Restaurant Operator

Sometimes growing a restaurant brand means adding more, but for Dillas Quesadillas, the path forward meant taking things away. The Texas-based concept recently overhauled its menu, cutting the number of signature quesadillas from 10 to six and simplifying its meal structure. The changes weren't driven by a lack of ideas but by something much more fundamental: learning from how the customers o...

When David Youngberg stepped into the CEO role at Stonefire Grill in 2023, his first 90 days weren't spent analyzing spreadsheets in a boardroom — they were spent baking the brand's signature carrot cake and prepping food alongside front-line workers. In an industry increasingly pivoting toward automation and individualized grab-and-go efficiency, the leader of the 12-unit Southern Calif...

After nearly five decades as a beloved Texas icon, Taco Cabana is officially taking its signature breakfast tacos and Mexican-inspired menu across state lines. Spurred by a recent acquisition and a newly designed, smaller-footprint prototype optimized for modern off-premise dining and delivery, the 140-unit chain is launching its first major out-of-state franchise expansion. By strategically targe...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Ilya Kholodnov, head of international marketing and sales for Dodo Pizza, and David Sweeney, champion of international franchising for Dodo Pizza, The brand was founded in Russia but is headquartered in Kazakhstan. Dodo Pizza has 1,500 stores and revenue of nearly $2 billion. It's si...

What happens when the fast-casual restaurant industry doubles in size over a decade? It stops just serving food and starts operating like a high-tech powerhouse. In the latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Cherryh Cansler, publisher of FastCasual.com, sits down with Luke Wilwerding, Vice President of North America Sales at Elo Touch Solutions , to unpack the highly anticipated FastCa...

Crafting a solid real estate strategy is obviously central to growing any restaurant brand, but there those plans differ dramatically depending on the brand, a lesson I learned firsthand during a podcast during ICSC in Las Vegas. I sat down with Dannon Shiff, VP of Real Estate for Dave's Hot Chicken , and Abe Nasrallah, SVP of Real Estate at Wonder, to discuss how shifting consumer behavior,...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Sonia Barajas-Najera, vice president of franchise administration for Shakey's Pizza. Shakey's began franchising in the 1950s shortly after it was founded. After a number of ownership changes, the brand currently has 43 units. There's a new flagship in Culver City that took...

How does an independent pizza brand with zero initial restaurant experience scale to seven — and soon nine — locations while going head-to-head with venture-backed national chains? In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, sits down with Enga Stanfield, co-owner of Texas-based Mattenga's Pizzeria, to uncover the tech stack...

It doesn't matter how good your food is if your restaurant is in the wrong place. That was the primary takeaway from a recent episode of The Restaurant Operator podcast, where I interviewed Ebere Anokute, head of retail research for CBRE, during the ICSC real estate conference in Las Vegas. We dove into the shifting dynamics of restaurant real estate, modern data trends, and the intangible el...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Jill Chapman, senior director of corporate partnerships for CORE. CORE is a national non-profit that financially supports food and beverage service families in times of crisis. CORE was founded 22 years and was run by volunteers up into 2015 when it hired its first employ...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Jamie Cecil, vice president of franchise development for Mellow Mushroom. Mellow Mushroom started in 1974 and has grown to 160 units. The brand is known for its cool vibes. Each store is unique. "I like to call them kind of unicorns. There's not one store that looks alike, whi...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Shawn Lalehzarian, co-founder of The Red Chickz , a West Coast Nashville hot chicken brand that opened its first unit in Los Angeles in 2018. Lalehzarian began his restaurant career as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in San Diego in 1998. He eventually moved on to be an as...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Bryan Ketelhut, vice president of franchise and business development for Little Caesars. Ketelhut has been with the company for years and now heads up domestic franchising. He's also a former franchisee himself. Little Caesars is known for its streamlined operations. From a development...

Beverages have become big business as boba, dirty sodas, coffee and kombucha take center stage on the franchising market. Juice It Up , which has been selling cold and raw-pressed juices, smoothies, açaí bowls. toasts and bagels for more than 30 years, has been an industry leader. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace , talk...

In episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Joe Carlucci, founder and owner of Valentina's Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Alabama. Carlucci, who has dozens of years in pizza, is a member of the World Pizza Champions and a leader in the industry. Carlucci opened Valentina's, named after his daughter, in the midst of COVID. Prior to t...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks with Brian Simowitz, president, and Andie Smirl, director of franchise sales, for Houston TX Hot Chicken . The Nashville hot chicken concept launched during COVID in 2020 in Las Vegas. The brand now has 31 units. Part of what draws diners to the concept is its electric brand energ...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Genero Perez, chief marketing officer for Peter Piper Pizza, a legacy brand with more than 50 years in the industry. The brand has about 115 restaurants in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and the northern part of Mexico. The restaurants all have a lunch buffet Monday through Friday from 11 a.m...

In the high-pressure environment of a professional kitchen, communication is the invisible thread that prevents a service from unraveling into chaos. A "call and response" system ensures the front-of-house servers and the back-of-house line cooks remain perfectly synchronized; when a lead expeditor calls out an order, the collective "heard" from the kitchen staff confirms that...

Riko's Pizza is redefining America's love affair with pizza, and with five corporate stores and seven franchised units, the full-service pizzeria sells thin crust, tavern-style pizza. The pizza is what drew Carl Bachmann , president and COO of Riko's, to the brand. They're taking over the East Coast one bite at a time. "That's really what enticed me to join the brand...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Scott Wiener, director of Slice Out Hunger, about the Pizza Across America even that brings together pizzerias across the country for a good cause. The week of National Pizza Day, Feb. 9, pizzerias are encouraged to donate 10 pizzas to their local hospitals, first responders, shelters or so...

With beef prices climbing — up nearly 60% in the last decade, according to industry veterans  —fast casual operators are facing a margin squeeze. The solution to stabilizing food costs while meeting consumer demand for variety may lie in an under-leveraged protein: pork.    In this episode of the "Restaurant Operator Podcast," host Cherryh Cansler sits down with Dr. Kristin Hicks-Roof of...

Dirty Dough owner Bennett Maxwell knows cookies. After all, his brand has 50 flavors and a simple model. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Maxwell about his operations, the cookie wars he battled and the marketing strategies that make Dirty Dough a success. When asked what advice he would give to another restau...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, talks to Jennifer Jackson, vice president of public relations for Hungry Howie's. Jackson spoke about the public relations and advertising the pizza brand does. Hungry Howie's differentiates itself by offering flavored crusts. Jackson said the butter cheese is the top crust flavor, but the brand does unique LTOs like...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, podcast host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jim Nusbaum, CEO of Barry Bagels. Nusbaum shares the brand's origin story, its expansion strategy into Texas, and the unique hub and spoke model that supports franchisees. He discusses the importance of employee culture, maximizing revenue streams through catering...

In this episode of Restaurant Operator , host Cherryh Cansler, publisher of Fast Casual , sits down with Luke Wilwerding, VP of North America Sales of Elo Touch , sponsors of both this episode and the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers report. Together, they explore how restaurant technology is transforming every stage of the guest experience from self-order kiosks and drive-thru innovation...