How will restaurants fare in 2026?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, who talks about the trade group’s State of the Industry Report.

Korsmo discusses the industry’s annual projection of restaurant sales, profitability and trends. We talk extensively about the association’s expectations for foodservice sales this year, projected to be nearly $1.6 billion.

We discuss issues with industry profitability, and why so many operators are simply unprofitable. And we talk about immigration and other association priorities.

This is a great conversation with the head of the restaurant industry’s biggest trade group so please check it out.

What is the status of Starbucks’ turnaround?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Mike Grams, the chief operating officer of the coffee shop giant.

Grams joined us from a Starbucks Reserve location in New York City following the company’s Investor Day presentation.

He spoke extensively about the company’s various plans to improve the operations inside the chain’s coffeehouses.

That includes the remodels the chain is making to make even the smallest locations friendlier for in-store customers. He also explains why that is important for a company that has mobile order, drive-thru and delivery.

Grams discusses the chain’s “Green Apron” service model and why that model both helps with manager morale as well as service time. He also gives an update on the chain’s push to improve service times and what else the company plans to do to speed service.

We also talk about Starbucks’ expansion plans and why the company believes it can fit 5,000 more shops, at least, in the U.S.

We’re talking Starbucks on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

What are retailers doing to compete more aggressively with restaurants?

This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive looks at the retail sector, specifically convenience stores and grocers. I’m joined this week by Heather Lalley, the managing editor for Restaurant Business as well as sister publications CSP Daily News and Supermarket News.

We talk about how convenience stores are pushing into more prepared food options, including ways they are taking pages out of restaurants’ playbook.

We also discuss the growing demand for THC beverages, and why we haven’t seen many restaurants add these to their beverage menus.

But we talk extensively about the closures of Amazon’s Fresh and Go stores, and what kinds of lessons restaurants can take from those closures.

We’re looking at the retail sector on A Deeper Dive, so check it out.