Marketing

How BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza are generating menu buzz

CMO Cindy Syracuse differentiates the brands through strategic menu promotions in the crowded burger and pizza segments.

When Cindy Syracuse joined BurgerFi International last January as CMO, she hit the ground running. Her first order of business: Earn more recognition for BurgerFi in the “better burger” category. So she tasked the culinary team with creating a new burger to enter into the South Beach Wine & Food (SOBE) festival’s Burger Bash taking place in February.

Cindy Syracuse

Cindy Syracuse

In less than a month, they developed the BBQ Rodeo Burger, entered it into the competition and won first place. Sister concept Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza also competed at SOBE, entering meatball sliders and garlic Romano wings in Guy Fieri’s Diner’s, Drive-Ins and Dives showdown, earning the popular vote as the “people’s choice.”

Listen as Syracuse relates her journey through the restaurant industry, including stints at Burger King, TGI Fridays and as a Firehouse Subs franchisee, and shares her passion for the BurgerFi and Anthony’s brands and her plans for differentiating both in the crowded burger and pizza segments.

Subscribe to Menu Feed on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Restaurant franchisors should put the brakes on share buybacks

The Bottom Line: Publicly traded companies often spend their extra cash to buy back shares. But franchisors of struggling chains might be better off investing that cash in the restaurants.

Financing

Key takeaways from the recent round of restaurant company earnings

The Bottom Line: Full-service restaurant chains are winning, slightly, in a weak overall market. Brands are rethinking unit count, focusing on service and pushing a lot of value.

Emerging Brands

Gavin Kaysen's restaurant group is preparing to double in size in four weeks

A godfather of the Minneapolis dining scene, Kaysen says his restaurants are busier than ever. Consumers may be pulling back, but they're still looking for an experience.

Trending

More from our partners