A Deeper Dive

How is AI impacting restaurant reservations? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Amy Wei, the chief operating officer for the online reservations company OpenTable. Amy joined the podcast to talk about the company’s recent Restaurant Impact Report. She talks about the findings from that report, including the increasing demand in restaurant reservations, an...

Drone delivery is here. But what goes into it? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kent Ferguson, the head of partnerships with the Alphabet Inc.-owned Wing Drone Delivery.  We spoke with Ferguson at the recent FSTEC conference and were able to watch a demonstration of the delivery service.  Ferguson talks about everything that goes into bringing drone del...

What has happened with Del Taco since its acquisition? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Anil Yadav and Noah Chillingworth. Yadav is a longtime franchisee who has gotten into the business of buying brands lately and he acquired Del Taco from Jack in the Box last year. He also participated in the Denny’s acquisition.  Chillingworth is the chain’s chief ma...

Who is winning in the restaurant business right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, senior principal with Technomic. We had Shank on the podcast to help us understand the performance of independent restaurants and why they can generate sales growth while locations continue closing.  We talk about a lot of other topics on the podcast, too,...

How does Black Rock Coffee Bar plan to get to 1,000 locations? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mark Davis, the CEO of the 200-unit coffee chain.  Davis on the podcast talks about the brand’s plans to get to 1,000 shops by 2035 and we ask him how the company plans to do that amid intense competition in the beverage market.  We talk about real estate iss...

GLP-1 medications are increasingly popular among Americans. So how are they influencing restaurant sales? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Lisa Miller, a consumer consultant and author of "The Business of Joy." Miller surveys consumers and talked with them extensively about GLP-1 medications, which have been found to help people lose weight. T...

Can made-to-order burgers lift Carl’s Jr.? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Iwona Alter, the brand president for the fast-food chain. Alter joins the podcast to talk about the chain’s extensive initiatives, including its plans to start making its burgers fresh to order. Alter talks about the process to train operators and adapt the system to that change...

Can more hours generate more profit at restaurant chains? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mark Wasilefsky, the head of restaurant and franchise finance with TD Bank. Wasilefsky talks a wide range of issues on this episode, including the state of franchise and restaurant lending and the overall state of the industry. But we get into a deep discussion ab...

How is Topgolf changing under its new CEO? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David McKillips, who was named chief executive of the golf-centric eatertainment concept in February. McKillips has hit the ground running and talks with us about the changes he’s making, including how it is working to lure more families and other consumers while still catering...

Why have Asian brands such as Teriyaki Madness done so well of late? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michael Haith, CEO of the 200-unit Asian franchise. Teriyaki Madness’s system sales increased more than 19% last year and the company said it is on pace to beat that so far in 2026. That fits with current industry trends, as Asian brands appear to be th...

How does a growth chain break into a competitive restaurant market? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features John Abdo, the CEO of the 11-unit, Minneapolis-based chain My Burger. We spoke with Abdo at the recent Create conference in California, an event hosted by Restaurant Business parent company Informa Connect that is targeted at growth restaurant brands. We...

Why is Sysco buying Restaurant Depot? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kevin Hourican, the CEO of the giant distributor Sysco. We asked Hourican to be on the podcast to talk about Sysco’s $29 billion proposal to buy Jetro Restaurant Depot, the cash-and-carry provider of food to restaurants. It’s a big deal that will make Sysco both the biggest distribut...

How does a restaurant operator get expansion financing without a personal guarantee or selling equity? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michael Davis, the founder and CEO of Homegrown Financing. Davis has an interesting story. He watched his parents struggle to get financing to scale their business. He ultimately devised a strategy to provide financing...

How will Jersey Mike’s upcoming IPO impact the market for restaurant mergers and acquisitions? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ashish Seth, founder and managing partner of Harrington Park Advisors, an advisory firm that specializes in multi-unit companies, including restaurants.  We wanted to talk with Seth about the restaurant M&A market and were...

What the heck is going on with the restaurant labor market right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Chad Moutray, chief economist with the National Restaurant Association. We wanted Moutray on the podcast to make some sense of the most recent jobs report. The industry shed 33,000 jobs in June, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cut the previous...

Why is careful growth more important for restaurant chains? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Nick Marsh, the CEO of Founders Table Restaurant Group. This is the second in our series of episodes exploring Founders Table’s recent acquisition of Hopdoddy Burger Bar. We wanted to talk with Marsh specifically about what his company is about. Founders Table a...

How did the sale of Hopdoddy come about? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jeff Chandler, who is stepping aside as CEO of the fast-casual burger chain following its sale to Founders Table Restaurant Group. We wanted to talk with Jeff about the deal and about Hopdoddy itself, along with other issues. Chandler led the chain for a decade before its sale so...

Can a salad chain thrive in the ever-changing world of healthy eating? Steele Smiley is betting on it. The founder and executive chairman of the Minneapolis-based salad chain Crisp & Green joins the Restaurant Business podcast to talk about his brand’s strategies.  Crisp & Green has 52 locations and dozens more under development in the U.S. Smiley talks about the brand’s founding, and how...

Why are restaurants having another tough year? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features RJ Hottovy, the head of analytical research for the traffic tracking firm Placer.ai. This is the last in a series of episodes from the National Restaurant Association Show in May.  Hottovy is a regular guest on the podcast and we talk with him about the current state of rest...

Can Giordano’s grow faster with more thin-crust pizzas? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Nick Scarpino, the CEO of the Chicago-based pizza chain Giordano’s. This is one of a series of episodes we recorded at the National Restaurant Association Show in May.  Scarpino talks about the chain’s growth, and why the company is opening more units these days. He...

Is there a leadership vacuum in the restaurant business? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Toni Ronayne, the founder of the fractional C-suite firm C Society. C Society provides experienced executives who can work with emerging and other restaurant chains, filling a need for c-level leadership. Ronayne is a longtime industry executive whose past stops ha...

How can restaurants deal with the K-shaped economy? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. We typically interview Korsmo at the National Restaurant Association Show every year. This year, we discussed a variety of topics, including the association’s legislative priorities, how it d...

Why are fast-food pizza chains struggling?  This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research with Technomic. Byrne and I spend the entire time discussing the state of the pizza market. Fast-food pizza chain sales declined last year, and fast-casual pizza chain sales declined even further.  We look at the factors behind...

How does a company bring Chinese takeout into the modern era? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Angell Tsang and Min Choe, the founders of the Austin-based Tso Chinese Takeout and Delivery. You may not have heard of Tso but it is a fascinating concept that is bringing a more modern sensibility to the idea of the Chinese restaurant. Specifically they buil...

Where does Chuck E. Cheese grow from here? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Drake, the CEO of CEC Entertainment, parent company to Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza. This is the first of a couple of episodes recorded at the recent Restaurant Leadership Conference and it is a phenomenal conversation. Scott was recently promoted to CEO after a c...