Hear what these two digital restaurant savants and best-selling authors, Meredith Sandland & Carl Orsbourn, have to say about the future of the restaurant industry and what possible challenges restaurant operators may face during the digital age. Our guests had the idea to write their book, Delivering the Digital Restaurant , as they ''want the industry to survive this big omnichannel shift. And to do that, they need some tools and a group discussion to talk about how to navigate t...
Nov 16, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join this modern and savvy restaurateur and marketer, Solomon Choi, as we explore why POS has fallen into the “uncool” category in an industry sprinting to keep up with the digital consumer. Solomon explains how he got into the “FroYo” business and found himself on point for figuring out the technology as well. Moments to Listen For: • Omni-Channel is Not New to Consumers. The consumer has been omni-channel for many years, it’s just that the hospitality and foodservice industry has been behind a...
Nov 05, 2021•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast For this 40th episode of Restaurants Reinvented, we're hosting the new CMO at Krystal Restaurants, Alice Crowder. Alice has a very distinct and innovative way of testing "new ideas" and it comes down to a detailed process hinging on research and data -- while still leaving tons of room for creativity. Show Highlights: • Balancing Data and the Creative Process Alice's approach to marketing is a marriage of instinct & innovation supported by a process infrastructure. Hear h...
Oct 22, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join us as we celebrate getting back to the first in-person conference in 18 LONG months. This week's episode is with Marcus Viscidi ( Winsight Media ) & Zack Oates ( Ovation ), as they reflect on the sweeping changes and impacts to the hospitality industry and how that made this first live event even more meaningful. Marcus , a hospitality expert and leading Winsight Media spokesperson, has his finger on the pulse of all the hot topics in restaurants today. He emphasized the true heart...
Oct 07, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hear from The Godfather of restaurant marketing himself, Greg Creed, former CEO at Yum! Brands and CEO/CMO of Taco Bell where he spearheaded the famous “Think Outside the Bun” campaign. Another small feather in his cap…. Running the Dove brand for Unilever. Most recently he’s co-authored a book with Ken Muench called R.E.D. Marketing: The Three Ingredients of Leading Brands - Relevance, Ease, and Distinctiveness. Greg is chock full of marketing wisdom and experience, and has the street cred to p...
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's female CEO super-star, Betsy Hamm, joins Restaurants Reinvented to talk about franchise marketing, branding, community involvement, empathetic leadership, & so much more! Betsy is the new CEO of Duck Donuts , a successful donut shop franchise with 100+ stores worldwide. She entered the restaurant industry after working at Hershey Foods for 14 years. After that, Betsy started the formal marketing function at Duck Donuts, moved into operations, and is now the chief executive offic...
Aug 24, 2021•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is a continuation of our interview with Peter Wiley, co-founder of two fast-casual chains and a technology superstar. We drill into today’s reality of technology in restaurants - Peter provides a great modern, fresh example of how busy operators can integrate fast, scalable tech into their daily operations to streamline both internal and external processes. If you haven’t checked out the first episode , we suggest you listen to it as a warm-up for this one. Peter is currently the Co...
Aug 24, 2021•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Creating new in-restaurant dining experiences and balancing those with growing to-go-only concepts are the meat of this episode. What is the secret of a successful restaurant chain? According to Tana Davila, the CMO at P.F. Chang's , it is about brand distinctiveness , unique technology approaches , and being able to adapt quickly and creatively in a pandemic. Tana and her creative team of 30 people have reinvented P.F. Chang's due to a pandemic. They focused on To-Go concepts, deliver...
Jul 31, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fasten your seat belts and get ready to hear from one of the Fast Casual industry's most innovative and cool restauranteurs -- Peter Wiley, the Co-Founder at Rapid Fired Pizza & Hot Head Burritos -- and super-human Qu account rep, Sean Brennan. These two guys are driving the restaurant tech industry forward with new ways of embracing technology, modern processes, and restaurant trends - like cryptocurrency, just to name one. Key Insights & Quotes • POS built from the cloud down vers...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Macaluso, President and CEO of Another Broken Egg Cafe, talks about the importance of investing in your staff, as taking care of your employees' career growth can lead to better relationships, business, and brand results. Paul also talks about the changes he’s seen across the restaurant landscape, namely the growth of digital media and the importance of technology in current restaurants. Key Takeaways & Quotes • Implementing & scaling off-prem from 0 to 15% of business '&a...
Jun 11, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Meet Lidija Davidson, brand expert extraordinaire and restaurant innovator. This episode is all about the Power of Brand. If you haven’t thought about your brand in a while - start now . The post-pandemic world is rife with opportunities to engage guests and grow your business to a whole new and different level. Communicating a relatable, relevant (and fun) brand to your employees, guests, franchisees, and partners is paramount to building that success in 2021. As a passionate restaurateur, mark...
May 28, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Meet the fearless female leader behind the smokin’ barbecue pit at Dickey’s! After joining Dickey’s during the 2008 recession, to CIO and then CEO, Laura Rae Dickey shares how the technology infrastructure they built 10 years ago served to fortify the brand during the 2020 pandemic. The evidence is clear - they’ve had 11 straight months of sales growth and continue opening new locations every month. Now celebrating their 80th anniversary, Laura and Jen dish on all things restaurants reinvented: ...
Apr 24, 2021•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Season 2 kicks off with a fierce female leader in honor of Women's History Month! Join the former President of Auntie Anne's, Heather Leed Neary, on her new adventure as the EVP and General Manager at KBP Investments. KBP is a leading restaurant franchise group that operates many worldwide restaurants, including KFC and Taco Bell. Heather is overseeing the Taco Bell portfolio -- KBP Bells . After serving as the President of Auntie Anne’s for five years, Heather decided it was time for ...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two top loyalty experts : Diane Le ( Punchh ) and Olga Lopategui ( OLLO Consult ) discuss how to build more meaningful relationships with your guests + all the fundamentals of a “ modern day restaurant loyalty program .” Key Takeaways: It all starts with the customer experience and 1:1 relationships. ( Move from a transactional to relational mindset) How to use Data & Segmentation for Smart Marketing. What Can Ruin Your Loyalty Program? Lack of alignment b/t Marketing & Ops! The most imp...
Feb 20, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s often said that the brightest times follow the darkest times. We see this is indeed the case for Taco John’s and its fearless Marketing leader, Barry Westrum. On this episode of Restaurants Reinvented, we take our Taco Series to new heights (and add a side of Potato Olés® ) with 4-time CMO, Barry Westrum who’s turning up the heat for the Midwestern taco darling Taco John's, which operates nearly 400 restaurants in 23 states. Hear how the chaos of COVID and a brand in flux became the po...
Feb 12, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast A self-taught digital marketing expert from his early days of crafting social for Wendy’s; to converting Papa John’s to a digital focus - Brandon Rhoten specializes in turnaround brands. After spending nearly seven years leading marketing initiatives for the two brands, Brandon has developed a strong understanding of what makes a successful restaurant marketer — which he brings to Potbelly Sandwich Works as its Chief Marketing Officer. On this episode of Restaurants Reinvented, host Jen Kern int...
Jan 21, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hear what baseball, authenticity, and America’s farmers have to do with Chipotle’s continued off-prem (r)evolution, starring Jonathon Relkin, Director of Digital & Off-Premises at Chipotle. On this episode of Restaurant Reinvented , hostess Jen Kern dives into Jonathon’s impressive eComm background with brands like Vans, Mattel, and Reebok to discover which B2C best practices translate to the restaurant industry’s rapid digital transformation. Learn tips on how to entice consumer purchasing ...
Jan 15, 2021•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hear how Dog Haus has managed to increase sales and revenue during a pandemic year through a tightly aligned, symbiotic partnership between Marketing & Operations. Dubbed "Markerations", CJ Ramirez (CMO) and Raz Mahrouk (VP of Ops) of Dog Haus join Jen Kern and take listeners on a virtual journey into the inner-workings of the company's unique workplace and service culture. The love is real! And it shows, not just on the inside but all the way to how food is prepared, partners...
Dec 19, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scott Greenberg, franchisee expert, author, and speaker talks with Jenifer Kern, CMO at Qu and host of the Restaurants Reinvented podcast about his new book, The Wealthy Franchisee : Game-Changing Steps to Becoming a Thriving Franchisee Superstar. Scott provides insights into the challenges franchisees face and what those mean for marketers. His perspective will help you get inside the mind and psyche of franchisees - what motivates them, how they view marketing, and what they expect from their ...
Dec 15, 2020•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rev Ciancio, a digital hospitality and customer marketing expert, covers the crucial components of the customer journey/sales funnel and how to drive more frequency, revenue, and retention. Passionate about “awareness, acquisition & retention marketing” -- Rev and Jen explore the increasingly important concepts of Revenue Marketing, the Sales Funnel & Customer Journey, Search Optimization, Digital Table Touches & Guest Feedback. Key Takeaways: Reverse Engineer the Funnel: Top of the ...
Dec 04, 2020•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, Jodie Conrad, CMO talks candidly about how she's boosted the chain’s off-premise dining initiatives in the midst of the pandemic — and how Speed, Value, and Cleanliness have saved the day for the brand. In 2020 overall they are up 7% over 2020 sales! With experience working at Wendy, Coca-Cola, Rax Roast Beef Restaurants, and The Pillsbury Company, Jodie is well positioned to help the brand thrive in difficult times. Episode Highlights: Off-Prem Focus: Drive-Thru optimizati...
Nov 27, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode of Restaurants Reinvented , Scott Hudler of Torchy's Tacos dives into how he's growing the brand—embracing the “damn good” promise across the product, customer experience, and marketing—and by creating a new category called “Craft Casual” for the unique concept. Torchy's just announced new investors and plans to double growth by 2024. No doubt that Scott will get them there. Top Takeaways: 1 - Executing on the Brand Promise: Be Damn Good at Everything, from the foo...
Nov 20, 2020•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast We need to get beyond "coupon crack" as Kelly calls it, and move to a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) mindset in restaurant marketing. On this episode of Restaurants Reinvented, Kelly explains the most effective way marketers can collect useful data, how to sell directly to your consumers, the true meaning of loyalty, and more tips for meeting consumers where they are today. Top Takeaways: Test & Learn - now is the best time for marketers to test and learn from customers. Customers are mo...
Nov 13, 2020•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alan Magee loves working with turnaround brands, guiding them through digital transformation and paving the way for stronger growth and customer experiences. “It’s a tough balancing act” he says. Digital is supposed to make things so much easier but that’s not always the case. Alan is in Year 3 of his implementing a turnaround strategy for Church’s Chicken, a global chicken-lovers brand. He advocates for engaging smart digital people to manage and optimize the technology -- you can’t set it and ...
Oct 29, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Del Taco created a new position for Erin Levzow: VP of Marketing Technology, and you’ll hear why on this episode. Erin’s fresh perspective includes challenging the status quo when it comes to everything from big data, RFPs, and personalization to loyalty and the real meaning of “no.” An early digital marketing native, this tech-minded marketing executive brings years of experience in hotels -- and for leading restaurant brands like Wingstop and Freebirds -- to Del Taco where she’s focused on bui...
Oct 23, 2020•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast The First Episode in our Taco Series! Meet Laura Purser, the VP of Marketing behind the rapidly growing and super-fun Fuzzy’s Taco brand. Laura talks about all the ways the brand has pushed through the pandemic to overcome common off-prem obstacles, while opening 4 new locations and always seeking to stay relevant with the guest. The vibe is real and fun inside a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and Laura talks about how her biggest challenge now is delivering that same vibe home with the food. With 40% take-a...
Oct 15, 2020•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast From entry-level to executive status, Justin McCoy has been at Cousins for over 14 years. And that long-term tenure and consistency has helped the brand fare better than most during the pandemic. Several years ago Justin, VP of Marketing, and his executive team prioritized technology investments and contactless ordering solutions (delivery, online ordering, loyalty, drive-thru). That combined with his team’s keen data-driven focus and media chops landed Cousins Subs back on plan in early June. I...
Oct 08, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast He’s got red-hot Digital DNA and he’s bringing it to El Pollo Loco (EPL). Meet Andy Rebhun, the digital leader behind this growing brand. Get a glimpse into how EPL is transforming on all digital fronts—from its differentiated loyalty and offers programs to data-driven personalized marketing, super fast curb-side rollout in under 6 weeks. Ever heard of the Digital Flywheel? Find out what that means to EPL. Andy got his start in the industry by earning his first MBA at Chipotle (Master Burrito Am...
Oct 01, 2020•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dive deep into the brain of one the industry’s leading tech wizards, Cody Jones , sr. product manager and tech mastermind at Qu . Learn everything you need to know about the ghost & host kitchen phenomenon, how to simplify enterprise technology, and how modern tech can power stronger marketing. Cody has taken Qu’s POS one step further, into the kitchen, as the wizard behind our new product, KitchenUP . “Nobody wants 10 tablets, operators need more simple and resilient approaches.” Cody is al...
Sep 26, 2020•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Meet Angela Diffly , co-founder of the Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) , the leading industry think-tank and peer share organization that’s pushing the industry forward—while bringing us all together—with technology standards and virtual workgroups. In this episode, Angela and Jen dish about the explosion of RTN membership, the fusion of marketing and technology, the fate of the industry and what hope she sees in the future. She cites many recent examples from brands that are leading the way...
Sep 18, 2020•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
