Dan Rowe

May 20, 2024 | foodinstitute.com | Chris Shadle |Dan Rowe

Home>Food TechOpinion: Automation Serving up Invaluable Efficiency for Restaurants I can’t say I envisioned this back when I started in franchise development years ago, but we have invested in restaurant robotic and automation concepts. It might sound wild initially, but you have to look at it from a labor perspective. Automation often makes sense from a financial lens.

May 6, 2024 | foodinstitute.com | Christopher Shadle |Dan Rowe

Home>FoodserviceOpinion: Why Casual-Dining Restaurant Chains are in Crisis Casual dining is about to implode. It has already started. Full-service restaurants that were popular in the 1980s and ‘90s – old brands – I think they’re going to be cut in half. TGI Friday’s just closed a bunch of stores. Red Lobster has reportedly considered filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They became irrelevant.

May 2, 2024 | foodinstitute.com | Christopher Shadle |Dan Rowe

Crumbl has made a costly mistake lately – one that’s akin to building a church for Easter Sunday. The Utah-based bakery chain originally had small retail footprints that were rather humble and didn’t require a ton of money to build. Their locations were just about cookies, with very low overhead. Now, however …Crumbl keeps making its new locations bigger. They built based on their honeymoon period – which is short-sighted, because once the honeymoon is over, you’re in trouble.

Mar 11, 2024 | foodinstitute.com | Jordan Wiklund |Dan Rowe

Home>InnovationColumn: Loyalty Apps Becoming a Boon for Fast-Food Restaurants  The other day, I ate lunch at a salad place near me of which I’m a fan. I figured, since I’m likely to eat there again in the future, I might as well download their loyalty app. However, just one minute later, I had smoke coming out of my ears and that business lost a potential frequent customer because I found their app way too cumbersome.

Feb 28, 2024 | foodinstitute.com | Chris Campbell |Dan Rowe

Home>FoodserviceColumn: Wendy’s Surge Pricing Plan a Risky Endeavor By now, most of us have experienced “surge pricing” when dealing with companies like Uber – which feature dynamic pricing that fluctuates depending on factors like the time of day. Recently, Wendy’s officials announced plans to test dynamic pricing, likely starting in 2025.