Episodes
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What’s the story behind the growth chain Mo’Bettahs?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rob Ertmann, the CEO of the fast-growing Hawaiian-style chain Mo’Bettahs.
This is the latest in our series of podcast episodes recorded at the National Restaurant Show in May.
We wanted to talk with Ertmann to get the story behind Mo’Bettahs, which is one of the industry’s more fascinating growth concepts. The company grew system sales 30% last year, according to Technomic.
We talked about the chain’s history and how it’s been able to fund its growth. We talk about growth plans and what kind of barriers are standing in the way of that growth. We also touch on a variety of other topics, including tariffs, traffic, portion sizes and what’s popular today.
It’s a wide-ranging episode on the podcast this week so check it out.
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How do you take a 56-year-old brand into the future?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Heather Neary, the CEO of the fast-food Mexican chain Taco John’s.
This is our latest in a series of podcast episodes recorded from the National Restaurant Show in May.
Neary took over as CEO of Taco John’s last year. We speak with her about what she’s done over the past year-plus on the job.
We were particularly interested in the company’s technology initiatives, including its voice-activated drive-thru AI test. We talk with Neary about how well it works, how it benefits Taco John’s and what the company does with the labor that no longer has to take orders.
Neary discusses the company’s franchising strategy and its expansion plans. She also talks about the chain’s menu development efforts.
We’re talking tacos on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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What’s the next step for the owner of Krystal?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Josh Kern, the CEO of the multi-brand restaurant operator SPB Hospitality, which owns several different chains.
This is the latest in a series of podcast episodes that we recorded during the National Restaurant Association Show last month.
SPB Hospitality owns and operates a wide range of restaurants, including the fast-food concept Krystal, the casual-dining brand Logan’s Roadhouse and the upscale casual brand J. Alexander’s.
Kern talks about the brands and how they’re doing. He also talks about operating a multi-brand company and how it can run both full-service and limited-service concepts.
He also talks about the company’s future strategy, and whether it plans to keep all these brands or whether it plans to put one or two of them on the market.
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How does Velvet Taco come up with its recipes?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Clay Dover, CEO of the fast-casual taco chain.
This is the latest in a series of podcasts we recorded at the National Restaurant Show.
Velvet Taco is a rapidly growing chain of taco shops. It finished 2024 with 49 locations and grew sales nearly 22%, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
The chain’s menu is more unique than a simple taco shop. You might go to one of the restaurants and be greeted with a Bacon Smashburger Taco or a Paneer Taco. And there are the WTF tacos, or weekly taco feature. We wanted to know how the brand develops these tacos and why that has helped the brand do things that perhaps other concepts cannot do.
We also talk about other issues, including the chain’s growth and its plans for international development and what Dover sees as the biggest barriers to growth right now.
We’re talking tacos on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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How should marketing change in the era of AI?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Kyle Drenon, the CEO and co-owner of Supper Co., a marketing firm that works with restaurants and other hospitality industries.
This is part of a series of podcasts we recorded at the National Restaurant Show last month and it is a good one.
We wanted Kyle on the podcast to talk about AI, and specifically its impact on marketing and how people look for your restaurant.
Kyle provides some sobering data on the impact AI is having on web traffic to normal, everyday websites.
We talk about what that actually means for restaurant companies. And then we talk about how those restaurant companies can adapt by marketing with short-form video.
We’re talking AI and marketing on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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Why are restaurant chains introducing so many limited-time offers?
This week’s episode of the restaurant finance podcast A Deeper Dive features Katie Belflower, manager of menu research and insights with Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
This is part of a series of podcasts we recorded during the recently concluded National Restaurant Association Show.
We wanted to talk with Belflower about the shocking number of limited-time offers, or LTOs, restaurant chains have been pushing recently. The industry introduced a record number of LTOs last year, and she helps explain why.
We talk about the impact social media is having on restaurants’ need for more innovation and whether weak traffic is forcing more companies to push new items. But we also talk about the risks associated with so many LTOs.
And we also talk a bit about menu pricing.
We’re talking limited-time offers on A Deeper Dive so check it out.
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How is the restaurant industry adjusting to the Trump administration?
This week’s episode of the weekly restaurant finance podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
This is the first in a series of podcasts we recorded during the National Restaurant Association Show this week.
We wanted to get a pulse on the restaurant industry and on its dealings with Washington, given the number of monumental issues there are.
We discuss the impact of tariffs on the industry, for instance, and how much import taxes are expected to cost operators. We also talk about immigration. Restrictions on immigration are expected to drive up labor costs by reducing the pool of workers. But Korsmo has perhaps some surprising news on the prospects of immigration reform.
It’s always an interesting conversation with the head of the industry’s biggest trade group so please check it out.
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What does Culver’s new CEO have in mind for the chain?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Julie Fussner, who was recently named chief executive of the 1,000-unit, Wisconsin-based burger chain.
Culver’s is quietly one of the most consistent restaurant chains in the country and is one of a generation of high-growth burger concepts. Its system sales grew 16% last year. By contrast, fast-food burger chain sales last year grew just 1%.
Fussner came to the brand in 2017 and was later named chief marketing officer, the first CMO in that chain’s history. In April she was named just the fifth CEO in Culver’s history and the brand’s first woman CEO.
So we thought we’d bring her on and ask her a bunch of questions about plans for the company.
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How will tariffs affect restaurants?
This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Neal Sherman, the founder of the used equipment company Tagex Brands.
President Trump dramatically escalated the tariff rate on imported goods to an average of 27%, according to the Budget Lab at Yale.
That’s expected to have an impact on restaurants. Most restaurant chains source the bulk of their food from within the U.S., but equipment purchases could be another matter.
We spoke with Sherman at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. Sherman's company, which operates a secondary market for restaurant equipment, is expected to be a beneficiary as rising equipment costs lead operators to search for better deals.
We discuss the potential demand for used equipment as tariffs take hold. We also talk about the state of the restaurant industry and what a difficult economy could do to consumer demand.
We’re talking tariffs on the podcast so check it out.
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How does Chili’s keep doing this?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business finance podcast A Deeper Dive features George Felix, the chief marketing officer for Chili’s parent company Brinker International.
We spoke with Felix at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. We wanted to talk about Chili’s marketing, and how it’s taken advantage of social media to draw attention to the brand. The chain’s same-store sales have increased more than 31% each of the past two quarters despite a brutal market for full-service chains.
Felix talks about the way Chili’s took advantage of consumer frustration over high fast-food prices and he details the company’s thinking as it elevated one of its long-time offers.
He also talks about social media in general and how the company recognized consumer affinity for cheese pulls. And he talks about the company’s Lifetime movie.
We’re talking Chili’s and marketing on A Deeper Dive so check it out.
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How do you teach an old pizza chain new tricks?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Karam, the CEO of the pizza chain Sbarro.
The pizza chain was founded in 1956 and for years thrived inside mall locations. But the company took on too much debt and filed for bankruptcy twice after the Great Recession.
We wanted to talk with Karam to understand what Sbarro did to survive those two bankruptcies. Karam took over the chain between the two filings and has led the it ever since and now owns the concept. Sbarro just opened its 800th restaurant and has found new life in places like convenience stores and airports as well as international markets.
Karam discusses these plans and provides insight into how the company was able to find a life past bankruptcy.
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How did restaurants do in 2024?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive is all about the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report.
Kevin Schimpf, senior director of industry research at Restaurant Business sister company Technomic, joins the episode to talk about the ranking.
The restaurant industry did not have a great year in 2024 if you look at the overall numbers. Kevin and I talk about that and why restaurants didn’t do as well.
We also talk about what sectors did well and what did not. Hint: It’s more menu based than anything else. We talk about the shift from some concepts to others and from some menu types to others and what it means for the future of the industry. We talk about Texas Roadhouse, McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC, Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A and others.
And also what sector should not exist.
We’re talking Top 500 on A Deeper Dive, so please check it out.
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How will the bankruptcy filings of TGI Fridays and Hooters affect the market for securitizations?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ed Cerullo, a credit analyst with Octus, to talk about whole business securitizations and the potential impact those bankruptcies can have on the market.
Whole business securitizations use a company’s cash-generating assets to back bonds. Cerullo helps explain how they work, and why they’ve been so popular in the restaurant industry over the past 15-plus years.
TGI Fridays was the first bankruptcy of a restaurant chain that used a whole business securitization, and Hooters was the second. Fridays also has the distinction of having lost control of its assets, the first time that had happened in any industry in 15 years.
Both were risky investments, however, at the time they went to the securitization market. Cerullo and I talk about that, and whether the investments properly denoted the risks those companies presented at the time. We talk about whether the securitizations promoted this risk, and what the impact will be on the market going forward.
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In this special episode of A Deeper Dive — guest-hosted by Nation’s Restaurant News editor-in-chief and Take-Away host Sam Oches — Sam talks with Joey Cioffi, founder and CEO of The Salad House, a New Jersey based franchise that has grown to 20 locations since it first opened in 2011. Cioffi joined the podcast to share how The Salad House attempts to strike a balance between healthy and indulgent for the suburban customer and how he’s refined the business to support franchise success.
Like what you hear? Subscribe to Take-Away on Apple or Spotify.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
In kids’ menus, health-forward concepts have opportunity for growth There’s a broad spectrum of customers looking for a balance of healthy and indulgentAn outside perspective can help you tighten up your businessYou don’t need A+ real estate if you make enough noise in your messagingYou can’t fulfill your dreams if you don’t take a few risks along the wayHave feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].
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What is the strategy for Authentic Restaurant Brands’ newest acquisition?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Alex Macedo, the CEO of the multi-brand operator Authentic Restaurant Brands (ARB).
The company recently acquired the New England polished casual-dining concept Tavern in the Square, its latest in a series of deals for largely regional chains. The company owns Pollo Tropical, Primanti Bros., P.J. Whelihan’s and Mambo Seafood.
The company’s chains generate $1 billion worth of revenue and $150 million in EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
We asked Alex why Tavern in the Square fits with these companies, when it plans to buy another chain and what’s the strategy behind acquiring regional concepts. We also asked Alex about ARB’s ultimate exit strategy.
Check it out.
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How has the pandemic affected restaurants?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Lisa Miller, a consumer strategist and the author of "The Business of Joy."
The podcast is part of our series on the impact of the COVID pandemic on the restaurant industry five years after it first hit. The pandemic wiped out a huge percentage of sales.
More than half of the restaurant workforce lost their jobs. That period was an earthquake on the industry, and there have been many aftershocks since: supply shortages, runaway inflation and now traffic declines as consumers get frustrated over price hikes.
We discuss the lingering impact from that era. We also talk about how consumers have changed. And we talk about the potential restaurants have to get customers, even in a tough market. The U.S. diner hasn’t fully returned to the industry and still wants to eat out more often than they do.
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Why are restaurant chains still having challenges in 2025?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, the senior principal with sister company Technomic.
We wanted to talk with Shank because of the uncertain state of the restaurant business so far in 2025. A lot of people thought that things would improve this year after a difficult 2024. But so far that hasn’t quite happened. Many chains have reported weak sales beyond just weather concerns, saying that consumers are still cutting back.
We talk about why that is. We also talk about the uncertainty surrounding the economy, particularly with the threat of tariffs. We also talk about the potential impact of immigration restrictions.
In addition, Rich talks about how the restaurant business has changed since the pandemic started five years ago.
We’re talking about the state of the industry so check it out.
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What’s going on with egg prices?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ricky Richardson, the CEO of the breakfast-and-lunch franchise Eggs Up Grill.
We wanted to talk to Ricky because he recently posted about a decision his franchisees made in reaction to egg prices.
Egg prices have hit record highs this year because of an outbreak of avian influenza, which has caused poultry farmers to get rid of much of their flocks, dropping supply. Because of the high costs, some chains such as Waffle House and Denny’s have instituted egg surcharges.
Richardson explains just how big a deal these price increases are to the company’s franchisees and how the company and operators are dealing with them. We also talk about surcharges and the impact on customers.
And we spend some time talking about Eggs Up and the breakfast-and-lunch category, quietly one of the hottest categories for years.
We’re talking about eggs on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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How should we think of the shift in marketing at Starbucks?
This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive is about marketing restaurant brands and it features Dawn Kane, the CEO and co-founder of Hot Dish Advertising.
Kane has extensive experience in marketing and was recently named the 2024 Bonny LeVine Award winner by the International Franchise Association, which recognizes women for their contributions to franchising.
There’s been plenty of marketing news of late, including some from Starbucks, which has started television advertisements, something it hasn’t done all that often. Its promotions around the Super Bowl also generated record redemptions for the company’s free coffee offer the Monday after the event.
And then companies like Chili’s generated strong sales by taking advantage of social media opportunities and then using traditional advertising to supplement that.
We wanted to talk about these issues as well as the challenges of breaking through all the marketing clutter at a time when the restaurant business is more competitive than ever.
We’re talking advertising on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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How do you take a hot restaurant concept national without destroying it?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Chris Schultz, the CEO of Voodoo Doughnut.
The doughnut chain was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2000 by Kenneth Pogson and Tres Shannon. It quickly gained a reputation for off-the-wall doughnuts—we’ll let you check out the website for the names of said doughnuts—and a brilliantly pink color scheme.
The company has been expanding rapidly with private-equity owners. We talk with Chris about some of the changes the company has made and how the chain can make itself ready for growth without losing the irreverence that helped it gain popularity in the first place.
And we also talk with Schultz about the chain’s expansion strategy, and whether that strategy can work for a concept that focuses largely on treats.
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