A Deeper Dive

Are restaurants becoming like Taylor Swift? Well, sort of. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Matt Tucker. He is the senior vice president with Squarespace and is head of the reservation platform Tock. Tock was cofounded by restaurateur Nick Kokonas and was sold in 2021 to Squarespace. The company sells prepaid restaurant reservations to customers. Those reservations act like tickets, which customers can resell. And that could create a market that operates like online ticket sales, where brokers gobble up the best tickets—like Taylor Swift concerts—to resell them at substantial markups. We talk with Tucker about this, and why restaurants do not want their reservations resold. Tucker talks about what his company does to prevent this. But he also talks about the benefits to restaurants of a model in which diners prepay for their reservations, such as the ability to do more dynamic pricing. We talk about general trends in restaurant reservations. For instance, is 6 p.m. really the new 8 p.m. and why is that? What are consumers looking for in reservations these days and what is demand for those restaurants right now. It’s a fascinating conversation about reservations, so check it out.

Why is the FTC looking into Subway? This episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features John Gordon, a restaurant consultant out of San Diego, who discusses the apparent investigation of the sale of Subway to Roark Capital. The investigation is apparently examining whether the acquisition of the sandwich giant would give the private equity firm Roark too much power. We discuss that issue, and how much of the restaurant market Roark really would have if the sale were to go through and whether that is all that unusual. (Hint: It’s not.) We also talk about some of the chain’s efforts to push discounting through its app, including its upcoming requirement that franchisees accept digital coupons. As we reported in September, Subway wants franchisees to accept the offers by the end of this month. But we also discuss what this review could mean for the restaurant business as a whole. We’re talking Subway and the FTC so please check it out.

Lisa Miller, consumer strategist and author of “The Business of Joy,” discusses consumer attitudes on the value of restaurants. Topics include frustrations with tipping, customers feeling their visits aren't worth it, and the impact of rising prices. Restaurants can enhance their offering by investing in training and providing affordable quality meals.

How do you dust off a brand that has been dead for 15 years? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Paul Mangiamele, the CEO and chairman of Legendary Restaurant Brands, the owner of Bennigan’s. Mangiamele discusses his decision to open Steak & Ale, which is scheduled for next spring. Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale were in the same group that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008, which shed a light on problems with the casual dining sector. Bennigan’s franchise system was saved from liquidation by its secured lender. But Steak & Ale was shuttered, seemingly for good. Mangiamele bought Bennigan’s and has operated it since. But he also owned the rights to Steak & Ale. Now he plans to bring it back, a potentially rare comeback from Chapter 7 by a restaurant brand. We talk with him about why he’s making that decision and why now. Paul also talks about what he’s doing to adapt the chain to a new market.

What do you do with Pollo Tropical? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Alex Macedo, the chairman of Authentic Restaurant Brands, to talk about that company’s recent acquisition of Pollo Tropical. Authentic Restaurant Brands, or ARB, is owned by the private equity firm Garnett Station Partners. Macedo is a former executive with Burger King and Tim Hortons and is overseeing the multi-concept operator, which also owns Primanti Brothers, PJ Whelihan's and Mambo Seafood. Pollo Tropical has long been one of the industry’s most intriguing concept. The fast-casual chicken chain operates 169 locations and generates some industry-leading restaurant-level profits. But it has long struggled to expand outside of Florida—so much so that many buyers were reticent to acquire the company when it was put on the market two years ago. Macedo talks about that, and he discusses why he believes there is plenty of growth in Florida and nearby communities. He also talks about ARB’s acquisition plans, how many companies it is talking with, and what the company does once it acquires a restaurant chain. It is an interesting conversation with the chairman of a new multi-concept operator so please have a listen.

Brian Miller, CEO of management recruiting firm Patrice & Associates, talks about the state of the restaurant labor market. They discuss the resilience of the labor market, strategies for retaining employees, and the importance of company values in the restaurant industry.

Loyalty programs are all over the place. But are they really necessary? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Stephanie Meltzer-Paul, the EVP of global loyalty for MasterCard, to talk about loyalty programs. We asked Meltzer-Paul to join the podcast given how popular these programs have become. Just about every major fast-food chain, and many casual-dining concepts, have one of these programs, many of which were added only recently. But there have been some high-profile upgrades of these programs that haven’t always gone over well with loyal customers, often creating bad press in the process. We ask Meltzer-Paul about these issues, and why so many companies are spending so much effort on these programs. We talk about whether these programs are truly necessary—she has an interesting answer for this—and why it may sometimes be necessary for popular programs to accept some angry customers as their programs mature. And we ask her about the future of loyalty programs and what kinds of trends can be expected out of them in the coming years. It’s all about loyalty on A Deeper Dive so check it out.

Will restaurants need to serve more healthy food in the future? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features RB Executive Editor Lisa Jennings and we spend the entire time talking about the concept of a healthy fast-food restaurant. Lisa and I have had numerous debates over the years about this topic and we thought we’d let you in on some of them. We chat about Ozempic and drugs like it, and whether these medications could ultimately change the restaurant industry by curbing the appetite of a potentially large number of Americans who could end up taking those drugs. We talk about why there hasn’t yet been a truly healthy fast-food restaurant, and about the types of chains that are doing something about it, such as Everbowl, Salad & Go and others. And we talk about the success of chains like Cava and Chipotle. We also debate about the restaurant industry’s role in the obesity crisis, and whether it has a responsibility to change that. It’s a healthy debate on A Deeper Dive this week, so check it out.

Is the tip credit dead? It sure seems that way, given the way big cities and states are doing away with the credit. So, for this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” I’m joined by RB Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo to talk about these things. Peter has been reporting on a rapid and increasingly successful movement around the country to do away with the tip credit, the sub-minimum wage restaurants pay to servers who get tips. This led into an extensive conversation about the rapid rise of service fees in the industry, an effort by the government to regulate such fees, and the impact on restaurants and their consumers. With the fees, the regulation and the decline of the tip credit, we wonder whether the industry is going to need another model for paying its employees altogether. It’s a fascinating discussion on tipping, service fees and the tip credit, so check it out.

Ron Shaich, Chairman of Cava and former CEO of Panera Bread, talks about why Panera thrived, the decision to sell Au Bon Pain, other chains Act III Holdings has invested in, public companies and activist investing, and taking Cava public. A fascinating conversation with an innovative industry figure.