Restaurant Operator

What happens when the fast-casual restaurant industry doubles in size over a decade? It stops just serving food and starts operating like a high-tech powerhouse. In the latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Cherryh Cansler, publisher of FastCasual.com, sits down with Luke Wilwerding, Vice President of North America Sales at Elo Touch Solutions , to unpack the highly anticipated FastCa...

Crafting a solid real estate strategy is obviously central to growing any restaurant brand, but there those plans differ dramatically depending on the brand, a lesson I learned firsthand during a podcast during ICSC in Las Vegas. I sat down with Dannon Shiff, VP of Real Estate for Dave's Hot Chicken , and Abe Nasrallah, SVP of Real Estate at Wonder, to discuss how shifting consumer behavior,...

How does an independent pizza brand with zero initial restaurant experience scale to seven — and soon nine — locations while going head-to-head with venture-backed national chains? In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, sits down with Enga Stanfield, co-owner of Texas-based Mattenga's Pizzeria, to uncover the tech stack...

It doesn't matter how good your food is if your restaurant is in the wrong place. That was the primary takeaway from a recent episode of The Restaurant Operator podcast, where I interviewed Ebere Anokute, head of retail research for CBRE, during the ICSC real estate conference in Las Vegas. We dove into the shifting dynamics of restaurant real estate, modern data trends, and the intangible el...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Jill Chapman, senior director of corporate partnerships for CORE. CORE is a national non-profit that financially supports food and beverage service families in times of crisis. CORE was founded 22 years and was run by volunteers up into 2015 when it hired its first employ...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Shawn Lalehzarian, co-founder of The Red Chickz , a West Coast Nashville hot chicken brand that opened its first unit in Los Angeles in 2018. Lalehzarian began his restaurant career as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in San Diego in 1998. He eventually moved on to be an as...

Beverages have become big business as boba, dirty sodas, coffee and kombucha take center stage on the franchising market. Juice It Up , which has been selling cold and raw-pressed juices, smoothies, açaí bowls. toasts and bagels for more than 30 years, has been an industry leader. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace , talk...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks with Brian Simowitz, president, and Andie Smirl, director of franchise sales, for Houston TX Hot Chicken . The Nashville hot chicken concept launched during COVID in 2020 in Las Vegas. The brand now has 31 units. Part of what draws diners to the concept is its electric brand energ...

In the high-pressure environment of a professional kitchen, communication is the invisible thread that prevents a service from unraveling into chaos. A "call and response" system ensures the front-of-house servers and the back-of-house line cooks remain perfectly synchronized; when a lead expeditor calls out an order, the collective "heard" from the kitchen staff confirms that...

With beef prices climbing — up nearly 60% in the last decade, according to industry veterans  —fast casual operators are facing a margin squeeze. The solution to stabilizing food costs while meeting consumer demand for variety may lie in an under-leveraged protein: pork.    In this episode of the "Restaurant Operator Podcast," host Cherryh Cansler sits down with Dr. Kristin Hicks-Roof of...

Dirty Dough owner Bennett Maxwell knows cookies. After all, his brand has 50 flavors and a simple model. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Maxwell about his operations, the cookie wars he battled and the marketing strategies that make Dirty Dough a success. When asked what advice he would give to another restau...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, podcast host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jim Nusbaum, CEO of Barry Bagels. Nusbaum shares the brand's origin story, its expansion strategy into Texas, and the unique hub and spoke model that supports franchisees. He discusses the importance of employee culture, maximizing revenue streams through catering...

In this episode of Restaurant Operator , host Cherryh Cansler, publisher of Fast Casual , sits down with Luke Wilwerding, VP of North America Sales of Elo Touch , sponsors of both this episode and the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers report. Together, they explore how restaurant technology is transforming every stage of the guest experience from self-order kiosks and drive-thru innovation...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, talks with Or Peleg, managing partner of Tel Aviv Grill in the Los Angeles area. Tel Aviv Grill began 11 years ago as a small kosher market making shawarma, skewers and sandwiches in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. "And, very quickly, it became a very tangible part of t...

In this episode of Restaurant Operator Podcast, Cherryh Canlser, publisher of FastCasual, offers an exclusive preview of the heavy-hitting CEO panel, moderated by HungerRush CEO Bill Mitchell, at the upcoming Fast Casual Executive Summit , Oct. 5-7 in Austin. The episode features an insightful conversation with Mitchell and Aman Devgan, HungerRush's Head of Strategy and Marketing. Cansler als...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb.com, chats with Frank Paci, CEO of Newk's Eatery. Tech plays a big role in Newk's growth strategy, with the brand leveraging self-service kiosks and partnerships with third-party delivery. "We continue to try to meet the guests where they want to (and) how they want to acc...

Mooyah Burgers Fries and Shakes launched in 2007 and now has 75 locations, of which 73 are franchised. The brand just started building out its corporate market earlier this year. Mooyah is all about the better burger business, with buns baked in house and hand-punched fries. Ingredients are prepped daily in house and the brand uses certified Angus beef. "Our burgers are as good as steak,&quot...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Amanda Potts, vice president of marketing and innovation for A&W Restaurants , about Potts' diverse background and how she returned to a foodservice career after working in the automotive industry. Potts has more than 30 years of experience working in diverse industr...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Heather Neary, president and CEO of Taco John's which has nearly 400 units in 23 states. Neary took her leadership role last year, but Taco John's has been serving up tacos and its signature Potato Oles since 1969. "We're a great legacy brand," Ne...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Jeff's Bagel Run founder Jeff Perera. Perera and his wife, Danielle, call themselves bagel fanatics. When Perera lost his job in 2019, he began making bagels for his wife at home. He then spread the love to family and friends, who told him he should sell the bagels. Eventuall...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, podcast host Mandy Detwiler, editor Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Blas Escarcega, VP of franchise development for Central American chicken chain Pollo Campero . Here, flavor is king and development is ripe for the picking. Escarcega, one of the first employees hired in the U.S., has been with the company for 18 years. Pollo Campero beg...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jason Sobocinski and Etkin Tekin, co-founders of Haven Hot Chicken out of Connecticut. While the chicken market may be saturated, Sobocinski and Tekin found a niche for hot chicken, and the rest is history. Tekin and Sobocincki have history when Tekin worked for Sobocincki at a...

The food truck industry has continued to expand at a rapid pace. In 2023, there were over 52,600 food trucks in the U.S., according to data from IBISWorld . However, it is not an easy business to enter, as it requires careful planning to select the right truck, equipment, and branding. In today's episode of the Restaurant Operator podcast, Jordan Schild, president and CEO at Premier Food Truc...

In our latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jill Chapman, director of corporate partnerships with CORE Gives, an organization that helps restaurant employees in need. "CORE is a national non-profit," Chapman said. "We provide financial support to food and beverage service employees in this industry....

In this day and age, offering a guarantee with your business plan is nearly a given. For kiosk brand GRUBBRR, the GRUBBRR Guarantee is an integral part of the brand's ethos. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, speaks with GRUBBRR Chief Revenue Officer Parrish Chapman about the brand's guarantee. Chapman said the...