A Deeper Dive

How did a small hot dog chain handle a sudden rush of customers after the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features J.R. Galardi, the CEO of the Galardi Group, parent company of Wienerschnitzel, Tastee Freeze and Hamburger Stand. Galardi was named CEO earlier this year but had been president and chief operating officer before that and has grown up with the concept, which was founded by his father and later run by his mother after he passed away. He talks about taking over a family business, including some of the pressures, challenges and opportunities that presents. J.R. talks about what he plans to do with the brand. He also talks a lot about the state of the business, including labor issues, supply chain concerns, franchising and expansion strategies. Galardi discusses how much demand there was for the drive-thru after the pandemic, the challenges that presented, and what the company did about it.

What chains recovered the most from the pandemic? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Joe Pawlak, managing principal with RB sister company Technomic, to talk about the latest Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. The 500 largest restaurants grew sales by 18% in 2021—and more than 8% over 2019, effectively recovering from the pandemic. They generated $361.2 billion in total sales. Pawlak talks about why they’ve been able to grow more quickly than anybody anticipated. He talks extensively about what sectors did best, notably fine dining along with some of the biggest chains in the U.S. Among the companies featured in this podcast are McDonald’s, Burger King and, of course, Chick-fil-A.

What are consumers getting when they order from a virtual kitchen? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features our editors speaking of their recent taste test of a handful of virtual brands. The project was spearheaded by Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski, who wrote about the experiences in a piece last week. We are joined by Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo and Senior Independents Editor Heather Lalley. The brands we tried were MrBeast Burger, Man Vs. Fries, Grilled Cheese Society and Another Wing by DJ Khaled. We rated them on delivery quality, food quality and appearance and overall value. You should check out the piece, which ran last week. The editors discuss the results of their orders, including which brands they prefer, which brands they disliked, and their overall value. We discuss how much this says about delivery charges, and whether we would order this in the future.

Wendy’s has some big plans to add a lot of restaurants. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Abigail Pringle, the president of international and chief development officer for the burger chain Wendy’s. She talks about the chain’s numerous expansion strategies. Wendy’s has a lot going on. The company has a deal with Reef Kitchens to expand into 700 ghost kitchen locations around the world. Pringle talks about the potential impact that deal will have on the company’s expansion strategy. She also talks about the company’s move into international markets. Wendy’s recently opened units in the United Kingdom and is now targeting Mexico for expansion, among other locations. Pringle also talks about why Wendy’s has been behind its top competitors in international expansion. She discusses the chain’s recently announced Own Your Opportunity recruitment effort, which is designed to increase the diversity of the Wendy’s franchise system. That effort includes considerable work on financing. Pringle talks about how that recruitment effort fits in with the chain’s development strategy.

Restaurants’ supply chain headache has evolved into a migraine. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Keith Anderkin, the chief supply chain officer for the fast-casual chicken chain Zaxby’s. Chains have been increasingly giving c-level status to their top supply chain officers. Anderkin took his position last year, and we wanted his insights into the challenges with the supply chain—why costs are going up so much, and what the company is doing about it.

The pandemic has changed restaurants’ deals with beverage companies, maybe forever. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Tim Harms, CEO of the consulting firm Enliven, to talk about the market for beverages at restaurants. Enliven works with restaurants and other clients to negotiate their beverage contracts. Harms was recently named the firm’s CEO. He discussed the state of beverage deals on the podcast, and how much the pandemic changed demand for restaurant beverages. Growth in takeout and delivery has led to decreased beverage attachment, which has changed the way restaurants have to think about their beverage contracts.

Despite a number of challenges, there remains plenty of demand for restaurants on the open market. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast, A Deeper Dive, features Robin Gagnon, CEO and cofounder of We Sell Restaurants, to discuss the secondary market for restaurants. That market remains strong. There are more buyers than there are sellers, driving up the price. This is especially true for quick-service restaurants. But there is plenty of demand for all kinds of concepts. The demand is strong despite high labor and food costs and the prospect of rising interest rates.

How does a small growth chain expand when the operating environment is so difficult? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Jason Morgan, CEO of the 17-unit Original ChopShop, to talk about it. Original Chop Shop is a better-for-you fast casual chain. The company has done quite well during the pandemic and has some significant growth plans, but it has faced some challenges on that front.

How has life changed for Portillo’s since the brand went public? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Michael Osanloo, CEO of the hot dog and Italian beef chain, to talk about life as a public company. Portillo’s has been a fast-growing chain of massive quick-service restaurants. It went public last year in what now looks like some bad timing. Stocks have struggled due to inflation concerns and the promise of higher interest rates. And investors have been particularly hard on some of the newly public restaurant companies.

What happens with third-party delivery from here? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” attempts to answer that question. Joe Guszkowski, RB’s senior technology editor, joins the podcast to discuss the service and some interesting data and trends. Third-party delivery took off during the pandemic. It provided a lifeline for many restaurants. Yet it remains in flux.