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At CREATE, Spike Mendelsohn, founder of PLNT Burger, Michael Lastoria, founder and CEO of &pizza and James Park, founder of Wing Wok, all sat down with us to gibe their takes on the restaurant industry.
Fresh off panels, the three founders discussed what they admired about each other and what takeaways they got from the event.
The three are friends and big personalities so there was plenty of chatter as well.
Charles Watson began as CEO of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in January 2019, and the world has changed wildly in his first year and a half. One thing remains the same: Tropical Smoothie Cafe is gunning to become a household name, with or without a pandemic. “We make no bones about the fact that we are trying to be a household name,” said Watson. The Atlanta-based healthful smoothie concept is certainly on the way, having increased comp sales by 25.5% in July – while other brands saw sales drop – and opening new units throughout the pandemic. That is largely due to having a robust pipeline of franchisees, and being specific about locations. Don’t expect to see a unit on every corner just yet; that doesn’t fit in with Watson’s goals for the next 5 to 10 years. Right now, he’s focused on what he calls “hospitology,” hospitality enabled by technology at all 850 units. The brand maintains a mix between hospitality and technology by focusing on contactless transactions, delivery, leaning into digital and mobile channels and point-of-sale improvements while also maintaining a warm environment, something Watson says is often lost in the automation of restaurants, especially during COVID. Without safety and sanitation, “you have nothing,” according to Watson. Listen to the full episode and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. ...
Thanksgiving is the family-dining chain’s busiest time of year, and the VP of menu development has new things in store. ...
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taziki’s Mediterranean Café spent a year beta testing how two types of delivery programs: do it yourself, or third-party. CEO Dan Simpson tested both ways and came to the conclusion that both proved valuable depending on the scenario. But, now the delivery landscape has completely changed under shelter-at-home orders across the U.S. That has forced brands like Taziki’s to re-think their off premise playbook to survive what will certainly be a months long recovery -- where only the most nimble and cash rich restaurants will survive. At Birmingham, Ala.-based Taziki’s, that means expanding third-party operators, who he’s found are easier to negotiate during the pandemic. That wasn’t the case before, and he’ll explain why in our podcast. He’s also seeing a new business model emerge for the fast-casual brand of 93 units: Curbside pickup. Will consumers demand more contactless ordering systems like curbside and delivery as they maintain social distancing practices in a post COVID-19 world? “That's a big crystal ball question,” Simpson said. “The same guests are out there. It's just about meeting them where they are and adjusting our business models to where [if] that means more curbside or more delivery, we can do that.” As we spoke, Simpson and franchisees were preparing to reopen dining rooms at some restaurants in Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. Listen to what Simpson has to say on how that new normal might look. ...
