🍱 Kerri Paizzi: How the Queen of ‘Flavor South Florida’ Grew Flavor to America’s Biggest Restaurant Month
Watch full episode of In The Hype Seat, featuring Flavor South Florida’s Kerri Paizzi on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
🎙️In The Hype Seat: Rebrands, Restaurants, and Real Strategy: How Kerri Paizzi Took Over (and Blew Up) Flavor South Florida, Growing it to the Largest Restaurant Month in the Country
When Kerri Paizzi bought one of South Florida’s most beloved culinary events, she didn’t just change the name — she redefined what it means to run a successful legacy brand.
In this episode of In The Hype Seat, host Holly Meyer Lucas sits down with Kerri to unpack the real story behind the Flavor Palm Beach to Flavor South Florida rebrand — and how she took a one-county dining week and turned it into the largest restaurant month in the country by geography.
“People think this is a foodie thing. But this is a people thing. A community thing. A South Florida thing.”
– Kerri Paizzi
But this isn’t just about restaurants. It’s about bold pivots, reputation management, female entrepreneurship, and what it takes to step into someone else’s legacy with vision, respect, and clarity.
Whether you’re a founder, foodie, or marketer trying to build a brand that actually sticks — this episode is full of takeaways you’ll want to write down.
A Strategic Takeover with Heart (and Heat)
When Kerri first entered the South Florida event scene, she had no intention of owning a restaurant month. But her background in music booking and brand marketing gave her a front-row seat to how consumer attention works — and how quickly local momentum can scale when you pair it with purpose and content strategy.
Her acquisition of Flavor wasn’t a random purchase. It was a brand alignment play, done with full intention and high stakes. On the show, Kerri explains how she approached the handoff from founder Briana Beaty, the pressure of carrying something with a loyal following, and the internal checklist she used to know she could make it bigger without losing the original spirit.
Kerri Paizzi of Flavor South Florida joins Holly Meyer Lucas for In The Hype Seat podcast at the new PodPlus Studios in Jupiter, Florida.
From Marketing Expert to Cultural Operator
As a marketing agency owner (Monarch Marketing), Kerri brings a strategy-first mindset to everything. And that shows in how she runs Flavor South Florida today. In this episode, she breaks down:
Why TikTok changed her entire approach to digital outreach
How to keep a rebrand from alienating your base
The importance of being in the room with restaurant owners
The actual systems and strategy behind scaling a local event
Why influencers matter — but relationships matter more
What makes an event go viral in real life, not just online
One of the biggest takeaways? This isn’t just a marketing campaign. It’s community architecture — and Kerri is intentional about every move she makes.
What Is Flavor South Florida Today?
Flavor South Florida now stretches from Boca Raton to Vero Beach, covering Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties. Each participating restaurant offers curated multi-course menus at set price points — $35, $45, or $55 — giving locals the chance to try new spots and revisit old favorites without breaking the bank.
Favorite Soundbites From The Episode:
🎙️ “There’s so much power in showing up — in person, at the restaurants, in the kitchens.”
🎙️ “I didn’t take this brand over to get famous. I did it to create something that lives on past me.”
🎙️ “The name needed to reflect what we were already becoming. Flavor South Florida was always the vision.”
🎙️ “This wasn’t about breaking what Briana built. It was about building on it — with intention.”
LISTEN IF YOU’RE INTO:
✔️ Founder stories with real pivots
✔️ How to handle legacy brands with respect
✔️ Building events with lasting community impact
✔️ South Florida food and restaurant culture
✔️ Strategic brand marketing that converts
🎧 Listen now: inthehypeseat.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts
This episode was recorded at PodPlus Studios in Jupiter, Florida.
Follow along for more behind-the-scenes interviews at inthehypeseat.com and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/holly.meyer.lucas
FAQs
who is kerri paizzi?
Kerri Paizzi is a South Florida-based marketing agency owner (Monarch Marketing) and the new owner of Flavor South Florida, formerly Flavor Palm Beach.
what is flavor south florida?
A month-long dining event in September across Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties — featuring 100+ restaurants and fixed-price, multi-course menus.
how did flavor palm beach become flavor south florida?
Kerri acquired the original event in 2023 and expanded it into a multi-county experience with a new brand identity, strategic partnerships, and digital content campaigns.
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This episode was recorded at PodPlus Studios in Jupiter, Florida.
Follow along for more behind-the-scenes interviews at inthehypeseat.com
and on Instagram @holly.meyer.lucas.
Flavor South Florida owner, Kerri Paizzi, joined Holly Meyer Lucas on In The Hype Seat to chat about how she grew Flavor Palm Beach into Flavor South Florida, her personal and professional background in restaurants and marketing, and how it all has come together for her.
