QSR Uncut

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurant operators have gotten really creative with their service models to get food in customers' hands. Full-service brands in particular have gotten a crash course in off-premises business and a limited-service model. Now one chain is making that change permanent. Bonchon, the Korean fried chicken chain, has developed a fast-casual prototype that it&apos...

Nontraditional venues like schools, sports arenas, hospitals, business centers, and airports have long been great opportunities for restaurants to get in front of new audiences. But those venues were particularly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, as many of them lost a vast majority of their audience, if not all of it. Sodexo is one facility management company that provides foodservice for nontraditio...

Restaurant employees have had a brutal year. Not only are foodservice jobs disappearing along with restaurant and dining-room closures, but also, those who have managed to hold onto their jobs are being asked to put their health at risk while simultaneously abiding by more stringent safety standards and playing mask police, to boot. MOD Pizza cofounder and CEO Scott Svenson recognizes how hard the...

There was a time when Voodoo Doughnut was a cash-only restaurant—in fact, that time was 2019. Yes, this Portland, Oregon–based doughnut shop was such an icon that it could get away with doing things like not accept credit cards and stay open 24 hours a day. But COVID-19 forced Voodoo to quickly catch up with reality, which it did by instituting things like third-party delivery and online ordering....

The recession of a decade ago was very fruitful for the burger industry, and specifically the better-burger category. In the wake of Five Guys' success, many other fast casuals sprung up around the country a decade ago, dishing high-quality burgers, fries, and shakes. So how should we expect the current crisis to affect the better-burger space? One big clue is found in BurgerFi, one of those...

It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Today is the interview you've been waiting for: CEO Charlie Morri...

It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's lea...

It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's lea...

It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's lea...

It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to weather the COVID crisis, the spectacular success it's managed throughout the pandemic, and its blueprint for becoming a top 10 global restaurant company. Stay tuned all week as we share conversations with Wingstop's chi...

Carin Stutz has worked in the restaurant industry for about four decades, including executive positions at Così, McAlister's Deli, and Red Robin. In 2019, she took the CEO position at Chicago-based fast casual Native Foods, which has 12 units across four states serving a 100 percent plant-based menu. But while Stutz had plans to apply her corporate restaurant know-how to this exciting startup...

Pizza and chicken wings may be crushing right now, but what about the ice cream category? For something so dependent upon a social experience—not to mention a product with such a short shelf life—how do ice cream brands translate to an off-premises environment? That's been top of mind for David Leonardo for nine months. Leonardo is a former exec with Burger King, Arby's, and Wendy's...

It’s the fifth and final installment of the Restaurantology series, and we’re talking with Savory Fund’s managing partners, Andrew Smith and Greg Warnock. Chock-full of valuable and practical insights for leaders of emerging restaurant brands, this session offers a very detailed glimpse at how investors search for smart investments, what kind of opportunity they see in the restaurant industry toda...

It’s part four of our Restaurantology series, and we’re getting into the nitty gritty of how a management team like Savory supports the restaurants within its portfolio and leverages its resources to turn emerging brands with tons of potential into more profitable entities. Savory Management president Shauna Smith and vice president of brand development and strategy Alonso Castaneda also talk with...

It’s part three of our Restaurantology series, and today we’re talking about the state of the mergers and acquisitions market during the COVID-19 crisis. Prior to the pandemic, Savory Fund’s portfolio included the fast casuals Mo’Bettahs, Swig, and R&R BBQ. But just this fall, Savory closed on controlling investments in The Crack Shack, based in Southern California, and Austin-based full-servi...

It’s part two of our Restaurantology series, and we’re talking with emerging restaurant leaders about their unique expansion plans. The coronavirus pandemic clearly slammed the brakes on restaurant momentum in the spring, but nimble operators have found ways to navigate the crisis and return to growth—albeit growth that considers the “new normal” of restaurant operations. Kimo Mack, cofounder of H...

Today is our first episode in the Restaurantology series! Restaurantology is a partnership with Savory Fund, which was launched earlier this year by investment firm Mercato Partners, and was established to make investments in exciting up-and-coming restaurant concepts and then equip them with the resources they need to scale up and become more profitable. First up in the Restaurantology series, we...

Everyone got hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but full-service chains were especially rocked by losing dining rooms. And with a huge shift in daypart activity due to millions of Americans working from home, breakfast concepts also felt the effects of the pandemic more acutely.  Suffice to say this year hasn't been particularly kind for full-service breakfast chains. But Famous Toastery, a C...

Before the pandemic, fast-casual taco joint Velvet Taco was cruising. It had grown to 15 locations doing $4 million in average unit volume, and it planned aggressive growth across the U.S. Menu innovation was at the core of this incredible success, as Velvet Taco was committed to outside-the-box taco flavors and a Weekly Taco Feature that tried everything from crickets on a taco to a Turducken hol...

We’ve been publishing the QSR® Drive-Thru Study now for over 20 years, holding quick-service chains accountable by reporting on their performance in speed of service, order accuracy, and other important metrics critical to drive-thru success. But with much of the industry maximizing their drive-thru performance—and with the pandemic skewing what is normal—it was clear that the study needed a refre...

Mendocino Farms is the perfect example of fast casual 2.0. Committed to big footprints with beautiful designs and activities like foosball and corn hole, the Los Angeles–based brand elevated the entire fast-casual experience and built significant buzz as a result, growing to 35 locations between California and Texas, with plans to scale nationally. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Mendocino Farms,...

Digital strategies were important before the pandemic, but they're critical today, and restaurants have only scratched the surface with digital innovations. Nobody knows that better than Dan Getsacov, chief commercial officer at Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands. He's responsible for designing the "shared backbone" for Moe's, Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Auntie Anne'...

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit different parts of the country and different foodservice categories in different ways. Of course, the full-service industry has suffered far more than counter-service concepts, and urban centers like New York City have been more negatively impacted than suburbs and cities that rely on driving traffic.  Chris Blanchard is president and cofounder of Chicas Tacos, an eme...

Flint, Michigan–based concept Halo Burger was built on the fundamentals of quick service—cheap and convenient burgers, fries, and shakes—way back in 1923. And while it's seen a lot in its 97 years, the eight-unit regional burger joint is facing its toughest task yet with the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivia Ross, Halo Burger's director of marketing, joins the podcast to talk about how the chain...

Private investment firm RSE Ventures has built a name for itself in the business community, both for its stakes in renowned restaurants like Momofuku, Milk Bar, &pizza, and Bluestone Lane, as well as for its CEO Matt Higgins, who has appeared as a guest shark on "Shark Tank." But the firm has gone beyond placing smart bets on exciting companies, particularly during the COVID-19 pande...