A Deeper Dive

It was another tough year in 2025. 
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Pawlak, the managing principal with Technomic.
Pawlak provides our annual look at the data firm’s annual Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, which provides the best look at the state of the country’s restaurant chains.
That state was relatively weak. Pawlak discusses why last year proved to be so difficult. We also talk about some notable trends in the numbers. 
The beverage sector was big and there were some surprising numbers in that. The sandwich sector saw more shifts in market share. There was some notable movement in the Top 10 and a lot of growth was concentrated in just a few chains.
We’re talking Top 500 on A Deeper Dive so please check it out. 

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How is Kilwins adapting to life under new owners?
This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Brian Britton, CEO of the treat chain Kilwins.
Kilwins operates experiential chocolate and ice cream shops, mostly in tourist spots. It has picked up its growth in recent years and finished 2025 with 187 locations, according to data from Technomic.
We wanted to talk to Brian to get a sense about how life has changed since the company was sold to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. 
The private-equity firm bought Kilwins in 2023. Brian talks about everything the chain has done since then, including a lot of work to update the brand. 
But we also talk about the business of selling chocolate and ice cream, the company’s expansion strategies and why the experiential nature of the brand is so vital these days.
It’s a sweet podcast episode this week, so please check it out. 

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Most customers don’t think their last restaurant visit was worth it.
That, at least, is according to Lisa Miller, a consumer insights and innovation strategist and author of The Business of Joy. She joins this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive to discuss it.
We talk about why consumers increasingly say they don’t think their restaurant visits are worth it. 
We also talk about the role technology may be playing with that, and what restaurants can do to fix it.
This is a great conversation on an important topic in the restaurant business so please check it out. 

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How will the big Sysco-Restaurant Depot deal affect restaurant operators?
It’s a big question, so we brought in Technomic Senior Principal David Henkes to talk about it for this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive. 
Henkes is a distribution expert with Technomic and we discuss the deal at length, including what it means for both Sysco and for Restaurant Depot. We talk about its chances of getting approved by the FTC, even as independent restaurant operators call for it to be blocked.
We talk about the impact this will have on the restaurant industry and why Sysco wants the retailer in the first place. And we talk about potential challenges for the distributor in integrating Restaurant Depot.
We’re talking the Sysco-Restaurant Depot on A Deeper Dive so check it out.

How will gas prices affect restaurants?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Rich Shank, senior principal with the data firm Technomic.
We like talking with Shank periodically to get a pulse on where the industry is at and there are all kinds of questions about it right now, thanks to gas prices. 
Gas prices are near a national average of $4 a gallon, according to AAA, up $1 compared with the past year, driven largely by the U.S. attack on Iran.
That has a real impact on consumers at a time when many of them are already feeling pinched by inflation. We ask Shank what kind of impact this will have, what restaurant chains will feel it the most and at what point does it diminish industry growth projections. 
We also talk a bit about other issues like beef costs and store operations and what happened with the fast-casual sector.
Always great talking with Rich Shank so please check it out.