Nation’s Restaurant News is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC’s registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Holly Petre | Jul 21, 2023
This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Alicia Kelso spoke about the latest trend in restaurants.
A few years ago, we were talking about Sweetgreen and Wingstop — both brands that viewed themselves as tech companies first and restaurant companies second. Now, there’s a new trend across restaurants as they become more marketing companies that sell food, rather than restaurants with good marketing teams. Chipotle Mexican Grill, McDonald’s and Taco Bell have all been named by Rolling Stone among the top 20 marketers across the country and across industries. So, what earned them this title, and how are restaurants acting like marketing companies?
Also, technology vendor Toast, which unveiled an extremely controversial fee last month, has walked back that policy. The fee was 99 cents on any orders of $10 or more, and the fee was charged straight to the customer rather than to the restaurant. Restaurants had no option to take the fee on themselves, and thought it would deter customers from buying from them. The fee has now been removed from Toast’s system. What does it mean that the company is listening to its customers, and what does it hold for the future of the tech company?
This week’s interview is Brian Sullivan, VP of culinary for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews.
More information about text formats
Follow us: