This week, on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, and Alicia Kelso spoke about the slew of female CEOs that were appointed this week. In an industry that’s flooded with white male CEOs, seeing several female leaders in one month is unusual, let alone one week. That’s contrasted with companies like Yum Brands and Starbucks pulling back on DEI goals after threats from conservative groups armed with lawyers. Is this the end of the pipeline for women and people of color in the restaurant industry C-suite?

Next, the editors talked about a blast from the past with the metaverse. Two years ago, you couldn’t read a single story that didn’t mention the metaverse and that’s all but gone away in the past several months. This week, Starbucks announced it would be ending its beta test of Odyssey, signaling the conclusion of the most in-depth metaverse test in the restaurant industry. What’s the new marketing and technology trend now that we’ve moved on from the metaverse?

Finally, the editors talked about wings. Chains like Applebee’s and Popeyes are focusing on their wing offerings, which is no surprise because Americans love wings. But are these larger companies trying to ride on Wingstop’s coattails, or are they trying to compete?

This week’s interview is Marshall Scarborough, Bojangles’ vice president of menu and culinary innovation.