Restaurants have been loading their menus with new items lately. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive is all about menu development, and specifically why so many restaurant chains are turning to limited-time offers to get customers in the door. RB Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe joins me to talk about that this week. Here’s a statistic: There were nearly 26,000 limited-time offers in the restaurant industry last year, according to Technomic. That was up 46% from 2022 ...
Dec 04, 2024•29 min
It’s impossible to kill a restaurant chain, even when it’s dead. This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features a discussion on a fascinating phenomenon in the restaurant world lately: Operators bringing formerly dead or dying brands back to life. RB colleagues Lisa Jennings and Joe Guszkowski join me to talk about three such concepts: Steak & Ale, Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes and Ground Round. Steak & Ale, a Norman Brinker-created brand that was a casual-dining pioneer, recently open...
Nov 27, 2024•29 min
Church’s Texas Chicken has a new recipe that’s its old recipe. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Guith, CEO of the chicken chain. He joined us for an exclusive look at the company and its growth plans. Church’s does have some big growth plans. The company wants to get to $2 billion in system sales by 2028, up from $1.4 billion last year. We talk about what the company plans to do to get to that, including remodels and more digital efforts. And we t...
Nov 20, 2024•31 min
What’s the story behind the Hawaiian barbecue trend? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Elisia Flores, the CEO of the 200-plus unit franchise, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. L&L is rapidly growing and helped pioneer the idea of Hawaiian barbecue, though Flores explains exactly what that is. The chain’s system sales grew more than 10% last year, according to Technomic, and it has plans to continue to expand through franchising over the next several years...
Nov 13, 2024•28 min
What is happening with TGI Fridays? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features a discussion on the recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the casual-dining chain TGI Fridays. RB Senior Editor Joe Guszkowski joins me on the podcast to discuss the situation. TGI Fridays’ filing over the weekend was hardly a surprise, given the chain’s years of decline and its apparent death spiral this year. The company recently lost control of much of its business after the trus...
Nov 06, 2024•31 min
What do we make of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Bill Marler, the country’s leading attorney on food safety issues and foodborne illness outbreaks. Marler is with the law firm Marler Clark. He has represented victims of outbreaks and consulted with companies on foodborne-illness issues for more than 30 years. We wanted to talk with him about the situation at McDonald’s. As of now at least 75 people in 13 states, and lik...
Oct 30, 2024•36 min
What are we to make of the weird year in restaurants? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kenny Kraft, a managing director with Houlihan Lokey, and Tyler Martinez, a vice president with the investment firm. The three of us talk about the state of the restaurant industry, and there’s a lot to talk about. This year has been an odd one. Consumers have cut back on dining out at fast-food chains and casual dining concepts but appear to be spending more at res...
Oct 23, 2024•27 min
Can your restaurant use customer reviews to manage their business? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Avi Goren, the cofounder and CEO of the hospitality technology company Marqii. Marqii does a few things, such as automating updates on menus and location data. But it also has a product that helps operators manage and track reviews. We spoke with Avi at the recent FSTEC conference in Dallas about this because we’re fascinated by the impact reviews can h...
Oct 16, 2024•29 min
What are the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Richard Del Valle, the chief information officer with the Charlotte, North Carolina-based chicken chain Bojangles. We spoke with Richard at the FSTEC restaurant technology conference in September. We were interested in the efforts Bojangles was making in adding consumer-facing technology into its restaurants. In particular, Del Valle discussed the company’...
Oct 09, 2024•32 min
How do you market a brand like Jack in the Box? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ryan Ostrom, the chief marketing officer for the San Diego-based burger chain. This is a complicated environment in the restaurant industry and we wanted Ostrom on the podcast to talk about how to market a brand in an environment like this. Ostrom and I talk about the complexities of this market, and about balancing the need for price-based promotions and customers’ desir...
Oct 02, 2024•29 min
Why is delivery so popular? Hint, it’s easy. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Cameron Watt, the president and CEO of Intouch Insight, to discuss the firm’s recent study for Restaurant Business on third-party delivery at restaurants and convenience stores. Intouch Insight is a customer experience consulting firm that works with companies across restaurants and retail. It uses secret shoppers to provide insights into a wide variety of issues, and recent...
Sep 25, 2024•27 min
What is the future of Whataburger under its new CEO? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ed Nelson, the CEO of Whataburger, and Debbie Stroud, who will take the chief executive job at the end of the year when Nelson retires. They joined the podcast for an exclusive interview. Whataburger is a Texas-based chain with more than 1,000 locations in 15 states. It had operated as a family-owned brand for 69 years before it was sold in 2019 to BDT Capital Partne...
Sep 18, 2024•31 min
What is the future of Topgolf? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mathew Focht, the founder and managing partner of the investment fund Emerging. Emerging is a fund that invests in small technology and restaurant and entertainment concepts. The fund has invested in several food-and-entertainment brands. Several such brands have emerged in recent years to combine restaurants with various activities, including minigolf, bowling, baseball, pickleball and e...
Sep 11, 2024•26 min
How does a pot-themed brand become one of the industry’s fastest-growing restaurant chains? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Marc Torres, the CEO of the fast-growing sandwich chain Cheba Hut. The Fort Collins, Colorado-based chain has picked up its growth in recent years behind franchising and strong average unit volumes. System sales grew 29% last year, according to Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. Average unit volumes are well over $2 m...
Sep 04, 2024•28 min
What do all these bankruptcies mean for the future of the restaurant industry? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, RB editors Joe Guszkowski and Lisa Jennings join me to discuss the spate of bankruptcy filings this year and what they mean for the business. Seventeen restaurant chains have filed for Chapter 11 debt protection this year, most of them since June. That probably undercounts the true industry challenge as several companies are either close to filin...
Aug 28, 2024•28 min
What does the potential Circle K-7-Eleven deal mean for restaurants? This week's episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Hannah Hammond, a senior editor with RB sister publication CSP Daily News. CSP covers convenience stores, and I wanted to talk with Hammond about the big news of the week—maybe the year—in the convenience-store industry: The proposed acquisition of Seven & i holdings by Alimentation Couche-Tard . Seven & i is the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven and...
Aug 21, 2024•29 min
How can operating a franchise lead to multi-generational success? This week's episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kerri Harper-Howie, a second-generation McDonald's franchisee out of Los Angeles. Harper-Howie has written a book : The Family Secret: The Business and Franchise Owner’s Guide to Building Generational Wealth . We talk about that book and the story behind it. We talk about her parents and why they got into the McDonald’s business. We talk extensively abou...
Aug 14, 2024•34 min
Why are some restaurant chains suddenly struggling in international markets? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joel Silverstein. Silverstein is a periodic guest on the podcast. He is the founder and CEO of the hospitality consulting firm Canyon Springs Advisors. He has helped a lot of companies grow in overseas markets. I wanted to talk with him about the state of international development. We talk quite a bit about the state of the industry in China, ...
Aug 07, 2024•39 min
Why should franchisees take private-equity investments? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mike Esposito, the cofounder of Franchise Equity Partners. Franchise Equity Partners is a private-equity firm specializing in the franchise business. Mike helped found the firm in 2021 to invest in all kinds of franchisees. Before that he had an extensive career in investment banking, working 20 years with Goldman Sachs. He is also a Jersey Mike’s franchisee. We t...
Jul 31, 2024•29 min
How does an international restaurant chain break into the toughest market in the world? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Troy Hooper, the CEO of Pepper Lunch. Pepper Lunch is a Japanese fast-casual chain in which customers largely cook the food themselves. It is part of a generation of concepts with unique business models that are rapidly establishing themselves in a U.S. market hungry for more Asian fare that provides interesting experiences. Hooper ...
Jul 24, 2024•33 min
Why are restaurants losing customers right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research with Placer.ai. Hottovy has followed the restaurant industry for years, and the foot traffic data firm has been tracking customer counts to restaurants and retailers. In November, Placer.ai noted traffic suddenly falling to Starbucks shops, foretelling a sales challenge the coffee giant has dealt with all year. We wanted Hottovy o...
Jul 18, 2024•32 min
Why is it better for small restaurant chains to band together? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kelly Roddy, CEO of the brand platform company Woworks. Woworks operates several restaurant concepts, including Saladworks, Garbanzo Mediterranean, Frutta Bowls, Simple Greek, Barberitos and ZEats. It is one of a growing number of platform companies that collect small concepts, and these companies have been gobbling up a lot of brands lately. The idea is th...
Jul 10, 2024•28 min
Can technology fix restaurants’ workforce issues? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast features two different discussions. First, we chat with Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. We chatted with Michelle at the National Restaurant Show in May and discussed a variety of issues, including the regulatory environment, how companies are dealing with soaring costs and the importance of restaurant technology. And speaking of restaurant techno...
Jul 03, 2024•34 min
How do brands operate in a price-sensitive restaurant market? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Juan Martinez, the principal and founder of the consulting firm Profitality. We periodically have Martinez on the podcast when we’re concerned about profits and, well, this is one of those times. Consumers are frustrated by rising restaurant prices and are cutting back on dining frequency. Restaurants don’t have pricing power and are about to enter a value w...
Jun 26, 2024•26 min
What are the restaurant industry’s biggest concerns right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Redler, the co-founder of Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers. We spoke with Scott at the National Restaurant Show in May and we chatted on a variety of issues. We wanted to talk with him about some of the bigger concerns in the industry right now, given regulatory efforts such as the $20 fast-food wage in California and other issues. I also want...
Jun 18, 2024•29 min
How can restaurant chains survive in this market? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features longtime industry executive James Walker. At the moment, Walker has multiple titles. He is the chief culinary and concept officer for Experiential Brands, a concept creation engine that has created brands such as the Original Hot Chicken, Inked Tacos and Pinsa Roman Pizza. He is also the CEO of Frisch’s Restaurants, the family-dining brand. We talked with Walker at the ...
Jun 12, 2024•28 min
What is the future of Red Lobster? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Victor Fernandez, the vice president of insights and knowledge at GuestXM. GuestXM provides industry performance metrics, notably the Black Box index of industry sales and traffic. I wanted Victor on the podcast so we could talk about the state of full-service restaurants, particularly a certain seafood chain that is filing for bankruptcy. We talked during the National Restaurant Show...
Jun 05, 2024•27 min
How has Dutch Bros changed its real estate strategy? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Christine Barone, CEO of the drive-thru beverage chain. Dutch Bros is coming off a strong quarter under its relatively new chief executive, and we talk about a host of topics. We discuss how Dutch Bros is refining its real estate strategy and what that means. We chat about fortressing, and why Dutch Bros believes building more locations in a market is important to th...
May 29, 2024•28 min
What does the Technomic Top 500 tell us about the restaurant industry right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Pawlak, managing principal with Technomic. And we talk all about the report and the trends that it reveals. The Top 500 is essentially data on the chain restaurant industry, since that data makes up the vast majority of chain sales. Restaurant sales increased more than 8% last year, but that was due entirely to prices and some unit gro...
May 22, 2024•28 min
How is Pinstripes upgrading the bowling experience? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Dale Schwartz, the CEO of the growing eatertainment concept Pinstripes. Dale joined us at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in April. We talk about, well, Pinstripes, a concept that combines bowling and bocce with a restaurant. It is part of the fast-growing eatertainment sector led by such concepts as Top Golf. Schwartz talks about the chain’s history and what mak...
May 15, 2024•21 min
