This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about Jack in the Box’s “playbook” for new markets.
Jack in the Box is expanding outside of its West Coast roots with new stores across the country. Four of these new stores are in Louisville, Ky., and Salt Lake City, and the markets have been more than receptive to the chain. The stores are outperforming the rest of the system. This is the key, according to Jack in the Box, to offset the financial burden of the new California minimum-wage law, which goes into effect in April and will raise the minimum wage for most quick-service employees to $20.
This minimum-wage bill will have a big impact on restaurants with a large presence in California, and companies are bracing for impact. Chains like McDonald’s and Chipotle have already said they’re going to raise prices as a result. How are restaurants going to handle this wage increase?
Also, there’s a reason why you should be paying attention to all forms of social media. The social-media platform Reddit, with over 50 million daily active users, can hold insight for many restaurant brands if leaders are paying attention. The editors talked about why it’s important to use social listening.
Plus, hear from Shila Morris and Kay Young of Squeeze In.