Where restaurant and food industry insiders talk real business.
The Main Course is a podcast hosted by Barbara Castiglia that brings restaurant operators, food executives, and industry analysts together to discuss business strategy, supply chain, and consumer trends. Episodes cover the full spectrum of the food and beverage industry, from emerging restaurant concepts to enterprise-scale operations. It is a primary resource for food professionals tracking what is shaping the business of food.
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Episodes
Jewish Culinary Traditions Keep Culture Alive Through Food and Storytelling
Families are using kitchen traditions as a powerful vehicle for transmitting cultural values and historical narratives across generations
Creating Generational Wealth: Untapping the Potential of Franchising
Business ownership through established franchise models offers a proven pathway to building lasting family wealth despite economic uncertainty
A Look at the American Classic, The Cheesesteak, with Pat’s King of Steaks’ Frank E. Olivieri
A Philadelphia institution reveals how decades of fresh ingredients and family tradition built an iconic sandwich into a national phenomenon
With Sophisticated Restaurant Scams Plaguing the Industry, Can Businesses Stop the Deception?
Fraudsters are costing restaurants billions annually through QR codes and digital vulnerabilities that customers unknowingly enable
The Essential Elements of Restaurant Design
Strategic design choices in lighting, acoustics, and spatial planning transform how customers experience a meal from start to finish
Atomic Wings Aims to Spice up Franchise Operations in the Competitive Wing Space
Restaurant franchises are discovering that quality control and operational consistency are essential to capturing market share in the booming poultry segment
Digital Restaurants: What Tech Will Help Restaurants Moving Forward?
Restaurant operators are discovering which digital tools drive customer loyalty and operational efficiency in an increasingly competitive market
Customer Experience was Changed by the Pandemic, But Technology Came in to Revitalize It
The world was forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the customer experience industry, especially in the restaurant sector, has faced unprecedented challenges and transformation. The role of technology has been amplified, not only as a survival tool during a time of social distancing and lockdowns, but also as a driving force for long-term,…
Beverage Only Concepts is Taking Over the Food Industry as the Brewing New Trend Becomes Center Stage For Consumers
As trends shift and evolve in the food industry, a notable new phenomenon has taken center stage: beverage only concepts. Over the past few years, we have witnessed an explosion in the number of businesses that focus solely on drinks, offering everything from coffee to milkshakes and now, iced tea. This intriguing move away…
Restaurant Insurance is More Necessary Than Ever as Some Owners Overlook Coverage Due to Complexities
There is no industry that is immune to surprises and shocks. However, the restaurant industry has been facing its own unique blend of challenges recently, forcing owners to question the adequacy of their restaurant insurance coverage. For many, insurance is perceived as a necessary yet complicated evil, something begrudgingly purchased and then promptly forgotten,…
The Journey of Fig & Olive Proves Restaurant Expansion is Possible in 2023
Restaurant expansion in 2023? While that may sound hard to believe, the restaurant industry has seen a 4.9% increase in sales in 2023. While increased prices due to inflation may be driving some of those increases, indicators show now is the best time since the pandemic’s beginning to consider a restaurant expansion. But what…
The Main Course: The Power of Restaurant Narrative in Staffing
Not every restaurant makes an effort to fully integrate its customer into the experience of eating and enjoying their food. But for those looking for a unique dining experience, plenty of such establishments present unique restaurant narratives. What sort of restaurants emphasize storytelling in their dining, and how do they handle staffing? On this episode…
The Main Course: Franchising 2.0 with Don Kwon
Franchising is a common part of the restaurant business, as it allows more people to access the establishment worldwide. Some restaurants stay in specific markets while others grow to become part of a landscape featuring other ubiquitous household names. But franchising is not always easy; it takes careful planning and work. What do some restaurants…
Gamification and Rewards: Engage with Your Customers to Better Retain Them
Starbucks®, Chick-fil-A®, McDonald’s®…these are some of the most popular restaurant industry apps used and downloaded today. To put it into perspective, the Starbucks® app has 17 million users, and almost one in every five of their sales dollars comes directly from the app. These restaurants don’t have elevated app statuses for no reason—it’s because…
Digital Dining Experience: When Kiosk and Pay at Table Technologies Transform the Customer Experience
Two words that should be synonymous? Restaurants and technology. Let’s face it, technology is here to stay, especially in restaurants. Not only can it help with staff shortages, but leveraging technology in the restaurant industry can help transform the customer experience. How? On the latest episode of The Main Course with Barbara Castiglia, EVP…
How to Capitalize on Online Restaurant Reviews and Engage
Online restaurant reviews: restaurants may love or hate them, but they should not ignore the practice. To do so means operating at one’s peril. Sifting through the noise to gain meaningful insights from reviews left online is integral to the restaurant industry and can lead to success if measured and responded to correctly. Chatmeter, a…
The Wholesale Business: A Collaborative Approach
Owning a bakery is a dream for some people; for others, the vision continues beyond that first cookie sold. For the Co-Owners of Brooklyn, New York’s The Good Batch, Anna Gordon and Steven Hartong, the question isn’t the next type of cookie to sell; it’s what’s the next market expansion. The global market for…
How AI Can Help with Food Safety and Quality Issues
AI has become a big topic recently, as more companies and businesses use it and play around with the possibilities. As the technology becomes more accessible, more people will use it in different ways and the tech will no doubt advance. Because of this, many are expecting businesses to keep using AI, especially when…
Re-invigorating Success: How to Refresh and Reinvent Legacy Brands
Reinvention. That’s a word many restaurants understand after undergoing three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through technology innovations to expanded delivery options, loyalty programs, and new concepts like ghost kitchens, the restaurant industry knows a thing or two—or ten—about the ‘adapt or die’ mentality. Refreshing and reinventing a restaurant is one thing, but legacy…
Taking a Soul Food Restaurant into The Franchise Space
As restaurants look to make a comeback and put the pandemic on the back burner, new franchises have started to re-enter the landscape. Franchises create opportunities for entrepreneurs, and the industry encourages women to enter the restaurant franchise business. Two women heeding the franchise call are Adenah Bayoh and Elzadie “Zadie” Smith. In October 2022,…
Voice AI: Changing the Sound of Restaurants and Transforming the Ordering Experience
Takeout and delivery are as much the fabric of restaurants today as a room full of diners. During the pandemic, many restaurants may not have made it out the other side without takeout and delivery services. Still, staffing shortages are a significant issue for most restaurants after the pandemic. Finding the balance between handling orders…
Rebranding Journey: Embrace Change and Modernize Your Restaurant
The outbreak of COVID-19 had a significant impact on the food service industry. Many restaurants were forced to shut down, and workers lost their source of income. However, many restaurants are reopening and quickly adapting to survive the changes after the pandemic. Restaurant managers have entered a rebranding journey to optimize the customer experience and…
Healthy Living: A Growing Trend in Restaurant Industry
Greek salad, pasta salad, cucumber avocado salad, garden salad, corn salad, cole slaw, Caesar salad, Caprese salad, macaroni salad… and the list goes on and on. There are an infinite number of salads one can create—not just salads for healthy living. And everyone seems to have a preference for their own unique spin on a…
Loyalty Programs That Work: Strategies for Building and Sustaining Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry
Loyalty programs use points, miles, or other currency to incentivize customers to purchase or engage with the brand. Customers can redeem these points for discounts, free products, exclusive access, or other perks. Technology, such as mobile apps and online accounts, allows customers to easily track and redeem their rewards and receive personalized promotions…
Navigating the World of Restaurant Franchising
Restaurant franchising allows individuals to operate a business using a proven business model and brand. The franchisor provides training and ongoing support while the franchisee pays an initial fee and royalties. Franchise agreements are detailed, with territorial restrictions and the option to renew or terminate. Franchising reduces risk but requires significant investment. But what are…
Finding and Keeping Great People to Help Achieve Your Vision
José Andrés, Chef and Founder of World Central Kitchen, once said, “The business of feeding people is the most amazing business in the world.” While this rings true for many chefs and restaurant owners, the last several years have put businesses in delicate financial situations and has resulted in numerous closures across the…
The Growth of Ghost Kitchens in the Restaurant Industry
Necessity-meeting technology played a vital role in the rapid acceleration of ghost kitchens during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global market size of ghost kitchens grew to 56.71 Billion dollars in 2021, and the industry forecasts a 112.53 billion ghost kitchen market by 2027. While one can typically find ghost kitchens in dense urban areas, there…
What Can Employers Learn from Employee Exit Interviews?
Managing a restaurant is challenging, especially when the way restaurants operate is changing all the time. In the last couple years with the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants have had to adapt with the times in unprecedented ways. From staff shortages to supply chain issues, there’s a lot to juggle, but there are always ways for…
A Full Course on How Restaurants Can Maintain Post-Pandemic Business Growth
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a major hit to the restaurant industry, which would see new trends and change it forever. Some of those trends were devastating while there were others that helped improve the success of some businesses, per Forbes. But in managing the new growth that a lot of restaurant owners…
How Online Schooling Transformed and Created Access to Culinary Education
Online schooling has been around since the late ‘80s but didn’t become more common until the early ‘90s. Today, all types of educational courses can be accessed and completed solely online — even hands-on disciplines, such as culinary schooling and experiential trades. In addition, even though predominantly higher education or certain trades offered online…
Lobster and Franchising
Lobster and franchising are not often two words one would hear in a sentence together. And yet, franchising lobster is exactly what two cousins did from Maine. But how did their journey begin, why did they decide to franchise, and why was franchising the right fit for them? On the newest episode of The…
Training Employees of the Deskless Workforce
Onboarding and training are crucial to success and ensuring long-term employees. It’s their first welcome in the company and essential to keeping them long-term, and this point is proving itself time and time again in industries with a deskless workforce. So, what are the elements of good onboarding, and why is it so important…
QSR Franchise “JARS” Creates a Delicious Opportunity for Restauranters
Are jars the next big trend in dessert-themed QSR restaurants? QSR magazine reported Orange County, California, joined Texas in expanding a new QSR franchise, JARS, by Fabio Viviani. Viviani, the noted chef and restauranteur is set to open his flagship location in Chicago this fall, followed by ten locations in Texas and the newly…
How is Oath Pizza Building a Feel-Good Pizza Brand?
Statista states there are more than 75,000 pizza restaurants in the United States. That’s a lot of slices served every year! For a business to stand out in the pizza market, it must find ways to melt hearts with more than cheese, sauce, and dough. Personal pizza lover, Barbara Castiglia of Modern Restaurant Management…
Catering is Marketing
Catering is a growing trend in the restaurant industry that brings enormous growth opportunities and since the pandemic, opportunities that bring new customers to the table are critical. The restaurants that embrace the innovative possibilities of catering are seeing the benefits. One national multi-concept restaurant platform believes catering isa great way to introduce new…
Opportunities Available for Women in Franchising
It may come as a surprise to some, but entrepreneurship is experiencing growth after the pandemic as many people have decided that they want to work for themselves. A great way to become your own boss is to start a franchise. However, the rate of women who own franchises is falling behind their male…
Current Restaurant Investments in Loyalty Programs
It’s no secret that restaurants need repeat customers for continued success. Retention is a vital aspect of the restaurant industry, especially since the pandemic. Loyalty Reward Programs are more than just a sound strategy; they can help boost a restaurant’s profits by 95% through repeat business. So, what can a great loyalty program due…
The Drive-Thru is Pivotal for QSR’s But How Can They Be More Efficient?
The pandemic accelerated many aspects of the restaurant industry, including the ways in which consumers interact with QSR’s. Bringing in the Global Head of Technology for Xenial, host Barbara Castiglia spoke with Chris Siefken about the changing nature of QSR’s and the technology that is here to address them. Restaurant technology is, and always has…
Why Restaurants Are Historically Slow at Adopting New Technology
The restaurant industry has historically been slow to shift and adopt new technology. Ben Simmons, Co-founder and COO of Table Needs recalled a meeting in 2012 when a restaurant owner was considering building a website. Websites were pretty mainstream, but it shows an example of generalization. Today, as reported by Restaurant Dive, 77% of…
Loyalty Programs Should Maximize Customer Value Not Discounts
Groupon has it wrong. Or at least partially. Taking a deep dive into customer data and analytics, Zach Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Thanx, a loyalty, CRM, and guest engagement platform shares his insight on what it means to build customer loyalty with The Main Course host Barbara Castiglia. Our understanding of what loyalty…
Jollibee Has the Mission to be a Top Five Restaurant Group in the World
Barbara Castiglia interviews Maribeth Dela Cruz, President of Jollibee North America, to discuss Jollibee and its presence in North America. Jollibee is on the fastest growing Asian restaurant companies in the world. Cruz has been with the Jollibee company for thirty years and has worked her way from shift manger to her current role as…
Coffee Entrepreneur Discusses How He Has Helped Establish One of the Most Popular Chains in the Midwest
The co-CEO and co-founder of Biggby Coffee, Mike McFall, talked with host Barbara Castiglia of the podcast “The Main Course,” about the rise of his coffee chain. Founded in Lansing, Michigan over 27 years ago, today Biggby Coffee is one of the most popular coffee chains in the Midwest region. McFall said decades ago…
The Retired CEO of YUM! Brands Has the New Goal of Developing the Next Generation of Leaders
David Novak was the first of his family to graduate from college. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri and started working in advertising. After a few turns in his career, Novak found joy in working in the restaurant industry. He eventually co-founded Yum! Brands and acted successfully as CEO for many years….
Burnout is a Concern in the Hospitality Industry But How Does Your Team Address It?
Healthy Pour is a consultancy whose mission is to improve the mental health and well-being of individuals, communities, and organizations within the hospitality and adjacent sectors through education, coaching, intervention development, and research. Laura Louise Green, Founder of Healthy Pour, joined Barbara Castiglia to talk about this critical concern in the restaurant and hospitality…
Using Data to Create a Smarter Restaurant
Jessica Valenzuela conceptualized the GoGoGuest system while using the free wifi at cafes around Europe. What started as a wifi marketing solution has evolved into a more significant consumer connection. The company’s capabilities connect the consumer to the restaurant amenities and leverage their information back to the restaurant. Today, GoGoGuest services over 300 customers across…
As Eating Patterns Shift, Does Breakfast Still Have Traction?
Americans love breakfast. A recent survey indicated that 62% of Americans chose breakfast as their favorite meal of the day. That sounds like an opportunity. Kirk Ruoff, Founder and CEO of Turning Points Restaurant, thinks so as he embarks on turning his award-winning restaurant into a franchise concept. He spoke with The Main Course…
Helping Restaurant Owners Make Informed Decisions Through Data
While technology isn’t new, its addition into the restaurant industry has been slow and hesitant. However, the increasing use of automation is driving changes in the industry. Founder and President of CrunchTime! Bill Bellissimo has recognized the importance of technology for over 25 years. Bellissimo chats with The Main Course host Barbara Castiglia about…
How QSR’s Have to Navigate Shortages & Inflation
Wing It On! is a QSR brand focused on providing chicken lovers with better wings and sandwiches in a takeout and delivery model. Matt Ensero, Wing It On’s CEO, launched his first location in 2011 in Waterbury, CT. Today, Wing it On! is in ten locations with one food truck and nine brick & mortar…
Creating the Roadmap for the Digital Restaurant
The omnichannel experience that first wreaked havoc with the retail industry quickly began to make its impact on the restaurant industry even before the pandemic. The disruption caused by the pandemic accelerated this trend requiring restaurant owners of national chains and family-run businesses as well as every restaurant version in between to adapt or die….
Can Seafood Really Be As Accessible As The Corner Bar?
Can seafood really be as accessible as the corner bar? Shuckin’ Shack was designed on this premise of making seafood an everyday menu item as opposed to the white tablecloth service. The company’s CEO Jonathan Weathington joined The Main Course host Barbara Castiglia to share the company’s story and his thoughts on franchising. While Shuckin’ Shack is a…
The Tools Restaurants Will Need to Reach Their 2022 Goals
Before technology entered the restaurant industry, commercial businesses had to rely on cash registers. The first industry to adopt a point of sale (POS) system were retail and grocery stores, and restaurants didn’t integrate the technology until about 30 years ago. President and Founder, Nadav Solomon, of Tabit, a POS and tableside ordering system…
Why Edmentum Entered Into a Definitive Agreement to Acquire Apex Learning
Celebrating the leaders and experts that are powering education into the future, MarketScale sets out to ask the “right questions” in EdTech to understand the changes in policy and technology that will power our universities, tradeschools, and companies – and drive growth in upskilling certifications. The EdTech space is in a state of flux….
Why Food Safety and Education is More Important than Ever Before
Thanks to several highly-publicized hospitalizations and deaths from improper food handling, food safety has maintained a large presence in public health for several years. However, in the midst of a global pandemic, food safety guidelines become even more crucial for the health of consumers. Barbara Castiglia talks to Francine Shaw, the CEO of Savvy Food…
How to Protect Your Business From Liabilities
With mask mandates becoming a common practice in many public spaces, employers force customer-facing service workers to shoulder the responsibility of policing proper mask-wearing procedures. But is this really fair to them? How can business owners protect their employees in these situations? And how can they protect themselves from potential lawsuits from the Occupational…