Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast

Extra Serving is a series of weekly podcasts hosted by the editorial team at Nation’s Restaurant News, the leading source for information and insights on the American restaurant industry. Covering the latest and most relevant topics in foodservice — including emerging chains, food trends, technology, and more — Extra Serving features a recap of the week’s biggest headlines, plus guests ranging from restaurant owners and operators to CEOs, founders, chefs, and other experts.

Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast, a news show with 0 episodes published.

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  Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast

  Will Yum buy another brand? How can Jersey Mike’s reach young people? And why is Walmart delivering for Papa Johns?

  Sep 14, 202646 min

  On this week's Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including Yum Brands’ hint that it could acquire another brand, Jersey Mike’s attempts to attract younger consumers, and Walmart’s new deal to deliver Papa Johns pizzas. First up is Yum Brands, which just offloaded Pizza Hut and yet is already teasing about a potential future restaurant chain acquisition: CFO Ranjith Roy said at the recent Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference that the company is “prepared to make bold moves around its portfolio.” Sam and Alicia discuss what that could mean for the global restaurant company, which also owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Habit Burger, and they also share some thoughts on which brands might make good targets for Yum. Next they talk about Jersey Mike’s, which reported that same-store sales were tracking higher than 3% in the third quarter, and which noted that it plans to invest more in digital marketing initiatives to reach younger consumers. Sam and Alicia talk about the sandwich chain’s recent success but also its perplexing weakness around Gen Z in particular. What could be to blame? And will a digital marketing push help to boost business with young customers? They then shift to the retail industry, where Walmart is making waves as a new delivery partner for restaurant chains. First the retail giant announced that it would deliver for Subway and Dunkin’ locations based inside Walmarts. Now it’s going to deliver pizzas from standalone Papa Johns. Sam and Alicia unpack this news and highlight why it makes sense from a logistics standpoint, but why there are natural challenges that could prevent it from being a massive success. They wrap the podcast with a review of new marketing campaigns from across the restaurant industry, including Wingstop’s Wing Pass program, Dunkin’s ad with Rachel Dratch and two Spice Girls, and Taco Bell’s partnership with Topgolf to supports its upcoming Live Map Open golf tournament. For more on these stories: Yum Brands is ‘prepared to make bold moves around its portfolio' Jersey Mike’s turns to digital media to reach broader audience Walmart adds Papa Johns to its growing delivery business

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  Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast

  Is Domino’s new pizza as iconic as the Big Mac?

  Sep 7, 202644 min

  On this week's Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including Popeyes’ reintroduction of its $6 Big Box, Domino’s new Detroit-style pizza, and new data showing that fast food’s value perception is slipping. First up is Popeyes, which reintroduced its $6 Big Box as a value offering and rolled out a new promotional campaign around the tagline “THAT Chicken from Popeyes." Popeyes, which experienced a 5.2% drop in same-store sales last quarter, is looking for a way to set itself apart from the rest of the chicken category while also going back to its Cajun roots, and Sam and Alicia talk about the moves and whether they can help the chain reclaim some of the momentum it had gained in 2019 with its iconic Chicken Sandwich launch. They also dive into the broader chicken category competition and how chains are turning to new packaging platforms and value deals to get customers’ attention. Next they tackle data from Morning Consult, which shows that QSR brands’ value perception is starting to slip after picking up in 2025. Alicia details her reporting on the data, including perspectives from top executives at several chains that are actively retooling their value propositions. Sam and Alicia then explore how value has evolved over the past few years and how American consumers are looking for more holistic value from their favorite restaurant chains. Finally, they wrap things up with a conversation on Domino’s and its newest menu item: The Domino, a Detroit-style slice that the pizza chain thinks could be transformative for sales. In fact, Domino’s thinks the Domino could become just as popular as other iconic QSR dishes, and the company is offering a free slice to any customer that shows receipt of a McDonald’s Big Mac, Burger King Whopper, Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, or select other dishes. Sam and Alicia talk about the Domino, its bold marketing campaign — including a new commercial hyping the dish that toes the line of controversy — and how it fits into pizza trends today. For more on these stories: Popeyes aims to reclaim 'best tasting, best value chicken' title with new campaign Why fast food’s promotional blitz couldn’t sustain value perceptions Domino’s is encouraging customers to buy signature items from other brands

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  Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast

  Wendy’s shakeup continues, Taco Bell collabs with Olivia Rodrigo, and indie restaurants score a win

  Aug 31, 202653 min

  On this week's Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including Wendy’s ongoing executive turnover, Taco Bell’s celebrity partnership, and sales data that’s good news for independent restaurants. First up is Wendy’s, which announced that Tariq Hassan — formerly chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s — would be joining the company as chief marketing and customer growth officer. It continues the shakeup at Wendy’s under new CEO Bob Wright, who told the Wall Street Journal this week that previous leadership had been more committed to cost cutting than quality. Sam and Alicia discuss Hassan’s hire and other changes that could be putting Wendy’s on the right track. Next they look at Wendy’s competitors McDonald’s and Burger King, and particularly how they’re doubling down on their chicken nuggets. McDonald’s brought back its Spicy Chicken McNuggets for the first time in six years — and perhaps it’s not a coincidence that it’s at the same time that Burger King announced it had upgraded its own chicken nuggets so that they include 100% white meat chicken and a crispier breading. Why the sudden attention on chicken nuggets? Sam and Alicia break it down. They then shift their attention to Taco Bell, which introduced a new Baja Blast in partnership with pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo. The You Seem Pretty Pink for a Baja Blast will initially be available at Taco Bell’s Live Mas Cafe locations before rolling out nationwide. Sam and Alicia discuss why this partnership is different than other celebrity collaborations, and why authenticity is so important for brands looking to leverage partnerships for their marketing. New sales data shows that independent restaurants may be faring better than chains with consumers’ recent foodservice spend, and Sam and Alicia break that down next. Data from Bank of America shows that consumer spending on restaurants is up, but while fast-food, fast-casual, and casual chains are only experiencing increases of less than a percentage point, indies and regional concepts are enjoying gains around 4%. Why is that? They look into the data and what historical clues can tell us. They close things out with a Quick Fire round of headlines, including Chipotle’s popular BOGOs, Pizza Hut’s NFL campaign, Papa Johns’ PopUp Bagels partnership, and Chick-fil-A’s closure of its Little Blue Menu concept. For more on these stories: Wendy’s names Tariq Hassan chief marketing and customer growth officer Taco Bell enlists Olivia Rodrigo to co-create Baja Blast iteration Consumers are spending more at restaurants, but not at chains

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  Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast

  Taco Bell throws back to 2016, Jack in the Box names CEO-in-waiting, and Chipotle looks to Gen Alpha

  Aug 24, 202653 min

  On this week's Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including Taco Bell’s nostalgic menu, Jack in the Box’s CEO-in-waiting, and Chipotle’s Gen Alpha influencer partnership. First up is Taco Bell, which never lacks for menu news. The brand introduced three new energy drinks — the Pineapple Citrus Energy Refresher, Strawberry Tropics Energy Refresher, and the Pineapple Citrus Energy Freeze — as well as the Chicken Enchilada Nacho Fries LTO. But it also reintroduced its Decades menu, honoring the nostalgia of 2016 with an LTO menu that features the Naked Chicken Chalupa, Meximelt, Beefy Crunch Burrito, and Caramel Apple Empanada. Sam and Alicia unpack the menu additions and especially dig into the idea of nostalgia, noting how Taco Bell and other brands are leveraging it to attract young customers in particular. Next they discuss Jack in the Box, which hired Taco Bell’s chief brand officer Taylor Montgomery as president. The company announced that Montgomery would be promoted to CEO within the next 12 months, and Sam and Alicia discuss that strategy and how it might incentivize Montgomery to score some quick for a brand that sorely needs them. They tackle McDonald’s next, and specifically how the Golden Arches has been losing lower-income consumers for the past seven years. Recent data from Numerator shows that the share of McDonald’s guests who make less than $50,000 has been shrinking since 2019, with the firm estimating that it has cost the company $310 million in sales. Sam and Alicia talk about why that’s a problem for McDonald’s, but also about why there are other economic warning signs suggesting that lower income consumers are pulling back on their discretionary spend broadly — and how it could negatively impact restaurants. They shift their attention next to Chipotle, which partnered with Gen Alpha influencer Salish Matter on the Salish Matter Meal — a Kid’s Cheese Quesadilla with white rice, black beans, guacamole, kid’s chips, and chocolate milk. Aside from making Sam and Alicia — both parents of Gen Alpha kids — feel old, it also gives them a chance to talk about the spending power of kids today and how their opinions are increasingly shaping where their parents dine out. They close things out with Quick Fire round of headlines, including Panera’s new tiered loyalty program, Starbucks’ latest round of layoffs, and California Pizza Kitchen’s new vending machines. For more on these stories: Taco Bell’s latest Decades Menu inspired by 2016 nostalgia Taylor Montgomery named Jack in the Box president, and likely next CEO Chipotle’s new collab highlights the growing influence of Gen Alpha

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  Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast

  Cava and Chili’s wow once again, McDonald’s adds an energy drink, and a 'Hot Ones' promo bombs

  Aug 17, 20261h 8m

  On this week's Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including quarterly results from CAVA and Chili’s, new products from McDonald’s and Domino’s, and marketing promotions that have been surprising failures. First up is a recap of this week’s earnings reports, including updates from CAVA, Brinker International, Jack in the Box, and Red Robin. CAVA and Chili’s continued to wow, with sales and traffic both positive even as they lap big quarters from last year. Sam and Alicia unpack the results and discuss why the strategies at Cava and Chili’s are working so well, even as the rest of the restaurant industry struggles to drive business. They also take a look at results from Red Robin and Jack in the Box, the latter of which saw sales drop 1.1% — making it nine of the last 10 quarters that the brand has been negative. Next they discuss big marketing promotions from this year — and particularly promos tied to massive IP that somehow still bombed. That includes Jack in the Box, which ended a campaign with the YouTube series ‘Hot Ones’ early because it was performing poorly. Why didn’t that campaign work? And what could be behind failures like Papa Johns’ partnership with ‘Toy Story 5’ and Wendy’s campaign with ‘Minions’? Sam and Alicia examine the trend. They next shift their attention to new products from McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza. The Golden Arches unveiled a new energy drink in collaboration with Red Bull — the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer — that it hopes will drive business among younger generations and help it compete with the fast-growing beverage brands. Meanwhile, Domino’s introduced a new Detroit-style slice that could help it differentiate among competitors while embracing its Michigan roots. Sam and Alicia discuss these new innovations and how they could help those two brands drive renewed interest among guests. After closing things out with an examination of restaurants that have recently shuttered or filed for bankruptcy, they share a conversation between NRN senior food and beverage editor Bret Thorn and Urbane Cafe founder Tom Holt. For more on these stories: Cava same-store sales grow 9% in Q2 McDonald’s is getting into the energy game with Red Bull Have restaurant marketing collaborations lost some luster?

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