Danny Klein, Editor at Food News Media | S1E20

The Pre-Shift

This episode was originally published as part of the Restaurant Growth Podcast. It has been rebranded as part of The Pre-Shift Podcast as of January 2023. The information presented may no longer be up-to-date and may differ from the viewpoints and insights currently shared on The Pre-Shift Podcast.

As editor at Food News Media, Danny Klein has a 30,000-foot view of everything that's going on in our industry. So from curbside pickup to QR codes, to the labor shortage to loyalty, Danny has a ton of thoughts to share. It's an episode that's just packed with breakdowns, some hot takes, and knowledge bombs that you can take back to your teams.

In this episode, we cover:

• The different challenges facing both major brands and independents after the pandemic
• What advantages that independents have right now
• Emerging trends like the “next-gen casual” restaurant
• Pandemic trends that will last—and what won’t (hint: QR codes)

The Restaurant Growth Podcast is presented by 7shifts and hosted by DJ Costantino.

Meet Danny Klein

Danny Klein is the Editorial Director at Food News Media, publisher of QSR and FSR magazines. A graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, Danny spent more than a decade covering high school, college, and professional sports throughout Florida before joining Food News Media as the associate editor of FSR magazine in 2015.

Big Ideas

There is a ton of opportunity for independent diners to leverage loyalty programs

“How can you create a community of loyal diners, who you're giving them a reason to come back. And for independents, that opportunity is as big, or if not greater than it is for quick service, because you tend to have really loyal, guests, you have people who I've talked to, people who go to the same local place three or four times a week and have been doing it for years. It's generational and they've passed it down.

Maybe it's a texting program, maybe it's an email program, but just what are ways that you can offer that person something to join where you're constantly communicating with them, letting them know what's happening, giving them options to support you. And so I think there's a there's a lot of white space there.”

“Next-gen Casual” restaurants are an emerging trend

“So what this essentially is, is a combination of those two worlds, because you have a section of chains, basically in the full service space.

They operate in and live the world of being an independent restaurant and how they look inside the type of f

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Credits
Host & Producer: D. J. Costantino
Producer: Samantha Fung
Editor: Fina Charleston
About 7shifts
7shifts is a scheduling, payroll, and employee retention app designed to help restaurants thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for more than 50,000 restaurants.

Capitole

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. What are FSR and QSR magazine's goals? (00:02:18)

3. Danny's Career (00:04:54)

4. Independents vs Major Brands, Post-Pandemic (00:09:16)

5. What advantages do independents have? (00:17:17)

6. FIlling the demand for dining out (00:19:33)

7. Next Gen Casual (00:20:13)

8. Impacts of inflation (00:23:33)

9. Pandemic trends, what will last and what wont? (00:26:45)

10. Why customer rewards matter (00:29:04)

11. How can independents utilize rewards? (00:30:51)

12. Will QR Codes Last? (00:38:59)

13. The labor market (00:41:44)