Dine & Grind: How Sweetfin Turned Poke Into a Fast-Casual Empire | Seth Cohen

Dine & Grind: Seth Cohen on Building a Culinary Empire with Innovation, Grit, and Community

At Snibbs, we know that redefining an industry takes more than a great idea—it takes relentless perseverance and the courage to do things differently. The latest episode of Dine & Grind took us inside the mind of Seth Cohen, co-founder and president of Sweetfin, whose innovative take on poke bowls helped transform Los Angeles's fast-casual landscape and influence the way America eats.

From Humble Beginnings to Hospitality Disruption

As Seth Cohen candidly shared, his path into hospitality wasn’t part of a grand, lifelong plan. Instead, it was a journey shaped by curiosity, a family love for cooking, and a keen sense for spotting unmet consumer needs. While at USC, he juggled financial internships and real estate insights but always circled back to his passion for food. The explosion of fast-casual titans like Chipotle and Shake Shack inspired him to dream bigger, pointing out that “the consumer really wanted to have better quality food at a reasonable price point”.

“For whatever reason, growing up, I just had this love for food and cooking. It was just a big part of our family,” he recalled.

Being the First—And Surviving the Copycats

Launching Sweetfin meant introducing something new to LA: a chef-driven, California-inspired poke concept long before “poke” was a household word. Back then, landlords mistook the concept for “Facebook pokes,” and Sweetfin was passed over for grilled cheese joints. But Cohen’s “ignorance is bliss” attitude shielded him from conventional doubts. Had he listened to more experienced naysayers, he admits, Sweetfin might never have opened.

Of course, trailblazing comes with its challenges. “Seth Cohen confidently claims Sweetfin was ‘the pioneer’ of the mainland poke category,” but with their success came a flood of imitators—many cutting corners and diluting the brand’s painstakingly built reputation. Yet Sweetfin thrived where others faltered, thanks to obsessive attention to freshness, intentional branding, and a dedication to customer experience.

The Role of Innovation: Never Standing Still

For Seth Cohen, the secret to longevity in a turbulent restaurant industry is relentless self-disruption. “You have to be willing to disrupt yourself or someone else will disrupt you,” he emphasized. When Sweetfin hit its 10-year milestone, Cohen and his leadership team didn’t rest on their laurels—instead, they asked themselves, “If we started Sweetfin in 2025 instead of 2015, what would we do differently?”.

The answer: evolve again. Sweetfin’s “Innovation Kitchen” in West LA isn’t just a menu expansion—it’s proof that innovation, flexibility, and hands-on leadership are baked into Sweetfin’s DNA. Bringing on renowned chef Daniel Patterson, the team trimmed the menu, doubled down on quality, and introduced new flavors and warm bowls that kept the core of Sweetfin’s culinary ethos while answering the modern customer’s demand for variety and intentional nutrition. “The new menu…is a concept that can be translated across the country because there really is something for everyone. And these are the flavors that the modern consumer wants to eat,” Seth Cohen explained.

Scaling Heart and Soul

Scaling a food brand means more than multiplying locations—it’s about multiplying culture. What keeps the “heart and soul” of Sweetfin alive across 15 stores, Seth Cohen insists, is an open-door culture and continuity in leadership. “Our GMs…they run the show. And that is not unique to Sweetfin; that’s every restaurant. A good GM equals a good restaurant typically,” he shared.

Even with multiple locations, Seth Cohen believes in the grind: working long hours alongside his team, cooking dishes himself, troubleshooting every operational challenge before rolling out anything new.

Recipe for Success

When asked for his key ingredients for success, Seth Cohen didn’t hesitate: “Resilience as an entrepreneur, flexibility, and grit”.

At Snibbs, these aren’t just words—they’re a call to action for anyone chasing big dreams, whether in food, footwear, or any industry where the grind is real.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or visit Dine & Grind for show notes and more inspiring chef interviews.