Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast Nation's Restaurant News

This week on the Extra Serving podcast, an award-winning production of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about the labor picture.
Today the team discussed the labor picture which seems to be more optimistic than in months prior. It seems like people are applying for jobs according to industry studies and the jobs picture from the Department of Labor also seems to be improving. While there is optimism, the labor picture is looking different across the country.
Also, the team discussed The Happy Customer Index, a new program from Nation’s Restaurant News.
Finally, the team talked about dynamic pricing. It seems to be the word of the minute and Noodles and Company is actually testing it in a few markets. The fast-casual chain will be using new digital menu boards to test different pricing throughout the day, by market, by tier, and by menu item. Will other chains follow suit?
This week’s guests are Becky Boyd, director of menu innovation & strategy at Bloomin' Brands, and Chef Efrem Cutler, vice president for research and development at Bloomin' Brands.

This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister talked about Subway’s potential bidders.
Subway has a list of potential suitors including Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital. Who are these players and what could they have in store for the chain with the most units in the U.S.?
Plus, what’s going on with catering? Chains from Sweetgreen to Cracker Barrel seem to be introducing catering programs and they’re wildly successful. Are consumers returning to their offices? Are people having more parties? The editors discussed.
And finally, the editors discussed women in foodservice. From new programs for women in the workforce to restaurant concepts highlighting women, this Women’s History Month seems to be full of people honoring women, but will it stick?
This week’s guest is Charlie Morrison, CEO of Salad and Go.

This week on the award-winning Extra Serving podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about the recent State of the Industry report from the National Restaurant Association.
The State of the Industry report predicted that foodservice sales will almost hit $1 trillion in 2023. That’s up 6.4% from the year prior, which exceeded predictions largely due to menu price increases.
Next, what happens when you ban unaccompanied children from restaurants? One Chick-fil-A unit in Pennsylvania is doing just that — banning children under 16 from dining in without their parents, due to raucous behavior. Will other chains follow?
And celebrities are back in the food game. No, they’re not franchising, but they are the stars of ad campaigns in what feels like a season with more celebrities than ever before. After a few years of silence on the marketing front due to COVID, brands are back and swinging hard with new celebrity ad campaigns.
This week’s guest is Local Kitchens COO and co-founder Andrew Munday.

This week on the Extra Serving podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Texas Roadhouse’s latest quarter earnings.
Texas Roadhouse reported its Q4 earnings recently and, during that call, revealed that January and February saw the highest traffic numbers in the chain’s history. Is this an outlier, or a sign that people aren’t trading down? The editors discussed this and more.
Next, the editors discussed Panera’s latest subscription program updates and its benefits. Are subscriptions the future of loyalty programs? The editors discussed that and whether or not customers have subscription fatigue.
Finally, the editors discussed Starbucks’ new olive oil drink that was introduced in Italy. The team talked about the future of this novelty drink and whether it could take off in the U.S.
This week’s guest is Carl Bachmann, president of Smashburger, who spoke to Joanna Fantozzi about the chain’s technology.

This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about the future of robots and AI in restaurants.
After a few high-profile mistakes, robots and AI are up for discussion in the restaurant industry. Long the darling of the industry for reducing the need for human labor, there have been some recent cases of AI and robots messing up. The team discussed the future of AI and robots in the industry and what these high-profile cases mean. 
Also, the team discussed Chipotle’s new concept. Farmesa is opening in a Kitchen United unit in California and is an offshoot of Chipotle. This isn’t Chipotle’s first foray into other concepts and the team discussed what this means and what the future of Farmesa holds. 
Finally, the team discussed McDonald’s newest Famous Order meal. The meal, featuring Cardi B and Offset, is the fifth iteration of the brand’s marketing campaign since it relaunched in 2020. The team talked about what this marketing campaign has done for McDonald’s.
This week’s interview is Ray Kees, director of culinary for Krystal. He spoke with Bret Thorn about his heritage, future innovations at Krystal, and sticking to the basics.

Panda Express head chef Jimmy Wang came to the NAFEM (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) conference in Orlando with one major goal in mind: to find kitchen equipment that will help the company be more efficient and consistent as they grow.
 
The Chinese-American chain already began rolling out automated woks that do most of the stir frying for you to select restaurants where it’s most needed. Not only does this type of equipment help create consistency food quality across their store portfolio, but it also makes the job a lot easier for kitchen workers. In turn, automation equipment will hopefully slow down labor turnover rates, which have been a thorn in the industry’s side for years.
 
Wang discussed his opinions on investing in automated kitchen equipment, as well as new menu categories like tea and refreshers in this exclusive interview on the NAFEM show floor.