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This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Bret Thorn spoke about the upcoming CKE rebranding efforts, which will cost half a billion dollars. CKE Restaurants — parent to the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s quick-service chains — earlier this week announced a $500 million rebranding that will focus on the exterior of its restaurants, because most customers are interacting with the brand via the exterior and not the interior. Stay tuned to the Extra Serving feed in the next few weeks to hear an exclusive interview with Owen Klein, the vice president of global culinary innovation for CKE. Also, the team discussed the week in restaurant earnings. There were fewer earnings reports than last week, but it was still jam-packed with financials from fast-casual companies like Shake Shack and Sweetgreen and full-service brands like First Watch and Texas Roadhouse. First Watch, as Zinsmeister pointed out on the podcast, was one of the only chains in 2021 not to increase menu prices. It did increased menu prices early in 2022, which is paying off as same-store sales soared in Q1. Zinsmeister also gives a recap of her recent trip to Baton Rouge, La., where she spent 24 hours fully immersed in quick-service Raising Cane’s unique culture. Lastly, this week’s interview is Felton Jones, the head roaster of PJ's Coffee. Thorn and Jones spoke about the intricacies of coffee and the chain’s newest flavor, Wedding Cake. ...
This week on Extra Serving, podcast by Nation’s Restaurant News’ Last Bite Network, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson’s pay raise despite inflation and the recent labor woes. The team discussed the reports that Johnson received close to a 40% pay bump (including a non-equity incentive plan, stock awards, and a 4.5% bump to his base salary). The CEO of quick-service chain Starbucks made waves when the report was shared amid the unionization efforts among over 50 Starbucks stores across the country. Also this week, Starbucks reported its Q1 earnings and the team was happy to discuss that the restaurant industry appears to be on some solid footing for the first time in a while and, while life isn’t back to normal, the team was glad to see that earnings appear to be showing that the industry is inching back to normal. Finally, the team discussed the recent report from the National Restaurant Association stating that the industry is expected to hit $898 billion this year. While that number is impacted by inflation, it is back to pre-pandemic numbers which, for an industry that lost $250 billion during the pandemic, is a welcome change. This week’s interview is Jonathan Weathington, CEO of Shuckin’ Shack, a regional seafood chain, about the recent franchise expansion of the brand. ...
During the COVID-19-era of dining, when reusable menus are a thing of the past and individually wrapped plastic utensils have become more common, talks of sustainability have stalled. But despite the challenges, BurgerFi is still committed to being a leader in the green space. The Palm Beach, Fla.-based 120+-unit, fast-casual burger chain already uses recycled Coke bottles as materials for their dining room chairs and their walls are made from renewable natural wood. “When we started that first BurgerFi restaurant, the whole premise of constructing the restaurant was to create an environment centered around sustainability,” BurgerFi president Charlie Guzzetta told Nation’s Restaurant News on the latest episode of Extra Serving. “Our DNA built inside the brand was all around sustainability, eco-friendly, and fresh, clean, transparent and organic foods.” On this episode of Extra Serving, Guzzetta discusses the company’s history of commitment to sustainability and what they’re doing now, even in the midst of the pandemic, including installing energy efficient fans, energy efficient Eddison bulbs, and patio furniture made of recycled water bottles and milk jugs. The company is also looking for ways to combat food waste, including recycling their used cooking oil into diesel fuel. Listen below for more COVID-era sustainability initiatives from BurgerFi. ...
