Mark Canlis: Adapting Episode 1: Canlis

This episode opens with the show's own pivot: recorded as the coronavirus spread worldwide, the hosts pause regular Acquired episodes — "the world doesn't need Acquired right now" — and launch Adapting, a series about leaders changing to fit what the world needs now. The format shifts to shallow history dives focused on the present and future, and grading is dropped: anyone taking the risk of adapting is "forever an A+ in our book."

Housekeeping follows: the Acquired Slack community, a new monthly LP Zoom call, and an explicit invitation that money should never be the reason someone can't join the LP program. The season sponsor Silicon Valley Bank is thanked — the hosts note SVB's response to their plan change was an instant "Yes. How can we help?"

The guest is Mark Canlis of Seattle's Canlis restaurant — a topic the hosts never expected to cover. Restaurants are among the hardest hit by the health crisis, and Canlis is leading in adapting: providing delivery food, saving jobs, and keeping the business alive. Mark's line in the Seattle Times that week — "Hell, yes, we can do this and we're going to do it with burgers and bagels" — frames the episode.

The hosts read his bio: second of three sons in a restaurant family, Cornell graduate, captain in Air Force Special Operations, joined Canlis in 2003 after helping open Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke in Manhattan (where he met his wife Anne Marie), led the generational transfer and brand modernization, and now owns and operates Canlis with his brother Brian. Accolades: Food & Wine called it one of the 40 most important restaurants of the last 40 years; 22 consecutive Wine Spectator Grand Awards; 15 James Beard nominations and 3 wins.