Shows / QSR Uncut
QSR Uncut
QSR Uncut is a podcast from the editors of QSR magazine—the leading publication for foodservice owners and operators—that discusses the current state and future of the fast-food restaurant industry. Made for restaurant executives, entrepreneurs, consumers, and leaders, each episode candidly shares expert advice from some of the industry's most insightful leaders.
Episodes
- QSR Uncut
Meet America's 40 Hottest Fast Casuals: Part 2
QSR editors Danny Klein and Nicole Duncan return to count down the rest of America's 40 Hottest Fast Casuals. From bowl concepts to chicken served in a cone…
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Vitality Bowls and the Rise of the Superfood Movement
Vitality Bowls exec Tara Gilad joins QSR editor Danny Klein to discuss standing out in one of the industry's fastest-growing (and crowded) categories…
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Meet America's 40 Hottest Fast Casuals: Part 1
On a special, bonus episode of QSR Uncut, the entire QSR magazine editorial team breaks down one of our biggest reports of the year: The 40/40 List, which…
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Introducing NextGen Casual and Finney's Crafthouse
A new category has emerged for restaurants, one that promises to challenge everyone from the biggest fast-food chains to the most polished sit-down concepts…
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Talking Bourbon with Spirits Guru Fred Minnick
Fred Minnick, best-selling author, bourbon curator, and taster, and one of the country’s leading voices on America’s native spirit, joins QSR Editorial…
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How to Survive the Great Supply Chain Crisis
Restaurants are battling shortages and rocketing prices across the supply chain as 2022 kicks into gear. Avanti CEO Mark Rossi joins the QSR team to talk about…
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Diversity from The Top Down, with Dr. James Pogue
Dr. James Pogue joins the QSR team to share tips and advice for executives and restaurant professionals on how to keep the conversation around unconscious…
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FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn on a Buying Spree for the Record Books
The owner of Fatburger, Fazoli's, and 15 other restaurant brands, spent nearly a $1 billion on acquisitions in 2021. And it could have been more. From bidding…
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How to Create a Restaurant Concept from Scratch
The Culinary Edge, visionaries behind fast-growing Starbird Chicken, chat with the QSR team on concept creation, trends, and how to tell fact from fiction when…
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Meet the Next Big Mediterranean Chain
CEO Zaid Ayoub is an electrical engineer turned restaurateur. And it shows in the continued evolution of SaJJ Mediterranean, a 15-unit fast casual from the Bay…
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Smashburger's Secret to Better-Burger Success
On a special Thanksgiving week episode of QSR uncut, the team chats with Smashburger president Carl Bachmann for an inside look at what’s made the fast casual…
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Finding the Post-COVID Restaurant Consumer: Tips from a Tech CEO
As restaurants rebound from the pandemic, the opportunity to lean on customer data has never been greater. But how do you listen, and what really matters?…
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Ghost Kitchens, Virtual Brands, and the Power of Wiz Khalifa
QSR editor Danny Klein catches up with industry innovator and change-marker Alex Canter, the CEO of Nextbite, to chat about all things virtual brands, and why…
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A&W CEO on Surviving the Labor Shortage, Root Beer, and a Comeback of Epic Proportions
A&W CEO Kevin Bazner discusses the biggest crisis facing restaurants today—where to find labor and how to keep employees from leaving. Also, cheese curds, the…
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A Digital Pioneer on the Future of Restaurant Tech
OneDine CEO and industry thought leader Rom Krupp joins the QSR magazine team this week to talk all things digital, and how COVID-19 ushered in a decade of…
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Is The Virtual Restaurant Bubble About to Burst?
In this week’s episode of QSR Uncut, QSR magazine editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley are joined by Joseph Szala, managing director of Vigor and author and…
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The Magic of Chick-fil-A's Drive-Thru
In the first edition of QSR Uncut, editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley discuss how Chick-fil-A could be the "slowest drive-thru in America," and yet also be the…
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Whataburger's leaders on getting through crises like a family
Everything restaurants have been forced to go through in the last year has been unprecedented. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a crisis like no other for…
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Raising Cane's founder and co-CEO on building a pandemic-proof culture
Chicken-finger brand Raising Cane's lost 30 percent of its sales in the weeks following stay-at-home orders last March, but by the end of 2020, it was clearing…
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Crisp & Green's founder on the health food concept's big pandemic success
If you were to point to some of the biggest trends in the pre-pandemic foodservice world, health-oriented concepts would have to be in the top five. Especially…
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Tacos 4 Life's cofounder on upholding its mission during the pandemic
The buy-one-give-one model became popular in the last 10–15 years, with businesses like TOMS Shoes and Warby Parker donating a product to those in need for…
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Fields Good Chicken founder on reinventing an urban fast casual restaurant
While most quick serves and fast casuals had a huge advantage in quickly recovering from the sales drop of last March, there is a whole subset of fast casuals…
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McAlister's Deli president on its digital service evolution
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced restaurants to rethink how they get their food into customers' hands, and technology has allowed them to get really creative…
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Hopdoddy's CEO on its huge off-premises gains
In the five or six years prior to the pandemic, big-box fast casuals sprung up around the U.S. offering a high-quality experience meant to be enjoyed on-site…
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GLEAM's founder on the power of restaurant industry mentorship
If you’re a restaurant industry professional, chances are your path to where you are today has included a lot of hustle, a lot of putting your head down and…
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Smashburger's president on the better-burger chain's digital transformation
For many, the COVID-19 pandemic has been an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on life, to reassess what we’re doing and where we're going. That's…
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Franchising expert Scott Greenberg on restaurant franchisee success
COVID-19 is likely to give a jolt to the franchise world. Just like in the Great Recession, there will probably be a surge in people looking for a new career…
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Church's CMO on restaurant marketing's COVID evolution
Remember the chicken sandwich wars that launched with Popeyes’ new sandwich? Way back in 2019? We all called it a war but really, as with most marketing…
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SkinnyFats CEO on using a food hall as an R&D factory
Just a few years ago, food halls were christened as the next big thing in foodservice. Like food trucks, every city had to have one and consumers had to be…
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Sam Fox on the keys to hospitality post-COVID
COVID-19 has affected limited- and full-service restaurants in totally different ways, with staggering implications for the future of the industry. Nobody…
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The 40/40 List: FieldTrip
The 40/40 List launched in 2017 as a way to identify the quick serves and fast casuals that have the best shot at becoming the next big thing—the rising stars…
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The 40/40 List: Everytable
The 40/40 List launched in 2017 as a way to identify the quick serves and fast casuals that have the best shot at becoming the next big thing—the rising stars…
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The 40/40 List: Sweet Paris Crȇperie & Café
The 40/40 List launched in 2017 as a way to identify the quick serves and fast casuals that have the best shot at becoming the next big thing—the rising stars…
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The 40/40 List: Wings Over
The 40/40 List launched in 2017 as a way to identify the quick serves and fast casuals that have the best shot at becoming the next big thing—the rising stars…
- QSR Uncut
The 40/40 List: RASA
The 40/40 List launched in 2017 as a way to identify the quick serves and fast casuals that have the best shot at becoming the next big thing—the rising stars…
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How quick service and full service can coexist in one brand
We've all heard that full service has suffered the worst of the pandemic's effects, while quick service has thrived because of off-premises channels. But very…
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This casual chain is switching to fast casual
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurant operators have gotten really creative with their service models to get food in customers' hands. Full-service…
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What happens to nontraditional foodservice after this?
Nontraditional venues like schools, sports arenas, hospitals, business centers, and airports have long been great opportunities for restaurants to get in front…
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MOD Pizza's CEO on how they've maintained culture through crisis
Restaurant employees have had a brutal year. Not only are foodservice jobs disappearing along with restaurant and dining-room closures, but also, those who…
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How Voodoo Doughnut balances its icon status with the realities of COVID-19
There was a time when Voodoo Doughnut was a cash-only restaurant—in fact, that time was 2019. Yes, this Portland, Oregon–based doughnut shop was such an icon…
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BurgerFi reinvents the better-burger model for our post-pandemic world
The recession of a decade ago was very fruitful for the burger industry, and specifically the better-burger category. In the wake of Five Guys' success, many…
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Wingstop Week: CEO Charlie Morrison on becoming a top 10 global brand
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to…
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Wingstop Week: CTO Stacy Peterson on designing an industry-leading tech stack
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to…
- QSR Uncut
Wingstop Week: President of international Nicolas Boudet on how to grow globally
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to…
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Wingstop Week: SVP of people Donnie Upshaw on the power of culture to lead you through crisis
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to…
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Wingstop Week: CMO Christina Clarke on shaping the brand's persona
It's Wingstop Week! That's right, this week we're sharing daily interviews with executives at the wings giant, detailing how the company was positioned to…
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A big-chain mindset for a startup plant-based fast casual
Carin Stutz has worked in the restaurant industry for about four decades, including executive positions at Così, McAlister's Deli, and Red Robin. In 2019, she…
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How a startup ice cream franchise has re-created its experience during COVID
Pizza and chicken wings may be crushing right now, but what about the ice cream category? For something so dependent upon a social experience—not to mention a…
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Restaurantology Ep 5: An investor’s perspective on the opportunity for restaurants
It’s the fifth and final installment of the Restaurantology series, and we’re talking with Savory Fund’s managing partners, Andrew Smith and Greg Warnock…
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Restaurantology Ep 4: The benefits of thinking like an investor
It’s part four of our Restaurantology series, and we’re getting into the nitty gritty of how a management team like Savory supports the restaurants within its…
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Restaurantology Ep 3: How two brands landed post-pandemic investment deals
It’s part three of our Restaurantology series, and today we’re talking about the state of the mergers and acquisitions market during the COVID-19 crisis. Prior…
- QSR Uncut
Restaurantology Ep 2: It’s time to focus on growth again—here’s how
It’s part two of our Restaurantology series, and we’re talking with emerging restaurant leaders about their unique expansion plans. The coronavirus pandemic…
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Restaurantology Ep 1: Why hospitality is still critical to restaurant success
Today is our first episode in the Restaurantology series! Restaurantology is a partnership with Savory Fund, which was launched earlier this year by investment…
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What pivoting looks like to a full-serve breakfast chain
Everyone got hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but full-service chains were especially rocked by losing dining rooms. And with a huge shift in daypart…
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Why menu innovation still matters, according to Velvet Taco's CEO
Before the pandemic, fast-casual taco joint Velvet Taco was cruising. It had grown to 15 locations doing $4 million in average unit volume, and it planned…
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A look inside this year's QSR Drive Thru Study
We’ve been publishing the QSR® Drive-Thru Study now for over 20 years, holding quick-service chains accountable by reporting on their performance in speed of…
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Mendocino Farms is finding its way in an off-premises world
Mendocino Farms is the perfect example of fast casual 2.0. Committed to big footprints with beautiful designs and activities like foosball and corn hole, the…
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How FOCUS is creating a brand experience through digital ordering
Digital strategies were important before the pandemic, but they're critical today, and restaurants have only scratched the surface with digital innovations…
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Evolving the service style at this emerging fast-casual taco player
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit different parts of the country and different foodservice categories in different ways. Of course, the full-service industry has…
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The marketing efforts keeping this beloved 97-year-old burger chain afloat
Flint, Michigan–based concept Halo Burger was built on the fundamentals of quick service—cheap and convenient burgers, fries, and shakes—way back in 1923. And…