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This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a production of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Joanna Fantozzi spoke about the return of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
As the three editors hit the record button, the RRF was passed in the House of Representatives, securing $42 billion in funding for restaurants who did not receive funding the first time around. However, while on the podcast, news broke that the Senate would not be taking up a vote until after April recess. Hear what the editors had to say about this shocking news.
Plus, the editors discussed Virtual Dining Concepts new CEO, Stephanie Sollers. Sollers comes to VDC from DoorDash and, as the editors discuss, will be able to help the brand mature past its current stage. But what does it mean that this company is getting its first-ever CEO? Is this finally the start of a new segment? The editors discuss.
Also, Petre, Fantozzi, and Oches discuss Chipotle entering the metaverse. While the fast-casual brand is following in Wendy’s footsteps just a week later, it’s entering the metaverse with a game. Learn more about the gamification of the metaverse and how this could impact the way brands enter the metaverse in the pod.
Lastly, Fantozzi speaks with J.R. Galardi, CEO of Wienerschnitzel as he takes over the reins at the family-run company. They talk about what it’s like to be part of a family run company and the brand’s plans for growth.
Paul Griffin started out as a fine-dining chef, working his way through trendy restaurants with world-class chefs. But when he was working at a hip gastropub in Delray Beach, Fla., it seemed that all his customers wanted was his $20 all-natural burgers. “We were kind of shocked by the product mix,” he said. If customers weren’t interested in the lobster nachos and duck and other fun items and just wanted burgers, why not just make them? And so BurgerFi was born, serving all-natural beef and other items with clean labels. Griffin helped start the chain, where he holds the title of chief culinary officer, which has grown to around 120 units and just celebrated its 10th anniversary with a shake limited-time offer. His job changed from developing new menu items at the gastropub to training crew as new restaurants opened and handling a supply chain that has grown to $40 million worth of food & beverage annually. In this podcast he discusses how that supply chain was challenged over the past year – it turns out that buying all-natural beef shielded him from some of the supply-chain disruptions many other burger chains faced — some of the LTOs he has developed over the years, and how he and his team are adapting to drive-thrus, ghost kitchens and other necessities of the current age. ...
This year, in recognition of his influence on the industry, Nation's Restaurant News named Glass to the number one spot on our Power List. The 2020 Power List focused on food tech and innovation, and Glass was an obvious choice. Since its inception, Olo has transformed and continues to shape restaurants and foodservice. ...
Field Failing founded Field’s Good Kitchen in 2014 as a way to provide healthy and filling food at the speed of a quick-service restaurant. An athlete himself, he wanted to ensure the meal had oritein and nutrition at a reasonable price. As the brand expanded to its current six units across the New York metropolitan area, business shifted. Many locations were in office hubs in Manhattan, benefitting from the lunch rush and catering of large gatherings at the many high-rises dotting the skyline. Coronavirus hit that booming business and halted Field’s Good Chicken in its tracks. The emerging brand was forced to close all locations and it’s growing catering business, but that didn’t stop the team from thinking. “At the end of the day, people need to eat, and the population in the United States is growing. So, I think it’s safe to say there will be growth in the restaurant space over the next 2-3 years…restaurants will grow, and the show will go on,” said Failing. Beginning with family packs (Failing and his wife actually had their second child in the early weeks of the pandemic), the business soon pivoted to selling whole chickens with sides in the style of supermarkets to feed the entire family. And while rent on six NYC restaurants is a lot, it doesn’t seem like it will be the case for much longer as Fields is looking to expand into ghost kitchens. But the pandemic has brought out a side of the industry that he’s grateful for. “It’s been cool to see the heart and the soul of the industry come out. It’s a gritty, gutsy industry and it’s a gritty, gutsy group of people, which is part ...
