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Restaurant Rewind

`Those who don’t know their history are destined to relive it', to riff on the words of a famed philosopher. For anyone in the restaurant business, that oft-quoted saying may be more of a heartening promise than a dire admonition. The industry’s past is packed with tales of scoundrels and heroes, big thinkers and pinheads, colossal successes and dismal failures, breakthrough moves and self-inflicted destruction. Few soap operas pack as much color and drama. Yet those yellowed snapshots provide insights relevant to the challenges of today. Join Peter Romeo, a 41-year veteran of the business with a penchant for restaurant history, as he explores those pivotal moments from the past. 

Marketing

If there's an LTO Hall of Fame, these items would be in it

 By Restaurant Business Staff on Aug. 16, 2022

Restaurant Rewind: Draws like pumpkin spice latte and the McRib weren't always the surefire hits they've become.

Operations

Here's where Indiana Jones should have looked for a Whopper

 By Restaurant Business Staff on Aug. 02, 2022

Restaurant Rewind: Here's how a mothballed Burger King was hidden for 13 years.

Operations

How Domino's needs to get its mojo back

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jul. 26, 2022

Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze joins Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo in looking at how the Noid has snuck back into the pizza giant's headquarters.

Operations

Remembering the copycatting case that went where no restaurant had gone before

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jul. 19, 2022

The theft of intellectual property was so extreme that the matter went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Marketing

Subway veers from the trend of following a blockbuster ad campaign with a dud

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jul. 12, 2022

Restaurant Rewind: Whew—we're not seeing another Herb The Nerd or a Soviet Fashion Show.

Operations

Hey, McDonald's, your approach has been tried before

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jul. 05, 2022

Restaurant Rewind: McDonald's get-tough policy on veteran franchisees has an historical precedent. And it didn't yield a kumbaya outcome.

Consumer Trends

Remembering the mother of all supply-chain disruptions

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jun. 28, 2022

Think inflation at the gasoline pumps is a four-alarm issue for the economy? Consider this fuel crisis of the not-so-distant past.

Leadership

Restaurateur Elon Musk aims to go where few business giants have succeeded

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jun. 21, 2022

History shows deep pockets and past triumphs are no guarantee of conquering the peculiar world of foodservice. Here’s a look at past trainwrecks.

Operations

When restaurants are the scenes of mass shootings

By Restaurant Business Staff on Jun. 14, 2022

Restaurant Rewind: If restaurateurs think tragedies like the Uvalde attack are other institutions’ curse, their memories are too short. Here’s what they’re forgetting.

Financing

It may be deja vu all over again for Nelson Peltz and Wendy's

By Restaurant Business Staff on May 31, 2022

Restaurant Rewind: The investor knows how to bag his prey. Will this pursuit be as nasty as the last one?

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