Why are some chains easily outperforming their biggest competitors?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Joe Pawlak, the managing principal with RB sister company Technomic, to talk about this topic.

Several restaurant chains are easily outperforming top competitors right now. Chili’s is beating Applebee’s. Dutch Bros is outperforming Starbucks and Texas Roadhouse is outdistancing Outback Steakhouse.

Pawlak uses data from Technomic to help explain a lot of this. Customers clearly prefer some chains over others right now, and amid intense competition they are voting with their feet.

We discussed what some of these chains are bringing to the table and how much luck plays a role. The discussion offers lessons for some brands as they look to win in a competitive restaurant market.

The best time to invest in a restaurant chain may be when the industry is struggling.

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Andrew Smith, the cofounder of the private-equity firm Savory Fund.

We have long wanted Smith on the podcast, largely because of Savory’s unique history. Smith has a restaurant operations background as a franchisee of brands like Little Caesars.

These days, Savory invests in emerging chains. The ifirm has invested in brands like Swig, Mo’ Bettahs, Houston TX Hot Chicken, Pincho, Via 313 and others.

Smith discussed his firm’s investment strategies, what they look for and how to tell whether a brand will be a winner or not. He also discussed the right time to exit an investment and why it’s not about time. He also notes that tough times for the restaurant business can be good times to make an investment and explains why that is on the podcast.

Check it out.

What is the right franchising strategy for your restaurant brand?

It’s not as simple a question as you may think. And I brought in Sean Thompson, VP of IT with Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, to discuss franchising strategies and what may or may not work for restaurant brands.

The number of strategies for franchising a restaurant brand, or any industry for that matter, is as varied as the companies themselves. There are companies that love big operators and those that prefer smaller franchisees and everything in between.

There are also misnomers about franchisees. They are not always local. And they’re not always small.

In any event, we sort it all out on this episode as we talk about what works and what doesn’t and what is the key ingredient in any franchise company. Please check it out.