Hospitality Hangout | Expert Strategies & Industry Trends from Hospitality Insiders

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” chat with Daniel Meth, chief executive officer at Ingest and take a deep dive into restaurant data. Meth talks about his education saying, “I wanted to be a doctor and so I went to college a little bit later in life double majored in molecular biology biochemistry and cell biology neuroscience. Not because I was so smart but I found out that if you double major in science. It's typically a conversation stopper.” Meth shares that he started tutoring and eventually growing an academic services business. Frischling asks Meth if he could share how he has seen the shift in operators who now understand the numbers are the data. Meth says, “Getting people to understand that data isn't this you know, what's historically been this esoteric concept right? It's all of these things that they've already been paying attention to, just better contextualized so it can paint a more complete picture of what's going on in their business.” Adding, “We need to put this incredibly complex information into a more relevant, easily digestible format and language for the operators so they can better understand it. Meth says what they are trying to do is improve the viability, sustainability and profitability of the business.  Ingest helps operators look at the data from all areas including point of sale system, reservation management system, cogs data coming out of purchasing tools, guest sentiment, marketing and loyalty. Meth says that Ingest asks three questions, what happened, why did it happen, and what would happen if. He says, Ingest fully contextualizes the entire data story. Meth talks about what’s next for Ingest, he says they are focused on growing the team on all fronts, they are actively growing Ingest’s footprint in fast-casual and QSR space, and working towards telling better stories with data. To hear how Covid has accelerated the Ingest road map, and how Ingest can use the data to forecast for operators check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” were on the road and live at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, where they chat with Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart, about the show, the benefits of multi-unit franchises, and the importance of landscape when considering new brands. Fransmart CEO, Dan Rowe and the guys chat about how Rowe got started in the industry. He talks about deciding as a teenager that he wasn’t going to go the traditional route and attend college to find his career path. He says that he wanted to figure out how to become successful, and while at a motivational seminar, he was faced with the question, “What do you want to do with your life?” His answer was, “I want to get wealthy helping people get wealthy.” He shares that his goal for attaining riches was not to be at the expense of others, and that’s something that drew him to the franchise space. He says, “What I like about franchising is that basically the model is that, you know the franchisors only make money if the franchisees are making money, franchisees are only making money if they've got a good team and their people are making money.” He adds, “Honestly, I find a lot of joy in this space. It’s the kind of job that even if I wasn't getting paid, this is exactly what I'd be doing.”Rowe, who was also a successful multi-unit franchisee, shares his insights on why it’s better to invest in multi-unit franchises rather than just buying a single unit. He talks about the Fransmart formula for success, that includes finding the right emerging franchise opportunities, which are less expensive to build and are more likely to be able to leverage conversions. He says, “It's the ultimate wealth builder to me, when you get into a brand when they're young, they're just less expensive to build, you get your money back fast and then you roll that into another store, and at some point those self-fund multiple locations, making millions of dollars.” He adds, “You've got an asset now that you can sell for a life changing amount of money. Frischling provides some data, sharing that Fransmart has sold over 5,000 franchises worldwide.Schatzberg talks about the company’s current restaurant portfolio which includes, The Halal Guys, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop and Savannah Seafood Shack. He asks Rowe what Fransmart looks for when considering an emerging brand. Rowe shares that it involves a lot of unit economics, because high volume indicates that customers like the restaurant. He says, “High volume tells you customers like the concept, you know customers vote with their wallets. So if they've got really, really good sales, that's a good indication.” Rowe talks about the importance of landscape and the tremendous success of The Halal Guys, largely due to the huge opportunity he saw there. He shares that while opening more that 50 American brands in the Middle East, he found himself falling in love with the local Mediterranean street food, and he realized that no big brand in America was offering this concept. He says, “It dawned on me. You've got a billion and a half Muslims, Middle Eastern food, Mediterranean food is amazing and I just saw there's a huge opportunity if somebody gets this right, you're going to have a monster on your hand, and that's exactly what we did.” He adds that the chain is already at 100 units and on its way to 500.To hear more from Rowe’s chat with Schatzberg and Frischling at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, check out this episode Hospitality Hangout.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy'' and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy'' chat with Bryan Solar, Restaurants GM at Square, to discuss his unique journey into the industry, the rebranding of Square, and the importance of POS innovations.When asked about his start in the industry, Solar talks about his background and coming from a family of restaurateurs. He tells the guys about his journey to working at a strategy consulting firm that helped really big companies turn around in the recession. He shares that during that time frame, he learned that his aunt’s restaurant was struggling. He says, “One day my aunt called me and she said “hey you know the family restaurant is struggling,” and I thought to myself, if we can do this for really big companies, why can't we do it for restaurants?” Solar decided to start a nonprofit to help restaurants turn their businesses around. He adds, “Working with those restaurant owners, I mean it felt like working with family.”  Solar shares that he decided to attend business school and started a new business with the goal of helping restaurants. Google soon took notice and partnered with Solar, which led to the development of Reserve with Google. Other companies were also starting to take notice of Solar’s work as well. He talks about receiving a call from Square, a company that he deeply admired, and being offered a job with them. He says, “They said, “hey do you want this job” and I was like, you know I would absolutely love that job because in my mind you know the point of sale is the future.” He adds, “For me, this is the dream job, I get to help all the folks that you know, look like my aunts, uncles and cousins.”Frischling asks Solar why Square recently decided to change their name to Block. Solar shares that the name change was derived from several different components. He shares that the name Square became synonymous with walking into a store and interacting with a payment system. The change to Block acknowledges the company’s growth, considering new things like bitcoin, and the company adding Cash App and TIDAL, the name change creates room for further growth. Solar adds, “Having the name Block kind of captures the 3-dimensional aspect of like what Square is trying to do.”The guys chat about the relevance of POS. Solar, who recently spoke on a panel to discuss POS being its own ecosystem, talks about the importance of building really important technologies and the need to constantly make updates on a weekly or sometimes even daily basis. He says, “I actually think the kitchen is the heart of the restaurant. I mean everything flows in and out of the kitchen, that's how the business runs. The POS is the brain. It is the thing that directs everything, makes it better, faster.”To hear Solar’s thoughts on labor costs, the future of technology, and more from his chat with Schatzberg and Frischling, check out this episode of The Hospitality Hangout on iTunes! This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” were on the road and live at Food On Demand in Las Vegas, where they chat with Laura Michaels, Editor in Chief at Franchise Times, Alyssa Abraham, Digital Innovation Manager at Cargill, April Rogers, Director of Off-Premise and Guest Relations at Ruby Tuesday, and Maia Tekle, Co-Founder of Dispatch Goods about the conference, strategies for increasing off-premises efficiency and the tremendous growth within the virtual brand space.Franchise Times Editor in Chief, Laura Michaels stops by to discuss being a moderator on several panels at the conference. She shares that the big topic driving a lot of conversations is how operators are navigating their approach to improving accessibility for customers, whether that means through delivery, adjustments to their physical store footprints with pickup windows, introducing AI technology within drive-thru service, and geofencing so restaurants can better anticipate guest arrivals to create a better customer experience. She says, “There are an entirely different set of considerations for what sort of interactions consumers want to have with their restaurants right now.”Abraham stops by to talk about the exciting innovations happening at Cargill and attending Food On Demand live for the first time, where she was able to hear directly from operators and see first-hand interactions with the different start-ups. She shares that her two key takeaways from the conference panel discussions are focus and problem-solving. She talks about the importance of operators using technology to solve both problems and enhance user experience. She says, “What I'm hearing more about is focus and problem first. It's hearing them really refreshing and thinking, ‘Hey, we’re not just gonna push technology to push technology, let's again figure out what we're doing to make the guest experience better, make the employee experience better and drive that forward.’ ”Ruby Tuesday Director of Off-Premise and Guest Relations, April Rogers stops by to chat with the guys about launching new virtual brands, ghost kitchens, and embracing the latest technology and innovation. Schatzberg asks Rogers which innovations she’s most excited about. She says, “For me, it's the virtual brands, I love the impact they're having on restaurants, especially restaurants with some additional kitchen capacity. And just the fact that everybody's kind of going out and doing some different things and really thinking outside the box. It's very new, very fresh.”Dispatch Goods Co-Founder, Maia Tekle, and the guys chat about her panel, “Packaging Up A Better Experience”, focusing on transporting food from the in-dining experience to the at-home consumer. She says, “I’ve been amazed to see how much innovation and thought is going into packaging, as well as the thoughtfulness for their own circulatory.” They talk about reusable packaging, and what is new at Dispatch Goods. “Our east-coast partners are bringing this drive for change.” She says, “If there is a better and newer system, we want it, and we want it now.”To hear more from all of the guests that stopped by to chat with Schatzberg and Frischling at Food On Demand in Las Vegas, check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy'' and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy'' chat with Tony Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Restaurant365, to discuss rising food costs, labor shortages and how his company is using technology to combat both of those challenges within the industry.Smith co-founded Restaurant365 over ten years ago and works with over thirty thousand businesses. The restaurant management software developed by Restaurant365 allows operators to experience the only cloud-based, all-in-one restaurant accounting, payroll and HR, inventory, scheduling and reporting software that can also seamlessly integrate to their POS, vendors, and banking partners.When asked about launching Restaurant365, and how he got his start in software development, Smith shares that he never had any intention of going into the field and that he actually didn’t even have a computer in his home growing up. Smith also shares that he was rather intimidated by them. He talks about his time at college and deciding that he should probably become familiar with computers, as he assumed he might be working with them at some point in his career, this led to him studying both business management and information systems. He says, “My first job out of college was working in software and I was doing that with a couple of other guys, John Moody and Morgan Harris, and the 3 of us were the ones that eventually decided to start Restaurant365 together.”The guys chat about the importance of operators embracing technology but how that can lead to tech fatigue. Smith shares that from day one, the goal at Restaurant365 was to make connecting restaurants with the best technology as simple as possible. He says, “We really wanted to solve that for restaurants. We looked at this huge industry, and there were so many tools, it was crazy for a restaurateur to be buying 10 tools to run their business because they're not tech people, so they didn't really understand how to connect them together. And so that was really the goal for us, was to make this simple and make data immediately accessible, and so in order to do that, you need all your data in one place.”Frischling asks Smith about upcoming industry conferences and which subjects he thinks will be the hot topics. Smith shares that unfortunately the issues of food costs and labor shortages continue to drive conversations. He shares that while he’s seen restaurant sales up 10%, he has also noticed food costs up 12% and labor up by 10%.Smith shares some insights on how Restaurant365 can provide some relief for such challenges with the company’s software forecasting feature. He says, “You've got to be able to forecast what you're going to be doing in your restaurant in the coming days, weeks, by daypart.” He adds. “You want to know those things and the better the forecast, the more accurately you can shoot for your employee schedule as well as the menu items you're going to be selling. When you get down to honing in on those order quantities, getting suggested quantities because you're forecasted, you're gonna keep that food cost low, you're gonna have less waste and the same thing on the labor side, and those are things that we help restaurants squarely within our tool.”To hear Smith’s thoughts on the company’s culture, his predictions on future technology, and more from his chat with Schatzberg and Frischling, check out this episode of The Hospitality Hangout on iTunes!This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy'' and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy'' chat with Robert Earl, Co-Founder of Virtual Dining Concepts and Chairman of Earl Enterprises, to discuss virtual brands, how influencers bring value to operators, and the company’s latest concept.Earl talks about growing up in the United Kingdom and how being the son of a very famous singer exposed him early on to show business, talent and brands. Earl jokes that he was reluctant to go into show business or to work at all, but he soon realized that he needed to find something that would benefit his future. He shares that once he discovered hospitality, he decided to study the field at University.   When asked about his career path following school, Earl talks about working at two of London’s most famous hotels. He shares that he worked in every department, gaining lessons and insights which he says gave him the foundational experiences that he still calls upon to this day. By the age of 22, Earl shares that he was developing a Medieval concept that would become the most successful restaurant in London. Earl’s impressive resume includes founding Planet Hollywood, expanding brands, such as Buca di Beppo, and launching new concepts like Chicken Guy!. He says, “I realized that hospitality was for me, and I've had the beauty of working all around the world with every type of level of restaurant food operation, and that makes me who I am now.”They discuss the massive growth in the virtual brands space. Earl predicts that within the next few years, every restaurant will have a virtual brand, and he believes that consumers will not only know about these brands, but they will actively seek them out. He talks about founding Virtual Dining Concepts and how the company is able to help operators increase their revenue streams by utilizing what they already have existing in their restaurants. He says, “When we talk to a restaurant and we identify their equipment, their labor, which corners of the kitchen are quieter than others, what skus do they have, what produce do they have that has a limited shelf life, and with all of that knowledge, as restaurateurs, we come back to those restaurants and say, ‘Boy do we have a brand for you.’ “Earl shares what’s next for the company and he teases a bit about an upcoming collaboration with TikTok, and talks about why working with influencers and celebrities can bring tremendous value to a restaurant’s virtual brands. He shares breaking news about a new concept launching, Steve Harvey’s Family Food, which will feature a menu of both healthy and indulgent recipes, as well as a signature drink developed with the restaurant’s namesake. Earl shares the exciting news about a mega, multi-concept opening the heart of New York City. The four story concept will included Planet Hollywood, Chicken Guy!, and an entire floor of constantly changing brands, completely dedicated to curbside pick-up, to-go and third party delivery partners. To hear Earl share more about virtual brands, the company’s new aggregated app and his take on where the hottest restaurants are opening, tune into this episode of Hospitality Hangout on Spotify.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy'' and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy'' chat with Kimberly Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Copia, to discuss food insecurity, how restaurants can track food waste and what Copia is doing to help the industry reduce carbon emissions. Smith talks about her background in the advertising tech industry and having nearly 20 years of experience in data and analytics. She shares that becoming a parent gave her a new perspective on the world regarding how we would be leaving it for future generations and why that led her to join the team at Copia. She says, “Copia was like the culmination of everything that I wanted to do, the impact I wanted to make. And I knew that I could bring my experience in the data and tech world, to leading this company into solving a lot of problems.”When asked about what Copia is and how it works, Smith shares that Copia’s technology allows businesses to safely and efficiently donate excess food and ingredients to feed people in need. She talks about how easy it is for businesses to sign up and use the platform. She says, “It should take no more than three minutes of your team's time to be able to track your waste for the day, or submit a donation.” She adds, “Our matching algorithm tells us exactly where your donation should go, to the local nonprofit that's most in need of that food. It not only finds a home but the right one.”They talk about the benefits to businesses that partner with Copia. Smith shares that in addition to helping out the community and the environment, operators receive other advantages from Copia as well, including providing the business with audit-proof donation receipts and tax deduction dashboards. She says, “Your accounting team loves you at the end of the year, your program analytics help inform waste reduction plans, impact reports tell businesses all about the nonprofits they fed, the carbon emissions they reduced by diverting this perfectly edible food from landfills and the gallons of water saved. She adds, “We're making it as easy and beneficial to reduce and prevent your food waste, as well as donate any surplus that you have.”To hear Smith share more about streamlining your operational processes, onboarding a national brand, and partnering with Project Drawdown, tune into this episode of Hospitality Hangout on Spotify.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” were on the road at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit in Nashville. Schatzberg and Frischling chat with Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., Josh Goodman, Founder & CEO, of PourMyBeer, Cherryh Cansler, Editor of FastCasual.com and VP of Events at Networld Media Group, and Josh Halpern, CEO at Big Chicken, about the summit and latest innovations in technology being highlighted at RFIS. Dickey, stops by and talks about being back in person at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit, being a presenter at the summit and how data is driving the restaurant industry. She talks about the importance of being able to pull data, clean it, and present it back in a way that is simple and actionable. She says, “If you can do that with your data, then you're not drowning in that data lake, you could really use that data to drive the business forward.” She shares that Dickey’s built and launched its own proprietary data analytics platform 10 years ago. Dickey shares that because of their in-house technology, the restaurant's management is able to run their own POS, loyalty initiatives and scale the business, which now has 550 locations. PourMyBeer, Founder & CEO, Josh Goodman, stops by for his second time on the podcast. He chats with Frischling and Schatzberg about how the other attendees and operators are reacting to the self-serve revolution that PourMyBeer is leading. Goodman talks about partnering with Coca-Cola. He says that by implementing the technology developed by PourMyBeer within the European market, at places like amusement parks, Coca-Cola has seen gains between 140% to 180% in both increased revenue and traction. Goodman shares that whether the company is collaborating with a Mom & Pop shop or at the enterprise level, technology is paramount. He says, “Your technology has to evolve.” He adds, “That's really where we've been focusing our energies, is getting our technology aligned with the various point of sale systems through direct integrations with them, because it all comes down to checks and balances.”Cansler checks in to chat about moderating the summit’s session, ‘Getting into the Self-Service Game’. She talks about how operators are eager to enter the self-service space but have questions regarding things such as, how to determine which system is best for their business, what set-up costs look like and ROI. She says, “We're going to let each panelist tell their story about why they've entered self-service, how they're using it, whether it is a kiosk, or a beverage wall, how much it costs, ROI. Everybody wants it, but is it cost effective?” Cansler talks about the overall success of RFIS, adding that over 350 guests are attending this year. Cansler adds, “It’s our biggest year yet, even before COVID”. She says that the talk of the summit has been all about innovation, from ‘what’s new’, to ‘what’s going on’, to ‘what does the future hold’. Regarding the future, Cansler gives a sneak peek into details for the upcoming Fast Casual Executive Summit, happening this October, in Indianapolis.Big Chicken, CEO, Josh Halpern, talks about his summit session, ‘Executive Perspectives: Inspiration for Today’s Restaurant Leaders’. He shares his insights on the importance of working together to mitigate each other's pain points. He says, “We learned there's five pain points; driving traffic, driving check size, being innovative, having well engaged staff and a capable supply chain”. He adds, “So if we work together to mitigate those pain points as an entire community, to make sure the guest has a great experience, franchisees are profitable and suppliers have what they need, beautiful things could happen fast.” To hear more from all of the guests that stopped by Hospitality Hangout at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit, tune into this episode of Hospitality Hangout on Spotify.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy'' and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy'' chat with Scott Gladstone, SVP of Strategy and Innovation at Dine Brands, to discuss the state of the industry, virtual brands, and how new technologies and innovations are going to drive sales moving forward.Gladstone talks about the state of the industry and shares that consumers are returning to Dine Brands restaurants in record numbers. In addition to consumers dining in again, Gladstone shares that the company’s restaurants IHOP and Applebee’s have seen considerable growth in off-premise sales which the brand hopes to scale. “We've also been making significant investments in technology and the things to drive the off-premise experience”.When asked about the brand's latest concept, FLIP’D by IHOP, Gladstone says, “FLIP’D is a fast casual version of IHOP. Not every consumer has time to to sit down and enjoy a great IHOP meal with the family or significant other, sometimes they got to get it on the go.” Gladstone shares that although the concept was built for speed with features like digital menu boards and kiosks, the menu items are still prepared with the high quality ingredients consumers associate with the brand. They talk about the latest trends in virtual brands. Gladstone shares that Applebee’s has launched a nationwide virtual brand, Cosmic Wings, which the company is very excited about. Gladstone talks about Dine Brands new partnership with Nextbite and the introduction of two new IHOP virtual brands, Thrilled Cheese and Super Mega Dilla.He says, “I think virtual brands are important. They're a big and important piece for full-service restaurants.”  To hear Gladstone share more about Dine Brands newest concepts and his take on robotics and automation, tune into this episode of Hospitality Hangout on Spotify.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Danny Klein, Editorial Director at Food News Media, about his unique leap into the industry and the debate regarding pizza and tech.Klein shares why Food News Media offers free magazine subscriptions to industry professionals. He talks about the outlet covering both QSR and FSR segments. Klein says the company’s day one goal was to help operators run their restaurants. In addition to not charging for the magazine content, Klein shares that the outlet also offers a free e-newsletter which keeps track of the news day to day. Klein says, “Our e-letters are free. We don't have paywalls on any of our content. We're really here to help people run their restaurants.” He adds, “That's been kind of the day one goal.”Klein talks about restaurant growth and industry shifts in a post pandemic landscape. He shares that independents and ‘mom and pop shops’ are really struggling to get back on their feet and how recovery for them could take years, but on the opposite side, the quick service space has become one of the hottest retail sectors in all of the country in terms of growth with brands like Chipotle and Wingstop each adding another 1000 units. He says. “You know the state of things right now is you have one side, who I think is going to be on basically the precipice of embarking on what might be the greatest growth stretch that they've had in probably 30 years versus another side that's going to be a lot slower to adapt.”Klein shares his thoughts on industry trends. He shares that the number one trend he is seeing was virtual brands, particularly in virtual wing chains. He talks about the segment slowing slightly but being a force within the space that was scaling at an incredibly rapid pace. He says, “There was a period there though where in terms of us trying to keep track of who was introducing a virtual brand, it was just outrageously out of control, and I get why it was happening.”To hear Klein’s thoughts on the future of pickup and curbside growth and more from his chat with Schatzberg and Frischling, check out this episode Hospitality Hangout.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com