We went all-in on delivery, and now the pendulum is swinging back.

When you trade the dining room for grab-and-go, your labor model changes. Your ops change. Your customer changes. Before you know it, you look like a totally different brand.

I think a lot of brands are finally realizing they were never just selling food in new channels.

They were selling identity.

When I work with restaurants, I like to understand: what are you actually building, a distribution machine? Or a brand people choose, in every format, even when they have 40 other options and as many brand loyalty apps?

"Newstalgia" is bringing back the way it used to be, but for today's times. It's a flag that maybe we left a little too much behind in this age of the digital restaurant.

Special Guest: Lauren Fernandez.