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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Tom Gordon, CEO of Slim Chickens. The brand launched in 2003, has more than 280 units and is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
"We open about a store a week," Gordon said. "We do 50 to 60 domestic stores every year, and we do international stores every year, too. We do business in the U.K., and 54 of those stores are in the U.K."
The brand recently opened its first store in Berlin as well.
Gordon said the food is the hero at Slim Chickens, and is paramount to the brand's success as it grows.
"The food has to be the thing that draws people in," he said.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler interviews Rob McColgan, brand president and co-founder of Modern Market Eatery, at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit about how the brand has evolved since its launched in 2009 in Boulder, Colorado. The brand now has just over 30 units in six states.
McColgan admits launching a brand was more difficult than he and his partner thought, "but we were passionate about eating well, and we felt like there wasn't a brand out there — certainly not at scale — where we felt like we could eat at every day," he said.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler talks to Amanda Millikan, vice president of chicken chain Bonchon. Millikan oversees the growth strategy for the United States and has been with the company for a year and a half.
The Korean fried chicken brand has been in the U.S. since 2006. The chicken is double fried and hand brushed, making it a standout in the competitive chicken market. "It's amazing and addictive, but then we also have Korean comfort food dishes to complement our fried chicken. It's very approachable to the American palate," Millikan said.
The brand has 137 locations in the United States and 445 globally.
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The food truck industry isn't an easy one. Food truck operators need capital to get a truck, get it set up for food production, get branding set up and more. That's not to mention meeting all regulatory rules and finding the best place to park. And lastly, they need to be able to generate a customer base willing to follow their trucks and purchase their food. How can food trucks generate profits in light of all of this?
Bradley Cooper, editor of Food Truck Operator, spoke with Chris Ruff, CEO and president of Glympse Inc. to discuss more about how food trucks can generate profits, with a particular focus on location tracking in today's episode of the Restaurant Operator podcast.
In order to create a loyal customer base, food trucks need to communicate their location clearly with guests, especially when they are constantly moving around to different events and locations. During the podcast, Ruff shared insights including:
Business insights from Glympse.How Glympse' location tracking services can help food trucks.What makes it different from Google.Success stories with clients. -
It's not easy operating a food truck. You have to get your trailer in order, get the right equipment to prepare food and make sure your truck is up to code. That's before you begin to figure out where you're allowed to park your vehicle. In today's episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Patrick Bolanos, co-founder of Trail King Builders shared insights into how to get started in the food truck business and how to be successful.
Bradley Cooper, editor of Food Truck Operator discussed with Bolanos a number of key points surrounding the food truck industry, such as navigating regulatory issues and how to properly handle marketing. Some of the topics covered include:
Bolanos' journey in the food truck industry.How food trucks can build for the future.First steps for food truck operators.How Trailer King Builders can help food truck operators.You can listen to the podcast in its entirety above.
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Conversational AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can chat with guests. It uses natural language processing to understand what you say and respond in a way that mimics human conversation. This technology is used in chatbots and virtual assistants like GivexAI's ordering kiosk used in coffee shops, QSRs and more.
In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace, talks to Dan Hawkes VP of product design for Givex, to learn how Givex's conversational AI programs is helping restaurants reduce labor and increase order efficiency.
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Recently, Erle Dardick, the catering guru, and fastcasual.com have partnered to create the Restaurant Catering Workshop, happening October 15-16, 2024 in Denver CO. Erle joins us for a candid conversation on hits and misses in the catering business. #catering #restaurant #podcast
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Wolf Detwiler, managing editor of Networld Media Goup, talks to Lauren Coulter, integrator and chief biscuit eater at Biscuit Belly, a Louisville, Kentucky-based biscuit fast casual chain about the brand's catering program.
Many restaurants are expanding their reach with dedicated catering programs. These programs offer restaurant-quality food for events, from corporate lunches to social gatherings. Diners can expect menus tailored to their needs, with options ranging from boxed lunches to full buffets. This trend benefits both restaurants and customers. Restaurants gain a new revenue stream, while customers enjoy delicious food for their events without the hassle of cooking. Catering programs are also becoming increasingly user friendly, with online ordering and customizable menus. This convenience is fueling the popularity of restaurant catering, making it a delicious option for busy lifestyles.
At Biscuit Belly, the brand started catering as an added convenience for their customers and because there aren't many breakfast catering choices in the area.
Coulter said they were initially hesitant to add catering because the brand is built around a large biscuit sandwich.
"It's fine to order a couple here and there, but it's hard to replicate that in mass," she said, "and so we knew that we wanted to go down this path (and) that it was going to take us to entirely clearing out heads" about catering.
To listen to Coulter's catering journey, click the link above.
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Brand leaders spoke to Restaurant Operator Podcast host Mandy Detwiler at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit held in Kansas City in March.
Detwiler spoke to leaders at Longboards Wraps and Bowls, Kansas City International Airport, Hawaii Brothers and more.
"The Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit offers a wealth of information for restaurant leaders and brands," Detwiler said. "The annual event highlighted some of the most pressing issues in restaurants today, including growth, technology and innovation, restaurant delivery, marketing and more."
Listen to what these brands had to say about attending the summit here.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Charles Wetzel, CEO of Kalibrate, a company specializing in data, software and consultancy to restaurants.
Kalibrate, which began in 1970, started on the fuel and convenience side and eventually moved to location intelligence, specifically within the hospitality, retail and restaurant domains.
"Today, a large portion of our business looks to the restaurant community and looks to identify from a global perspective who your customers are, where they're located, and the value of those customers and how that translates into a location intelligence offering," Wetzel said.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Networld Media Group Editor Mandy Detwiler chats with Don Smith, director of business development for Givex North America, about the state of the restaurant industry and what's affecting it today. Givex, a best-in-class POS solution, services a number of high-profile brands.
Online ordering has grown since the pandemic, and Smith said it has been a "seesaw battle" for many operators. "The more orders they get obviously drives more money to their bottom line," he said. "But the challenge is trying to get more of that dollar for online ordering."
Ordering sites take a great percentage of online orders, up to 30% for Uber Eats, Skip (a Canadian delivery service) and GrubHub. Givex's clients are working to try to regain some of that percentage, Smith said.
"How they're doing it now is through a many-faceted approach," Smith said. "It combines some loyalty, it combines some private apps, and if they made the right combination, they can claw back some of that 30%"
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, managing editor of Networld Media Group and editor for QSRweb.com and PizzaMarketplace.com, talks to Chris Lybeer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Revel Systems, a cloud-based technology provider, about how tech is changing the restaurant industry today.
Lybeer said it's an exciting time for technology brands in the restaurant space as more restaurants rely on it in both the front and back of the house.
"Costs are going through the roof," Lybeer said when asked what some of the industry's biggest challenges are today. "The cost of everything — the cost of food, the cost of real estate, the cost for labor and so that's putting a lot of stress on the industry and really, in almost any industry — even if you go outside of restaurants — usually when there's pressure on an industry technology is used to make it more efficient."
Lybeer said restaurants have traditionally been behind the curve, but the opportunity and the challenge for restaurants is to figure out how to use technology to battle some of the pressures they're facing.
To listen to the podcast in its entirety, click here.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Daily podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com, talks with Emily Gorman, marketing and communications manager for CORE, a national non-profit dedicated to serving restaurant employees with children financial relief when facing a life-altering health crisis, injury, death or national disaster.
Gorman said CORE's mission is "to be there for all parts of the restaurant industry." A group of beverage executives met at the National Restaurant Association and a conversation was struck up about the lack of support for the restaurant industry. That discussion led to CORE, now it its 20th year.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com, interviews Mike Adolph, partner and vice president of business development for Doyle HCM, about keeping the human element in back office management.
Adolph co-founded Doyle HCM, a back office solutions and payroll company, with two partners in 2018. The restaurant space was always in the back of Adolph's mind, and when COVID hit, restaurants needed extra help, especially in the back office space. Doyle HCM was there to pick up the pieces. That hard work allowed Doyle to scale, "and got us to where we are now," Adolph said. -
On this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Wolf Detwiler, managing editor of Networld Media Group, talks to L&L Hawaiian Barbecue CEO Elisia Flores about the brand's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that Flores says are built into her staff as a whole.
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Podcast host Mandy Detwiler talked to Burks about her start as a food truck owner and what it took to open her first store.
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QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace Editor Mandy Detwiler talked to Jamie Richardson, vice president of White Castle, to learn how the brand incorporated AI into its ordering process and how it's easing labor issues and increasing efficiency.
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In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler talks to Zak Omar, CEO of Atomic Wings, an emerging wing brand out of New York City.
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