A Deeper Dive

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...

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...