The Week in Restaurants

How are fast-casual chains dealing with consumer frustration over prices? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants features a look at pressure on fast-casual chains over value. Sweetgreen is working to beat back concerns over the price of its salads. We look at that issue.  McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme are ending their partnership long before it is complete. We...

Hulkamania is coming for Hooters, or at least it’s trying to. In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants, we discuss news that Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer Brand is making a play to buy Hooters out of bankruptcy. We discuss whether this is real or a stunt and whether it has a chance at success. Yum Brands, the owner of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, named C...

How is a 16-unit soup dumpling chain generating the industry’s highest average unit volumes? In this week’s episode of The Week in Restaurants, we discuss the surprising performance of Din Tai Fung, a fast-growing casual-dining brand from Taiwan that does $27.4 million per location. We also cover the news from Starbucks’ leadership summit in Las Vegas, where it unveiled some new plans for staffing...

How did Dave’s Hot Chicken reach a $1 billion valuation in just eight years? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants, we discuss the fast-casual chicken chain’s sale to Roark Capital. We look at the chain’s valuation, and how it was able to get that valuable, that quickly, and what it says about the modern restaurant industry. We also discuss Roark Capital...

Here comes the summertime value war. This week’s episode of the restaurant news discussion podcast The Week in Restaurant features a discussion on the restaurant industry value war. Notably, the fast-casual pizza chain &pizza is planning to actually lower prices. We discuss whether that is a good thing or not. McDonald’s is shuttering CosMc’s and will bring its beverage test into its regular r...

There is a black market for restaurant reservations.  This episode of the weekly discussion podcast The Week in Restaurants looks at the black market that has developed for restaurant reservations and what that means for the industry—and what’s being done about it.  We also talk about our takeaways from the National Restaurant Association Show, including the biggest trends from that event.  And a...

A plant-based chain has filed for bankruptcy. Is it time to put this whole plant-based meat thing to rest for good? On this episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants, we talk about the bankruptcy filing of the upscale chain Planta, and what that bankruptcy means for the plant-based meat trend. We also discuss Wingstop’s new “smart kitchen” plan and sales at Cava. We also t...

Why is Krispy Kreme slowing its McDonald’s deal? In this week’s episode of The Week in Restaurants, we talk about the delay of Krispy Kreme’s sale of its doughnuts inside McDonald’s restaurants. We talk about what that means for both brands. We also revisit the Panera Bread closure of its dough making operation and discuss a slew of weak earnings reports.  We also discuss some big news in the rest...

This has been a tough quarter for restaurants. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants examines a tough set of restaurant earnings. Several chains, including fast-food giants McDonald’s, Starbucks and Yum Brands, reported weak topline results. But so have growth brands Chipotle and Wingstop. We talk about what’s going on with those results. We also talk about...

There’s a revolving door in the C-suite. This week’s episode of the Restaurant news podcast The Week in Restaurants features a discussion about Charlie Morrison, who was named CEO of the sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s. Morrison takes over for Peter Cancro, who has helmed the chain he founded for 50 years. We also talk about Red Robin, where G.J. Hart resigned this week and was replaced by David Pace...

Another Burger King franchisee filed for bankruptcy. This week’s episode of The Week in Restaurants includes a discussion on the bankruptcy filing of a 57-unit Burger King operator in Florida and Georgia.  In addition, we talk about Raising Cane’s surpassing KFC, and other topics from the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report.  We talk about the big takeaways from the Restaurant Leadership Con...

There’s a new king of casual dining.  The weekly restaurant news podcast The Week in Restaurants features a discussion on Texas Roadhouse, which just overtook Olive Garden to be the largest casual-dining restaurant chain in the U.S. We discuss why Texas Roadhouse was able to do that. We also talk about the unfortunate histories of Macaroni Grill, On the Border and Corner Bakery, all of which at on...

How will tariffs affect restaurants? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants will deal with the economic upheaval of the week, and particularly the potential challenges that a protectionist trade policy could have on the industry, following the announcement of sweeping new tariffs from President Trump. We also talk about Chick-fil-A, which saw sales slow in 2...

This week’s podcast features a conversation about Bar Louie’s bankruptcy, California Pizza Kitchen’s mid-life crisis, and Panera Bread’s new CEO.  Also, more on Nvidia's partnership with Yum Brands, and Piada Italian Street Food’s latest handheld menu item, which could be a gamechanger.

AI is coming for your drive-thru. This week’s episode of the restaurant news podcast The Week in Restaurants features a discussion on one of the industry’s hottest topics: AI. Specifically, Yum Brands announced a landmark deal with AI chipmaker Nvidia. What does that mean for Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut? We also talk about Olive Garden’s strong March, and what that means for the state of full-ser...

What will the future of Starbucks look like? This week’s episode of the restaurant news podcast The Week in Restaurants includes a discussion on Starbucks’ plans to redesign its cafes. The chain revealed that it is testing new designs that include outlets, better seating, better division with mobile orders and a more espresso-making “theater” experience.  McDonald’s, meanwhile, is creating new Res...

Another casual-dining chain has filed for bankruptcy.  The latest episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants features a discussion on the bankruptcy of On the Border, the fourth casual-dining chain to declare Chapter 11 in less than a year. A fifth could be coming.  We also discuss the weird situation involving the closure of all but one Del Taco location in Colorado. And A...

What does a potential Hooters bankruptcy say about the industry? In the latest episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants, Executive Editor Lisa Jennings and I discuss the potential bankruptcy of Hooters and what led the brand to this fate, as well as several other companies.  We also talk about the layoffs at Starbucks, and why the company is doing that, and why culture ma...

Is KFC’s move to Texas a good, long-term move for the company? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast This Week in Restaurants features a discussion on KFC’s recent announcement that it will move its U.S. headquarters to Plano, Texas. In addition, we discuss the recent earnings from Texas Roadhouse, which admitted that weather has created challenges early this year. Tech Check this...

Welcome to the latest podcast from the crack team at Restaurant Business: The Week in Restaurants. The podcast will feature a discussion on the week’s biggest stories in the industry by RB editors, led by myself, along with other features highlighting other topics and some previews of what’s to come. This week, Executive Editor Lisa Jennings and I discuss In-N-Out’s move to Tennessee. The burger c...