A Deeper Dive

What is going on with Big Boy? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Tamer Afr, the CEO of the family-dining chain, to talk about the state of the brand. Afr has an interesting story. He had never been in the restaurant business until just less than five years ago, when he bought Big Boy as a potential growth opportunity. He then had to learn the industry wh...

Where are commodities headed in the coming months? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Maloni, the principal with the consulting firm Datum FS, to talk about where food prices are headed. Maloni is a recognized expert in commodities forecasting and supply chain issues. We talk about the state of food prices in the U.S. and his projections for costs g...

What do Subway, Chipotle and Texas Roadhouse have in common? They’re all subjects of this week’s episode of A Deeper Dive. I asked a pair of, uh, veteran editors to join me on the podcast to talk about a single event they covered over the past decade that was particularly memorable. Restaurant Business Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo and Executive Editor Lisa Jennings were happy to oblige. The rule: W...

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Lawton, the CEO and cofounder of bartaco. Bartaco operates 27 locations, specializing specifically in tacos. Lawton talks about how the chain was founded and discusses its current growth plans.   We also talk about the lure of tacos and why they’re so popular these days. And I ask him about loyalty, and how the cha...

What’s the state of the restaurant business and M&A right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Balis, the managing director with the investment firm CapitalSpring. We talk about the state of the industry at the moment. With 2023 halfway over, we wanted Balis to talk about where the industry is going, both on a revenue and costs front but on mer...

What is the story behind Burger King’s comeback effort? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Tom Curtis, president of Burger King in the U.S. and Canada. Curtis has overseen Burger King over the past two years after coming over from Domino’s. And he has come at a time when the chain has been in trouble. The brand struggled during the pandemic, particularly...

Grocery stores are preparing to come after your business. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Heather Lalley, the editor-in-chief of RB sister publication Winsight Grocery Business. We chat about, shockingly enough, the grocery business. Specifically, Heather and I discuss the competition between grocers and restaurants. We talk about the move grocers are...

What’s going on with MrBeast Burger? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski joins me to discuss virtual brands and, in particular, MrBeast Burger. If you haven’t heard, the YouTube star MrBeast has said publicly that he has pulled his support from his virtual brand, MrBeast Burger. He has since pulled the tweets in which h...

No one outpizzaed the Hut in the first quarter. Can Pizza Hut keep it up? David Graves, president of Pizza Hut U.S., joined me on the “A Deeper Dive” podcast this week to discuss the state of the brand and how its efforts have won over customers. Pizza Hut struggled for years but appears to have turned a corner more recently. Its 8% same-store sales growth in the first quarter outpaced its pizza d...

How have urban markets changed since the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Chip Wade, the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. Wade has a long and distinguished career in the restaurant industry. He was named CEO of Union Square last year after working with the company since 2019. Before that he worked for 17 years with Darden Restaurants a...

Can Peter Piper go fast casual? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David McKillips, CEO of CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza. CEC has had an almost literal roller coaster ride in the three years since David became CEO. The pandemic pushed it into bankruptcy and then the reopening helped it come back remarkably...

Where are sales and traffic going in 2023 and who will win? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research with the data firm Placer.ai. R.J. has covered the industry for more than two decades and knows a thing or two about the restaurant and retail sectors and we like having him on every so often to talk about the state of i...

What happens when a giant brand suddenly gives you a marketing gift? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Barry Westrum, chief marketing officer for Taco John's. Westrum joined me on the podcast at the National Restaurant Association Show less than a week after taco bell asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Taco John’s registration for “...

How long will people keep paying high delivery prices? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Restaurant Business Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski, who joins me on the podcast to talk about DoorDash’s push to get operators to keep delivery prices the same as regular menu prices. Joe and I discuss his recent report on the menu price markups on delivery compared with buying in the rest...

Will menu price inflation ultimately hurt restaurants? Michael Swanson, an agricultural economist and consultant with Wells Fargo, joins the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive to discuss the economy and the outlook for inflation.

How good of a year did chain restaurants have in 2022, really? 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 Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Specifically, we discuss the performance of chain restaurants, whose sales rose just over 8% last year. But that barely kept pace wit...

How is Duck Donuts evolving its prototype? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Betsy Hamm, CEO of the 115-unit chain, who joined me at the Restaurant Leadership Conference recently to discuss a wide range of issues. Duck Donuts is based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and is known for selling made-to-order doughnuts in tourist spots. The company generated $60.6 mil...

Why is Smashburger ditching traditional drive-thrus? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Carl Bachmann, president of the fast-casual burger chain that is looking to get back on the growth path after some difficult years. The chain is operated by the Philippines-based Jollibee Corp. It operates fewer than 250 locations, down by about a third over the past f...

What are we to make of the situations at major burger chains these days? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michael Halen, senior restaurant and foodservice analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, to discuss what’s going on with McDonald’s and Burger King, in particular. McDonald’s recently laid off hundreds of employees around the world, closing its U.S. fi...

Who is Mike Hancock? We find out in this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive. Hancock recently took over as president of Firehouse Subs for longtime CEO Don Fox. Hancock has worked for Firehouse Subs parent company Restaurant Brands International. He started with the chain as chief operating officer last year after serving in a similar role at the Canadian chain Tim Hor...

What happens when you mix ice cream and cinnamon rolls? We’re about to find out. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast Deeper Dive features Jim Holthouser, CEO of the Atlanta-based brand operator Focus Brands, which operates Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, McAlister’s Deli, Schlotzski’s, Jamba and Moe’s. He discusses the status of these brands and the company’s plans for them. He...

How important is tipping to a restaurant employee? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, Associate Editor Reyna Estrada joins me to discuss tipping. Estrada is a former restaurant worker herself, having spent years as a server at Steak n Shake (before it went limited service) and then as a Panera Bread employee. She relied on tips the entire time. We discuss the...

What is the future of third-party delivery? How about virtual brands or ghost kitchens? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, Senior Editor Joe Guszkowski joins me to talk about the state of some of the biggest trends during the pandemic. We talk about delivery. Some data is suggesting that third-party delivery demand is growing. But other data suggests the oppos...

Who is going to buy Subway? In case you haven’t heard, the fast-food sandwich chain is on the market. In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, I speak with John Gordon, a restaurant consultant out of San Diego, to discuss the chain. Subway has hired JP Morgan to help find a buyer. Reports suggest a host of large private equity firms, including Goldman Sachs and Bain...

What is the future of Bojangles? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jose Armario, the CEO of the 800-unit chicken chain. Armario took over the chain after it was sold in 2018 to Durational Capital Management, and he takes time to discuss how the chain did last year. He also discusses the brand’s future, including plans to expand well beyond its Southeaste...