Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and many restaurants are offering the usual romantic dinners for two. But this year, even coffee cafes and smoothie bowl concepts are spreading the love with specials themed to the holiday.
Pat and Bret chat about the trend, and how restaurants are not just targeting couples anymore. An OpenTable survey found that groups and singles are increasingly dining out on or before Valentine’s Day. So candy-topped milkshakes, strawberry lattes and heart-shaped doughnuts make perfect sense.
Valentine’s Day and Super Bowl vie for attention every February, with heart-shaped pizzas and chicken wings competing on menus.
Speaking of wings, Bret came across a couple of new sauces recently. El Pollo Loco introduced its first new flavor in almost a decade—mango habanero. The sauce taps into the sweet-heat trend that we’ve been seeing a lot of lately. And WNBA star Angel Reese partnered with McDonald’s on a new smoky barbecue sauce. It’s flavoring a quarter-pounder rather than chicken, and this is the first time the burger giant is collaborating with a female athlete.
Our guest this week is Chris Smith, CEO of Zunzi’s and Zunzibar based in Savannah, Georgia. Zunzi’s started as a hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop and now has multiple locations in Georgia and South Carolina and is expanding to Florida. Zunzibar has a topnotch mixology program but manages to project a relaxed, tropical vibe—a formula that has proven to be a winning combination.
Listen as Smith talks about how he’s built a team culture that’s as unique as these two concepts.
Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts
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