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Today on Extra Serving, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, we have a special episode from last week’s National Restaurant Association Show. NRN managing editor Leigh Anne Zinsmeister sat down with Scott Redler, chief experience officer at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, to talk about what the fast-casual chain has learned during the pandemic and what’s ahead for the brand. Redler talked about Freddy’s advantages going into the pandemic, how it accelerated the innovations its customers were most eager for, and the surprising part of the business that has been impacted most by recent supply-chain struggles. Redler also talks about the company’s future, and its expansion into non-traditional units including colleges, casinos and most recently, an airport. ...
This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a production of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Wendy’s entrance into the metaverse with the new “Wendyverse” restaurant. On April 2, Wendy’s will officially enter the metaverse with a new virtual restaurant. Rather than hop on the trend of simply trademarking its name, the Dublin, Ohio-based quick-service restaurant has created a virtual reality restaurant in the Metaverse 2.0. This will give users the opportunity to interact with one another and the brand in a new way. Out of the major QSR players, Wendy’s is the first to dive deep into the metaverse and open up a new restaurant. What does this mean for the brand? The team discusses. Also, the team talks about Smashburger’s latest innovation: a full-service location. The fast-casual restaurant is entering a new segment and calling it the “way of the future for fast-casual.” Find out what the team has to say about this new play for Smashburger. Lastly, Petre, Zinsmeister and Oches talk about the Applebee’s email that went viral from a local manager, claiming that wages may be lowered due to rising gas prices. The team speaks about the implications for the industry. For this week’s interview, Petre spoke with Thomas DeGeest, founder of NYC-based regional chain Wafels and Dinges about the brand’s recent entrance into franchising. ...
It has been a long two years in the restaurant industry, and at CKE Restaurants Ned Lyerly has been in charge of the company’s two brands, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, during that time Both had their challenges during the pandemic. Carl’s Jr. has a large presence in urban areas of Southern California, which were hard hit by high infection rates and occupancy restrictions. Hardee’s, with restaurants mostly in suburban areas of the Midwest and Southeast, had a different problem: Some 48% of their sales normally occur during breakfast, and that daypart was hammered as consumers’ work and school patterns changed. But Carl’s Jr. customers moved their purchasing to the chain’s suburban locations and Hardee’s customers spent more money during lunch and dinner, meaning that both chains have seen same-store sales increases throughout the pandemic. In this podcast, Lyerly discusses how the chains have adjusted during his tenure. He also provides details about their new line of chicken products, their global center of excellence, plans for doubling their number of overseas locations from 1,000 to 2,000, strategies for domestic growth beyond the nearly 3,000 units currently in operation, and what’s in story for Carl’s Jr.’s 80th anniversary on July 17. Connect with us Our website: http://NRN.com Facebook: @RestaurantNews Twitter: @NRNonline LinkedIn:@NRNonline Instagram: @NRNonline Youtube: @NationsRestaurantNews ...
