A Deeper Dive

What makes Dave’s Hot Chicken tick?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Jim Bitticks, the CEO of Dave’s Hot Chicken. 
This is a great conversation with the chief executive of one of the country’s hottest brands, literally and figuratively. Bitticks was recently promoted to the role and we ask him about that.
We talk with him about what makes the brand tick, how things are going under new owner Roark Capital and whether anything will change. 
We asked Bitticks about the company’s superfast growth and how it combats the potential pratfalls of such growth.
And we talk about the chain’s unique strategy of having top executives as operators and how that works.
We’re talking hot chicken on A Deeper Dive, so please check it out.

Five Guys is making some changes.
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Molly Catalano, the chief marketing officer for the Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual burger chain.
We are talking with Catalano about a lot of things, notably its move into catering. We talk about why the company is now offering catering, how it’s doing that and how it works. 
We talk about a number of other things the company is doing. Five Guys is marketing more than it’s ever done before. That’s a big change for the company. It is also looking at things like combos and maybe even some different types of menu items.
Catalano also discusses the company’s unique culture and the important role the chain’s founding family plays in keeping its quality at the forefront.
We’re talking Five Guys on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

How will restaurants fare in 2026?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, who talks about the trade group’s State of the Industry Report. 
Korsmo discusses the industry’s annual projection of restaurant sales, profitability and trends. We talk extensively about the association’s expectations for foodservice sales this year, projected to be nearly $1.6 trillion. 
We discuss issues with industry profitability, and why so many operators are simply unprofitable. And we talk about immigration and other association priorities.
This is a great conversation with the head of the restaurant industry’s biggest trade group so please check it out.

What is the status of Starbucks’ turnaround?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mike Grams, the chief operating officer of the coffee shop giant.
Grams joined us from a Starbucks Reserve location in New York City following the company’s Investor Day presentation.
He spoke extensively about the company’s various plans to improve the operations inside the chain’s coffeehouses.
That includes the remodels the chain is making to make even the smallest locations friendlier for in-store customers. He also explains why that is important for a company that has mobile order, drive-thru and delivery.
Grams discusses the chain’s “Green Apron” service model and why that model both helps with manager morale as well as service time. He also gives an update on the chain’s push to improve service times and what else the company plans to do to speed service.
We also talk about Starbucks’ expansion plans and why the company believes it can fit 5,000 more shops, at least, in the U.S.
We’re talking Starbucks on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

What are retailers doing to compete more aggressively with restaurants?
This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive looks at the retail sector, specifically convenience stores and grocers. I’m joined this week by Heather Lalley, the managing editor for Restaurant Business as well as sister publications CSP Daily News and Supermarket News.
We talk about how convenience stores are pushing into more prepared food options, including ways they are taking pages out of restaurants’ playbook.
We also discuss the growing demand for THC beverages, and why we haven’t seen many restaurants add these to their beverage menus.
But we talk extensively about the closures of Amazon’s Fresh and Go stores, and what kinds of lessons restaurants can take from those closures. 
We’re looking at the retail sector on A Deeper Dive, so check it out.