Restaurant Operator

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Scott Wiener, director of Slice Out Hunger, about the Pizza Across America even that brings together pizzerias across the country for a good cause.

The week of National Pizza Day, Feb. 9, pizzerias are encouraged to donate 10 pizzas to their local hospitals, first responders, shelters or soup kitchens.

Registration is open now for the event. Every pizzeria who signs up tells the orchestrators how far they deliver and what days they can deliver. Wiener and his team take that data and pull into that destination points charities and hospitals that can receive on one of those days.

"Everything that we do with Slice Out Hunger is always to make life easier for the pizzeria, but still allow them to do the community service that they want to do," Wiener said in the podcast.

To learn more about Pizza Across America, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

With beef prices climbing — up nearly 60% in the last decade, according to industry veterans  —fast casual operators are facing a margin squeeze. The solution to stabilizing food costs while meeting consumer demand for variety may lie in an under-leveraged protein: pork.
 
 In this episode of the "Restaurant Operator Podcast," host Cherryh Cansler sits down with Dr. Kristin Hicks-Roof of the National Pork Board and Eddie Flores Jr., co-founder of the 235-unit franchise L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. Together, they explore why pork is emerging as a strategic pivot for brands looking to differentiate their menus and protect their bottom lines.
 
 Flores shares real-world insights on how items like Kalua pork and Spam have acted as economic stabilizers for his franchise system amidst market volatility. Conversely, Hicks-Roof breaks down the nutritional science, explaining how operators can market pork to health-conscious consumers looking for nutrient-dense options.
 
 What listeners can learn:

• The Margin Opportunity: How substituting or blending pork can alleviate the pressure of rising beef and chicken costs.
• Global Flavor Trends: How to leverage pork’s versatility to tap into popular international cuisines, from Hawaiian "Lau Lau" (pork wrapped in taro leaves) to Filipino "Pork Tocino."
• The "Carrier" Concept: Strategies for using pork—like bacon or crumbles—as a flavor driver to increase sales of high-margin vegetable sides.
• Combating Menu Monotony: How introducing new cuts helps operators avoid "protein fatigue" among regular customers.

 “Pork fits smack dab in the middle,” Hicks-Roof said during the episode. “It not only provides that nutrition, but it also provides that traditional deliciousness.”
 
 Click here to listen to the full episode and learn how to rethink the center of the plate.

Dirty Dough owner Bennett Maxwell knows cookies. After all, his brand has 50 flavors and a simple model.

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Maxwell about his operations, the cookie wars he battled and the marketing strategies that make Dirty Dough a success.

When asked what advice he would give to another restaurant or hospitality start up that might face unexpected legal or PR crises early on, Maxwell said he would be as open, transparent and authentic as possible.

When he was slapped with a lawsuit by a competing brand, Maxwell recommended to "get business advice from business people, get legal advice from legal people. But, if you're in that scenario, I would just be as open and transparent about everything."

Hear the cookie wars story and how Maxwell came out victorious by listening to the entire podcast.

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, talks to Jennifer Jackson, vice president of public relations for Hungry Howie's.

Jackson spoke about the public relations and advertising the pizza brand does. Hungry Howie's differentiates itself by offering flavored crusts. Jackson said the butter cheese is the top crust flavor, but the brand does unique LTOs like a sweet heat bacon.

Hungry Howie's also has a deep dish pizza and recently launched a Detroit-style pizza. Jackson said Detroit-style pizza accounts for up to 8-9% of pizza sales right now.

"To be an authentic Detroit style, it's having the sauce on the top. And most of the other brands claim it's Detroit style, but it's not, because it doesn't have the sauce on the top," Jackson explained.

The brand's strategy for communicating the brand's commitment to quality ingredients and food preparation standards for the public involves top-quality ingredients and fresh dough.

"We still make our dough fresh in store every single day," Jackson said. "We also use 100 % real mozzarella cheese. I believe we are one of the only brands that can say that we use 100% real mozzarella. Most of them are a blend. A lot of the larger pizza places are now using the frozen dough. So we're going to continue to stand by being that fresh pizza that we want to give our customers. So we'll continue to do that as long as we can."

To learn more about Hungry Howie's operations, growth and public relations success, click the button at the top of the page.

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, podcast host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, talks to Jim Nusbaum, CEO of Barry Bagels. Nusbaum shares the brand's origin story, its expansion strategy into Texas, and the unique hub and spoke model that supports franchisees. He discusses the importance of employee culture, maximizing revenue streams through catering and wholesale, and ensuring consistency across locations. Nusbaum emphasizes the support provided to new franchisees and the qualities sought in potential partners, highlighting the investment opportunities within the brand.

Barry Bagels was started by a 21-year-old operator named Barry Greenblatt who along with his partner, bagel-maker Peter Johnson, opened their first location in Sylvania, Ohio in 1972.

Since then the brand has grown to Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and a recent development deal signed for 30 units in Texas.

Nusbaum talked about the hub-and-spoke model in which the "hub" is the first store in any market with about 1,600 to 2,200 square feet. That store has the bagel-making capabilities. The bagels are then delivered to the "spoke" locations.

"Spoke locations, which need no HVAC, no walk-in cooler (and) no walk-in freezer, can be built for a fraction of the cost of the hub location. And since we're not baking there, you don't need a grease trap or the HVAC or anything like that," Nusbaum said.

To learn more about Barry Bagels' operations, click the link at the top of the page.

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 operators boost speed, accuracy and flexibility, whether it's a bustling fast casual kitchen or a multi-channel ordering environment. From interactive displays to AI-enhanced voice ordering and computer vision for accuracy, Elo's innovations are redefining what's possible for restaurant efficiency.

As Wilwerding notes, the walls between fast casual, QSR and casual dining are crumbling, and it's technology that's breaking them down. The future of restaurant operations, he says, belongs to the brands that embrace innovation, not resist it.

Sponsored by Elo Touch, this conversation offers a glimpse into how top-performing brands are using tech to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalized dining experiences.

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.

Peleg came on a managing partner about five years ago.

The original restaurant quickly grew too big for several locations and now has three units.

Consistency has been the brand's biggest challenge.

"I don't want somebody to have like a shawarma in one location and then a couple of days later to go to one of our other locations is completely different. It kind of breaks the entire purpose," Peleg said. "So it's very hands-on, it's very time-consuming and it takes a long time to make sure your team is on board and knows exactly how to prepare and present the product the way we would like."

To learn more about Tel Aviv Grill, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb.com, talks to Eric Soller, founder of Old Scratch Pizza in Dayton, Ohio.

With a formal culinary background and years working with mixer giant Hobart, Soller said he was primed and ready to open his own restaurant.

"I love pizza," Soller said. "I was thinking about a lot of things, but I kept coming back to pizza. In my experience with Hobart and then later in sort of corporate world, I traveled quite a bit for work. And when I would go to a city, I would go to three or four pizza places in a night. I'm more of a student of the business.

"I'm more of a restaurateur than I am a pizza chef. I love pizza. I can make pizza. My team is much better at it now than I am. But I saw some concepts out in the world that I thought I could morph into what would be a really great opportunity would eventually turn into Old Scratch Pizza."

The brand uses wood-fired ovens, and Soller calls his pizza "Midwesternly Neapolitan." Soller opened in a mostly industrial area, which he drove past every day coming home from work.

"And I saw that it was a couple of blocks away from our big hospital," Soller said. "It was right around the corner from University of Dayton. It was the it's right on the edge of downtown. It was close enough to University of Dayton Stadium to be one of the closest places with a parking lot to UD Stadium. And I just saw that I saw the potential in it. And, you know, we were pretty busy from day one. We took off right off the bat."

To learn more about Old Scratch Pizza, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

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. Harris will moderate the panel, and Aaron LeClair, VP of Technology, Jeff's Bagel Run, is one of several leaders sharing advice during the session.

Mitchell, who will moderate the CEO Happy Hour Panel (Oct. 7 at 3:45 p.m.) provides a sneak peek into what attendees can expect. With over 30 years of experience, including leadership roles at Papa John's and Cicis Pizza, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the discussion. In the podcast, Mitchell shares his hope for an open and honest conversation among the panelists, emphasizing the need to get into the weeds on what's truly top of mind for these industry leaders.

A look at the all-star panel

The podcast serves as a great introduction to the all-star lineup of industry leaders joining Mitchell on the panel. The group includes:

• Jessica DePetro, President and CEO, Bagel Brands
• Claudia Lezcano, CEO, Fuku
• Michele Maerz, President, Salata
• Sarah McAloon, Interim Brand President, Del Taco
• Sherif Mityas, CEO, BRIX Holdings
• Kelly Roddy, CEO and President, WOWorks

This powerful group is set to discuss the pressing issues facing restaurant operators and what's needed to succeed in 2026 and beyond.

A deeper dive into The Restaurant Leader's Playbook

During the conversation, Cansler and Mitchell also discuss HungerRush's publication, The Restaurant Leader's Playbook. Mitchell highlights the critical role technology plays in driving efficiency and impact within restaurant operations, a core principle he's championing at HungerRush.

The conversation then pivots to HungerRush's Menufy, an online ordering platform. He also cautions against common mistakes when choosing an online ordering system, urging them to consider if the platform solves their most critical problems, protects against fraud and allows them to maintain ownership of their brand.

Tech-Driven Growth

The episode also features an interview with Harris, who will moderate a separate panel, "Tech-Driven Franchise Growth: Leveraging Innovation for Scalability and Support." This session will focus on how technology can be strategically employed to optimize franchise operations, streamline communication between franchisors and franchisees, enhance data management for performance insights and support rapid and sustainable growth.

Harris shares her excitement about the panel's lineup, which includes:

• Aaron LeClair, Vice President of Technology, Jeff's Bagel Run.
• Sam Stanovich, SVP Franchise Leadership, Big Chicken.
• Peter Wiley, Director of Marketing & IT, Hot Head Burritos.
• Mehdi Zarhloul, CEO, Crazy Pita Restaurant Group

Register here for the Summit.

In our most recent Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talked to Dallas Massey, senior vice president of Papa Murphy's Take N' Bake Pizza. Massey discussed the brand's $10 Tuesdays promotion and how it has evolved over the years.

In the beginning, consumers could purchase any pizza in any size for $10 on Tuesdays. Over the years, however, with the rising costs of labor and ingredients, individual Papa Murphy's stores have altered their $10 Tuesday promos. Today, guests can get any pizza for $10.99 to $13.99 depending on the location, and some Papa Murphy's operators have limited the type of pizza that can be ordered.

"I would say Papa Murphy's was built on $10 Tuesdays," Massey said. "I've been around the brand now a little over a year, year and a half. And I don't talk to anybody that doesn't bring up the Tuesday promotion. So I would say that there's a lot of brand equity that is built into $10 Tuesday. And ultimately, it's something that our franchise partners know and love."

To listen to the podcast in its entirety, click the link at the top of the page.