Will restaurants need to serve more healthy food in the future? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features RB Executive Editor Lisa Jennings and we spend the entire time talking about the concept of a healthy fast-food restaurant. Lisa and I have had numerous debates over the years about this topic and we thought we’d let you in on some of them. We chat about Ozempic and drugs like it, and whether these medications could ultimately change the restaurant indus...
Oct 25, 2023•27 min
Is the tip credit dead? It sure seems that way, given the way big cities and states are doing away with the credit. So, for this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” I’m joined by RB Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo to talk about these things. Peter has been reporting on a rapid and increasingly successful movement around the country to do away with the tip credit, the sub-minimum wage restaurants pay to servers who get tips. This led into an extensive conversation about...
Oct 18, 2023•30 min
Why are the public markets good for Cava and not Panera Bread? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Ron Shaich, the chairman of Cava and former CEO of Panera Bread. Shaich has turned his attention to investing in and building brands since Panera was sold to JAB Holdings in 2017. He recently wrote a book, “Know What Matters, Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformation.” We took the opportunity to talk with Shaich about a wide range of issues, including why...
Oct 11, 2023•37 min
Let’s meet 7 Brew, one of the fastest-growing chains in the country. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features John Davidson, CEO of the rapidly growing drive-thru coffee chain. If you haven’t been to a 7 Brew, just wait: One will probably show up near your house sometime soon. The company’s unit count nearly tripled last year—enough to make the brand No. 3 on the Restaurant Business Future 50 ranking. It has grown even faster this year. But anybody who list...
Oct 04, 2023•27 min
How do you build a restaurant brand platform? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Gregg Majewski, the longtime industry executive and founder of Craveworthy Brands. We spoke with Gregg at the FSTEC Conference in Texas earlier this month. Majewski had worked for years in the industry as an investor and executive, most recently as CEO of Mongolian concepts BD’s Mongolian Grill, Genghis Grill and Flat Top Grill. Earlier this year he created Craveworthy Bran...
Sep 27, 2023•24 min
How can a small restaurant operator think about marketing? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Chip Klose, the host of the Restaurant Strategy podcast and author of the book The Restaurant Marketing Mindset. We wanted to talk with Chip about marketing, and why it’s so important for restaurant companies. We initially thought we’d discuss some recent industry marketing trends but we ended up talking entirely about how small brands and operators should th...
Sep 20, 2023•30 min
Why are consumers and franchisees so interested in chicken tenders? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Andy Howard, the CEO of the chicken chain Huey Magoo’s. Howard has had a long history in the chicken business, a history that mirrors the evolution of the chicken business. He talks about Huey Magoo’s, the Florida-based concept he acquired a few years ago, and which has become one of the fastest-growing chains in the U.S. He talks about the company’s...
Sep 13, 2023•27 min
o you get a popular local concept ready for prime time? This week’s episode of the RB podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Greg Vojnovic, the longtime development executive, who joins the podcast to talk about his small chain, called the Hot Dog Shoppe. Greg has had a long career in the restaurant industry and used to head development for Popeyes and then Arby’s as it formed Inspire Brands. He has since taken on an 80-year-old hot dog and fries concept out of Youngstown, Ohio. He believes the concep...
Sep 06, 2023•34 min
How will Subway’s sale change the sandwich business? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Michael Goldberg, the CEO of the 100-unit California chain Ike’s Love and Sandwiches. Goldberg, who has been with the chain for more than four years, discusses a wide variety of topics. He discusses Ike’s history and its plans for growth. He also talks about the surge in sales for the chain’s catering program, and some of the steps the company is taking to meet tha...
Aug 30, 2023•29 min
The restaurant industry has had plenty of its share of fraud, accounting scandals and outright theft. This episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features a discussion on some of the more interesting such events in the past and features Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo, host of the Restaurant Rewind podcast. Romeo is the unofficial historian of the restaurant business. We look back at some of the most famous events in the industry, such as the accounting issues at Buca di Beppo and ...
Aug 23, 2023•30 min
What is going on with Big Boy? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Tamer Afr, the CEO of the family-dining chain, to talk about the state of the brand. Afr has an interesting story. He had never been in the restaurant business until just less than five years ago, when he bought Big Boy as a potential growth opportunity. He then had to learn the industry while fixing a chain with an 87-year history. Afr talks about what kind of changes he’s been making, s...
Aug 16, 2023•26 min
Where are commodities headed in the coming months? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Maloni, the principal with the consulting firm Datum FS, to talk about where food prices are headed. Maloni is a recognized expert in commodities forecasting and supply chain issues. We talk about the state of food prices in the U.S. and his projections for costs going forward. In short: Maybe don’t consider marketing a bacon double cheeseburger. Beef costs are g...
Aug 09, 2023•24 min
What do Subway, Chipotle and Texas Roadhouse have in common? They’re all subjects of this week’s episode of A Deeper Dive. I asked a pair of, uh, veteran editors to join me on the podcast to talk about a single event they covered over the past decade that was particularly memorable. Restaurant Business Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo and Executive Editor Lisa Jennings were happy to oblige. The rule: We could not talk about the pandemic, because that was too obvious. But the result was an interesting...
Aug 02, 2023•33 min
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Lawton, the CEO and cofounder of bartaco. Bartaco operates 27 locations, specializing specifically in tacos. Lawton talks about how the chain was founded and discusses its current growth plans. We also talk about the lure of tacos and why they’re so popular these days. And I ask him about loyalty, and how the chain has been able to build it among its customer base. But we also talk extensively about service charg...
Jul 26, 2023•26 min
What’s the state of the restaurant business and M&A right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Balis, the managing director with the investment firm CapitalSpring. We talk about the state of the industry at the moment. With 2023 halfway over, we wanted Balis to talk about where the industry is going, both on a revenue and costs front but on mergers and acquisitions. He discusses industry sales and why they’ve kept pace despite soaring prices,...
Jul 19, 2023•27 min
What is the story behind Burger King’s comeback effort? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Tom Curtis, president of Burger King in the U.S. and Canada. Curtis has overseen Burger King over the past two years after coming over from Domino’s. And he has come at a time when the chain has been in trouble. The brand struggled during the pandemic, particularly after its upgraded chicken sandwich, the Ch’King, didn’t perform well. Struggling sales and high inf...
Jul 12, 2023•29 min
Grocery stores are preparing to come after your business. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Heather Lalley, the editor-in-chief of RB sister publication Winsight Grocery Business. We chat about, shockingly enough, the grocery business. Specifically, Heather and I discuss the competition between grocers and restaurants. We talk about the move grocers are making into restaurants’ territory, and how these companies plan to generate more of their business ...
Jul 05, 2023•24 min
What’s going on with MrBeast Burger? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski joins me to discuss virtual brands and, in particular, MrBeast Burger. If you haven’t heard, the YouTube star MrBeast has said publicly that he has pulled his support from his virtual brand, MrBeast Burger. He has since pulled the tweets in which he has said this, but the comments generated a LOT of attention. MrBeast Burger is the most successfu...
Jun 28, 2023•30 min
No one outpizzaed the Hut in the first quarter. Can Pizza Hut keep it up? David Graves, president of Pizza Hut U.S., joined me on the “A Deeper Dive” podcast this week to discuss the state of the brand and how its efforts have won over customers. Pizza Hut struggled for years but appears to have turned a corner more recently. Its 8% same-store sales growth in the first quarter outpaced its pizza delivery competitors. Much of that is due to the brand’s innovation, including its Melts sandwiches. ...
Jun 21, 2023•30 min
How have urban markets changed since the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Chip Wade, the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. Wade has a long and distinguished career in the restaurant industry. He was named CEO of Union Square last year after working with the company since 2019. Before that he worked for 17 years with Darden Restaurants and had previously worked with Legal Sea Foods and Carlson Restaurants. We talk about a wide range of...
Jun 14, 2023•29 min
Can Peter Piper go fast casual? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David McKillips, CEO of CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza. CEC has had an almost literal roller coaster ride in the three years since David became CEO. The pandemic pushed it into bankruptcy and then the reopening helped it come back remarkably strong as fun-and-games chains proved popular among consumers who wanted to get out of the house. We...
Jun 07, 2023•27 min
Where are sales and traffic going in 2023 and who will win? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research with the data firm Placer.ai. R.J. has covered the industry for more than two decades and knows a thing or two about the restaurant and retail sectors and we like having him on every so often to talk about the state of industry traffic. R.J. joined us at the recently concluded National Restaurant Association Show. We d...
May 31, 2023•27 min
What happens when a giant brand suddenly gives you a marketing gift? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Barry Westrum, chief marketing officer for Taco John's. Westrum joined me on the podcast at the National Restaurant Association Show less than a week after taco bell asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Taco John’s registration for “Taco Tuesday.” Taco Bell has since then brought in NBA star LeBron James to assist in the effort. Taco B...
May 24, 2023•21 min
How long will people keep paying high delivery prices? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Restaurant Business Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski, who joins me on the podcast to talk about DoorDash’s push to get operators to keep delivery prices the same as regular menu prices. Joe and I discuss his recent report on the menu price markups on delivery compared with buying in the restaurant, and why operators do this. We also discuss why DoorDash’s algorithm punishes those restauran...
May 17, 2023•28 min
Will menu price inflation ultimately hurt restaurants? Michael Swanson, an agricultural economist and consultant with Wells Fargo, joins the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive to discuss the economy and the outlook for inflation.
May 10, 2023•25 min
How good of a year did chain restaurants have in 2022, really? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Pawlak, managing principal with RB sister company Technomic, to talk about the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Specifically, we discuss the performance of chain restaurants, whose sales rose just over 8% last year. But that barely kept pace with menu price inflation. We also discuss restaurants’ surprising unit growth last year, the remarkabl...
May 03, 2023•33 min
How is Duck Donuts evolving its prototype? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Betsy Hamm, CEO of the 115-unit chain, who joined me at the Restaurant Leadership Conference recently to discuss a wide range of issues. Duck Donuts is based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and is known for selling made-to-order doughnuts in tourist spots. The company generated $60.6 million in system sales last year, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic....
Apr 26, 2023•20 min
Why is Smashburger ditching traditional drive-thrus? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Carl Bachmann, president of the fast-casual burger chain that is looking to get back on the growth path after some difficult years. The chain is operated by the Philippines-based Jollibee Corp. It operates fewer than 250 locations, down by about a third over the past five years. But Bachmann talks on the podcast about why the brand is ready for growth again and what ...
Apr 19, 2023•28 min
What are we to make of the situations at major burger chains these days? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michael Halen, senior restaurant and foodservice analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, to discuss what’s going on with McDonald’s and Burger King, in particular. McDonald’s recently laid off hundreds of employees around the world, closing its U.S. field offices and eliminating its two-zone field office structure. This, despite the company’s general...
Apr 12, 2023•27 min
Who is Mike Hancock? We find out in this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive. Hancock recently took over as president of Firehouse Subs for longtime CEO Don Fox. Hancock has worked for Firehouse Subs parent company Restaurant Brands International. He started with the chain as chief operating officer last year after serving in a similar role at the Canadian chain Tim Hortons. Hancock discusses his views of Firehouse after a year with the chain, including its strengths ...
Apr 05, 2023•27 min
