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Hooters was one of the success stories among large sports-bar chains in 2020, largely because it was ready to shift to an all off-premises menu. The Atlanta-based chain already had seen that takeout and delivery were going to be growing segments of their business and had launched a fast-casual spinoff chain, Hoots Wings, in 2017, allowing corporate management and franchisees to become familiar with catering to the off-premises space. Additionally, Hooters management had been approached before the pandemic started by third-party-delivery company Uber Eats to roll out a virtual burger concept, so Hootie’s Burger Bar was up and running even before last year’s lock down. Since then, the parent company has launched Hootie’s Bait & Tackle, highlighting the chain’s seafood items, as well as Hootie’s Chicken Tenders. All of those concepts have remained popular even as dining rooms opened up, leading to incremental sales with minimal added cost. In this video, Hooters CEO Sal Melilli discusses the chain’s success and his optomism for a bright future. ...
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. ...
Have you ever wondered how space food is made? Well wonder no more as Blaze’s co-founder Brad Kent joins this week’s podcast to explain how food in space is made including gamma radiation. But Kent also discusses the trailblazing pizza chain with senior food and beverage editor Bret Thorn including the chain’s one day only LTO using the hard seltzer White Claw. Kent uncovers the science behind why replacing the water in the pizza dough with the hard seltzer worked and made the dough flakier – and why it won’t be a permanent menu addition. Before getting into all of that, Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Thorn discuss some restaurant news from the past week including Wendy’s and Inspire Brands’ latest foray into nontraditional spaces and what it means for the future of the ghost kitchen space. Will the bubble pop? Find out what the experts think here. Be sure to also check out Oches’ new podcast from the Last Bite Network, Take-Away with Sam Oches. On this podcast, which launched this Wednesday, Oches interviews chain CEOs and founders sharing their stories and ideas for the future but also real, tangible insights for how to innovate in our foodservice future. Subscribe here or wherever you get your podcasts. ...
