A Deeper Dive

How will gas prices affect restaurants?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, senior principal with the data firm Technomic.We like talking with Shank periodically to get a pulse on where the industry is at and there are all kinds of questions about it right now, thanks to gas prices. Gas prices are near a national average of $4 a gallon, according to AAA, up $1 compared with the past year, driven largely by the U.S. attack on Iran.That has a real impact on consumers at a time when many of them are already feeling pinched by inflation. We ask Shank what kind of impact this will have, what restaurant chains will feel it the most and at what point does it diminish industry growth projections. We also talk a bit about other issues like beef costs and store operations and what happened with the fast-casual sector.Always great talking with Rich Shank so please check it out.

What is the state of Fat Brands?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Hilary Russ, the editor at large of Law 360.Hilary covers bankruptcies for Law 360 and we wanted to talk with her about the bankruptcy of Fat Brands, which runs Twin Peaks, Round Table Pizza, Fazoli’s, Johnny Rockets and several other chains.We discuss what this bankruptcy means. We get at the complexity of the filing. We talk about the performance of the different restaurant chains before and after they were acquired. Russ also talks about the prospect that Fat Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn could lose control of the company, but that has not yet happened.We also ask why Fat Brands was able to raise so much money so quickly after struggling for years to buy even the smallest chains. It’s a major question facing the company.We’re talking Fat Brands on a Deeper Dive so please check it out.

What’s going on with beef costs?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Maloni, the senior director of commodities with Arrowstream.We wanted to talk with David because beef costs are soaring. Burger King, for instance, said that its beef costs went up 20%.We discuss why beef costs are going up so much, how long this could last, and what can be done to fix them.Maloni also talks about why, even in the face of all this, restaurant chains like Burger King and McDonald’s are hyping up their burgers so much.He discusses talk about other things, too, notably the potential impact of high gas and oil prices both on commodity costs and the consumer.This is always a good conversation with David so please check it out.

Meet Jim Bitticks, CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken and longtime restaurant operator. He talks rapid national growth and how the brand handles scale. He explains Roark Capital's role and why daily ops stayed steady. He discusses franchise strategy, executives owning stores, spacing to avoid cannibalization, and the digital/delivery mix.

Five Guys is making some changes.This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Molly Catalano, the chief marketing officer for the Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual burger chain.We are talking with Catalano about a lot of things, notably its move into catering. We talk about why the company is now offering catering, how it’s doing that and how it works. We talk about a number of other things the company is doing. Five Guys is marketing more than it’s ever done before. That’s a big change for the company. It is also looking at things like combos and maybe even some different types of menu items.Catalano also discusses the company’s unique culture and the important role the chain’s founding family plays in keeping its quality at the forefront.We’re talking Five Guys on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

How will restaurants fare in 2026?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, who talks about the trade group’s State of the Industry Report. Korsmo discusses the industry’s annual projection of restaurant sales, profitability and trends. We talk extensively about the association’s expectations for foodservice sales this year, projected to be nearly $1.6 trillion. We discuss issues with industry profitability, and why so many operators are simply unprofitable. And we talk about immigration and other association priorities.This is a great conversation with the head of the restaurant industry’s biggest trade group so please check it out. 

What is the status of Starbucks’ turnaround?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mike Grams, the chief operating officer of the coffee shop giant.Grams joined us from a Starbucks Reserve location in New York City following the company’s Investor Day presentation.He spoke extensively about the company’s various plans to improve the operations inside the chain’s coffeehouses.That includes the remodels the chain is making to make even the smallest locations friendlier for in-store customers. He also explains why that is important for a company that has mobile order, drive-thru and delivery.Grams discusses the chain’s “Green Apron” service model and why that model both helps with manager morale as well as service time. He also gives an update on the chain’s push to improve service times and what else the company plans to do to speed service.We also talk about Starbucks’ expansion plans and why the company believes it can fit 5,000 more shops, at least, in the U.S.We’re talking Starbucks on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

What are retailers doing to compete more aggressively with restaurants?This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive looks at the retail sector, specifically convenience stores and grocers. I’m joined this week by Heather Lalley, the managing editor for Restaurant Business as well as sister publications CSP Daily News and Supermarket News.We talk about how convenience stores are pushing into more prepared food options, including ways they are taking pages out of restaurants’ playbook.We also discuss the growing demand for THC beverages, and why we haven’t seen many restaurants add these to their beverage menus.But we talk extensively about the closures of Amazon’s Fresh and Go stores, and what kinds of lessons restaurants can take from those closures. We’re looking at the retail sector on A Deeper Dive, so check it out.

How will the Saks Global bankruptcy affect restaurants?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Stephen Cohen, a real estate attorney who does a lot of work with restaurants.We wanted to speak with Stephen about the real estate implications of the bankruptcy filing of the giant retailer Saks Global.No, Saks is not a restaurant, though it owns a few of them. But it is a major real estate tenant with some 8.4 million square feet.Many of its locations are in malls populated by a lot of restaurants.We wanted to talk about the implications this could have on restaurants, both for good or for ill. Cohen talks about the potential implications for foot traffic at some malls and potential opportunities for certain restaurants to get available space in some desirable shopping centers.But we talk a lot about other topics, including various real estate trends and the opportunities and risks of opening in second generation real estate sites—or closed restaurants, as it were. We’re talking malls on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

How do consumers view value these days?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jen Meyers, growth strategy leader for the restaurant practice with the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal.The firm recently completed an extensive survey of consumers on a broad range of topics on restaurants and we wanted to chat with Jennifer about the results and what they mean.We talk about the value equation and how consumers’ views of value has changed over the years from cheap food to value for the money. We talk about what drives consumers out of restaurants.We also talk about a lot of other topics, including the growing snacking occasion, consumers’ views on health along with nostalgia marketing.We’re talking about the consumer on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.