Restaurant Operator

Hosted by Connect Group Media

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Episodes

170

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

This podcast series from the publishers of FastCasual.com, PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com provides restaurant owners and executives with the insights and inspiration they need to grow their brands. Each episode features interviews with experienced restauranteurs, industry experts, and thought leaders, who share practical tips and advice for running a successful restaurant business.

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60 recent

August 25, 202625 min

From the boardroom to the prep line: How Stonefire Grill's CEO is fueling legacy growth

When David Youngberg stepped into the CEO role at Stonefire Grill in 2023, his first 90 days weren't spent analyzing spreadsheets in a boardroom — they were spent baking the brand's signature carrot cake and prepping food alongside front-line workers. In an industry increasingly pivoting toward automation and individualized grab-and-go efficiency, the leader of the 12-unit Southern California fast-casual concept is proving that a relentless focus on human connection and from-scratch operations still drives sustainable growth. In the latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Youngberg unpacks how evolving his leadership style for a new generation of workers, leveraging real-time guest feedback technology and balancing a massive catering-and-dine-in trifecta are fueling the legacy brand's future. Mandy Wolf Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, hosts the podcast. Click the link to listen to learn more about Youngberg's leadership style, how the brand maintains hospitality and emotional connections in an increasingly tech-driven industry and putting people first.

July 28, 202619 min

Why Taco Cabana is expanding its franchise beyond the Lone Star State

After nearly five decades as a beloved Texas icon, Taco Cabana is officially taking its signature breakfast tacos and Mexican-inspired menu across state lines. Spurred by a recent acquisition and a newly designed, smaller-footprint prototype optimized for modern off-premise dining and delivery, the 140-unit chain is launching its first major out-of-state franchise expansion. By strategically targeting contiguous states like Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, the brand aims to leverage built-in recognition from former Texans while introducing new markets to its unique hybrid of quick-service convenience and fast-casual culinary variety. In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler chats with Taco Cabana's director of franchise sales and development, John Ramsay, about the brand's growth and how it is faring in the fast casual market. "Oklahoma Louisiana, and Arkansas are the top three" the brand is growing into, Ramsay said. "I think a couple of things they have in common. Number one is that there's a large percentage of former Texans who have moved into those states. So we already have sort of a built-in marketplace and a market audience. In fact, we get solicitations all the time from people who used to live in Texas that now live in one of these other states saying, please come and put one here in my hometown. "So I would say that's really number one is that having that sort of built in base. I think the other important piece is the menu itself. Taco Cabana, like a lot of Mexican chains that started in Texas have very much, people call it Tex-Mex. Really what it is is it's Mexican inspired food that's more common within the state of Texas. So as you look at those contiguous states, they also have various, their style of Mexican food is very similar to what you would find in Texas." To learn more about Taco Cabana's growth and operations, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

July 15, 202625 min

Dodo Pizza’s playbook for international success

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Ilya Kholodnov, head of international marketing and sales for Dodo Pizza, and David Sweeney, champion of international franchising for Dodo Pizza, The brand was founded in Russia but is headquartered in Kazakhstan. Dodo Pizza has 1,500 stores and revenue of nearly $2 billion. It's sister company, Drink It, a coffee concept, has 150 stores in five countries. Sweeney attributes the brand's strong sales to its customer service. "I think the key thing is to have a really good customer experience to allow the technology or the technology should enable us to have a really good customer experience because we really look after the customer, make it easy to transact business, make sure the order is easy to place, that there is good variety, but not so much that confuses everybody. Make sure that when the order arrives into our stores, that order is processed in a way that is accurate and then it's timely and priced at roughly the right level for it to be at for the consumer to accept it as a really good value product and for it to arrive on time, hot and the order to be accurate. So the systems enable all of that to happen." Why did a pizza brand move into coffee? "Coffee was actually quite a logical step," Kholodnov said. "So maybe during conversation, you'll find out that our business is based on tech platform. And so it was very logical when we built a strong platform to scale franchise businesses, it was logical to add something more to that. So coffee seemed like a logical step to us." To learn more about Dodo Pizza's international operations, growth and foray into the coffee business, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

June 23, 202620 min

From kitchens to tech hubs: Inside fast casual’s digital revolution

What happens when the fast-casual restaurant industry doubles in size over a decade? It stops just serving food and starts operating like a high-tech powerhouse. In the latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Cherryh Cansler, publisher of FastCasual.com, sits down with Luke Wilwerding, Vice President of North America Sales at Elo Touch Solutions , to unpack the highly anticipated FastCasual Top 100 Movers & Shakers list . With forward-thinking brands like CAVA leading the charge, the conversation centers on an undeniable truth: tomorrow's industry leaders are winning through intelligent automation and sharp data strategies. "Restaurants are becoming a data center that serves food," Wilwerding said, emphasizing that surviving the next decade requires operators to truly get their arms around their customer data. From the blockbuster acquisition of Elo by Zebra Technologies to the deployment of AI-native platforms, this episode offers a masterclass in modern restaurant evolution. Cansler and Wilwerding dive deep into the practicalities of tech adoption for brands of all sizes, tackling the industry's burning questions: Where should an operator spend their very first AI dollar? Will conversational AI replace the human element, or are we moving toward a "beautiful orchestra of voice and touch"? How is Gen Z transforming self-service into a personalization tool? Whether you are curious about predicting demand or optimizing labor through smart kitchen displays, this episode is your blueprint for the future of hospitality. Listen to the full episode now on FastCasual.com

June 19, 202624 min

Wonder, Dave’s Hot Chicken Real Estate VPs reveal growth strategies

Crafting a solid real estate strategy is obviously central to growing any restaurant brand, but there those plans differ dramatically depending on the brand, a lesson I learned firsthand during a podcast during ICSC in Las Vegas. I sat down with Dannon Shiff, VP of Real Estate for Dave's Hot Chicken , and Abe Nasrallah, SVP of Real Estate at Wonder, to discuss how shifting consumer behavior, off-premise dining and changing market dynamics are shaping site selection. Wondering about growth Wonder, launched in 2021, has grown from a food truck concept to more than 120 locations. The company operates a multi-brand model, offering dozens of restaurant concepts under one roof, with roughly half of sales from delivery and half from in-person dining. Nasrallah told me that Wonder designs sites for two uses: Quick pickup and in-person discovery. Urban locations prioritize high visibility and foot traffic, while suburban sites focus on grocery-anchored centers with strong access and visibility. Wonder is targeting Texas as its next major growth market, planning about 100 locations across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston Austin and San Antonio. Long term, the company estimates it could expand to 4,000 to 5,000 locations nationwide. The Dave's real estate plan Dave's Hot Chicken, meanwhile, has grown from a 2017 parking lot pop-up to more than 430 locations worldwide. Shiff said the brand has sold franchise rights in all 50 states and multiple international markets, with further global expansion planned, while also testing nontraditional formats such as airports and food courts, including a recent opening in a New York City food court. Delivery and off-premise dining have changed site-selection models, with decisions increasingly driven by customer data rather than traditional trade areas. About one-third of sales come from third-party delivery, while most customers still dine in. To hear more details on both brand's strategies, check out the podcast.

June 10, 202622 min

70 years old and 'restarting': Shakey’s Pizza VP outlines fresh strategy for expansion

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Sonia Barajas-Najera, vice president of franchise administration for Shakey's Pizza. Shakey's began franchising in the 1950s shortly after it was founded. After a number of ownership changes, the brand currently has 43 units. There's a new flagship in Culver City that took two years to design and create, Barajas-Najera said, and has been well received by consumers who enjoy the restaurant's retro vibes, warm colors and 1980s memorabilia. Shakey's also did a rebrand, but at the core of the company is its food, which remains the same. Shakey's is known for its thin-crust pizza, as well as its pan pizza and proprietary items like its chicken and its iconic Mojo potatoes. With an 80s throwback style at its core, how does Shakeys keep the brand feeling cool for Gen Z while still being a home base for the Gen Xers who grew up there? "There's the Gen X, there's Gen Z. Everyone is in there," Barajas-Najera explained. "We've created a place that has allowed people to come in and just be themselves and disconnect from everything that we're always doing, rushing. We're coining it as slow, casual, because we're not fast, we're not casual. We're just a slow casual. Come in, have a good time, be entertained." When looking for franchisees, Barajas-Najera said they seek people who are passionate about the Shakey's Pizza brand. The Shakey's team gives its franchisees lots of support before, during and after opening. Barajas-Najera suggests potential franchisees do their due diligence and really research a brand before signing on the dotted line. Shakey's is a brand with 70 years of experience behind it, but it's going through an exciting chapter. "We feel like we're restarting," Barajas-Najera said. "We're just relaunching." To learn more about Shakey's and Barajas-Najera's role in its expansion plans, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

June 9, 202623 min

Inside the tech stack: How Mattenga’s Pizzeria mastered SEO, 8-second reordering

How does an independent pizza brand with zero initial restaurant experience scale to seven — and soon nine — locations while going head-to-head with venture-backed national chains? In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb, sits down with Enga Stanfield, co-owner of Texas-based Mattenga's Pizzeria, to uncover the tech stack driving their massive success. Stanfield shared how shifting from a grueling, hands-on survival mode to a tech-forward strategy completely changed the game, specifically highlighting their tech partnership with Owner.com. Discover how automated SEO, frictionless custom-branded apps featuring 8-second reordering and rapid text-based customer feedback loops helped Mattenga's capture passive local sales and maintain a steady 10% to 15% growth rate — proving that independent operators don't just have to survive against the big chains, they can out-innovate them. Stanfield said her favorite part of Owner.com is the reviews segment of the software. "Those reviews and those rankings, those are forever," she said. Her team responds to negative reviews quickly, but all of her restaurants have a 4.5 ranking or better. To learn more about how Owner.com is aiding restaurants compete in today's market listen to the podcast in its entirety.

June 2, 20268 min

Navigating the tightest restaurant real estate market in 20 years

It doesn't matter how good your food is if your restaurant is in the wrong place. That was the primary takeaway from a recent episode of The Restaurant Operator podcast, where I interviewed Ebere Anokute, head of retail research for CBRE, during the ICSC real estate conference in Las Vegas. We dove into the shifting dynamics of restaurant real estate, modern data trends, and the intangible elements that make a brick-and-mortar location successful. Here is a sneak peek at what you're missing if you haven't tuned in yet: The 20-year crunch: Retail availability has hit historic lows, creating the tightest market seen in two decades. Anokute explains how this supply constraint hands significant leverage to landlords — and what it means for your next lease negotiation. The power of 'co-tenancy': While data analytics drive modern site selection, human behavior and retail synergy remain the biggest indicators of long-term success. Discover why being close to your direct competitors might actually be the best thing for your brand. Debunking the hybrid office myth: Despite early fears that remote work would kill urban restaurant traffic, CBRE data tells a completely different story about where consumers are spending their dining dollars. AI vs. reality: Artificial intelligence is top of mind for everyone, but how is it actually being used in site selection and restaurant operations today? Hint: It's not what you think. To get the full breakdown on navigating today's hyper-competitive real estate market, tune in to the complete conversation on The Restaurant Operator podcast.

May 26, 202616 min

How CORE provides financial lifeline for food, beverage workers in crisis

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of QSRweb.com and Pizza Marketplace, chats with Jill Chapman, senior director of corporate partnerships for CORE. CORE is a national non-profit that financially supports food and beverage service families in times of crisis. CORE was founded 22 years and was run by volunteers up into 2015 when it hired its first employee. Eleven years later, the non-profit has several employees and is growing as much as the need is growing. CORE is needed because in the food and beverage industry, there is no PTO — if you're not working you're not getting paid. "If anything happens, whether it be health, injury, death or natural disaster or domestic abuse, that's where CORE comes in. That's what our mission is about. We come in and help financially during those times," Chapman said. To learn more about CORE and how to apply for help, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

May 13, 202619 min

Mellow Mushroom VP shares secrets to long-term franchise success

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Jamie Cecil, vice president of franchise development for Mellow Mushroom. Mellow Mushroom started in 1974 and has grown to 160 units. The brand is known for its cool vibes. Each store is unique. "I like to call them kind of unicorns. There's not one store that looks alike, which is kind of fun, but it makes it a challenge as well. But every store has phenomenal pizza and great service. That's the goal," Cecil said. Cecil brings more than 30 years of restaurant industry experience to the table. "There's not a day that's like any other, I like that," he said. "So one call, I'm talking to a person that wants to do five stores. Next, I'm talking to a city about getting some variances. Next, I'm talking to a construction guy about some issues on a construction site. So it really has taken everything I've done throughout my career and kind of packaged it in one role. And I enjoy it. It's a fun, fun role to be a part of." Finding the perfect piece of real estate is the greatest challenge for the brand. That's changed over the years, and a standalone building in the right location sets the tone for a town. "Today's franchisee is more sophisticated than they were in the past. They're a lot more educated and they they've done a lot of footwork or groundwork on their own before they reach out to you," Cecil said. "So they kind of already have an idea of what they want to do. Whereas back then, they would just reach out and, let's do this. And that cycle was pretty quick. Now they want to visit with franchisees. They want to talk to franchisees. Obviously, Discovery Day is critical in our world, too. And they want to meet the executive team. They want to meet with the CEO and ask them questions about where they see this potential business going in the next five to10 years." To learn more about Mellow Mushroom's franchising and how the brand plans to grow in a tight market, listen to the podcast in its entirety.