In this episode of Restaurant Operator, host Cherryh Cansler, publisher of Fast Casual, sits down with Luke Wilwerding, VP of North America Sales of Elo Touch, sponsors of both this episode and the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers report. Together, they explore how restaurant technology is transforming every stage of the guest experience from self-order kiosks and drive-thru innovation to AI-powered kitchen management. Wilwerding explains how Elo's platform approach is helping operato...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, talks with Or Peleg, managing partner of Tel Aviv Grill in the Los Angeles area. Tel Aviv Grill began 11 years ago as a small kosher market making shawarma, skewers and sandwiches in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. "And, very quickly, it became a very tangible part of the community. Everybody in the area knew about it and it kind of grew out of that market," Peleg said....

In this episode of Restaurant Operator Podcast, Cherryh Canlser, publisher of FastCasual, offers an exclusive preview of the heavy-hitting CEO panel, moderated by HungerRush CEO Bill Mitchell, at the upcoming Fast Casual Executive Summit, Oct. 5-7 in Austin. The episode features an insightful conversation with Mitchell and Aman Devgan, HungerRush's Head of Strategy and Marketing. Cansler also discusses a technology-focused panel with Catriona Harris, VP of marketing of Jeff's Bagel Run. Harri...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb.com, chats with Frank Paci, CEO of Newk's Eatery. Tech plays a big role in Newk's growth strategy, with the brand leveraging self-service kiosks and partnerships with third-party delivery. "We continue to try to meet the guests where they want to (and) how they want to access the brand," Paci said. "So as a result obviously we've continued to invest in third party delivery. We've go...

Mooyah Burgers Fries and Shakes launched in 2007 and now has 75 locations, of which 73 are franchised. The brand just started building out its corporate market earlier this year. Mooyah is all about the better burger business, with buns baked in house and hand-punched fries. Ingredients are prepped daily in house and the brand uses certified Angus beef. "Our burgers are as good as steak," said Beth Stockmoe, vice president of operations for Mooyah. "But that's really always been who we are. W...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Amanda Potts, vice president of marketing and innovation for A&W Restaurants, about Potts' diverse background and how she returned to a foodservice career after working in the automotive industry. Potts has more than 30 years of experience working in diverse industries including Valvoline and Fazoli's. She graduated from college and achieved her dream job working for...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Heather Neary, president and CEO of Taco John's which has nearly 400 units in 23 states. Neary took her leadership role last year, but Taco John's has been serving up tacos and its signature Potato Oles since 1969. "We're a great legacy brand," Neary said. "We've got second-generation franchisees in the business. We've got a lot of really amazing operators who are he...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Jeff's Bagel Run founder Jeff Perera. Perera and his wife, Danielle, call themselves bagel fanatics. When Perera lost his job in 2019, he began making bagels for his wife at home. He then spread the love to family and friends, who told him he should sell the bagels. Eventually, he did locally. In 2021, they opened the first Jeff's Bagel Run in Ocoee, Florida. Today, the brand...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, podcast host Mandy Detwiler, editor Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Blas Escarcega, VP of franchise development for Central American chicken chain Pollo Campero. Here, flavor is king and development is ripe for the picking. Escarcega, one of the first employees hired in the U.S., has been with the company for 18 years. Pollo Campero began in 1971 in Guatemala, mostly in central America. It came to the U.S. in 2002 in Los Angeles and...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jason Sobocinski and Etkin Tekin, co-founders of Haven Hot Chicken out of Connecticut. While the chicken market may be saturated, Sobocinski and Tekin found a niche for hot chicken, and the rest is history. Tekin and Sobocincki have history when Tekin worked for Sobocincki at a restaurant he owned years ago. During his interview, Tekin told his boss he'd like to open a bus...

The food truck industry has continued to expand at a rapid pace. In 2023, there were over 52,600 food trucks in the U.S., according to data from IBISWorld. However, it is not an easy business to enter, as it requires careful planning to select the right truck, equipment, and branding. In today's episode of the Restaurant Operator podcast, Jordan Schild, president and CEO at Premier Food Trucks, shared several tools to food truck success with moderator Bradley Cooper, editor of Food Truck Oper...

In our latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jill Chapman, director of corporate partnerships with CORE Gives, an organization that helps restaurant employees in need. "CORE is a national non-profit," Chapman said. "We provide financial support to food and beverage service employees in this industry. It's a crisis, whether it's an injury, health issue, a natural disaster, death in the family (or) domestic abuse...

In this day and age, offering a guarantee with your business plan is nearly a given. For kiosk brand GRUBBRR, the GRUBBRR Guarantee is an integral part of the brand's ethos. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, speaks with GRUBBRR Chief Revenue Officer Parrish Chapman about the brand's guarantee. Chapman said the GRUBBRR guarantee is simple: the kiosk brand guarantees its work and stands behind it. "We know operators ...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace, talks with Fred Burmer, CEO of roast beef brand Lion's Choice. Lion's Choice got its start in 1967 and is a legacy brand in St. Louis with 30 restaurants. The brand uses top round roast beef that is hand-trimmed and slow roasted for at least three hours in the restaurant every day. "It's really butcher-shop quality," Burmer said. The roast beef is sliced razor thin which gives it a...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, chats with Darren Spicer, co-founder of Carolinas-based Clutch Coffee, which has 13 locations. Spicer said customer experience is one of the things that sets Clutch Coffee apart from competitors. "It's from the moment you drive onto the property, and the environment we have and the music that's playing outside, the runner who's outside taking that order face to face, all the way th...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace, talks to Craig Haley, president of barbecue brand Smokey Mo's TX BBQ. The brand launched in 2000 to fanfare from local residents and has 20 restaurants across central Texas with several more under construction. "We're just getting started spreading barbecue out to the rest of the world," Haley said. With Texas such a barbecue-competitive state, how does Smokey Mo's compete in a sat...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks with Richard Del Valle, chief of staff and chief information officer for Bojangles, and Parrish Chapman, chief revenue officer for Grubbrr, about Bojangles' partnership with Grubbrr for kiosks in house. Bojangles recently ran a trial using Grubbrr's kiosks and is now rolling them out amongst the brand's 800 units. "It's part of an ongoing effort on our part to reach the guest...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and PizzaMarketplace.com, chats with Scott Deviney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick. The brand was started by two entrepreneurs in Auburn with one making varieties of chicken salad out of her home. The first Chicken Salad Chick location opened in Jan. 2008 with drive-thru and carryout only. The founders made 40 pounds of chicken salad to sell, opened at 11 a.m. and by 1 p.m. were sold out. "The business t...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Rush Bowls founder Andrew Pudalov, who started out in finance before trading dollar signs for menu items. Pudalov said 9/11 was a trigger for leaving the financial world. His wife worked in the Twin Towers and her first day back from maternity leave was the day the towers came down. He moved his family to Boulder, Colorado, and looked for something "dynamically different,"...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com talks to Geoff Henry, president of bubble tea brand Gong Cha. "The bubble tea category has been around for quite some time," Henry said in the podcast. "It kind of started back in Asia, typically in Taiwan in the early 1990s. Taiwan is known for its night markets where people can walk around and try different food cuisines that are up and coming." Gong Cha is in 27 countries ...