AI is everywhere, but how can it help restaurants?
AI is everywhere. Software companies bombard you with promises that their AI-powered programs will revolutionize your business. Prognosticators say it will take over roughly everything. And Wall Street, as ever, is watching.Restaurants are certainly no exception. Companies are testing and experimenting with AI in nearly every part of their operation, from the drive-thru to the back of the house, from marketing to the kitchen. This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive is the first in a six-part series on AI in the restaurant industry, looking at the ways big and small chains use the technology. We spoke with operators, executives, chefs and others to examine AI in the restaurant industry and its potential impact. This first one takes a broad look at the technology and some of the ways it can be used.
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How El Pollo Loco is winning the value-profitability battle
How is El Pollo Loco giving customers value without giving up profits?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Liz Williams, CEO of the fast-food chicken chain. El Pollo Loco just reported a decline in same-store sales with an increase in traffic and restaurant-level profits. Generally speaking when customers pay less per order it’s hard to generate profit growth. Williams explains how the company did this.But we talk about a lot of other things, including the company’s development strategy—it just opened its 500th restaurant—and the difficulty of operating in California, especially these days.We also talk about the chain’s plan for beverages and why that’s a huge opportunity. And the company is testing a couple of intriguing chicken products. This is a great conversation with Liz Williams so please check it out.
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What is driving consumer weakness right now
Why are consumers less responsive to restaurant marketing right now?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Robert Byrne, director of consumer and industry insights with Technomic and a regular podcast guest. We wanted to talk with Byrne about the general state of the industry, mostly because we had this question: Why isn’t anything working?Over the past couple of years, restaurant chains have unleashed more promotions at customers than ever before. They are introducing record numbers of limited-time offers. They have more technology. And the number of deals available to consumers is at record levels. Even fast-casual chains that never before had to push lower prices are doing so.Byrne is an expert on consumer behavior and we talk extensively about what is driving consumers away from restaurants. We discuss consumer concerns about inflation and what they’re thinking when they dine out. In short, consumers’ motivation is a lot different than it was not that long ago.It’s a great conversation on this week’s A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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Why so many consumers are dining on a deal right now
Why are so many consumers dining on a deal?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Portalatin, SVP and food industry advisor for the data and technology firm Circana.Circana just released a report showing that 29% of consumers are dining on a perceived deal, a historically high percentage. That has also grown over the past couple of years at a rate not seen since the Great Recession.David on the podcast discusses that report and the factors behind consumer budget dining. This is a fascinating conversation. We talk about price increases, the types of deals being run, how that’s changed over the past 15 years and how restaurants can adjust to these issues. This is a major issue affecting all restaurant operators today and could continue to impact them over the coming months.
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Why PJ's Coffee cut hundreds of food items from its menu
Why did PJ’s Coffee dramatically cut back on its menu items?This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features David Mesa, the president of PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans. PJ’s has 200 locations and is growing at a healthy clip. Mesa joins the podcast to talk about the company’s rebranding.PJ’s is leaning into its New Orleans heritage with that rebranding, including its menu. Mesa provides the details but here’s one interesting nugget: The company dramatically pared down the number of food items from “hundreds” to 18. We talk about a wide range of other issues, including the state of the beverage sector, which is growing at a very rapid clip. We talk about how PJ’s fits.We also talk about development and the barriers to growth PJ’s is experiencing, including interest rates and competition.We’re talking coffee and beignets on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
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