Episodes

  • NRN editors discuss Taco Bell’s latest stunt, the next merchandise craze and the NRA’s plea for loan relief

    NRN editors discuss Taco Bell’s latest stunt, the next merchandise craze and the NRA’s plea for loan relief
    Sep 30 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, a Nation’s Restaurant News award-winning podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister talked about the newest merchandise craze in the restaurant industry: candles. Last week, Texas Roadhouse introduced new Honey Cinnamon Butter Candles to the market, a first for the casual-dining concept that claims fans have been asking for merchandise for years. The team discussed what this means on a broader scale and how this trend could impact marketing across the industry. Also, the team discussed Taco Bell’s latest menu stunt: pitting two former menu items against each other to see which fans would vote back onto the menu. The team talked about Taco Bell’s menu strategy and how its impactful marketing gets the job done. Finally, the team talked about The National Restaurant Association’s attest plea to the Small Business Administration for relief on loan repayments for the economic disaster relief loans that were issued to some independent restaurants at the beginning of the pandemic as an alternative to PPP loans. The team discussed the possibility of the government responding to the NRA’s plea and more. This week’s interview is George Felix, CMO of Chili’s, who spoke with Ron Ruggless on an episode of his show, DrinkedIn Live, a live show on LinkedIn that happens at the end of every month on NRN’s LinkedIn page. Be sure to check it out next month if you missed the previous episodes.
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • NRN editors discuss Taco Bell’s newest menu item, the acquisition of Tokyo Joe’s

    NRN editors discuss Taco Bell’s newest menu item, the acquisition of Tokyo Joe’s
    Sep 23 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, an award-winning podcast by Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre and Sam Oches discussed the acquisition of Tokyo Joe’s by Salad Collective. Salad Collective, which owns Mad Greens and Snappy Salads, acquired the 27-unit Japanese concept on Monday. The Tokyo Joe’s acquisition brings Salad Collective’s holdings to 65 company-owned restaurants in Arizona, Colorado and Texas. The two editors discussed what this acquisition means for the brands as well as the industry at large. Also, the two discussed the newest menu item at Taco Bell made with a brand-new product, Beyond Steak. Oches and Petre discussed what this means for the plant-based movement and Taco Bell’s standing as a vegetarian-forward restaurant. Plus, hear from Bryan Tublin, CEO of Kitava, Hanson Li, CEO of Lazy Susan, and Elliot Schiffer, CEO of Mici Handcrafted on what it’s like to be in the restaurant industry during one of our CREATE conversations that occurred during CREATE: The Future of Foodservice last week in Denver.
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    50 mins
  • NRN editors discuss Starbucks and Chipotle’s metaverse moves, Burger King’s big investment

    NRN editors discuss Starbucks and Chipotle’s metaverse moves, Burger King’s big investment
    Sep 16 2022
    This week on the award-winning Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Starbucks entering the metaverse. The quick-service chain made its debut in the metaverse this past week with a design that was worth the wait. In something NRN senior editor Joanna Fantozzi called “Loyalty 2.0” on First Bite, our daily morning podcast, Starbucks is giving users the chance to use tokens they earn in the metaverse for real-world treats like Espresso Martini Tastings. The team discussed what this means for the brand and the industry at large. Next, the team talked about Chipotle’s new menu item which debuted both in the real world and in the metaverse, the first menu item to do so. Users can play a game and earn the chance to receive a free burrito or bowl with the chain’s new Garlic Guajillo Steak. The team discussed what Chipotle’s latest gamification of the metaverse means and what it holds for the future of the brand. Finally, the team talked about Burger King’s $400 million refresh by Restaurant Brands International. The chain’s parent company announced this week it would invest $400 million into the quick-service burger chain for “updates.” The team broke this down and discussed what the marketing words really mean. This week’s guest is Sanjiv Razdan, CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, who spoke with Bret Thorn about inflation, supply chain and the chain’s signature drinks.
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    58 mins
  • NRN editors discuss Starbucks’ new CEO, California’s fast-food workers’ bill

    NRN editors discuss Starbucks’ new CEO, California’s fast-food workers’ bill
    Sep 9 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister discussed the new CEO at Starbucks.   After much speculation, Starbucks’ interim CEO Howard Schultz named a successor in Laxman Narasimhan, a former PepsiCo executive who most recently served as CEO of consumer health and wellness brand Reckitt. The team discussed what the timing of this appointment means as well as their own predictions for what this could hold for the future of Starbucks which has faced its own series of challenges of late including the wave of unionization.   Also, the team discussed California’s new fast-food workers’ bill. The bill, which was signed into law on Labor Day by Governor Gavin Newsom, will create standardized practices for restaurants with over 100 units nationally. It has been met with pushback from organizations like the National Restaurant Association. The team discussed what this bill’s passage could mean and how a bipartisan council could possibly work when it comes to foodservice and worker rights.   This week’s interview is from this week’s episode of Take-Away, featuring the brothers who cofounded Via 313. For the whole interview with take-aways from Sam, go to this feed and listen.  
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • NRN editors discuss Chipotle’s first union, Panera’s new drive-thru tech

    NRN editors discuss Chipotle’s first union, Panera’s new drive-thru tech
    Sep 2 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Chipotle’s first union.   The first Chipotle store unionized late last week in Lansing, Mich. This was after the first store that voted to unionize was closed by Chipotle due to a lack of employees last month. The NRN team discussed what this means for Chipotle and what it means for the industry that another top 10 chain is seeing union efforts by employees.   Also, the team discussed Panera’s new drive-thru AI technology. At two locations in upstate New York, Panera Bread is testing AI technology at its drive-thru locations to enhance drive-thru capabilities. The team discussed what this means for the drive-thru worker and the beleaguered drive-thru.   This week’s interview is Matthew de Gruyter, co-founder and CEO of Next Level Burger, an Oregon-based chain focusing on plant-based burgers and environmental sustainability. If you want to hear even more from Matthew, come and see him speak at CREATE this September in Denver where the newest Next Level Burger just opened.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • NRN editors discuss pizza robots, Wendy’s possible E. coli outbreak and plant-based proteins at Taco Bell and Burger King

    NRN editors discuss pizza robots, Wendy’s possible E. coli outbreak and plant-based proteins at Taco Bell and Burger King
    Aug 26 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, a podcast by Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about how robots are elevating the pizza industry, Wendy’s possible E. coli outbreak and plant-based proteins at Taco Bell and Burger King. While robots have become a critical part of restaurant technology, nowhere is it more prevalent than in the pizzeria, as senior editor Joanna Fantozzi broke down on NRN this week. Petre, Oches and Zinsmeister talk about why this is and what they think may be ahead for restaurant tech. Then, attention turned to a more serious topic: E. coli. Wendy’s this week removed romaine from its sandwiches in three states because of a possible outbreak, so the editors talked about why that is and the lasting impact of Chipotle’s infamous E. coli outbreak in 2015. Finally, the team talked about new plant-based proteins at two quick-service giants: Taco Bell and Burger King. Burger King is expanding its Impossible lineup with a chicken sandwich, and Taco Bell — already a haven for vegetarians — is testing a proprietary protein. The team talks about the ongoing plant-based trend and these different approaches.  Plus, hear from Mark Brandau of Datassential, who spoke with Oches about this year’s Top 500 report.
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • NRN editors discuss Denny’s hiring push, Starbucks’ latest union battle, Kevin Hart’s new restaurant

    NRN editors discuss Denny’s hiring push, Starbucks’ latest union battle, Kevin Hart’s new restaurant
    Aug 19 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, a podcast by Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Kevin Hart’s foray into the restaurant world and the future of plant-based restaurants.   Hart’s restaurant, Hart House, is set to open in late August in Southern California and will be plant-based, joining many other restaurants in the plant-based restaurant wars. But how does Hart House stack up against its competitors? The team discussed that along with the entire plant-based movement in comparison to the restaurant industry at large.   Also, the team discussed Starbucks’ latest scuffle with its union. This time, it was Starbucks accusing the National Labor Relations Board of tampering with union elections. The team discussed what this means for the union movement as a whole and the future of the movement at Starbucks.   Lastly, the team talked about hiring practices at places like Denny’s where a hiring push involving a referral program is causing a stir. The returning program is successful with its “bring your bestie” premise at the all-day breakfast chain. The team talked about other hiring practices, including at Chick-fil-A, and how this is helping to solve the labor crunch.   Plus, hear from Scott Rodriguez, SVP menu strategy & product innovation at Papa Johns. He spoke with Bret Thorn about packaging for the chain’s new Papa Bowls, menu development and much more.
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    1 hr
  • NRN editors discuss Wendy’s, Sweetgreen earnings plus Chipotle’s $20M settlement

    NRN editors discuss Wendy’s, Sweetgreen earnings plus Chipotle’s $20M settlement
    Aug 12 2022
    This week on Extra Serving, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about the latest in restaurant earnings, including Sweetgreen and Wendy’s latest quarterly reports.   It’s been another week of earnings over here at NRN and the editors have prepared remarks on the second quarterly earnings, focusing on two brands with the biggest news: Wendy’s and Sweetgreen. Wendy’s announced that it would be downsizing its partnership with Reef after last year proclaiming it would be opening 700 new ghost kitchens with the brand. On the other hand, Sweetgreen, much like companies in the tech sector, laid off 5% of its corporate staff. The team discussed these bits of news and how they impact the industry.   Plus, the team talked about Chipotle’s latest workplace saga. After a months-long investigation, New Yor City Mayor Eric Adams and city officials came to an agreement with Chipotle to give 13,000 workers $20 million over scheduling and labor violations. This is the largest settlement of this nature in New York City’s history. The team discusses how this news could impact the whole industry.   This week’s interview is Matt Harding, executive chef of Piada Italian Street Food, who spoke with Joanna Fantozzi about the future of the brand.
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    57 mins