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October 2, 2026
This Is TASTE 846: The Birth of ‘Hot Ones’ and a Garage Full of Dead Restaurant Shirts with Justin Bolois
Justin ARTICLE

Justin Bolois has spent over a decade helping build the iconic First We Feast media company—from features editor to VP of programming and development, shepherding popular shows like The Burger Show, Tacos Con Todo, and Hot Ones within the media empire. Off the clock, he’s chasing something equally cool: vintage restaurant staff shirts, forgotten diner ephemera, and the last physical traces of beloved restaurants that no longer exist. That’s ⁠Restaurant Relics⁠, a side project we absolutely love that’s part museum and part store. Justin joins Matt to talk about everything from his work on Hot Ones to the virtues of a well-worn JG Melon tee.

Check out: ⁠Hot Ones Game Night⁠.

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Matt Rodbard

Matt Rodbard is the editor in chief of TASTE and the author of Koreaworld: A Cookbook, Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, and Food IQ, a Publishers Weekly Bestseller and winner of a 2023 IACP Cookbook Award (Food Issues & Matters)