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NRN coverage of the annual National Restaurant Association Show

NRN editors discuss Chicago food, labor challenges, changing dayparts and the NRA showNRN editors discuss Chicago food, labor challenges, changing dayparts and the NRA show

Plus, hear from Zach Flanzman, president and chief operating officer for Brown Bag Seafood

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

May 20, 2022

1 Min Read
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This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a production of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Sam Oches spoke about Chicago restaurants and the city at large.

The team arrived in Chicago for the National Restaurant Association Show – which hasn’t been held for three years – and spent the past two days touring unique and emerging Chicago restaurant chains for an upcoming city tour video. Check out the Austin and New York videos here.

Throughout the course of the conversations with restaurant leaders, several themes emerged, including labor challenges and the way dayparts are changing. Operators spoke about how Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are now the busiest days at downtown locations frequented by office workers, while suburban locations are much busier at dinnertime than other times of day, with larger family-focused orders.

Then, Zach Flanzman, president and chief operating officer for Brown Bag Seafood, joined the pod to discuss workforce, labor, culture, food and Chicago.

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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