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NRN editors discuss earnings from major restaurant brands, ChatGPT and MrBeast BurgersNRN editors discuss earnings from major restaurant brands, ChatGPT and MrBeast Burgers

Plus, hear from Mark Wolok, VP of business development of Savvy Sliders

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

August 4, 2023

 

On this week’s episode of Extra Serving, a podcast by Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Joanna Fantozzi spoke about the latest in Q2 earnings.

As executive editor Alicia Kelso so eloquently put it in a piece she wrote last week, earnings season is like Christmas for the industry. A time to figure out how certain LTO campaigns worked for the major restaurant companies. This week, several big chains reported, including Starbucks, Papa Johns, Wingstop and Yum Brands. What are the themes the editors noticed and what do these results mean?

Also, the editors talked about MrBeast Burgers. The crown jewel of the virtual restaurant industry has had some consistency problems documented on social media. As a result of these claims, MrBeast himself wants to divest from the company and is taking action to have his name removed from the concept. Is this the death knell for the virtual restaurant industry?

Finally, the editors talked about the future of ChatGPT and generative AI in restaurants. Technology expert Fantozzi explained how companies are using the technology and some implications on labor in the future.

This week’s guest is Mark Wolok, VP of business development at Savvy Sliders.

 

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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