QSR Uncut is a podcast from the editors of QSR magazine—the leading publication for foodservice owners and operators—that discusses the current state and future of the fast-food restaurant industry as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Made for restaurant executives, entrepreneurs, consumers, and leaders, each episode candidly shares expert advice from some of the industry's most insightful leaders.
Mason Wiederhorn, the Chief Brand Officer of multi-concept operator FAT Brands, joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to discuss a first of its kind co-branded site for Great American Cookies/Marble Slab Creamery and the launch of a “3D Cookie Cake Builder,” among a host of other tech-forward, customer-centric evolutions.
Dr. Emily Williams Knight, the CEO of Texas Restaurant Association, joins QSR editorial Danny Klein and WiRL associate editor Satyne Doner for a special crossover episode between QSR Uncut and our sister podcast, Women in Restaurant Leadership. We discuss everything from climbing the ladder to the industry’s most-pressing issues and regulatory challenges to this February’s upcoming WiRL Summit, and much more. If you're interested in learning more about WiRL or attending our February event, visit...
Healey Mendicino, the president of Port of Subs, began as a franchisee and opened the chain’s 100th restaurant. Now, she’s serving as president and plotting a path to 500 units in five years with a commitment to quality, differentiation, and leading as a best-in-class franchisor.
VP of Marketing Steven Clarke Joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss the 35th anniversary of Golden Krust, a brand that remains to this day a family-run operation that started from a single location in the Bronx, New York, before expanding nationwide. After immigrating to New York from Jamaica in the 1980s, Lowell F. Hawthorne and his 10 siblings founded Golden Krust in 1989. Clarke is carrying on that legacy, looking ahead to growth, and balancing modernizing the brand while also p...
Brix Holdings CEO Sherif Mityas, the leader of a group that includes Red Mango, Smoothie Factory + Kitchen, Souper Salad, Orange Leaf, Humble Donut Co., Pizza Jukebox, Friendly’s, and, most recently, Clean Juice, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to dive into the workings and inspiration anchoring the portfolio, as well as the state of franchising, investing, consumer preference, and much more through a wide-ranging discussion around restaurant growth and the keys to staying ahead.
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s Jeff Galletly—the brand’s first CEO in its history—joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to take a look inside the hybrid-automat and how it’s redefining dining with cutting-edge self-service technology. We also get into the future of the space and where the consumer is taking restaurants, and how his background (most recently as VP and General Manager of Tim Hortons USA) is influencing his leadership style and plans for the fast-growing brand.
Linked Eats president and Virtual Dining Concepts cofounder Robbie Earl joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley for a deep dive into a category and topic that continues to evolve. All the rage when dining rooms shut down, how have virtual brands innovated to remain a viable revenue option? How are operators viewing the potential? What kind of technology has entered the fray to open more avenues of business and help restaurants handle the rush of digital orders? We get into all of that and a ...
Competing in the QSR coffee game is always a wild journey. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii CEO Scott Snyder joins QSR magazine editorial director Danny Klein to discuss how the 1989-founded brand is standing out in the segment and why it’s poised for expansion. We also get into broader beverage trends, design, the state of the consumer, and way more.
WOWorks’ CEO Kelly Roddy joins QSR editorial director to discuss the inspiration, development, and evolution of one of the category’s fastest-growing multi-brand groups, which now includes Saladworks, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, Frutta Bowls, The Simple Greek, Barberitos, and Z!Eats (formerly Zoup!). As the former president of Schlotzsky’s, he repositioned the brand from a sandwich deli chain to a high-quality eatery, doubling its average unit sales, and, in 2019, took over Saladworks, navigat...
Bruno Cardinali, global head of marketing at açaí brand OAKBERRY, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss the fast casual’s rise, which closed out 2023 with 35 stores in North America and is on track to double that by the end of 2024, and again by the end of 2025. Cardinali was also previously the marketing chief at Popeyes and shares some stories about the so-called “Chicken Sandwich Wars.”
Alissa Partee, the Chief People Officer at Restaurant Technologies, which was recently recognized with three national workplace awards, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss how you can win with culture in today’s hiring landscape. Can you build workplace culture from the top down and get franchisees onboard? In what ways can operators recruit/attract, and retain the best talent? We get into that and a whole lot more. This episode was sponsored by Restaurant Technologies....
Starting as an intern in 2003, Lance Vaught has held every position within the operations and training departments at Penn Station East Coast Subs, culminating in his appointment as president in January 2022. His experience and understanding of day-to-day tasks shaped his leadership style, which focuses on getting back into restaurants and helping operators stay disciplined as they navigate the challenges today. Vaught joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss the state and direction o...
Ryan Ostrom, the marketing chief at the legendary fast-food brand, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss how restaurants can reach and engage customers amid today’s challenges and opportunities, from technology to social media to value. Ostrom oversees Jack in the Back’s iconic brand marketing, directing out-of-the-box campaigns like its 2023 collab with Snoop Dog to Jack himself being named to People’s Sexiest Man Alive. We’ll get into that and take an overall look at the industry...
What lessons can restaurants learn from Blockbuster’s fall? How are on-trend ingredients like Ashwagandha resonating? What kind of partnerships make the biggest impact with Gen Z and millennial diners? Mitch Baker, the VP of marketing at Robeks, gets into those topics and a whole lot more as the famed juice and smoothie brand shares how it’s evolving toward the future of guest engagement.
Matt Wampler, the CEO and cofounder of ClearCOGS, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss the state of digital solutions, how an operator became a tech maven, and where the next wave of technology is going to take the restaurant industry.
Value. Regulations. An upcoming presidential election season. The restaurant sector is being pressured on all sides by challenges. Jon Taffer, star of “Bar Rescue” and industry maven, returns to QSR Uncut for the third time to discuss all of it, including how his growing concept Taffer’s Tavern is charting a fresh path, and how the world of dining out continues to change.
One of the biggest CEO moves in recent restaurant memory (maybe ever) brought Chipotle executive Brian Niccol over to Starbucks in mid-August. It was an announcement that soared the java chain’s stock and re-injected optimism into the brand, which has struggled with negative traffic in back-to-back quarters. But the truth is, this is a tale for Starbucks that goes back much further. Where did its marketing lose traction? Can it win back guests and hold off competitors? Brett Townsend, SVP of Str...
Mike Esposito, co-managing partner and cofounder of Franchise Equity Partners, joins QSR Uncut to chat about the challenges and opportunities of the restaurant market today. Why is access to capital so challenging? Will that change? How can operators find investors and position themselves for growth? We get into that and a whole lot more.
The CEO of 7shifts joins QSR Uncut to talk through hiring trends and what the company uncovered from a new study: “What Restaurant Employees Want: 2024 Report.” We’ll get into everything from motivating factors, how you retain and recruit, and how the landscape of restaurant labor continues to shift out of the pandemic era. You can read more on the report here: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/as-labor-tightens-restaurants-race-to-recruit-retain-a-changing-generation/...
One of the industry’s true cult-classic chains has begun to expand beyond its Chicagoland roots, filing a successful IPO and heading to new markets like Texas. Wherever it’s landing, Portillo’s is opening to massive volumes—potentially the highest in the industry above $9 million—and finding hordes of new fans supporting the company’s next generation of development. How does Portillo’s maintain its brand identity while also looking to the future? CMO Nick Scarpino takes us behind the scenes of t...
Paul Tran, director of franchise sales at Hot Palette America, has had quite the journey, from opening his own concept to becoming a franchisee to now leading the growth of a global brand ready to crash into the U.S. He's a visionary who has successfully sold over 1,000 franchises and contributed to the scalability of restaurant chains across 15 countries. Now, he shares those lessons learned and what the future holds for Pepper Lunch in this wide-ranging and revealing discussion.
Derrick Hayes, CEO and founder of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, has taken his brand from a 700-square-foot gas station location to one of Atlanta’s most-popular fast casuals. And more recently, the brand has begun to franchise outside the state as it looks to ramp up growth. Hayes shares his journey from Philadelphia to Atlanta to the big stadium lights, from entrepreneur to rising executive, and how he’s creating an organization and culture that’s built to last.
(Very) few restaurant brands in America are growing as fast as Tropical Smoothie Cafe, while also generating these type of sales. CEO Charles Watson joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss what’s driving the brand’s success, where it’s headed, as well as, for the first time, get into its recent sale to private equity giant Blackstone. We also dive into broader industry trends and how the rest of 2024 is shaping up, from value to asset evolution and more.
Devon Zielinski, the president of USA Restaurant Suppliers, joins the podcast this week to talk about the state of equipment in the sector, how he started the company, challenges and opportunities, and a bunch of other things, from dog DNA tests to, yes, living on Mars. This conversation went a lot of places.
Kate Finley, who worked as a Marketing Director for Chick-fil-A, is now the founder and CEO of Belle Communications, an award-winning and top-ranked digital PR and social media firm. She joins the podcast this week to talk about how restaurants can best reach today’s guest, from influencer marketing strategies to meeting customers on their own terms.
Kiosks are flooding the quick-service industry right now, from the biggest brands to fast casuals looking to scale. But what are the pitfalls and real benefits? Do they actually replace labor? Optimize sales? We’ll break down the landscape, present and future, and the ins-and-outs of implementation and performance, with PDQ chief operating officer Eric Knott and GRUBBRR chief marketing officer Jarrett Nasca.
How does a cult-favorite restaurant chain embrace the masses? It’s a multi-tiered strategy from store design to digital campaigns to rethinking every customer touchpoint along the way. Potbelly CMO David Daniels joins QSR Uncut this week to talk about the sandwich legend’s approach to guest engagement and what’s still to come.
Lunchbox cofounder and CEO Nabeel Alamgir returns to QSR Uncut to talk about what’s fast become one of the biggest opportunities in the restaurant marketplace. Catering has made a massive comeback out of COVID and is now rife with whitespace. Can tech unlock the potential?
The Açaí pioneer recently launched into franchising for the first time in 24 years. CEO and cofounder Ryan Black joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to discuss the brand’s journey—it owns 50 percent of the imported Açaí market and has more than 30,000 retail partners stocking the product—and how it’s going to translate that equity and experience into brick-and-mortar development that’s already fast underway.
No stranger to the restaurant industry, Max Sheets got his start as a teenager scraping cheese off pans in a Pizza Hut kitchen. He later spent more than 20 years in real estate and development for such brands as Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Smashburger, and Ted’s Montana Grill. In fact, he was with Smashburger when the footprint transformed from a handful to hundreds, and was at the floor of Ted’s Montana Grill when Ted Turner and George McKerrow p...
