A Deeper Dive

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Lawton, the CEO and cofounder of bartaco. Bartaco operates 27 locations, specializing specifically in tacos. Lawton talks about how the chain was founded and discusses its current growth plans.   We also talk about the lure of tacos and why they’re so popular these days. And I ask him about loyalty, and how the chain has been able to build it among its customer base. But we also talk extensively about service charges, which have grown in popularity in restaurants—and many other industries, for that matter. Lawton discusses his reluctance to add them to one of his restaurants, and why the chain ultimately gave in and may add them elsewhere. We’re talking tacos and service charges on A Deeper Dive, so check it out.

What’s the state of the restaurant business and M&A right now? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Balis, the managing director with the investment firm CapitalSpring. We talk about the state of the industry at the moment. With 2023 halfway over, we wanted Balis to talk about where the industry is going, both on a revenue and costs front but on mergers and acquisitions. He discusses industry sales and why they’ve kept pace despite soaring prices, and we speculate about why that is. We talk about the state of labor and food costs as well as the impact of technology. But we also talk about mergers and acquisitions and how those are going. The M&A markets have been frozen for the past year and a half amid high interest rates and a lack of agreement on prices between buyers and sellers. But there are signs that it’s improving of late. Jim talks about why that is and where the market is headed. It’s an interesting discussion on a deeper dive this week so please have a listen.

What is the story behind Burger King’s comeback effort? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Tom Curtis, president of Burger King in the U.S. and Canada. Curtis has overseen Burger King over the past two years after coming over from Domino’s. And he has come at a time when the chain has been in trouble. The brand struggled during the pandemic, particularly after its upgraded chicken sandwich, the Ch’King, didn’t perform well. Struggling sales and high inflation last year proved to be an ugly combination. Two major franchisees of the brand filed for bankruptcy and a Michigan operator closed all its locations. But the company has shown some real progress of late, thanks to marketing and improved operations and the company’s $400 million “Reclaim the Flame” investment announced last year. We talk with Curtis about all of this, how that investment has paid off, what changes in operations the company has made and how it can keep customers after marketing gets their attention. We also asked why the Ch’King didn’t work. We’re talking Burger King on A Deeper Dive so please have a listen.

Grocery stores are preparing to come after your business. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Heather Lalley, the editor-in-chief of RB sister publication Winsight Grocery Business. We chat about, shockingly enough, the grocery business. Specifically, Heather and I discuss the competition between grocers and restaurants. We talk about the move grocers are making into restaurants’ territory, and how these companies plan to generate more of their business with prepared foods. Grocers, she said, are starting to “think like restaurants.” We also talk about a potential shift by supermarkets into lower prices, and why that might sap some business from restaurants in the coming months. We’re chatting grocery on A Deeper Dive so check it out.

What’s going on with MrBeast Burger? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski joins me to discuss virtual brands and, in particular, MrBeast Burger. If you haven’t heard, the YouTube star MrBeast has said publicly that he has pulled his support from his virtual brand, MrBeast Burger. He has since pulled the tweets in which he has said this, but the comments generated a LOT of attention. MrBeast Burger is the most successful of a generation of virtual brands. I talk with Joe about what MrBeast’s complaints are, what that might do to the virtual brand itself and what it means for the whole trend if he is indeed stepping away. We also talk about NextBite, another virtual brand company that was recently sold to the owner of rival C3. But most of our discussion is on Mr.Beast Burger and that whole mess. We’re talking virtual brands on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

No one outpizzaed the Hut in the first quarter. Can Pizza Hut keep it up? David Graves, president of Pizza Hut U.S., joined me on the “A Deeper Dive” podcast this week to discuss the state of the brand and how its efforts have won over customers. Pizza Hut struggled for years but appears to have turned a corner more recently. Its 8% same-store sales growth in the first quarter outpaced its pizza delivery competitors. Much of that is due to the brand’s innovation, including its Melts sandwiches. We talk about that product and its ability to generate a different type of sales for the brand. We also talk about the impact third-party delivery has had on Pizza Hut, and about consumers’ nostalgia for the brand. Graves discusses many other things, including technology and artificial intelligence. We’re talking Pizza Hut on this week’s A Deeper Dive so please have a listen.

How have urban markets changed since the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Chip Wade, the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. Wade has a long and distinguished career in the restaurant industry. He was named CEO of Union Square last year after working with the company since 2019. Before that he worked for 17 years with Darden Restaurants and had previously worked with Legal Sea Foods and Carlson Restaurants. We talk about a wide range of issues. He provides some interesting insight on how the New York market is different now than it was in 2019 before the pandemic and how the company has adjusted. He discusses adjusting to that business while also talking about adjusting to what he calls a "new workforce dynamic" these days. We also talk about all kinds of other topics, including an update on the Union Square business, building and maintaining a strong culture inside of restaurants and how the transition has gone since he took over as CEO from Danny Meyer. It’s a great conversation with the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group so please check it out.

Can Peter Piper go fast casual? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David McKillips, CEO of CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza. CEC has had an almost literal roller coaster ride in the three years since David became CEO. The pandemic pushed it into bankruptcy and then the reopening helped it come back remarkably strong as fun-and-games chains proved popular among consumers who wanted to get out of the house. We talk about those issues and we also talk about Peter Piper, the regional pizza chain CEC operates. David talks about the company’s efforts to break out of its core market. Specifically, he talks about a new type of fast-casual concept based on the Peter Piper name that CEC has started to test. That could give the company a third brand it can grow with. It’s a newsy discussion on pizza and games on A Deeper Dive so please have a listen.

Where are sales and traffic going in 2023 and who will win? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research with the data firm Placer.ai. R.J. has covered the industry for more than two decades and knows a thing or two about the restaurant and retail sectors and we like having him on every so often to talk about the state of industry traffic. R.J. joined us at the recently concluded National Restaurant Association Show. We discuss the potential impact of a recession on industry sales and traffic. Consumers have been increasingly reliant on credit card debt to pay various expenses, leading many to believe that cutbacks in spending are coming. Who will win in that scenario? And who will lose? R.J. and I talk about those issues on this week’s episode of A Deeper Dive so please have a listen.

What happens when a giant brand suddenly gives you a marketing gift? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Barry Westrum, chief marketing officer for Taco John's. Westrum joined me on the podcast at the National Restaurant Association Show less than a week after taco bell asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Taco John’s registration for “Taco Tuesday.” Taco Bell has since then brought in NBA star LeBron James to assist in the effort. Taco Bell is many times the size of Taco John’s. Taco Bell’s campaign almost instantly gave the less-than-400-unit Taco John's a ton of attention. We talked with Westrum about how the company responds to an opportunity like that and what the company thinks about the whole thing. We also discuss how things are going at the chain and what kind of interesting things they may have coming down the pipe. We’re talking Taco Tuesday on A Deeper Dive, so please have a listen.