On this week’s Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss Wingstop’s latest quarterly earnings, which may have seemed disappointing — same-store sales were down 1.9% — but are actually impressive when you consider the fact that it’s compared with a 28.7% growth from the same time period a year ago. Sam and Alicia discuss what’s been key to that success, including the chain’s smart kitchen technology that has improved speed and accuracy at the brand. Then they shift their attention to Shake Shack, which reported 1.8% same-store sales growth last quarter, the 18th consecutive quarter of comparable growth. Learn more about the company’s marketing and menu innovation plans as it ramps up its unit expansion — which should include 90 new units this year. On this week’s extra serving portion of the podcast, senior editor Joanna Fantozzi joins to talk about Starbucks, which experienced its sixth straight quarter of declining sales. Could it be that the changes instituted by CEO Brian Niccol aren’t working? Joanna, Sam, and Alicia discuss. Finally, tune in to a conversation between managing editor Leigh Anne ZInsmeister and Via 313 president Kiplan Welsch, held in person at the recent National Restaurant Association Show.

For more on these stories:  

Wingstop’s smart kitchen improves speed and sales, executives say

Shake Shack to accelerate restaurant openings

Starbucks reports sixth straight quarter of declining same-store sales