Shabbat dinner. Eventually, asking for another batch turned into writing a business plan.

The founders of Gato Dates join Schatzy and Jimmy for The Foodfluencers, a Hospitality Hangout miniseries, to share how that homemade dessert became a brand built around Medjool dates, creamy nut butters and dark chocolate.

Gabi and Tonya trace their journey through Los Angeles farmers markets, collaborations with brands including Seed + Mill and Coconut Cult, and the samples that got Erewhon’s attention. They explain why taste comes first, how they found their earliest customers without paid advertising, and why getting people together in person still matters.

The conversation also gets into peanut butter dates versus Snickers, the staying power of Dubai chocolate, and their ambitions to bring Gato into more cafés, hotels and gifting occasions. Plus, a plan to win over Bethenny Frankel, a dream Goop Kitchen collaboration, and a little friendly disagreement over Instagram versus TikTok.

Episode Credits:

  • Produced by: Branded Hospitality Media
  • Hosted by: Michael Schatzberg, Jimmy Frischling
  • Producer: Julie Zucker
  • Creative Director: Adam Levine
  • Show Runner: Drewe Raimi
  • Post Production: Three Cheers Media

www.thehospitalityhangout.com


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