Caterina Borsato
The queen of Melbourne Italian hospitality · Ep 1
The Campus · opening with the founding cohort
The room you sit in after the lesson ends.
Every operator we interview says a version of the same thing: the hard part was never not knowing. It was having nobody to ask at 11pm on a Tuesday when the numbers look wrong.
The Campus is a weekly live call with Omar and Andrea — both still on the floor this week — plus guest operators from the Dining Room Stories network.
Monthly, cancel any time — or $99 a month billed annually ($1,188), which is four months free. The first call runs with the founding cohort.
What a month looks like
Four calls. One masterclass. No homework.
Everything is recorded. If service runs long — and it will — you watch it at 1am with the till reconciled.
Every week
The live call
One hour with Omar and Andrea. You bring a number, a roster or a menu and we work it on screen. Not a lecture — a table.
Every month
A guest operator
Someone from the Dining Room Stories network, on the business behind their venue. Giacomo and Donatello Pietrantuono are confirmed for the founding cohort.
Any time
The room
Operators who run venues like yours, in a group small enough that people answer. Every call recorded and searchable.
THE FULL INCLUSION LIST IS BEING FINALISED WITH THE MODULES — THIS PAGE IS UPDATED AS EACH ONE IS CONFIRMED, NOT BEFORE.
Who comes through
We have been filming these operators for two years.
Guests of Dining Room Stories — the show Omar and Andrea host. This is the network The Campus draws its guest operators from.
1.4M
people reached
2
confirmed to teach
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Johnny Di Francesco
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Adam D'Sylva
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Daniel & Nick Russian
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Jason Jones
Entrecôte · on living generously
Stefan Di Benedetto
Reinventing limoncello for a new generation · Solbevi
Chef Joey D
A father, a son, and a dream · Ep 5
Every episode is on the full wall and at diningroomstories.com.
Who is on the call
Two operators with their names on the lease.
Omar El Deek
Operations, Profit & Scale · Director, ElPiet Group
Runs Cosi Bar Ristorante, Cucinetta and Vaporetto in Melbourne. On the call he opens the same spreadsheets he ran that morning.
Andrea Abbondanza
Marketing, AI & Growth
Founder of SEO For Restaurants and Abbondanza Marketing, both still running. Co-host of Dining Room Stories.
Three fair objections.
“It has not started yet.”
Correct. The first call runs with the founding cohort, and that is exactly why founding members hold this price rather than what it will be once the room is full. You are early and the price says so.
“I cannot make a weekly call.”
Nobody in hospitality can make every week. Every call is recorded and searchable, and you can post the question in advance and watch the answer later.
“I already did The Growth Engine.”
Then you already have twelve months of this included — it came with your enrolment. This page is for operators who want the room without The Growth Engine, and for month thirteen.
Two ways in
The cheapest way into The Campus is The Growth Engine.
That is not a sales line, it is arithmetic. A year in here is $1,788 month by month, or $1,188 paid yearly — four months free. The Growth Engine is $997 once, and it carries this same year plus six modules, the Vault of twenty-four tools and the founding bonus. It costs less than the year alone.
The Campus, month by month
$149 × 12
$1,788
The Campus, paid yearly
$99 a month, four months free
$1,188
The Growth Engine, everything included
One payment, founding cohort
$997
The room on its own is the cheapest way in. The Growth Engine is the cheapest way to get everything.
The Campus · standalone
Monthly
$149
/mo
Cancel any time
$1,788 over a year
$1,788 over a year
Yearly · 4 months free
$99
/mo
Billed annually at $1,188
You save $600
You save $600
Weekly live call, monthly guest operator, the room and the recordings. Paying yearly is the same room for four fewer months of money.
See The Growth Engine — $997This holds your place; it does not charge you. The founding cohort opens with The Growth Engine and we confirm your start date in writing first.
Questions we get about the room.
When does the first call run?
With the founding cohort. The Campus does not exist yet — we are not going to pretend a room is full when it is empty. You will have your start date in writing before you are charged.
Who actually teaches?
Omar and Andrea on the weekly call. For the monthly masterclass, Giacomo and Donatello Pietrantuono have confirmed for the founding cohort. We invite operators from the Dining Room Stories seasons and name each one here once the date is booked — never before.
Is it cheaper to pay for a year up front?
Yes: $1,188 for the year instead of $1,788 month by month, which is four months free. Read it against The Growth Engine too — $997 once carries this same room for a year and the entire academy, which is less than the year costs on its own.
What happens after my twelve included months?
It renews at the same price you started on, optional, and you can stop whenever you like. There is no price rise waiting at month thirteen.
Nobody should run a venue on their own.
The operators on the wall above all built a room around themselves eventually. This is ours, and it opens with the founding cohort.
$149 a month, or $99 a month billed annually ($1,188) — four months free.