The track record of international concepts expanding in the U.S. is not great. Jollibee Foods plans to change that. Maribeth Cruz, president of Jollibee Foods North America, joins this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” to talk about the chain’s plans to change that. Dela Cruz talks about the company’s aggressive plans to expand that number, and how the pandemic introduced U.S. consumers to the chain’s bone-in chicken and the rest of its distinct menu. She also dis...
Jun 16, 2021•28 min
Jimmy John’s has shifted its marketing under Inspire Brands. In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” the chain’s chief marketing officer Darin Dugan discusses those changes, the chain’s thinking behind the changes and some of the impact. Jimmy John’s has made a number of changes in recent months. That includes the menu, something that had rarely changed at the sandwich chain over the years. The company also introduced a new ad campaign starting with its first S...
Jun 09, 2021•28 min
How are restaurant companies finding and keeping workers right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo, who joins Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze to discuss the labor shortage and how restaurants are combating the problem. Restaurants of all kinds have reported difficulties hiring employees, to the point that many locations are closing early or for entire days because of worker shortages. Entire locations have been slow to re...
Jun 02, 2021•28 min
The three biggest franchise brands in the world are all embroiled in disputes with their U.S. franchisees. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features John Gordon, a restaurant consultant out of San Diego, who talks about these disputes and why they’re happening. The three brands are McDonald’s, Subway and 7-Eleven. At McDonald’s, franchisees have been pushing back against a $70 million technology fee and could take legal action to stop it....
May 26, 2021•32 min
Virtual brands are all the rage right now. But how do they work? And how can they succeed with so many of them out there? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” focuses on this topic and features Alex Canter, the founder of Ordermark, who provides advice and insight into the creation of these concepts. Canter’s company includes Nextbite, a creator and operator of virtual concepts—which operate for a primarily delivery customer out of leased kitchens at places like...
May 19, 2021•29 min
How did Domino’s become a tech company? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Dennis Maloney, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based pizza chain’s chief innovation officer who discusses the company’s effective use of technology. Maloney talks about what it takes for a pizza chain to become a tech company. He also talks about robots, including Domino’s partnership with Nuro to use its robot to deliver pizzas in Houston. He also talks about what it will take for that ...
May 12, 2021•32 min
The restaurant industry has enjoyed some remarkably strong sales so far this year. The Restaurant Business team of editors want to know how long this will last. Senior Editor Heather Lalley, along with Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo, discuss the recent spate of strong sales numbers.
May 05, 2021•31 min
How was Jersey Mike’s able to outperform all of its competitors, and most of the restaurant industry, in 2020? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Busines s podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Peter Cancro, owner and CEO of the sandwich chain, to talk about the company’s performance. Jersey Mike’s last year was the 10th fastest growing chain among the Technomic top 500 even as most of its competitors struggled, notably the giant Subway.
Apr 28, 2021•35 min
Consumers are changing again coming out of the pandemic, and that is expected to change the market for restaurant chains. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Dave Bagley, the managing director of Carl Marks Advisors, to provide an outlook for acquisitions coming out of the pandemic. Bagley leads the restaurant group at the New York-based investment bank and has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance, operations management, profit improve...
Apr 21, 2021•30 min
The Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, released earlier this month, has provided a clear picture of just how much the pandemic has influenced the restaurant industry. Joe Pawlak, managing principal with Restaurant Business sister company Technomic, joins this week’s episode of the podcast “A Deeper Dive” to talk about the ranking, including what chains won and what chains lost.
Apr 14, 2021•35 min
Why are there so few Black and women CEOs? Activist investors. Or so says James White, the former CEO of Jamba, and Thomas Lynch, senior managing director of the private equity firm Mill Road Capital. White recently joined Lynch’s firm to be part of its newly created Progressive Governance Fund, which seeks to improve diversity at smaller companies through targeted investments. White and Lynch argue that activist investors ultimately hurt the long-term value of the restaurant companies they targ...
Apr 07, 2021•28 min
The latest acquisition in Flynn Restaurant Group’s history was its biggest. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast features Greg Flynn, the giant franchisee’s founder and CEO, who discusses the company’s recent acquisition of most of NPC International’s restaurants. Flynn Restaurant Group has grown over the past couple of decades largely through a series of increasingly large acquisitions. But the purchase of NPC was likely the biggest in U.S. franchise history, essentially mergi...
Mar 31, 2021•29 min
Fast-food chains are gung-ho for chicken sandwiches these days. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” explores why. Patricia Cobe, RB’s menu editor, discusses the industry’s sudden fascination with upgraded chicken sandwiches and why.
Mar 24, 2021•28 min
How will an upscale casual chain prepare for a potential flood of post-pandemic customers? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Tim McEnery, CEO and founder of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, to talk about the chain’s strategies coming out of quarantine.
Mar 17, 2021•32 min
Why have SPACs suddenly become so popular among investors? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Andy Pforzheimer, the longtime industry executive who helped create the Tastemaker SPAC with former Jamba CEO Dave Pace.
Mar 10, 2021•31 min
Del Taco has big plans for its new prototype. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features John Cappasola, CEO of the 600-unit Mexican chain, to talk about the chain’s “Fresh Flex” prototype and why the new design can help the company expand in the post-pandemic era.
Mar 03, 2021•35 min
How did Golden Corral, the country’s biggest buffet chain, survive a pandemic in which it couldn’t operate much if not all of its buffets? Lance Trenary, the chain’s CEO, answers that question on this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive.”
Feb 24, 2021•32 min
Virtual brands are big and getting bigger. And they could change the restaurant industry. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features myself along with RB’s technology editor, Joe Guszkowski, to talk about what might be the biggest single trend in the industry: The proliferation of delivery-only restaurants, or virtual brands.
Feb 17, 2021•32 min
How does Hungry Howie’s compete in the pizza sector with so many giant competitors? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Steve Jackson, CEO of the 500-unit chain, who discusses the company’s response to the pandemic and its ability to grow in a market with so many bigger competitors.
Feb 10, 2021•29 min
Dutch Bros Coffee has quietly been one of the strongest growth chains in the U.S. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Joth Ricci, president of the 400-unit chain, to discuss its growth strategies, response to the pandemic, and its future.
Feb 03, 2021•27 min
Fast-food restaurant companies are busy developing new prototypes to take advantage of the growth in takeout. But they need more than that to succeed. Or so says Juan Martinez, principal and founder with the consulting firm Profitality, who joins this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” to discuss the proliferation of restaurant redesigns. Martinez discusses the redesigns on this episode. Fast-food chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell, have i...
Jan 27, 2021•30 min
Bartaco has had a busy three years. Scott Lawton, CEO and cofounder of the 20-unit taco chain, joins this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” to discuss those years and how the company has had to overcome the challenge of the coronavirus.
Jan 20, 2021•26 min
Ghost kitchens are a big trend, and Nathan’s Famous is taking full advantage. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features James Walker, senior vice president of restaurants, with Nathan’s Famous to talk about the trend and why ghost kitchens work for the concept.
Jan 13, 2021•34 min
Papa John’s turned itself around last year. Its challenge in 2021 is to keep that momentum going. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Rob Lynch, the CEO of the Louisville, Ky.-based pizza chain.
Jan 06, 2021•32 min
There is no question what the biggest story of the year was. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” includes a discussion between Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze and Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo on the pandemic and its impact on the restaurant industry. They also discuss the stimulus package and its potential to help the industry this time around. They discuss the vaccination program and how restaurant workers will be toward the front of the line when they get inocul...
Dec 23, 2020•35 min
Ghost kitchens are popular right now. But how long will the trend last? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Dan Rowe, the CEO of Fransmart and co-managing partner at The Kitchen Fund, to talk about a number of topics.
Dec 16, 2020•32 min
Restaurants facing a long pandemic winter have a number of strategies they can use to survive and thrive. That, at least, is according to Navin Nagrani, who joins the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” to discuss what he calls the “gain train,” a number of strategies on finance, real estate, operations and acquisitions that operators can use to grow their business.
Dec 09, 2020•38 min
Restaurants seem to be more resistant to state shutdowns this time around. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo, who sits down with host Jonathan Maze to discuss the current state of the pandemic.
Dec 02, 2020•31 min
Earlier this month, the fast-casual chicken chain Zaxby’s took a major investment from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. Cofounder and CEO Zach McLeroy details the investment in this week’s episode of the RB podcast “A Deeper Dive.”
Nov 24, 2020•23 min
The restaurant industry is going to look a lot different once the pandemic is over. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features the consultant John Gordon, discussing this and a host of other issues.
Nov 18, 2020•36 min
