Why is La Madeleine adding more fireplaces? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features John Dillon, CEO of the Dallas-based fast-casual chain La Madeleine. This is the last in our series of podcast episodes recorded during the National Restaurant Show in May. La Madeleine operates 91 locations, mostly across the South. Dillion was named CEO of the chain earlier this year. He talks about the need for more hospitality and in-store business in the restaurants, whi...
Jul 16, 2025•23 min
How does a 106-year-old brand keep customers coming back? By tapping into nostalgia. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features A&W CEO Betsy Schmandt. This is the latest in our series of podcasts recorded during the National Restaurant show. This is a great conversation. We wanted to get to know Betsy, who was named chief executive of the chain earlier this year. A&W was founded in 1919, making it one of the oldest restaurant chains in the country. Bet...
Jul 09, 2025•28 min
What’s the story behind the growth chain Mo’Bettahs? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rob Ertmann, the CEO of the fast-growing Hawaiian-style chain Mo’Bettahs. This is the latest in our series of podcast episodes recorded at the National Restaurant Show in May. We wanted to talk with Ertmann to get the story behind Mo’Bettahs, which is one of the industry’s more fascinating growth concepts. The company grew system sales 30% last year, according to Tec...
Jul 02, 2025•22 min
How do you take a 56-year-old brand into the future? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Heather Neary, the CEO of the fast-food Mexican chain Taco John’s. This is our latest in a series of podcast episodes recorded from the National Restaurant Show in May. Neary took over as CEO of Taco John’s last year. We speak with her about what she’s done over the past year-plus on the job. We were particularly interested in the company’s technology initiatives, in...
Jun 25, 2025•25 min
What’s the next step for the owner of Krystal? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Josh Kern, the CEO of the multi-brand restaurant operator SPB Hospitality, which owns several different chains. This is the latest in a series of podcast episodes that we recorded during the National Restaurant Association Show last month. SPB Hospitality owns and operates a wide range of restaurants, including the fast-food concept Krystal, the casual-dining brand Logan’s...
Jun 18, 2025•32 min
How does Velvet Taco come up with its recipes? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Clay Dover, CEO of the fast-casual taco chain. This is the latest in a series of podcasts we recorded at the National Restaurant Show. Velvet Taco is a rapidly growing chain of taco shops. It finished 2024 with 49 locations and grew sales nearly 22%, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. The chain’s menu is more unique than a simple taco shop...
Jun 11, 2025•28 min
How should marketing change in the era of AI? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kyle Drenon, the CEO and co-owner of Supper Co., a marketing firm that works with restaurants and other hospitality industries. This is part of a series of podcasts we recorded at the National Restaurant Show last month and it is a good one. We wanted Kyle on the podcast to talk about AI, and specifically its impact on marketing and how people look for your restaurant. Kyle...
Jun 04, 2025•31 min
Why are restaurant chains introducing so many limited-time offers? This week’s episode of the restaurant finance podcast A Deeper Dive features Katie Belflower, manager of menu research and insights with Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. This is part of a series of podcasts we recorded during the recently concluded National Restaurant Association Show. We wanted to talk with Belflower about the shocking number of limited-time offers, or LTOs, restaurant chains have been pushing recen...
May 28, 2025•24 min
How is the restaurant industry adjusting to the Trump administration? This week’s episode of the weekly restaurant finance podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the CEO of the National Restaurant Association. This is the first in a series of podcasts we recorded during the National Restaurant Association Show this week. We wanted to get a pulse on the restaurant industry and on its dealings with Washington, given the number of monumental issues there are. We discuss the impact of tarif...
May 21, 2025•26 min
What does Culver’s new CEO have in mind for the chain? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Julie Fussner, who was recently named chief executive of the 1,000-unit, Wisconsin-based burger chain. Culver’s is quietly one of the most consistent restaurant chains in the country and is one of a generation of high-growth burger concepts. Its system sales grew 16% last year. By contrast, fast-food burger chain sales last year grew just 1%. Fussner came to the br...
May 14, 2025•28 min
How will tariffs affect restaurants? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Neal Sherman, the founder of the used equipment company Tagex Brands. President Trump dramatically escalated the tariff rate on imported goods to an average of 27%, according to the Budget Lab at Yale. That’s expected to have an impact on restaurants. Most restaurant chains source the bulk of their food from within the U.S., but equipment purchases could be another matter. We spoke with Sherman at the Restaurant L...
May 07, 2025•26 min
How does Chili’s keep doing this? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business finance podcast A Deeper Dive features George Felix, the chief marketing officer for Chili’s parent company Brinker International. We spoke with Felix at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. We wanted to talk about Chili’s marketing, and how it’s taken advantage of social media to draw attention to the brand. The chain’s same-store sales have increased more than 31% each of the past two quarters despite a brutal ma...
Apr 30, 2025•29 min
How do you teach an old pizza chain new tricks? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Karam, the CEO of the pizza chain Sbarro. The pizza chain was founded in 1956 and for years thrived inside mall locations. But the company took on too much debt and filed for bankruptcy twice after the Great Recession. We wanted to talk with Karam to understand what Sbarro did to survive those two bankruptcies. Karam took over the chain between the two filings and h...
Apr 23, 2025•24 min
How did restaurants do in 2024? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive is all about the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Kevin Schimpf, senior director of industry research at Restaurant Business sister company Technomic, joins the episode to talk about the ranking. The restaurant industry did not have a great year in 2024 if you look at the overall numbers. Kevin and I talk about that and why restaurants didn’t do as well. We also talk about what sectors ...
Apr 16, 2025•30 min
How will the bankruptcy filings of TGI Fridays and Hooters affect the market for securitizations? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ed Cerullo, a credit analyst with Octus, to talk about whole business securitizations and the potential impact those bankruptcies can have on the market. Whole business securitizations use a company’s cash-generating assets to back bonds. Cerullo helps explain how they work, and why they’ve been so popular in the restauran...
Apr 09, 2025•27 min
In this special episode of A Deeper Dive — guest-hosted by Nation’s Restaurant News editor-in-chief and Take-Away host Sam Oches — Sam talks with Joey Cioffi, founder and CEO of The Salad House, a New Jersey based franchise that has grown to 20 locations since it first opened in 2011. Cioffi joined the podcast to share how The Salad House attempts to strike a balance between healthy and indulgent for the suburban customer and how he’s refined the business to support franchise success. Like what ...
Apr 02, 2025•44 min
What is the strategy for Authentic Restaurant Brands’ newest acquisition? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Alex Macedo, the CEO of the multi-brand operator Authentic Restaurant Brands (ARB). The company recently acquired the New England polished casual-dining concept Tavern in the Square, its latest in a series of deals for largely regional chains. The company owns Pollo Tropical, Primanti Bros., P.J. Whelihan’s and Mambo Seafood. The company’s chains...
Mar 26, 2025•23 min
How has the pandemic affected restaurants? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Lisa Miller, a consumer strategist and the author of "The Business of Joy." The podcast is part of our series on the impact of the COVID pandemic on the restaurant industry five years after it first hit. The pandemic wiped out a huge percentage of sales. More than half of the restaurant workforce lost their jobs. That period was an earthquake on the industry, and there have be...
Mar 19, 2025•29 min
Why are restaurant chains still having challenges in 2025? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, the senior principal with sister company Technomic. We wanted to talk with Shank because of the uncertain state of the restaurant business so far in 2025. A lot of people thought that things would improve this year after a difficult 2024. But so far that hasn’t quite happened. Many chains have reported weak sales beyond just weather concerns, saying...
Mar 12, 2025•31 min
What’s going on with egg prices? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ricky Richardson, the CEO of the breakfast-and-lunch franchise Eggs Up Grill. We wanted to talk to Ricky because he recently posted about a decision his franchisees made in reaction to egg prices. Egg prices have hit record highs this year because of an outbreak of avian influenza, which has caused poultry farmers to get rid of much of their flocks, dropping supply. Because of the high ...
Mar 05, 2025•26 min
How should we think of the shift in marketing at Starbucks? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive is about marketing restaurant brands and it features Dawn Kane, the CEO and co-founder of Hot Dish Advertising. Kane has extensive experience in marketing and was recently named the 2024 Bonny LeVine Award winner by the International Franchise Association, which recognizes women for their contributions to franchising. There’s been plenty of marketing news of late, including some from Starbucks, which...
Feb 26, 2025•27 min
How do you take a hot restaurant concept national without destroying it? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Chris Schultz, the CEO of Voodoo Doughnut. The doughnut chain was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2000 by Kenneth Pogson and Tres Shannon. It quickly gained a reputation for off-the-wall doughnuts— we’ll let you check out the website for the names of said doughnuts —and a brilliantly pink color scheme. The company has been expanding rapidly with p...
Feb 19, 2025•27 min
How does a restaurant chain come back from bankruptcy? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Greco, the CEO of the recently-emerged-from-bankruptcy Tijuana Flats. Greco is an industry veteran who has engineered turnarounds at Bruegger’s and Sbarro. He recently took over Tijuana Flats, the fast-casual Mexican chain, and is working on that comeback plan. We wanted to talk with him to go over the best strategies for resuscitating struggling restaurant cha...
Feb 12, 2025•26 min
Why are some chains easily outperforming their biggest competitors? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Pawlak, the managing principal with RB sister company Technomic, to talk about this topic. Several restaurant chains are easily outperforming top competitors right now. Chili’s is beating Applebee’s. Dutch Bros is outperforming Starbucks and Texas Roadhouse is outdistancing Outback Steakhouse. Pawlak uses data from Technomic to help explain a lot o...
Feb 05, 2025•26 min
The best time to invest in a restaurant chain may be when the industry is struggling. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Andrew Smith, the cofounder of the private-equity firm Savory Fund. We have long wanted Smith on the podcast, largely because of Savory’s unique history. Smith has a restaurant operations background as a franchisee of brands like Little Caesars. These days, Savory invests in emerging chains. The ifirm has invested in brands like Swig,...
Jan 29, 2025•28 min
What is the right franchising strategy for your restaurant brand? It’s not as simple a question as you may think. And I brought in Sean Thompson, VP of IT with Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, to discuss franchising strategies and what may or may not work for restaurant brands. The number of strategies for franchising a restaurant brand, or any industry for that matter, is as varied as the companies themselves. There are companies that love big operators and those that prefer smaller fr...
Jan 22, 2025•25 min
Should restaurants worry about weight-loss drugs? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Leo Feler, chief economist with the data firm Numerator, to talk about the potential impact of GLP-1 drugs on consumers’ food-spending habits. Drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are increasingly popular. The medications are historically used for Type 2 diabetes but were found to cause weight loss. They’ve been used increasingly for weight loss. With nearly half of America...
Jan 15, 2025•19 min
Why did restaurants close so many locations last year? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Balis, the operations partner with the private equity and debt financing firm CapitalSpring. We had Balis on the podcast to talk about the closures. A lot of companies closed locations in 2024. Many of them ended up in bankruptcy, such as Red Lobster and TGI Fridays. Others have struggled for years. But many of them include brands like Wendy’s and Denny’s that ...
Jan 08, 2025•28 min
Traffic and value dominated restaurant news in 2024. Unsurprisingly, then, this episode of the Restaurant Business podcast of A Deeper Dive, which features some of the best content from a year’s worth of podcast episodes, focuses mostly on discussions about that very topic. The first clip features Technomic’s Robert Byrne, talking about consumer frustration over restaurant prices. You can find the full episode here . The second clip comes from our discussion with Placer.ai’s R.J. Hottovy, in whi...
Dec 18, 2024•28 min
How can you tell if an emerging brand will be a long-term success? It’s not an easy question to answer. A lot of private-equity firms, restaurant executives, real estate companies, consultants, vendors and others all spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try and answer that question. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive does its best to answer that question and features David Henkes, senior principal with RB sister company Technomic. Thousands of entrepreneurs ...
Dec 11, 2024•31 min
