The recession of a decade ago was very fruitful for the burger industry, and specifically the better-burger category. In the wake of Five Guys' success, many other fast casuals sprung up around the country a decade ago, dishing high-quality burgers, fries, and shakes. So how should we expect the current crisis to affect the better-burger space? One big clue is found in BurgerFi, one of those brands to emerge out of the recession. The Florida-based concept has grown to about 120 locations serving...
Dec 11, 2020•36 min
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Today is the interview you've been waiting for: CEO Charlie Morrison joins the podcast to talk about the potential he saw in the brand when he joined in 2012, the steps he and his team have ...
Dec 04, 2020•55 min
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's leading executives, including CEO Charlie Morrison, offering a rounded view of what's going right for this Dallas-based company ...
Dec 03, 2020•32 min
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's leading executives, including CEO Charlie Morrison, offering a rounded view of what's going right for this Dallas-based company ...
Dec 02, 2020•29 min
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's leading executives, including CEO Charlie Morrison, offering a rounded view of what's going right for this Dallas-based company ...
Dec 01, 2020•25 min
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's chief technology officer, SVP of people, president of international, and finally CEO Charlie Morrison, offering a rounded view o...
Nov 30, 2020•26 min
Carin Stutz has worked in the restaurant industry for about four decades, including executive positions at Così, McAlister's Deli, and Red Robin. In 2019, she took the CEO position at Chicago-based fast casual Native Foods, which has 12 units across four states serving a 100 percent plant-based menu. But while Stutz had plans to apply her corporate restaurant know-how to this exciting startup, 2020 has proved to be a major roadblock to activating that potential. Stutz joins the podcast to talk a...
Nov 25, 2020•36 min
Pizza and chicken wings may be crushing right now, but what about the ice cream category? For something so dependent upon a social experience—not to mention a product with such a short shelf life—how do ice cream brands translate to an off-premises environment? That's been top of mind for David Leonardo for nine months. Leonardo is a former exec with Burger King, Arby's, and Wendy's who now serves as the CEO of Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream, a South Florida–based franchise that just opened its eigh...
Nov 20, 2020•38 min
It’s the fifth and final installment of the Restaurantology series, and we’re talking with Savory Fund’s managing partners, Andrew Smith and Greg Warnock. Chock-full of valuable and practical insights for leaders of emerging restaurant brands, this session offers a very detailed glimpse at how investors search for smart investments, what kind of opportunity they see in the restaurant industry today, and the things they think restaurant leaders should be doing today to set their brands up for an ...
Nov 13, 2020•55 min
It’s part four of our Restaurantology series, and we’re getting into the nitty gritty of how a management team like Savory supports the restaurants within its portfolio and leverages its resources to turn emerging brands with tons of potential into more profitable entities. Savory Management president Shauna Smith and vice president of brand development and strategy Alonso Castaneda also talk with us about the goals of the $100 million Savory Fund, the types of restaurant concepts they’re excite...
Nov 12, 2020•45 min
It’s part three of our Restaurantology series, and today we’re talking about the state of the mergers and acquisitions market during the COVID-19 crisis. Prior to the pandemic, Savory Fund’s portfolio included the fast casuals Mo’Bettahs, Swig, and R&R BBQ. But just this fall, Savory closed on controlling investments in The Crack Shack, based in Southern California, and Austin-based full-service brand Via 313 Pizzeria. In this session, Michael Rosen, founder of The Crack Shack; Brandon and Z...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 3 min
It’s part two of our Restaurantology series, and we’re talking with emerging restaurant leaders about their unique expansion plans. The coronavirus pandemic clearly slammed the brakes on restaurant momentum in the spring, but nimble operators have found ways to navigate the crisis and return to growth—albeit growth that considers the “new normal” of restaurant operations. Kimo Mack, cofounder of Hawaiian fast casual Mo’Bettahs, and Chase Wardrop, president of beverage and sweets chain Swig, are ...
Nov 10, 2020•52 min
Today is our first episode in the Restaurantology series! Restaurantology is a partnership with Savory Fund, which was launched earlier this year by investment firm Mercato Partners, and was established to make investments in exciting up-and-coming restaurant concepts and then equip them with the resources they need to scale up and become more profitable. First up in the Restaurantology series, we’re talking with R&R BBQ president Neil Harfert and Savory Management President Shauna Smith. R&...
Nov 09, 2020•49 min
Everyone got hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but full-service chains were especially rocked by losing dining rooms. And with a huge shift in daypart activity due to millions of Americans working from home, breakfast concepts also felt the effects of the pandemic more acutely. Suffice to say this year hasn't been particularly kind for full-service breakfast chains. But Famous Toastery, a Charlotte, NC–based breakfast, brunch, and lunch franchise, hasn't given up. The brand successfully adjuste...
Nov 03, 2020•40 min
Before the pandemic, fast-casual taco joint Velvet Taco was cruising. It had grown to 15 locations doing $4 million in average unit volume, and it planned aggressive growth across the U.S. Menu innovation was at the core of this incredible success, as Velvet Taco was committed to outside-the-box taco flavors and a Weekly Taco Feature that tried everything from crickets on a taco to a Turducken holiday taco. While the pandemic slammed the brakes on that momentum, president and CEO Clay Dover says...
Oct 23, 2020•43 min
We’ve been publishing the QSR® Drive-Thru Study now for over 20 years, holding quick-service chains accountable by reporting on their performance in speed of service, order accuracy, and other important metrics critical to drive-thru success. But with much of the industry maximizing their drive-thru performance—and with the pandemic skewing what is normal—it was clear that the study needed a refresh. That's why we’ve partnered this year with Darren Tristano and his firm FoodserviceResults to exp...
Oct 16, 2020•43 min
Mendocino Farms is the perfect example of fast casual 2.0. Committed to big footprints with beautiful designs and activities like foosball and corn hole, the Los Angeles–based brand elevated the entire fast-casual experience and built significant buzz as a result, growing to 35 locations between California and Texas, with plans to scale nationally. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Mendocino Farms, which was so invested in a dine-in experience, had to quickly translate that in-store identity into...
Oct 09, 2020•33 min
Digital strategies were important before the pandemic, but they're critical today, and restaurants have only scratched the surface with digital innovations. Nobody knows that better than Dan Getsacov, chief commercial officer at Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands. He's responsible for designing the "shared backbone" for Moe's, Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's, Jamba, and McAlister's Deli that drives digital success for all seven brands. Gertsacov joins the podcast to talk about how digital ...
Oct 02, 2020•46 min
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit different parts of the country and different foodservice categories in different ways. Of course, the full-service industry has suffered far more than counter-service concepts, and urban centers like New York City have been more negatively impacted than suburbs and cities that rely on driving traffic. Chris Blanchard is president and cofounder of Chicas Tacos, an emerging fast-casual taco concept based in Los Angeles. In the last 6 months, he and his team have adapt...
Sep 29, 2020•33 min
Flint, Michigan–based concept Halo Burger was built on the fundamentals of quick service—cheap and convenient burgers, fries, and shakes—way back in 1923. And while it's seen a lot in its 97 years, the eight-unit regional burger joint is facing its toughest task yet with the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivia Ross, Halo Burger's director of marketing, joins the podcast to talk about how the chain is modernizing its operations and marketing platforms and balancing those with nearly a century's worth of br...
Sep 18, 2020•32 min
Private investment firm RSE Ventures has built a name for itself in the business community, both for its stakes in renowned restaurants like Momofuku, Milk Bar, &pizza, and Bluestone Lane, as well as for its CEO Matt Higgins, who has appeared as a guest shark on "Shark Tank." But the firm has gone beyond placing smart bets on exciting companies, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic; these days, RSE has taken an active role in helping its brands pivot in the midst of the crisis. RSE mana...
Sep 11, 2020•40 min
Easily served contact-free and beloved by families, pizza has proved to be uniquely resilient during the COVID-19 crisis. But what about the fast-casual pizza space, which relies so heavily on the in-store experience? Brands like Oath Pizza, which launched in Nantucket in 2015, have been forced to pivot more than traditional pizza chains, and for Oath that's included investments in things like meal kits, a food truck, and ghost kitchens. Oath president and CEO Drew Kellogg joins the podcast to t...
Sep 04, 2020•42 min
When cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac launched their food truck Cousins Maine Lobster in Los Angeles in 2012, food trucks were red-hot. But while many trucks fizzled out after a few years and the broader trend settled into a sort of community-by-community niche, Cousins has expanded through franchising and established itself as an international seafood sensation with both truck and brick-and-mortar locations. Tselikis joins the podcast to talk about how a food-truck business has some inheren...
Aug 27, 2020•43 min
Even before the pandemic, the very definition of a restaurant was starting to change thanks to ghost kitchens, virtual brands, and the broader digitization of the restaurant experience. But COVID-19 has supercharged that process; now more than ever, operators are discovering that all they need to open for business in any community in America is a commercial kitchen. Enter REEF. What originated as a parking lot management company is turning valuable real estate—parking lots in 20-plus cities acro...
Aug 20, 2020•41 min
COVID-19 has completely upended the restaurant industry and will likely permanently alter the restaurant experience as we know it, both through technology upgrades that take much of the experience online and through in-store changes that affect how a customer moves through a physical space. Bruce Reinstein, partner at foodservice consultancy Kinetic12, is keeping on top of how restaurants will likely change in the future. He joins the podcast to talk through some of his predictions, what emergin...
Aug 14, 2020•34 min
It’s already one of the hardest jobs in the restaurant industry: As CEO at Yum! Brands, David Gibbs oversees more than 50,000 restaurants across four brands, with 2,000 franchisees and 1.5 million employees globally. But considering the fact that he’d only had the job for a few months before the coronavirus outbreak slammed the breaks on the economy in March, Gibbs has had one of the more bizarre years of anyone in the industry. In an exclusive interview with QSR , Gibbs details how Yum managed ...
Aug 10, 2020•37 min
Garrett Mills was a record-setting tight end for the University of Tulsa's football team before playing in the NFL for the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, and Philadelphia Eagles. He exited the league in 2012 to get his MBA at Northwestern University, and eventually landed at Chandler Hospitality Group, parent of 60-unit full-service barbecue chain RibCrib. Mills joins the podcast to talk about how RibCrib leveraged its already-growing off-premises business to survive through the pandem...
Aug 05, 2020•26 min
Pizza has been all but bulletproof during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it's easily served contactless and it's such a popular option for in-home family meals. But the industry isn't without its challenges during this crisis. Case in point: Labor. Steve Jackson, CEO of Hungry Howie's, joins the podcast to talk about the staffing issues that the nearly 50-year-old regional pizza chain has faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and to discuss the potential that the brand has for expansion in the p...
Jul 31, 2020•34 min
The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on many brands' marketing calendars, product roll outs, and expansion plans. But at least one brand is going full-steam ahead on its plans to franchise. Mici Handcrafted Italian is a six-unit fast casual based in Denver that has built a loyal following with premium Italian dishes. The company brought on Smashburger and Lettuce Entertain You veteran Elliot Schiffer as CEO in 2017 in an effort to take Mici to the next level, including with a franchis...
Jul 22, 2020•36 min
Drive thru is on the lips of many restaurant operators today, as the model has proved to be mostly immune to the coronavirus pandemic. And drive thru certainly stands to factor into future restaurant growth, possibly even as a part of the full-service restaurant industry. Scooter's Coffee has been growing primarily through a drive-thru-only kiosk model since 1998—a model that CEO Todd Graeve says protected it from the worse effects of the Great Recession and is helping it survive the coronavirus...
Jul 15, 2020•42 min
