A Deeper Dive

Why are franchisees struggling right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Austin Titus, the president of Accurate Franchising.  Accurate Franchising is a consulting firm that works with franchisors and franchisees and so we talk about all kinds of things on this episode. We talk about struggles franchisees are having and why. Several franchisees have f...

It was another tough year in 2025.  This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Pawlak, the managing principal with Technomic. Pawlak provides our annual look at the data firm’s annual Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, which provides the best look at the state of the country’s restaurant chains. That state was relatively weak. Pawlak discusses why last year pro...

How is Kilwins adapting to life under new owners? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Brian Britton, CEO of the treat chain Kilwins. Kilwins operates experiential chocolate and ice cream shops, mostly in tourist spots. It has picked up its growth in recent years and finished 2025 with 187 locations, according to data from Technomic. We wanted to talk to Brian to get a sense about how lif...

Most customers don’t think their last restaurant visit was worth it. That, at least, is according to Lisa Miller, a consumer insights and innovation strategist and author of The Business of Joy. She joins this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive to discuss it. We talk about why consumers increasingly say they don’t think their restaurant visits are worth it.  We also ta...

How will the big Sysco-Restaurant Depot deal affect restaurant operators? It’s a big question, so we brought in Technomic Senior Principal David Henkes to talk about it for this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive.  Henkes is a distribution expert with Technomic and we discuss the deal at length, including what it means for both Sysco and for Restaurant Depot. We talk a...

How will gas prices affect restaurants? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, senior principal with the data firm Technomic. We like talking with Shank periodically to get a pulse on where the industry is at and there are all kinds of questions about it right now, thanks to gas prices.  Gas prices are near a national average of $4 a gallon, accor...

What is the state of Fat Brands? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Hilary Russ, the editor at large of Law 360. Hilary covers bankruptcies for Law 360 and we wanted to talk with her about the bankruptcy of Fat Brands, which runs Twin Peaks, Round Table Pizza, Fazoli’s, Johnny Rockets and several other chains. We discuss what this bankruptcy means. We get...

What’s going on with beef costs? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Maloni, the senior director of commodities with Arrowstream. We wanted to talk with David because beef costs are soaring. Burger King, for instance, said that its beef costs went up 20%. We discuss why beef costs are going up so much, how long this could last, and what can be done t...

What makes Dave’s Hot Chicken tick? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Bitticks, the CEO of Dave’s Hot Chicken.  This is a great conversation with the chief executive of one of the country’s hottest brands, literally and figuratively. Bitticks was recently promoted to the role and we ask him about that. We talk with him about what makes the brand tick...

Five Guys is making some changes. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Molly Catalano, the chief marketing officer for the Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual burger chain. We are talking with Catalano about a lot of things, notably its move into catering. We talk about why the company is now offering catering, how it’s doing that and how it works.  We talk...

How will restaurants fare in 2026? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, who talks about the trade group’s State of the Industry Report.  Korsmo discusses the industry’s annual projection of restaurant sales, profitability and trends. We talk extensively about the association’s ex...

What is the status of Starbucks’ turnaround? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mike Grams, the chief operating officer of the coffee shop giant. Grams joined us from a Starbucks Reserve location in New York City following the company’s Investor Day presentation. He spoke extensively about the company’s various plans to improve the operations inside the c...

What are retailers doing to compete more aggressively with restaurants? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive looks at the retail sector, specifically convenience stores and grocers. I’m joined this week by Heather Lalley, the managing editor for Restaurant Business as well as sister publications CSP Daily News and Supermarket News. We talk about how convenience stores are pushing into more prepare...

How will the Saks Global bankruptcy affect restaurants? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Stephen Cohen, a real estate attorney who does a lot of work with restaurants. We wanted to speak with Stephen about the real estate implications of the bankruptcy filing of the giant retailer Saks Global. No, Saks is not a restaurant, though it owns a few of them....

How do consumers view value these days? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jen Meyers, growth strategy leader for the restaurant practice with the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal. The firm recently completed an extensive survey of consumers on a broad range of topics on restaurants and we wanted to chat with Jennifer about the results and what they m...

How do franchisees pick winning concepts? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Martha Olmos, chief operating officer with Damm Fine Restaurant Group, a franchisee of Dave’s Hot Chicken and Blaze Pizza.  Damm Fine got into both Blaze and Dave’s early in their history. We talk with Olmos about what goes into operating such brands and how they found those conc...

What is the outlook for restaurants in 2026? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Technomic Senior Principal David Henkes.  We wanted to talk with Henkes about what will happen in 2026. Restaurants are coming off a 2025 in which consumers cut back on dining frequency. Henkes talks about exactly why that happened and whether Technomic believes things will im...

Restaurant sales and traffic challenges were a huge story in 2025. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive takes a look at the most popular episodes of the year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, each of them dealt with the challenged industry environment. We spoke with Circana’s David Portalatin about consumers buying on a deal. We spoke multiple times with Technomic’s Rich Sha...

How will AI truly change the way restaurants do business? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive concludes our series on the impact of AI on the restaurant industry with a discussion of exactly where the technology will be felt the most. Over the past five weeks, we’ve looked at how AI is affecting fast-food restaurants in the drive-thru, how it’s influencing menu and...

AI is already having a big influence on restaurant marketing.  This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive continues our examination of the impact artificial intelligence is having on restaurant marketing.  The technology is having an impact on marketing for everything from local restaurants to major chains. Senior Tech Editor Joe Guszkowski speaks with Khara Mangiduyos, w...

Customers may see AI when they order from their favorite restaurant on an app or in the drive-thru, but the technology’s biggest impact may be behind the scenes. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive continues our examination of the impact AI is having on the restaurant industry. This week’s episode looks at the technology’s impact in the back of the house.  Senior T...

AI can’t necessarily make a burger, but it can help learn what kind of burger to put on the menu. In this episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, we continue our examination on the impact AI is having on restaurant menu development.  The podcast features Christian Frangiatis, the executive chef of One by Spork in Pittsburgh. It also features Jet Tila; Marcus Merritt, the manager...

AI is coming for your drive-thru.  This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive continues our look at the impact of AI in the restaurant industry.  This week, we look at the most visible use of AI in the industry, voice-activated drive-thru ordering.  A lot of restaurant chains are already using the technology to take orders in the drive-thru and a lot of executives swear b...

AI is everywhere. Software companies bombard you with promises that their AI-powered programs will revolutionize your business. Prognosticators say it will take over roughly everything. And Wall Street, as ever, is watching. Restaurants are certainly no exception. Companies are testing and experimenting with AI in nearly every part of their operation, from the drive-thru to the back of the house,...

How is El Pollo Loco giving customers value without giving up profits? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Liz Williams, CEO of the fast-food chicken chain.  El Pollo Loco just reported a decline in same-store sales with an increase in traffic and restaurant-level profits. Generally speaking when customers pay less per order it’s hard to generate profit gr...