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This week on the Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, Extra Serving, editors Holly Petre, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Sam Oches discussed the recent sale of Del Taco to Jack in the Box. Earlier this week, quick-service chain Jack in the Box acquired the quick-service Mexican chain Del Taco. The brand had previously owned a Mexican limited-service brand, Qdoba Mexican Eats, which it sold off in 2018 after 15 years of ownership. Check out what the team thinks of this move and what it could mean for the market. Will we see Jack in the Box go on to purchase another brand?
Also, the NRN editors discussed the recent news that New York City would require vaccinations for employees of private businesses. What does it mean for companies that have already had to face so much these past few years? The team discussed the implications of this for the restaurant industry.
Plus, the team spoke about Christmas in New York and gave some recommendations.
This week’s guest is Victor Cruz, former football star who has recently partnered with Krystal to become a restaurant franchisee.
If you have a restaurant that’s decorated for the holidays, send me an e-mail at [email protected], it may make it on the website.
This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a production of Nation’s Restaurant News’ Last Bite Network, NRN editors Holly Petre, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Sam Oches discussed the wave of restaurants showing support for Ukraine by closing restaurants in Russia. Companies from McDonalds to Yum Brands to Papa Johns released statements intending to close Russian units or halt Russian expansion is the wake of the attack on Ukraine. The team discussed how Vladimir Putin has been trying to fight against these restaurants showing support for Ukraine and how the industry has been showing its support for Ukraine in other ways. The team also discussed President Biden’s new regulations on cryptocurrency and what that means for the booming market here in the restaurant space. Will it limit the industry’s expansion into the metaverse? Find out more in the podcast. And finally, the team discusses the future of RRF which was pulled from the omnibus spending bill this week in the Senate. Though it wasn’t a surprise to the team, it pulled the final rug out from a lot of independent restaurants who were relying on that money to get through the last leg of the pandemic. Donna Tuttle, Whataburger’s group director for brand communications and culture, spoke with Oches at IFMA’s COEX about how the regional chain has been handling the labor crisis by paying managers six-figure salaries and offering careers. ...
Patrick Main has been working with Peet’s Coffee for more than 30 years, and he has spent most of that time inventing coffee drinks. Now he is the senior beverage innovator for the chain based in Emeryville, Calif., which operates around 250 coffeehouses in the United States. It would easier for him to say what hasn’t changed about the American coffee scene than what has: When he started, the brew was already ubiquitous, but it was a commodity that came out of a can, not a specialty item with distinctive terroirs and back stories. In this edition of the Extra Serving podcast, Main discusses how our perception of coffee has evolved, and also his own research & development process. He reminisces about the first frozen beverage that he created in the 1990s, and shares details about the development of the fior di Sicilia orange flavor that is at the heart of his holiday coffee offerings for the past couple of years. He also explains the importance of remembering the operational realities of his business: Ensuring that the thousands of baristas who work for the company can maintain consistency. “I don’t want to reinvent what the barista does every time I change a flavor,” he said. ...
This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a production of Nation’s Restaurant News’ Last Bite Network, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Ron Ruggless discussed the future of the Supreme Court and its stance on vaccines. The recent ruling from the highest court in the country against the OSHA mandate set forth by President Biden (which was picked up by Starbucks and subsequently dropped in a similar fashion) set a precedent for the conservative leaning and pro-business court that may impact future vaccines. The team discusses the impact this may have for years to come as we see more diseases and COVID becomes endemic. Also, the team discusses McDonald’s fourth quarter earnings which were just reported at the time of recording. The three editors talk about how the new promotion – TikTok menu hacks – is helping the company with supply chain issues and how TikTok and secret menu items can help other chains as well. Plus, Ruggless spoke with the CEO of BurgerFi, Ian Baines, about the chain’s recent acquisition of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings and what it means for the future of the business. ...
