Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast · February 18, 2025 · 55 min

Dutch Bros’ torrid pace, McDonald’s bumpy road, low-income consumers tighten belts

On this week’s Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss recent earnings reports from major restaurant companies, results of which have so far been a mixed bag. First up is Dutch Bros, which just crossed the 1,000-unit mark and enjoyed massive sales growth in 2024. Could its ceiling be even higher than the 4,000-unit goal it set for itself? On the other hand there’s McDonald’s, where sales have continued to be sluggish in the wake of its E. coli outbreak in the fall. Could the real issue be low-income consumers, who seem to be pulling back on restaurant spending in the midst of economic turmoil? Sam and Alicia discuss. In this week’s extra serving, senior editor Joanna Fantozzi joins to talk about the recent National Restaurant Association State of the Industry report, which found that operators aren’t entirely satisfied with their technology investments. Finally, we share an interview between senior F&B editor Bret Thorn and Marco’s Pizza’s director of culinary innovation, Kathleen Kennedy.   For more on these stories:   How Dutch Bros wins with customization, connection, and speed McDonald’s still has some work to do to recover from its E. coli outbreak The restaurant industry’s challenge this year is to win back lower-income consumers