Today on Extra Serving, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Lisa Jennings spoke about lessons restaurants learned during the pandemic.
Zinsmeister and Oches spent the show talking directly to operators (some videos available here and here) so they shared some of the lessons that they’ve been hearing operators have learned over the past two years — and which they’ll take with them into the new future.
The team also discussed the resiliency of the industry throughout this time, whether by creative solutions to the labor crisis, like today’s podcast guest, or by innovations in technology or a host of other things.
Jennings spoke about the emergence of single-seat cars — which were on display at the show in Lakeside — and the innovation of the car for delivery. The cars can park in motorcycle spots and go up to 80 miles per hour, yet the driver doesn’t need a motorcycle license to operate it.
Then, hear a conversation between Zinsmeister and FB Society CEO Jack Gibbons, who talks about leaning into his company’s “unicorns” — the things that differentiate the experiential brands — at a time when most companies were running in the other direction.