QSR Uncut

Are these buzzy topics just headline-grabbers or something far more for restaurants?  Savneet Singh, president and CEO of PAR Technology Corp., joins QSR editor Danny Klein to chat about crypto, NFTs, what Starbucks is doing with Web3, and much more. Let's peer into the future of one of the most disruptive categories to hit the sector in recent memory.

Our first NextGen Casual episode, featuring industry icon Chris Artinian, explores what the future of full-service dining will look like in a post-COVID world, why it matters to quick-service chains, and why Condado Tacos is the perfect example of why it’s a brighter and more exciting landscape than ever.

Marcus Crawford, the award-winning founder of Bro-Ritos, a food truck business that serves the NYC/New Jersey metro area, joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to discuss his brand’s journey—what food truck companies often get wrong; how to get it right; and how you hit the road from one truck to two, and beyond.

What's one restaurant topic operators can't live without but seldom grabs headlines? Packaging. And it's never been as critical as it is today given the delivery, takeout, and digital revolution taking place industry-wide.  Ian Jacobson, president of Eco-Products, joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to talk about compostable packaging, sustainability, and how to navigate som...

Noodles & Company's chief marketing officer, Stacey Pool, joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to dive into the fast casual's industry-leading benefits program and unique culture. From inflation tactics to winning the talent war, the fast casual is setting the bar in a post-COVID restaurant world.

Industry veteran Clifton Rutledge has helped reface the iconic chain since joining in 2021, including the launch of Shipley’s first advertising and marketing campaign and the introduction of a high-quality coffee beverage program. Even though the company has been around since the 1930s, there are still ways to adapt and grow, and Shipley's is just getting started.

With a lengthy and storied restaurant resume, from Red Robin to Applebee’s to McAlister’s Deli, Carin Stutz, the president and CEO of vegan fast casual Native Foods, joins QSR editor Danny Klein to dish on flexitarians, indulgence, and making a booming category work for everybody. Where can the brand and plant-based movement go from here? The consumer is going to lead the way.

Lee Schulman, president of Panacea Management Group Consulting and owner of Atlanta’s famed Old Vinings Inn, joins QSR editor Danny Klein to dive into the current and future state of things. From supply chain challenges to the labor crisis to inflation, Schulman offers his insider look at how to navigate the present and prepare for a post-COVID economy.

Zhong Xu, who created the first iPad POS in EMEA in 2012, is on a mission to simplify what’s long been one of the restaurant world’s biggest friction points. Operating in over 40 markets around the world, Deliverect is helping brands like Taco Bell and Burger King do just that.

Shawn Lalehzarian went from working as a dishwasher who didn’t speak English to the founder and CEO of The Red Chickz, a Nashville hot chicken fast casual that’s erupted onto the scene. The brand’s massive social media presence rivals some of the sector’s largest brands. How did Red Chickz get there and what’s next? Lalehzarian joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to offer a glimpse into th...

The outspoken and always candid CEO and cofounder of digital ordering and marketing platform Lunchbox joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to reveal an exciting new innovation for the company, as well as his uncut thoughts on third-party delivery, the state of restaurant tech, and why he needs to escape White Plains, New York.

Mici Italian CEO Elliot Schiffer and Chief Growth Officer Matt Stanton join QSR Editor Danny Klein to discuss the brand’s franchise journey, challenges and successes, on the heels of a pandemic. The upstart has plenty of history, but franchise growth is a new frontier; and Mici started off hot—striking a 30-unit deal right out of the gate.

Del Taco chief marketing officer Tim Hackbardt returns to QSR Uncut for a special episode to announce a new multi-faceted brand initiative that's launching on September 1, and the menu lineup that's going to kick it all off.

Elliot Schiffer and Kim Miceli from Mici Italian join QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to discuss rebranding a legacy restaurant chain after 18 years. How do you pick an agency to work with? What are the keys to balancing heritage traits with modern twists, especially as major growth knocks? We get into that and much more in Part 1 of a two-part series on the brand’s fast-evolving future.

In the second part of QSR Uncut's two-part series with Velvet Taco, QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley chat with the fast casual's director of supply chain, Colby Wilson. Few topics today loom larger on the minds of operators, whether its supply itself or the roller coaster of costs over the past few months. Will inflation continue to surge? How can you navigate the adversity and stil...

Venecia Willis, director of culinary innovation at growing fast casual Velvet Taco, chats with QSR editor Danny Klein about the brand's legendary menu; what goes into launching a different LTO every single week across 34 locations (like cricket tacos), and how is the brand navigating today's restaurant climate, from a Sriracha shortage to other supply hurdles. Also, would anybody eat a g...

Adam Blacker, the VP of insights at Apptopia, joins QSR editor Danny Klein to discuss one of the biggest topics in the restaurant industry today. Which fast-food brands are winning the app wars? How do you keep loyal guests coming back with rewards? What can restaurants learn from competitors' marketing mistakes and successes? All that and much more as we dive into the growing battleground th...

Founder and CEO Andrew Pudalov left a New York financing career to open a restaurant that offered filling, yet healthy meal replacements for people on the go. That dream became Rush Bowls, which opened in Boulder, Colorado, in 2004, at the onset of the healthy-eating craze, and is now on the cusp of major growth. Pudalov joins QSR editor Danny Klein to look back at the journey, as well as what’s a...

Michel Falcon is a serial entrepreneur and best-selling author who went from earning $15/hour in a call center to advising billion-dollar brands and building a $15 million hospitality company in Toronto in two years. Falcon, who is now scaling fast casual Brasa Peruvian Kitchen, joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to talk about how restaurants can create a company culture that defies the l...

Sam Zietz, CEO of GRUBBRR , an industry-leading provider of self-ordering technologies, and Karl Goodhew, chief technology officer of BurgerFi, join the QSR team to talk about the systems and trends disrupting the restaurant landscape. Are we headed toward a world without cashiers? Why are kiosks resonating with today’s consumer? That and much more as we prepare for the next era of hospitality. No...

Mary Jane Riva has been an entrepreneur for 20-plus years, starting out as a Pizza Factory restaurant owner and then transitioning into the head of the organization. Under her guidance and expertise, she’s helped the brand grow to 100-plus locations. And now, the chain is on the verge of record-setting expansion.

El Pollo Loco CMO Andy Rebhun has led the charge of the chicken chain's lean into digital in recent years. He joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to chat about his unique marketing strategy and vision, one of the hottest LTOs in recent memory, and El Pollo Loco's interest in continued innovation, from drone delivery on.

Kevin Rice, the EVP of Bounteous, a company that works with brands like Domino’s, Panda Express, and Wingstop, joins QSR editor Danny Klein to talk about the state of restaurant technology, what’s to come, and what COVID reactions are here to stay in the wake of the pandemic. How will loyalty change? Digital ordering? That and much more in this wide-ranging chat.

A dream of opening an authentic Lebanese restaurant brought Nour Rabai to Atlanta, and he’s been a trailblazer opening new restaurants and sharing his family’s recipes ever since. Rabai joins QSR editor Danny Klein to talk about the rapid growth of fast casual Pita Mediterranean Street Food, what he’s learned along the way, and what it’s going to take to scale and thrive in one of the most complex...

Conceptualized in 2015, Pokeworks was created after the founders returned from one of many trips to Hawaii. Now, it’s taking aim at global growth, and it’s no great mystery why. The fast casual has seen major sale increases with the top 25 percent of franchise locations reaching an AUV of $1–2 million.