AI is everywhere. Software companies bombard you with promises that their AI-powered programs will revolutionize your business. Prognosticators say it will take over roughly everything. And Wall Street, as ever, is watching.

Restaurants are certainly no exception. Companies are testing and experimenting with AI in nearly every part of their operation, from the drive-thru to the back of the house, from marketing to the kitchen. 

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive is the first in a six-part series on AI in the restaurant industry, looking at the ways big and small chains use the technology. 

We spoke with operators, executives, chefs and others to examine AI in the restaurant industry and its potential impact. This first one takes a broad look at the technology and some of the ways it can be used. 

How is El Pollo Loco giving customers value without giving up profits?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Liz Williams, CEO of the fast-food chicken chain. 

El Pollo Loco just reported a decline in same-store sales with an increase in traffic and restaurant-level profits. Generally speaking when customers pay less per order it’s hard to generate profit growth. Williams explains how the company did this.

But we talk about a lot of other things, including the company’s development strategy—it just opened its 500th restaurant—and the difficulty of operating in California, especially these days.

We also talk about the chain’s plan for beverages and why that’s a huge opportunity. And the company is testing a couple of intriguing chicken products. 

This is a great conversation with Liz Williams so please check it out. 

Why are consumers less responsive to restaurant marketing right now?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Robert Byrne, director of consumer and industry insights with Technomic and a regular podcast guest. 

We wanted to talk with Byrne about the general state of the industry, mostly because we had this question: Why isn’t anything working?

Over the past couple of years, restaurant chains have unleashed more promotions at customers than ever before. They are introducing record numbers of limited-time offers. They have more technology. And the number of deals available to consumers is at record levels. 

Even fast-casual chains that never before had to push lower prices are doing so.

Byrne is an expert on consumer behavior and we talk extensively about what is driving consumers away from restaurants. We discuss consumer concerns about inflation and what they’re thinking when they dine out. In short, consumers’ motivation is a lot different than it was not that long ago.

It’s a great conversation on this week’s A Deeper Dive so please check it out.  

Why are so many consumers dining on a deal?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Portalatin, SVP and food industry advisor for the data and technology firm Circana.

Circana just released a report showing that 29% of consumers are dining on a perceived deal, a historically high percentage. That has also grown over the past couple of years at a rate not seen since the Great Recession.

David on the podcast discusses that report and the factors behind consumer budget dining. 

This is a fascinating conversation. We talk about price increases, the types of deals being run, how that’s changed over the past 15 years and how restaurants can adjust to these issues. 

This is a major issue affecting all restaurant operators today and could continue to impact them over the coming months. 

Why did PJ’s Coffee dramatically cut back on its menu items?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Mesa, the president of PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans. 

PJ’s has 200 locations and is growing at a healthy clip. Mesa joins the podcast to talk about the company’s rebranding.

PJ’s is leaning into its New Orleans heritage with that rebranding, including its menu. Mesa provides the details but here’s one interesting nugget: The company dramatically pared down the number of food items from “hundreds” to 18. 

We talk about a wide range of other issues, including the state of the beverage sector, which is growing at a very rapid clip. We talk about how PJ’s fits.

We also talk about development and the barriers to growth PJ’s is experiencing, including interest rates and competition.

We’re talking coffee and beignets on A Deeper Dive so please check it out. 

What is the state of the restaurant industry right now?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, senior principal with the data firm Technomic.

And it’s a really good question. While the stock market continues to thrive and certain segments of the restaurant industry are busy, a lot of other data suggests operators have a lot to worry about right now. 

Shank talks about how all this affects the restaurant industry. We talk about Technomic’s forecast and why improving results in the summer appear to have given way to more weakness. 

We talk about why consumers are ordering so many discounts, and how those discounts have changed. We also talk extensively about Starbucks and what’s behind its weakness.

This is a great episode on the state of the industry right now so please check it out. 

What goes into an investment into one of the country’s fastest growing restaurant brands?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Romanoff, the cofounder and co managing partner of Franchise Equity Partners.

Franchise Equity Partners is a long-term investor in multi-unit operators of all types and recently made a big investment in 7 Crew, a 50-unit franchisee of the rapidly growing beverage brand 7 Brew.

The beverage chain has been one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the country. It is also helping to lead a beverage revolution in the restaurant space.

We wanted to ask Scott about that investment and about 7 Brew. We discuss the brand and why it was worth the investment. Scott talked about the operator and why its ability to grow locations was so attractive.

We also discussed the environment of the past couple of years and why that’s made Franchise Equity Partners more choosy about its investments.

We’re talking 7 Brew on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

Are restaurants missing a key opportunity on delivery?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Cameron Watt, the CEO of secret shopper firm Intouch Insight.

Intouch recently completed an exclusive study on delivery for Restaurant Business and we’re chatting about some of the conclusions. We caught up with Cameron at the recently concluded FSTEC conference.

The study featured some fascinating results. For one thing, first-party delivery on average isn’t much better, performance-wise, than it is ordering from third-party delivery companies themselves. That may be a missed opportunity for restaurants. Cameron and I talk about that.

We also talk about the growing influence of third-party delivery companies and the overall results from the study. And we talked about what restaurant companies can do to improve the delivery experience for customers. 

We’re talking delivery on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

Why is McDonald’s taking on the tip credit? 

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive takes a hard look at the fast-food giant’s stand on the tip credit, which enables businesses to pay a subminimum wage to tipped workers, so long as the tips make up the difference. 

We feature three guests on this podcast: Saru Jayaraman, the president and cofounder of the labor advocacy group One Fair Wage; Martin Murch, an independent restaurant operator out of Chicago, and Joe Kefauver, managing partner of Align Public Strategies and cohost of the Working Lunch podcast. 

(Working Lunch also looked at the topic last week.)

We examine the tip credit, why McDonald’s and labor groups are against the wage and why many full-service restaurants believe they need it to remain in business. We also examine McDonald’s strategy in taking the topic on, and why it would choose to leave the National Restaurant Association over the issue. We also examine whether it really does give full-service restaurants an advantage. 

We’re taking on the tip credit on A Deeper Dive so check it out.

What is the country’s fifth largest pizza concept doing to expand its reach?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Tom Brennan, the chief merchandising officer for the Iowa-based convenience-store chain Casey’s.

That is right. Casey’s is the fifth-largest pizza concept in the U.S., at least based on sales. 

This is a fascinating conversation with a top executive of a company that is a growing competitor with a number of different restaurant chains, including much of the pizza business. 

We talk about that pizza business and how it became so vital to the company. Casey’s has been generating strong pizza sales this year even as fast-food pizza chains have been stagnant. Tom explains the company’s secret.

We also talk about the company’s broader foray into the food business and we also talk about beverages and how Casey’s plans to improve its sales in that area. 

We’re talking convenience store pizza on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.