Joe Guszkowski

Milwaukee

Senior Editor at Restaurant Business

I cover restaurant tech and casual dining and write a weekly column called Tech Check for @RB_magazine

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Articles

For the restaurant POS, signs of life after death

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

EditCloudKitchens' office lunch business is sued by salad chain MixtHow AI agents might change what we eatRestaurant tech supplier Lunchbox teams up with UrbanPiper to expand internationallyHow podcasting took over the restaurant industryDoorDash scraps its AI voice ordering businessOPINIONTechnologyTech Check: The device that once ruled the counter is fading as more business shifts to off-premise. But it’s getting a second life that could be more vital than the first.
Red Lobster declares 'new day' with hush puppies, happy hour

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInRed Lobster is clawing back from a bankruptcy filing one year ago. | Photo: ShutterstockAlmost exactly one year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Red Lobster is reintroducing itself to the dining public. In a video published this week by the casual-dining seafood chain, CEO Damola Adamolekun declared it “a new day” for the brand, and shared a few things it has been working on since he took the helm in September.
Restaurant tech supplier Lunchbox teams up with UrbanPiper to expand internationally

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInBoth companies specialize in off-premise order aggregation. | Photo: ShutterstockOnline ordering provider Lunchbox is teaming up with an India-based counterpart to help take its business international. The New York-based company announced a partnership with UrbanPiper. The two companies offer similar services, including order aggregation, which routes off-premise orders from multiple sources directly to a restaurant’s POS system.
BJ's Restaurants promotes President Lyle Tick to CEO

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInBJ's has shown promising results recently. | Photo: ShutterstockBJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse did not have to go far to find its next CEO. On Thursday, the casual-dining chain promoted Lyle Tick, its president and chief concept officer, to the top job. He replaces interim CEO Brad Richmond, who will take on a temporary advisory role and will remain on the chain’s board of directors. Tick came to BJ’s in September after a brief stint as CEO of On the Border Mexican Grill.
Red Robin's profits soar, and so does its stock

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInRestaurant-level margins improved by more than 3 points. | Photo: ShutterstockRed Robin Gourmet Burgers had a pleasant surprise for investors on Thursday. The casual-dining chain reported a major swing in profitability in the first quarter, including an eye-popping 108% increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA.
Restaurant chains are pushing more value

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze |Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInHere comes the summertime value war. This week’s episode of the restaurant news discussion podcast The Week in Restaurant features a discussion on the restaurant industry value war. Notably, the fast-casual pizza chain &pizza is planning to actually lower prices. We discuss whether that is a good thing or not. McDonald’s is shuttering CosMc’s and will bring its beverage test into its regular restaurants. We explain why that was inevitable.
CloudKitchens' office lunch business is sued by salad chain Mixt

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInMixt said it never gave Picnic permission to sell its salads. | Photo: ShutterstockCloudKitchens, the ghost kitchen company run by Uber founder Travis Kalanick, was hit with a lawsuit from an unhappy salad chain late last year. The complaint centers on Picnic, a division of CloudKitchens that handles bulk restaurant deliveries to office buildings.
In 2024, casual dining hit the reset button

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInMany casual chains are hoping to replicate Chili's breakout success. | Photo: Shutterstock2024 will be remembered as a pivotal year for the U.S. casual-dining industry. On one hand, the year was defined by a pair of high-flying success stories at the very top of the market. Texas Roadhouse sales soared by 14.7%, propelling it into the No. 1 spot among U.S. casual-dining chains.
Look out for Bubba's 33, Texas Roadhouse's fast-growing, free-wheeling sibling

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInSales soared more than 20% last year, according to Technomic. | Photos courtesy of Bubba's 33Texas Roadhouse had a fantastic 2024. The steakhouse chain’s U.S. sales grew nearly 15%, to more than $5.4 billion, and it became the largest casual-dining chain in the country, bumping Olive Garden out of the top spot. It was a landmark year by almost every measure for the 664-unit chain. And yet Texas Roadhouse was not even the fastest-growing brand in its own portfolio.
BJ's Restaurants gets back to what it's great at

2 weeks ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Joe Guszkowski

FacebookTwitterLinkedInBJ's has revamped its pizza and is also looking at its Pizookie and craft beer programs. | Photo courtesy of BJ's Restaurants and BrewhouseFor a long time, BJ’s Restaurants & Brewhouse hung its hat on variety. You want craft beer? BJ’s has that. Pizza? Absolutely. Slow-roasted meats? Why not. The idea was that by offering a little something for everyone, the 200-unit casual-dining chain could attract a wide audience. But in the process, its identity got a bit lost.