Nation's Restaurant News On the Go Newsletter #39
Nation's Restaurant News
The #1 source of news and business intelligence for restaurant and foodservice industry professionals
What are you getting out of conference season?
Hi, Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor for Nation's Restaurant News, here. If you have kids, the start of September is already associated with back to school, but for many of us in (or covering or supporting) the restaurant industry, it’s the start of conference season. After a two-year slowdown during the pandemic, conferences are back in full-swing, and it seems like there are more of them than ever before.
But even though it can be exciting (at first) to say yes to every invitation that passes your desk, “conference fatigue” is a real thing, especially when you feel like you’re shaking hands with the same people under fluorescent hotel ballroom lights in different cities around the country. So, it’s important to know what you want to get out of a conference: Seeing and talking to new people? More interactive, intimate education sessions? Or the opportunity to meet with investors face-to-face? Honestly, it might feel good just to have important conversations outside the board room and in the sunshine.?
Not to toot our own horn, but NRN is excited to bring something new to the table with CREATE 2023. If you haven’t already heard (or registered, which you can do so here), CREATE is at the Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs this year from Oct. 1-3. We always try to do things differently, and this year we have live bands, a keynote talk from Danny Trejo, and an investment summit (literally) on top of a mountain. So, this conference season, know what you need for your business, and book your travel wisely.
How Stacy Peterson is bringing a big-brand mentality to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
One of the biggest winners — if you could call it that — of COVID’s early days was Wingstop. The Dallas-based chicken-wing chain thrived in the off-premises-only world, capitalizing on years of technology innovation that had propped up the brand as a delivery and takeout leader powered by digital ordering.?
Stacy Peterson was one of the architects of that innovation. The former chief technology officer at Wingstop, Peterson spent nine years at that company, watching it grow from about 550 locations to 2,000 in that time frame.
Now Peterson is overseeing innovation at another company: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, the Columbus, Ohio-based treat chain where she?took over the CEO role in late 2022. In Jeni’s, she sees an opportunity to apply a sort of big-brand blueprint akin to what was executed at Wingstop —?but with more of a focus on culinary innovation at Jeni’s.
Hear from Stacy Peterson in person at CREATE: The Experience, where she will speak with NRN editor-in-chief Sam Oches about the dos and don’ts of using a big company playbook with an emerging brand, Oct. 1-3 in Palm Springs.?
From COO to CEO: Why Dig’s Tracy Kim is leading with an operations mentality
Tracy Kim, CEO of the New York City-based fast casual Dig, has helped broaden the restaurant beyond its urban lunch focus to more residential suburban areas and to the dinner daypart.
The concept?promoted Kim in April?from chief operating officer, a role she assumed in 2022.
Kim will share her insights and answer audience questions during an “Ask the Experts” session at CREATE: The Experience in Palm Springs, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
She will discuss how to make operations more efficient, how to reach new demographics and how to strategize growth. The 32-unit Dig has added three locations this year and plans two more: one in suburban Bethesda, Md., and a more urban version in Brooklyn.
How Slutty Vegan has financed its supercharged growth
Slutty Vegan — the Atlanta-based vegan burger chain — made waves last year?when the brand announced?a $25 million round of series A funding, led by prolific restaurateur Danny Meyer’s investment group, Enlightened Hospitality.??
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Today, at 10 locations, Slutty Vegan is still in the startup phase, but the concept has gained national attention for its unique branding, high-profile investors, and standing out in the increasingly crowded plant-based burger segment. At CREATE: The Experience, Jason Crain, president of Slutty Vegan, will speak during one of the Ask the Experts sessions about how other restaurant startups can secure business partners and financing to turbocharge their brand growth.?
Smalls Sliders CEO Maria Rivera on growing at the right pace: Stay disciplined and humble
Maria Rivera’s restaurant industry expertise and experience runs deep. She started in food and beverage operations at Walt Disney World and then worked her way up with roles at Hilton, Caesars Entertainment, Darden, TGI Fridays and Logan’s Roadhouse. Eventually she made her way to Krispy Kreme and moved up to president in 2022.?
Then an opportunity came along she couldn’t refuse:?CEO of an emerging slider brand called Smalls Sliders, named one of Nation’s Restaurant News’?2023 Breakout Brands. Rivera’s enthusiasm for the brand is unmistakable as she talks about its potential to get to 500 locations and its strong unit economics. That goal and those economics are intertwined, of course, and they stem from the brand’s use of?modular shipping container?units to grow. Once a plot is prepared,?Smalls can open a restaurant on top of it in as little as eight weeks.?
But Rivera is also all in on Smalls’ food and believes the made-to-order cheeseburger sliders will differentiate the concept from the crowd. She anticipates the brand’s personality will be a differentiator, as well, calling it?“Instagrammable, nostalgic, clever, unassuming and a little bit in your face.”?
Rivera will speak on an Ask the Experts panel at?Nation’s Restaurant News’?Create: The Experience event Oct. 1-3 in Palm Springs, Calif. Her session, “Finding the right growth strategy for your brand” will cover whether you should franchise, how to figure out the right pace for expansion, and how to build a more efficient footprint. It will be held from 10:30-11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3.?
Fast casual restaurant veteran shifts focus to digital innovation — with Gwyneth Paltrow’s help
Many people know Mario Del Pero for his role in cofounding, along with his wife Ellen Chen, the popular sandwich fast casual Mendocino Farms. But Del Pero’s second act might prove to be just as buzzworthy — certainly if you count his celebrity business partner.?
After transitioning away from CEO duties with Mendocino Farms, Del Pero assembled a team of restaurant veterans under DOM Food Group, a venture studio that incubates, invests in, operates, and consults with food businesses. The group’s first project is Goop Kitchen, a virtual brand operated in conjunction with actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop lifestyle brand.?
Goop Kitchen has five virtual kitchens in the Los Angeles area, and while he wouldn’t share specific numbers, Del Pero noted that Goop’s dollar-per-square-foot ratio far exceeded anything he’d seen in the restaurant industry before. Paltrow’s name attached to it certainly helps, but Del Pero noted that virtual brands can’t just slap on a celebrity name and call it a day.
Hear from Mario Del Pero in person at?CREATE: The Experience, where he will speak with NRN editor-in-chief Sam Oches about developing the digital restaurant of the future, Oct. 1-3 in Palm Springs.
7 Restaurant Execs We Can't Wait to See at CREATE Palm Springs Including Danny Trejo
For more on CREATE: The Experience or to register visit us here.
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