Fast Casual Nation Podcast

My exploration of innovation led by operators who think different has gone on for more than 20 years. Fast Casual continues to be the darling of the food industry and is destined to redefine what restaurants and food can be for the consumer of the future. Hosted by Paul Barron, founder of fastcasual.com

Episodes

93. Covid Requirements and Fast Casual Consumer Update August 2021

August 13, 2021 • 19 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron gives a deep dive into the latest hiring stats, fast casual trends, and vaccination requirements for restaurant and hospitality workers.

Following in the footsteps of Walmart, Google...

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92. The Corner Store & Café Redefining Convenience | Foxtrot

May 20, 2021 • 29 min

Guest: Mike LaVitola, Co-Founder & CEO of Foxtrot

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91. Clover POS System | Jeff Dickerson

May 14, 2021 • 28 min

Guest: Jeff Dickerson, Head of Clover

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90. The Stand Restaurant | Fast Casual Nation Podcast

May 5, 2021 • 19 min

Guest: David Selman, Culinary Director - The Stand

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89. Chicken Concept Growth in Fast Casual | Fry The Coop

April 30, 2021 • 27 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron chats with Joe Fontana, the owner and founder of Fry the Coop, to explore drive-thrus and the accelerated growth of chicken concepts in the fast casual space.

Fry the Coop is a Nashv...

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88. Worthington: Vegan Barbeque Chicketts Pizza

April 16, 2021 • 15 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron chats with Jon Fish, the vice president of marketing for Worthington, to provide a hands-on look at some of the latest innovative plant-based products on the market today.

Worthingto...

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87. How Aloha Poke Built a Franchise | CEO Chris Birkinshaw

April 6, 2021 • 28 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron sits down with Chris Birkinshaw, the chief executive officer of Aloha Poke, to explore franchising a poke bowl concept during a pandemic.

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86. Focusing on Virtual Restaurant Brands | C3 CEO Sam Nazarian

March 10, 2021 • 25 min

Fast casual must diversify in order to stay afloat after the delivery bubble bursts, according to Sam Nazarian, CEO of C3, the company behind Umami Burger, Krispy Rice and Sam’s Crispy Chicken. During Covid, Sam’s virtual restaurant company – a subsidiary of sbe – jumped from $20 billion to $40 billion in online sales. Now faced with the reality of a reopening economy, C3 is aggressively diversifying through the rapid development a...

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85. Scaling Restaurant with Zero Venture Capital | Crisp & Green's Plant-Based Success

March 8, 2021 • 25 min

Steele was the entrepreneur, founder, & CEO of STEELE Fitness, which was successfully sold to Lift
Brands Global in 2017. CRISP & GREEN is a fast-casual restaurant that combines delicious and sustainable chef-crafted menu featuring salads, grain bowls, and smoothies. They are committed to providing wellness resources and events to create healthier, happier and stronger communities. CRISP & GREEN’s second largest expansio...

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84. Del Taco's Fresh Flex Prototype | New Restaurant Design

February 12, 2021 • 24 min

Del Taco, the iconic Mexican-American concept, debuted its highly-anticipated new restaurant design prototype. The new "Fresh Flex" design focuses on: restaurant accessibility, speed of service and brand transparency. The latest design features third-party delivery pick-up stations, double drive-thru lanes dedicated to mobile orders or delivery driver pickups and dedicated parking lot areas for those who want to park, eat a...

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83. Restaurant Reviews & Ratings Software | Birdeye Customer Experience Management

February 10, 2021 • 26 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron sits down with Travis Bickham, the vice president of marketing for Birdeye, to explore how restaurant operators can grow their businesses online in 2021.

This content brought to you ...

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82. BurgerFi's Massive Growth Plan | The Next Big Burger Chain?

February 8, 2021 • 29 min

Better-burger chain BurgerFi is plotting a massive expansion strategy. With plans to add 30-35 new locations this year, expanding ghost kitchen operations and the brand’s first drive-thru it has been a tremendous year of growth for BurgerFi as they have just gone public (BFI). The company's new CEO also has nearly three decades of experience in various positions at Burger King. The 125-unit chain credited “significant increases...

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81. Birdcall Restaurant Built It's Own First-Party POS System

February 4, 2021 • 25 min

Birdcall, a contemporary take on a retro chicken restaurant is the third restaurant concept and venture for the group that is lead by chef Jean-Philippe Failyau along with his partner Peter Newlin. Customers witness the birdcall experience by ordering from custom designed kiosks. Built from the ground up, Newlin and his team have developed their very own user-friendly, customer facing, POS system that allows the guest to feel compl...

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80. Wildflower's New Virtual Restaurant Brand | Nobana

February 2, 2021 • 23 min

Nobana, Arizona’s newest Asian-inspired ghost kitchen, is now open for business via DoorDash, UBER Eats and Postmates. Created by the owner of Wildflower, Nobana offers flavor-packed bone broth and gluten-free noodle bowls, salads and wraps. The virtual restaurant is operating as a ghost kitchen out of the Sonora Village Wildflower location, with plans to expand to additional Wildflower locations around the Valley later this year.

G...

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79. Fastest-Growing Restaurant Chain in Texas | Sweet Paris Crêperie

February 1, 2021 • 21 min

Sweet Paris Crêperie founded in 2012 by Allison and Ivan Chavez, Sweet Paris is one of the hottest and fastest growing restaurant brands in Houston, Texas with its Instagram-worthy, French-inspired interiors and delicious food and drinks made with high-quality ingredients and bold flavors.

Guest: Allison Chavez, Founder of Sweet Paris Crêperie

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78. How Drive Thru Pickup Lane Increased Throughput 20% | Velvet Taco

January 26, 2021 • 26 min

Half of new Velvet Taco restaurants will be outfitted with a drive-thru pickup lane, where customers can retrieve digitally placed orders boosting $1,800 in tacos to $3,200. Velvet Taco realized that it needed a dedicated system for producing and distributing off-premise orders. Velvet Taco’s make line was reconfigured as a double line, with one side producing orders for on-site consumption and the other handling delivery and takeo...

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77. Building a Pandemic Proof Model | Fajita Pete's

January 22, 2021 • 24 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron sits down with Pete Mora, the founder of Fajita Pete’s, to explore how to build and bolster your business so it can survive future recessions, pandemics, and other disaster scenario...

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76. MOD Pizza Brand Analysis | Fast Casual Restaurants

January 19, 2021 • 20 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, host Paul Barron provides a deep dive into the latest consumer data, financial evolution, and leadership developments from MOD Pizza.

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75. sweetgreen Brand Analysis | Fast Casual Salad Chain

January 15, 2021 • 18 min

Analysis of the fast casual salad chain sweetgreen using FoodableLabs brand sentiment data. We're breaking down all the wins and loses of sweetgreen; new menu options, their digital forward brand, drive thru, and more.

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74. Using All Service Models to Position Your Brand | Jenis Splendid Ice Cream

January 12, 2021 • 25 min

The Fast Casual Nation podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurateurs who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry.

In this episode, host Paul Barron sits down with John Lowe, the chief executive officer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Barron and Lowe explore how operators can use multiple strategies and service models to help ...

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