A disciplined approach to product, experience, and real estate is fueling a fast-growing food and beverage concept

Palmetto Superfoods didn’t grow by chasing trends. It grew by challenging them.

Hessam Shirmohammadi, co-founder and COO, built the brand around a simple idea: if the product is real and the experience is intentional, customers don’t just visit, they come back daily. What started in San Francisco in 2019 is now a fast-scaling concept with 18+ locations, expanding across California and into Texas, with a clear path toward national growth.

The differentiator isn’t just açaí. It’s how Palmetto thinks about retail.

Instead of treating real estate as a necessity, they treat it as a strategic lever. Location isn’t just about traffic, it’s about community alignment. College markets, fitness-driven consumers, and dense residential pockets consistently outperform because they reinforce habitual use.

At the same time, Palmetto is leaning into a model that most brands avoid: no two stores look the same. While others scale through uniformity, they scale through experience, keeping operations consistent but making each space feel unique. It’s harder to execute, but it builds stronger brand connection.

There’s also a bigger play unfolding.

Palmetto isn’t positioning itself as just a food and beverage operator. With CPG products in development and a long-term goal of going public, the brand is building toward a lifestyle platform that extends beyond four walls.

For retail real estate owners and operators, the takeaway is clear: food and beverage isn’t just filling space anymore, it’s becoming the draw. And the concepts winning today are the ones creating repeat behavior, not one-time visits.

This isn’t about smoothies. It’s about building a brand that people integrate into their daily lives.

What You’ll Hear

• Why food and beverage is becoming the new anchor in retail
• How repeat behavior drives real growth
• Why location strategy is about community, not just traffic
• How college markets consistently outperform
• Why second-generation space accelerates expansion
• Why experience matters more than efficiency
• How strong brands build daily habits, not one-time visits
• Where AI actually improves operations

Chapters

00:02 – Introduction and background

Hessam shares his upbringing, early career, and path into entrepreneurship.

04:31 – What is Palmetto Superfoods

Breaking down the concept, product differentiation, and early growth.

05:26 – Scaling the brand

From one location to 18+, including expansion into new markets.

06:35 – Long-term vision

Plans for national growth, CPG, and building a lifestyle brand.

08:05 – Unit economics and real estate strategy

How store size, location, and performance vary across markets.

09:30 – Origin story

How a Brazilian café and authentic açaí sparked the concept.

13:05 – Day-to-day as COO

What leadership looks like in a fast-scaling brand.

15:02 – Using AI and systems

How technology is improving efficiency and decision-making.

16:34 – choosing Sacramento (UV)

Why college markets and demand signals drove site selection.

21:37 – Site selection strategy

Why second-generation spaces are a key growth lever.

23:14 – Differentiation in retail

Why every store is intentionally designed to feel different.

26:16 – Nostalgia and retail

A conversation on extinct retailers and emotional connection to brands.

A different background, and a different lens on retail real estate

Careers aren’t linear. And the best ones usually evolve.

Anya Wolf didn’t start in retail real estate. Her background was in art, including studio work, art history, and hands-on experience in galleries and education. She was fully immersed in a creative path and exploring what that future could look like.

But over time, she gained clarity.

The path forward in the art world is long and highly specialized. Then a loss within her family brought everything into focus. It created urgency and a new perspective on the business side of things. That combination led her to make a decision: step into DLC and understand the investments and platform she had grown up around.

What followed wasn’t a fast track.

She started in a traditional due diligence role. Managing files, answering questions, and supporting transactions. A typical entry point, but one that gave her real exposure to how deals actually get done and how properties are evaluated.

That foundation mattered.

It built a practical understanding of the business, especially around tenant behavior. One of the biggest takeaways is that retail decisions aren’t driven by what consumers want, they’re driven by economics. Rents, incentives, and demographics dictate outcomes, even when demand exists elsewhere.

Now, her focus is evolving again.

After building a strong internal foundation, she’s shifting outward, developing relationships, expanding her network, and bringing new perspectives back into the organization.

Retail remains strong, but interest rate volatility and broader uncertainty are creating friction. Historically, that’s where opportunity shows up.

And for the next generation inside a family business, that matters.

Because this isn’t just about maintaining what was built. It’s about understanding it, evolving it, and ultimately creating your own lane within it.

What You’ll Hear

• Why nontraditional career paths can lead to stronger long-term growth
• How starting in due diligence builds a real understanding of the business
• Why retail decisions are driven by economics, not consumer demand
• How tenants actually evaluate locations and choose markets
• Why asking questions accelerates growth faster than pretending you know
• How to build your own identity inside a family business
• Where the next generation creates value inside an existing platform

Chapters

00:02 – Introduction to Anya Wolf

Background, role at DLC, and how she got here

01:14 – From art to real estate

Starting in art and realizing the limitations of that path

03:24 – The turning point

Family dynamics and the decision to enter the business

09:34 – First role at DLC

What due diligence actually looks like day-to-day

10:48 – Learning the business from scratch

How real estate really works behind the scenes

14:50 – Accelerating growth early on

The power of asking questions and not pretending

18:36 – Shifting from internal to external growth

Why building a network is the next phase

20:19 – State of the retail market

Strength, disruption, and interest rate pressure

25:16 – Building your own identity

Navigating a family business and carving your own lane

29:28 – Rapid fire

Skills, retail nostalgia, and real-life habits

What if the biggest World Cup winners aren’t the teams?

The next major tailwind for retail real estate isn’t coming from policy, rates, or supply it’s coming from global demand.

The World Cup is set to drive one of the largest concentrated waves of consumer activity the U.S. has seen in years. But this isn’t just about packed stadiums. It’s about what happens around them and long after.

We’re looking at more than a million visitors, many of whom wouldn’t have come to the U.S. otherwise. That means new dollars flowing into restaurants, retail corridors, hotels, and local businesses across 16 host markets. And unlike typical tourism cycles, this demand is compressed, intense, and highly visible.

Chris Ressa and Karly Iacono break down what this really means for cities, operators, and investors.

But the real opportunity isn’t just the short-term spike.

Major global events historically reshape markets. Cities invest in infrastructure, improve accessibility, and elevate their global profile. That exposure doesn’t disappear when the games end it attracts future tourism, business investment, and population growth. We’ve seen it with the Olympics. There’s no reason to believe this plays out differently.

There’s also a behavioral shift happening at the local level. Consumers are finding new places, trying new operators, and forming new habits. A great experience during a high-energy moment can turn into long-term customer loyalty.

Not every benefit will be evenly distributed. Some markets will see concentrated gains, others more diffuse impact depending on geography, walkability, and where people stay versus where they play.

But zoom out and the signal is clear:

More people. More spending. More reasons to engage with physical retail.

For operators and investors paying attention, this isn’t just a moment it’s a setup.

What You’ll Hear

• Why the World Cup is a major driver of retail spending
• How international tourism fuels local retail markets
• Where the impact goes beyond stadiums and game day
• Why infrastructure investment creates long-term value
• How global events reshape cities over time
• Why consumer behavior shifts matter for operators
• How impact varies across different host cities
• Where spending actually lands within each market
• What determines short-term vs. long-term gains
• Why this is a meaningful tailwind for retail real estate

Chapters

00:04 — setting the stage

Opening the conversation and framing the scale of the opportunity

01:27 — why this event is different

Comparing global events and the magnitude of the World Cup

02:51 — the tourism surge

Breaking down international visitors and incremental demand

03:49 — spending beyond the stadium

How consumer behavior expands retail impact

05:12 — where the real opportunity is

Moving beyond food and merch into broader retail effects

06:34 — infrastructure and long-term value

Why cities invest—and why it matters after the event

09:16 — the economic numbers

Billions in projected output and what that signals

10:17 — from one-time visit to repeat customer

How events create long-term retail loyalty

12:59 — which markets benefit most?

Debating winners across the 16 host cities

18:57 — what could go wrong?

Pressure-testing assumptions and downside scenarios

20:17 — where does the money actually land?

Understanding geographic dispersion of spending

23:46 — final takeaway

Why the overall impact is overwhelmingly positive

How people get hired and what companies actually value is shifting fast.

Cary Beale, one of the most active recruiters in retail real estate at Poline Search Partners, sees the disconnect every day. Companies want people in the office. Candidates want flexibility. Everyone says they want the “best talent,” but the definition of that talent isn’t aligned.

That tension is reshaping hiring outcomes across the industry.

This conversation goes beyond surface-level career advice and gets into what actually moves the needle when decisions are being made. Reputation still compounds, and early habits follow you longer than people think. Job hopping still raises red flags, not just about loyalty, but about decision-making. And communication remains one of the most underrated differentiators in a crowded candidate pool.

There’s also a clear message on what doesn’t work: generic answers, safe positioning, and trying to be who you think a company wants. That approach blends in, and blending in is the fastest way to get overlooked.

Instead, the candidates who stand out are the ones who understand the real problem behind the role and position themselves as the solution. They do the extra work. They show initiative before they’re asked. And they create moments that are memorable, not just “better,” but different.

AI is starting to enter the conversation, but it hasn’t replaced the fundamentals. Hiring is still human. Judgment still matters. And the gap between average and exceptional candidates is still wide.

If you’re hiring, this sharpens how to evaluate talent. If you’re interviewing, it’s a reminder that small decisions, how you show up, how you communicate, how you differentiate, have outsized impact.

Because in a competitive market, being qualified isn’t enough. Being remembered is.

What You’ll Hear

1. Why the office vs. remote divide is slowing hiring
2. How reputation and job movement shape long-term outcomes
3. Why communication and clarity make or break candidates
4. How to position yourself as the solution, not just an applicant
5. What actually separates candidates who get offers
6. Where AI is starting to impact hiring

Chapters

00:01 — Cary Beale’s path from operator to recruiter

From owning a restaurant to leading recruiting in retail real estate.

03:07 — Shifting from deals to talent placement

How industry experience translates into recruiting success.

04:08 — Inside the recruiting business

What roles are in demand and how many placements actually happen.

04:48 — The remote vs. office disconnect

Why companies and candidates are fundamentally misaligned.

06:26 — Why early careers need the office

The long-term disadvantage of skipping in-person experience.

08:50 — AI and hiring: real impact or hype?

Where AI is entering the conversation — and where it isn’t.

10:34 — Tip #1: reputation compounds

Why early career behavior follows you longer than expected.

11:43 — Job hopping and decision-making risk

What frequent moves signal to employers.

14:02 — Tip #2: communicate clearly

Why most candidates fail to define what they actually do.

18:47 — Tip #3: be authentic

Why trying to fit the mold can cost you the job.

20:55 — Tip #4: solve the problem

How to position yourself as the answer companies need.

22:28 — Tip #5: be different

Why standing out matters more than being slightly better.

Is 2026 about to be the biggest year for retail real estate in decades?

Retail real estate doesn’t move in a vacuum. It moves when consumers have a reason to act. 2026 is shaping up to be one of the strongest demand environments in decades because three massive global catalysts are converging at the same time: the World Cup, the Winter Olympics tailwind, and America’s 250th anniversary.

Major live events compress consumer hesitation. They create urgency. They create moments. And moments drive spending.

The data already supports this. Global events generate massive marketing exposure, elevated brand awareness, and increased physical activity in retail corridors. But the real impact isn’t just tourism, it’s domestic behavior. People travel, gather, host, celebrate, and spend in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. Retailers, restaurants, and physical destinations become the center of those moments.

At the same time, the fundamentals of retail real estate remain exceptionally strong. Supply is constrained. Leasing velocity is accelerating. Tenants are competing aggressively for physical space, recognizing that stores do more than produce four-wall profit, they lower customer acquisition costs and drive digital growth.

The narrative that retail is “technology resistant” completely misses the point. The physical store isn’t fighting technology, it’s enhancing it. Retailers are discovering that their digital performance improves when they open physical locations. Stores are no longer just revenue centers; they are strategic growth engines.

This shift has fundamentally changed the leasing environment. Landlords are no longer chasing tenants to fill space. Tenants are racing to secure locations before competitors do.

Retail isn’t surviving. It’s expanding. 2026 could be remembered as the year physical retail reasserted its full strategic value, not just as a place to transact, but as a critical platform for brand growth, customer acquisition, and long-term market share.

What You’ll Hear

1. Why global events are creating a 2026 retail tailwind - How the World Cup, America 250, and stacked spending moments are driving incremental tourism, domestic travel, and real-world consumer activity.
2. How live moments accelerate spending behavior - Why major events compress hesitation and push consumers from waiting to acting.
3. The leasing velocity surge happening right now - What rising deal volume, stronger economics, and tenant expansion signal about retail confidence.
4. Why retailers are in a land grab for physical space - How constrained supply has shifted the market and intensified competition for prime locations.
5. Why physical stores power digital growth - How brick-and-mortar lowers customer acquisition costs and makes omnichannel performance more efficient.
6. Why retail isn’t tech resistant—tech needs retail - The strategic shift from clicks versus bricks to clicks because of bricks, and what that means for long-term real estate value.

Chapters

00:01 - Why I’m bullish on 2026

The macro retail real estate fundamentals and why the outlook is stronger than the narrative suggests.

02:08 - The olympics spending tailwind has already started

How marketing exposure and brand promotion drive spending beyond the event itself.

04:25 - Why the world cup will be a massive retail catalyst

Tourism, domestic travel, and gathering behavior will drive incremental retail demand.

06:36 - America 250 and the stacking of spending catalysts

Patriotism, celebrations, and event sequencing create sustained spending momentum.

08:51 - Leasing velocity is accelerating rapidly

Real-world leasing activity confirms strong tenant demand and economic confidence.

10:41 - The myth of technology-resistant tenants

Why framing retail as resistant to technology misses the real strategic shift.

10:59 - Why stores drive digital growth

Physical locations lower customer acquisition costs and enhance overall brand performance.

11:54 - The tenant land grab has begun

Retailers are aggressively securing space before competitors lock in key locations.

13:09 - Why physical retail is more valuable than ever

The strategic role of stores is expanding beyond traditional revenue metrics.