A Deeper Dive

How many restaurants does Subway need to close? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Trevor Haynes, president of North America for the Milford, Conn.-based sandwich giant, to talk about the chain’s future. Subway remains the largest chain in the U.S. by unit count. But it has been shrinking for years. Franchisees have closed about 6,000 locations since the...

How do you create a restaurant concept when so much about the business is uncertain? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jack Gibbons, the CEO of concept incubator FB Society, to talk about concept development and the industry’s future. FB Society, formerly known as Front Burner Brands, is known most for creating Velvet Taco, which has since been sold—thou...

How do operators overcome rapidly shrinking profit margins? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Balis, managing director with the investment firm CapitalSpring, to talk about the rising cost environment and how operators can overcome these problems. Labor costs are soaring right now, with wage rates up more than 13% over the past year. But food costs a...

What is the state of the restaurant industry this year? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Lance Trenary, the CEO of Golden Corral and chairman of the National Restaurant Association, to discuss the general state of restaurants. Trenary joined the podcast from the association’s recently completed show, the first one in three years. The show was held just...

Why are grocery prices going up so much? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Christine LaFave Grace, the executive editor of RB sister publication Winsight Grocery Business, to talk about last week’s consumer price index data. The CPI rose 8.3% in April. Food prices have soared, rising 9.4%. That includes 7.2% at restaurants. But at grocers, prices are up...

Restaurants aren’t the only businesses with labor problems. Distributors have their own challenges that are also driving up costs for operators. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Terry Walsh, the president of small California distribution company Southwest Traders, to discuss the impact of the labor shortage on distributors and how that affects restauran...

How did Crumbl Cookies go from an off-the-wall idea between two cousins into one of the country’s fastest-growing restaurant chains in just five years? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jason McGowan, the CEO and cofounder of the fast-growing cookie chain, to talk about its history and its growth. McGowan founded the brand with his cousin, Sawyer Hemsley...

What can operators do to avoid raising prices too aggressively? Or should they? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features John Gordon, a restaurant consultant out of San Diego, to talk about the industry’s historic level of menu price inflation and whether consumers will ultimately respond. Restaurants are raising prices at historically high rates, including 6.9...

How did a small hot dog chain handle a sudden rush of customers after the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features J.R. Galardi, the CEO of the Galardi Group, parent company of Wienerschnitzel, Tastee Freeze and Hamburger Stand. Galardi was named CEO earlier this year but had been president and chief operating officer before that and has grown up with...

What chains recovered the most from the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Joe Pawlak, managing principal with RB sister company Technomic, to talk about the latest Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. The 500 largest restaurants grew sales by 18% in 2021—and more than 8% over 2019, effectively recovering from the pandemic. They generated $361.2 b...

What are consumers getting when they order from a virtual kitchen? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features our editors speaking of their recent taste test of a handful of virtual brands. The project was spearheaded by Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski, who wrote about the experiences in a piece last week . We are joined by Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo and...

Wendy’s has some big plans to add a lot of restaurants. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Abigail Pringle, the president of international and chief development officer for the burger chain Wendy’s. She talks about the chain’s numerous expansion strategies. Wendy’s has a lot going on. The company has a deal with Reef Kitchens to expand into 700 ghost kitc...

Restaurants’ supply chain headache has evolved into a migraine. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Keith Anderkin, the chief supply chain officer for the fast-casual chicken chain Zaxby’s. Chains have been increasingly giving c-level status to their top supply chain officers. Anderkin took his position last year, and we wanted his insights into the challe...

The pandemic has changed restaurants’ deals with beverage companies, maybe forever. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Tim Harms, CEO of the consulting firm Enliven, to talk about the market for beverages at restaurants. Enliven works with restaurants and other clients to negotiate their beverage contracts. Harms was recently named the firm’s CEO. He di...

Despite a number of challenges, there remains plenty of demand for restaurants on the open market. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast, A Deeper Dive, features Robin Gagnon, CEO and cofounder of We Sell Restaurants, to discuss the secondary market for restaurants. That market remains strong. There are more buyers than there are sellers, driving up the price. This is especially t...

How does a small growth chain expand when the operating environment is so difficult? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Jason Morgan, CEO of the 17-unit Original ChopShop, to talk about it. Original Chop Shop is a better-for-you fast casual chain. The company has done quite well during the pandemic and has some significant growth plans, but it has faced...

How has life changed for Portillo’s since the brand went public? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Michael Osanloo, CEO of the hot dog and Italian beef chain, to talk about life as a public company. Portillo’s has been a fast-growing chain of massive quick-service restaurants. It went public last year in what now looks like some bad timing. Stocks have...

What happens with third-party delivery from here? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” attempts to answer that question. Joe Guszkowski, RB’s senior technology editor, joins the podcast to discuss the service and some interesting data and trends. Third-party delivery took off during the pandemic. It provided a lifeline for many restaurants. Yet it remains in flux.

Everybody wants a drive-thru these days. And that has an impact on the prices for real estate that can accommodate that wish. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Barry Wolfe, senior managing director of investments for the real estate investment firm Marcus and Millichap, to talk about the demand for drive-thru sites.

What is 2022 going to be like for restaurants? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Hudson Riehle, SVP of the research and knowledge group with the National Restaurant Association, to talk about the group’s recent State of the Restaurant Industry report. The report is an annual compilation of data and surveys on the industry and provides a snapshot of whe...

How has the omicron variant affected restaurant traffic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features RJ Hottovy, head of analytical research with the data firm Placer.ai. Hottovy is a longtime industry analyst who went to work with Placer last year. Placer tracks consumer traffic, and he talks about how that traffic has been changing of late.

Tracy Johnstone wanted to go into academics. Instead she found plenty of teaching opportunities with McDonald’s. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features the now-former, longtime McDonald’s franchisee, who discusses her more than 30 years in the business.

How does a small, Midwestern coffee chain compete with the big giants? Bob Fish, the co-CEO and cofounder of Biggby Coffee, joins the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” this week to discuss the chain’s growth strategy. Biggby is a 260-unit chain based in Lansing, Mich. The company has plans for some enormous growth in the near future after largely making it through the pandemic unscathed....

Virtual brands and ghost kitchens have been hugely popular since the outset of the pandemic. But just how big will they be? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Denny Marie Post, the former Red Robin CEO who is now an advisor to the virtual brand operator Nextbite, among other roles.

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features staff editors, all discussing their takes on the year’s biggest stories. Editor At Large Peter Romeo, Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski, Independents Editor Heather Lalley and Menu Editor Pat Cobe join me in discussing issues related to labor, technology, the plight of independents, finance and menu trends.