QSR Uncut

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Leslie Silverglide is CEO of MIXT, a salad and healthy-eating fast casual based...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Alonso Castaneda is VP of brand development and strategy at Four Foods Group, a...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: John Kolaski is founder and CEO of K2 Restaurants, a hospitality company that in...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Christine Specht is CEO of Cousins Subs, a 100-plus-unit sandwich chain that her...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Sarah Grover is the interim CMO of plant-based fast casual Veggie Grill. More im...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Anthony Pigliacampo is cofounder and co-CEO of Modern Market, a fine-fast eatery...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Zach Goldstein is CEO and founder of Thanx, a CRM and digital engagement platfor...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: There's a lot of fear and uncertainty for operators about their supply chai...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Carl Howard is the CEO of Fazoli's, an Italian quick serve with 200-plus lo...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Brandon Solano is CEO of Rave Restaurant Group, parent company to Pizza Inn and...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Mark Brandau is group manager at Datassential, a food market research company th...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Donna Lee and Zach Flanzman are partners in Chicago fast casual Brown Bag Seafoo...

We're continuing with our series of mini episodes helping restaurants through the coronavirus pandemic. With input from operators, vendors, consultants, data analysts, and more, these mini episodes will facilitate incredibly important conversation on how we can collectively survive the coronavirus scare. Next up: Don Fox is CEO of Firehouse Subs, a national sandwich franchise with more than 1...

We're a week and a half into the coronavirus outbreak, and the restaurant industry is reeling. Sales have taken a dive off a cliff as dining rooms close and operations resort to carryout, delivery, and drive thru only. There is no certain timetable for when the threat of coronavirus fades, and when restaurants can return to some sense of normal. To help the industry through this challenging t...

When Kat and Landon Eckles opened the first Clean Juice outside Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2015, the intention wasn't necessarily to build a thriving franchise. Passionate about healthy, organic foods and with several years of experience serving them to their kids, the husband-and-wife duo were just looking for a change after a season with Landon often on the road and Kat as a stay-at-home...

Paul Damico originally made a name for himself as the president of Moe's Southwest Grill, scaling the fast-casual Mexican brand from 200 units to around 700 in his eight years with FOCUS Brands. But in 2017, Roark Capital Group—majority owner of FOCUS—asked Damico if he'd be interested in serving as CEO of one of the group's much smaller investments, Naf Naf Grill. Springing at the...

Aside from Krispy Kreme and Dunkin', doughnut brands have mostly failed to gain national notoriety in the U.S., instead remaining niche, regional favorites that stick closely to traditional formats and flavors. But Duck Donuts is looking to change the narrative around doughnuts, rocketing to nearly 100 locations around the country serving a wide variety of innovative flavors that can be custo...

In just 13 years, Sweetgreen has become a foodservice darling with more than 100 locations. But the salad fast casual—which has leveraged a high-quality supply chain and bleeding-edge approach to restaurant technology to reach a valuation of $1.6 billion—is determined to create a legacy beyond the four walls of its restaurants. That's why it recently pledged $1 million (along with other resou...

When Jae Kim launched the Korean barbecue truck Chi'Lantro BBQ in Austin, Texas, in February 2010, he figured serving Korean-Mexican fusion tacos and burritos to the city's late-night crowd would be enough to build a buzz and lead him to his dream of opening a restaurant. But there was one piece missing, and it came to Kim one fateful night as he lamented disposing of an unused batch of...

Take one look at a P. Terry's restaurant and you might think it's been around for generations. From the Googie architecture to the roadside burger-stand vibe, Austin, Texas–based P. Terry's has created a timeless experience dedicated to quality, value, and customer service. And that's exactly how founder Patrick Terry intended it when he opened the first P. Terry's—in 2005...

Fast-casual chains that have been around for a decade or less have the luxury of easily adapting to new trends and technologies. Legacy chains that have been around for generations? Not so much. But Mark Parmerlee, owner of Dallas-based Golden Chick, a chicken quick serve with nearly 200 locations primarily in the South, has strived to keep the 50-year-old concept rooted in its homestyle authentic...

Before the off-premises boom, before third-party delivery, and before meal kits, there was the home meal replacement movement. Restaurant concepts like Boston Market promoted the idea of feeding a whole family with freshly prepared, grab-and-go options, not just singular menu items. This was the environment in 1996 when Phil Romano launched Eatzi's in Dallas, and while the market concept&apos...

Some restaurateurs join the industry as teenagers, others jump in as a second career. Mariel and Marco Street were born into it. Their father, Gene Street, is a renowned Dallas restaurateur who started the Black-Eyed Pea concept, and they grew up surrounded by restaurant innovation. That was a big reason why they went on to become partners in Liberty Burger and Street's Fine Chicken, two Dall...

For its first few years in business, Honeygrow enjoyed the same kind of momentum and accolades as other trendy fast casuals popping up on the East Coast. Its unique stir-fry menu and ahead-of-its-time touchscreen ordering platform helped it earn a loyal following and propelled it out of its home market of Philadelphia and into cities like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. But in 2018, Honeygr...

College campuses can be tough for running a restaurant business. Students are fickle, the hours are late, and come summer time, your key demographic clears out of town. But for Matt Friedman, college campuses have been a perfect real estate opportunity for his fast casual Wing Zone, which he has scaled to nearly 100 units around the world. Friedman sat down for a conversation with QSR editor Sam O...