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Dennis Pfaff, chief operating officer for FIC Restaurants Inc., parent to the full-service Friendly’s chain, and Gillian Begin, its brand and research manager, spoke with Nation’s Restaurant News about the Wilbraham, Mass.-based system’s makeover of its kids’ offerings and the investigations that led to it, including playful interrogations of summer campers. Also touched on along the way: the impetus for the changes, marketing moves supporting them, kid-centric server training, early guest responses and initial business results, including those around delivery. Kids and families are important business for restaurants, as they not only bring higher numbers to any order, but also present an opportunity for brands to resonate with the little ones in ways that can translate into traffic-building loyalty. This podcast was originally recorded just days before the nationwide closure of restaurant dining rooms by governmental jurisdictions looking to slow the spread of novel coronavirus. NRN decided to hold its release until dining rooms began to reopen and operators would welcome ideas and examples of how to appeal to and serve children and their families both on-premise and, with some adaptation, off-premise. ...
This week on Extra Serving, a podcast from Nation’s Restaurant News and the Last Bite Network, the team covered this week’s most urgent news: vaccine mandates. Digital editor Holly Petre, senior editor Lisa Jennings and editor-in-chief Sam Oches talked about the impact of vaccine mandates on restaurants. Immediately following the conversation, President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Labor will require all workplaces with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccines or negative weekly tests. Also, the NRN team discussed Hurricane Ida’s impact on restaurants, including what the rising tide of climate change could mean for the industry and how it can help prevent storms from getting worse. Petre, Jennings and Oches also discuss the string of wildfires in the Northwest last year and how that impacted chains like Dutch Bros. Finally, Petre, Jennings and Oches reviewed the latest IPOs from morning daypart companies First Watch and Dutch Bros. The latter filed for an IPO in June but announced this week it is seeking a $3.3 billion valuation; the former company filed paperwork this week, but the number of shares and price range have not yet been determined. For this week’s interview, Jennings spoke with the CEO of Jack in the Box, Darin Harris, about the future of the quick-service company. A little over a year into his tenure with the brand, Harris talked about how he is expanding the company’s reach into new markets. Check out the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches here and register for CREATE here. ...
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. ...
