What does it take to build one of New York City’s top Retail leasing firms?
In this episode of Do You Ever Wonder, I sit down with Cory Zelnik — founder and CEO of Zelnik & Company — a man who knows retail leasing across all five boroughs, represents giants like Panda Express and some of NYC’s biggest landlords, and ran his first marathon at 62 while raising $37,000 for ALS.
In this conversation, Cory shares:
🏙️ Why Flushing, Queens rivals Manhattan on price per square foot
🍩 The real reason he won’t work with Dunkin’ franchisees anymore
🐼 How Panda Express grew from one California restaurant to 2,800 stores
🗣️ The "Three E’s" of social media: Engage, Entertain, Educate
🏃 Running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours straight — and why he did it
🤝 How to build a 25-year client relationship in a commission-driven business
Cory also opens up about his hiring philosophy ("you won’t make a nickel for 18-24 months"), why he’d rather be a sniper than throw things at the wall, and how Clubhouse launched his national network during COVID.
🎙️ Do You Ever Wonder — where curiosity meets conversation.
🔔 Subscribe for more interviews with the people shaping New York Real Estate.
📧 Reach Mike Haltman: [email protected]
⏱️ Timestamp chapters:
0:00 — Intro: Who is Cory Zelnik?
2:15 — Knowing all 5 boroughs
6:30 — Dunkin’ Donuts broker nightmares
13:45 — Panda Express: 1 to 2,800 stores
19:00 — The sniper vs. shotgun approach
24:30 — Social media & the "Three E’s"
30:15 — Running a marathon at 62 / ALS fundraiser
36:00 — QSR rankings & closing thoughts
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