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 as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Made for restaurant executives, entrepreneurs, consumers, and leaders, each episode candidly shares expert advice from some of the industry's most insightful leaders.
Episodes
278 episodes
From Intern to President of a Sandwich Icon, with Lance Vaught
Starting as an intern in 2003, Lance Vaught has held every position within the operations and training departments at Penn Station East Coast Subs, culminating in his appointment as president in January 2022. His experience and understanding of...
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Season 1
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Episode 146
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41:35
How Jack in the Box Stays Connected, with CMO Ryan Ostrom
Ryan Ostrom, the marketing chief at the legendary fast-food brand, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss how restaurants can reach and engage customers amid today’s challenges and opportunities, from technology to social media to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 145
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33:39
Evolving with Your Audience, with Robeks’ VP of Marketing Mitch Baker
What lessons can restaurants learn from Blockbuster’s fall? How are on-trend ingredients like Ashwagandha resonating? What kind of partnerships make the biggest impact with Gen Z and millennial diners? Mitch Baker, the VP of marketing at Robeks...
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Season 1
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Episode 144
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43:32
Getting Real on Restaurant Tech, with Matt Wampler
Matt Wampler, the CEO and cofounder of ClearCOGS, joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss the state of digital solutions, how an operator became a tech maven, and where the next wave of technology is going to take the restaurant ind...
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Season 1
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Episode 143
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38:39
Jon Taffer is Back! And We Have a Lot to Discuss
Value. Regulations. An upcoming presidential election season. The restaurant sector is being pressured on all sides by challenges. Jon Taffer, star of “Bar Rescue” and industry maven, returns to QSR Uncut for the third time to discuss all of it...
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Season 1
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Episode 142
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47:51
What Went Wrong with Starbucks?
One of the biggest CEO moves in recent restaurant memory (maybe ever) brought Chipotle executive Brian Niccol over to Starbucks in mid-August. It was an announcement that soared the java chain’s stock and re-injected optimism into the brand, wh...
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Season 1
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Episode 141
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43:04
The State of Restaurant M&A and Investing, with Mike Esposito
Mike Esposito, co-managing partner and cofounder of Franchise Equity Partners, joins QSR Uncut to chat about the challenges and opportunities of the restaurant market today. Why is access to capital so challenging? Will that change? How can ope...
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Season 1
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Episode 140
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32:52
What Your Restaurant Employees Actually Want, with Jordan Boesch
The CEO of 7shifts joins QSR Uncut to talk through hiring trends and what the company uncovered from a new study: “What Restaurant Employees Want: 2024 Report.” We’ll get into everything from motivating factors, how you retain and recruit, and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 139
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39:40
Portillo’s, from Pop Culture Icon to Public Growth, with CMO Nick Scarpino
One of the industry’s true cult-classic chains has begun to expand beyond its Chicagoland roots, filing a successful IPO and heading to new markets like Texas. Wherever it’s landing, Portillo’s is opening to massive volumes—potentially the high...
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Season 1
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Episode 138
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37:55
Why Pepper Lunch Could be the Next Big Thing, with Paul Tran
Paul Tran, director of franchise sales at Hot Palette America, has had quite the journey, from opening his own concept to becoming a franchisee to now leading the growth of a global brand ready to crash into the U.S. He's a visionary who has su...
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Season 1
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Episode 137
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48:31
The Dream and Determination of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks
Derrick Hayes, CEO and founder of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, has taken his brand from a 700-square-foot gas station location to one of Atlanta’s most-popular fast casuals. And more recently, the brand has begun to franchise outside the state as i...
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Season 1
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Episode 136
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42:55
Tropical Smoothie CEO Charles Watson Breaks it Down
(Very) few restaurant brands in America are growing as fast as Tropical Smoothie Cafe, while also generating these type of sales. CEO Charles Watson joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss what’s driving the brand’s success, where i...
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Season 1
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Episode 135
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45:56
Restaurant Equipment and Living on Mars, with Devon Zielinski
Devon Zielinski, the president of USA Restaurant Suppliers, joins the podcast this week to talk about the state of equipment in the sector, how he started the company, challenges and opportunities, and a bunch of other things, from dog DNA test...
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Season 1
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Episode 134
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50:21
A Former Chick-fil-A Marketing Director on the Future of Comms
Kate Finley, who worked as a Marketing Director for Chick-fil-A, is now the founder and CEO of Belle Communications, an award-winning and top-ranked digital PR and social media firm. She joins the podcast this week to talk about how restaurants...
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Season 1
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Episode 133
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45:44
Welcome to the Kiosk Revolution
Kiosks are flooding the quick-service industry right now, from the biggest brands to fast casuals looking to scale. But what are the pitfalls and real benefits? Do they actually replace labor? Optimize sales? We’ll break down the landscape, pre...
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Season 1
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Episode 132
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39:24
Potbelly’s Marketing Mastery, with CMO David Daniels
How does a cult-favorite restaurant chain embrace the masses? It’s a multi-tiered strategy from store design to digital campaigns to rethinking every customer touchpoint along the way. Potbelly CMO David Daniels joins QSR Uncut this week to tal...
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Season 1
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Episode 131
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35:29
Tech and the Catering Explosion, with Lunchbox’s Nabeel Alamgir
Lunchbox cofounder and CEO Nabeel Alamgir returns to QSR Uncut to talk about what’s fast become one of the biggest opportunities in the restaurant marketplace. Catering has made a massive comeback out of COVID and is now rife with whitespace. C...
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Season 1
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Episode 130
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41:27
Sambazon’s Next Chapter of Growth Arrives
The Açaí pioneer recently launched into franchising for the first time in 24 years. CEO and cofounder Ryan Black joins QSR editors Danny Klein and Ben Coley to discuss the brand’s journey—it owns 50 percent of the imported Açaí market ...
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Season 1
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Episode 129
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38:23
The Making of a Better Chicken Joint, with Max Sheets
No stranger to the restaurant industry, Max Sheets got his start as a teenager scraping cheese off pans in a Pizza Hut kitchen. He later spent more than 20 years in real estate and development for such brands as Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon,...
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Season 1
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Episode 128
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47:03
A Special Announcement (and Deal) from QSR Uncut
One of the industry’s biggest events is approaching, and we’re offering listeners an exclusive deal to attend. UNCUT25 is what's mentioned in the podcast. And the event site is here:
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Season 1
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Episode 127
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15:43
Cinnabon and Carvel Join Forces, with Kristen Hartman
Kristen Hartman, the president of Specialty Brands at GoTo Foods (formerly Focus Brands)—the parent company of Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s—takes us inside the mashup everybod...
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Season 1
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Episode 126
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42:33
The Halal Guys CEO Ahmed Abouelenein on Legacy Leadership and Lasting Growth
The food-cart-to-global-franchise brand has expansion on the mind once again as it prepares to take its iconic concept to new markets. Meanwhile, CEO Ahmed Abouelenein continues to position the fast casual for the future while paying homage to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 125
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31:40
Why Every Restaurant Leader Needs Followers, with Jason Brooks
Jason Brooks has spent more than 30 years in the restaurant industry with six of the top 100 brands. He joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to share some of that wisdom and how he coaches leaders to drive culture and manage teams from all ...
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Season 1
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Episode 124
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48:40
Should Your Restaurant Try Influencer Marketing?
Viral Nation cofounder and CEO Joe Gagliese joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to discuss what’s fast become one of the most successful marketing realms of quick service. McDonald’s Famous Orders. MrBeast Burger. What do these st...
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Season 1
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Episode 123
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39:51
Consistency Over Expansion, with Farmer Boys COO Joseph Oritz
Farmer Boys COO and president Joseph Ortiz joins QSR editorial director Danny Klein to take us inside a 40-plus-year-old brand that continues to chart its own path, and share what it’s like to run and grow a California-based brand thes...
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Season 1
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Episode 122
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38:05