Episode description
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 positive instigator for growth that Taco John’s needed to inject new life into the 50-year old brand.
Barry relies heavily on clarity and focuses to guide all his marketing programs, and he stepped into the “big mess” in April 2020 with an immediate focus on optimizing drive-thrus to be more efficient and speedy. As a result, the chain has outperformed other QSR category leaders —with four points of same-store sales growth over pre-pandemic numbers.
“Everybody uses the word, but it’s so true, these were unprecedented times,” he says. “But what came from that was clarity and focus.”
One thing that helps Barry and the rest of Taco John’s executive team stay on track is the brand’s five strategic tenets, which include a commitment to digital transformation as well as a focus on evolving the menu to provide better options based on customer feedback.
Featured Taco Series Brands & Speakers:
- Chipotle - Jonathon Relkin - #4
- Torchy's Tacos - Scott Hudler - #3
- Del Taco - Erin Levzow - #2
- Fuzzy's Tacos - Laura Purser - #1
Check out Qu's Annual State of Digital for Enterprise QSR & Fast Casual Brands