TL;DR
A&W Restaurants CEO Kevin Bazner discusses the challenges faced by the restaurant industry, including inflation and labor costs. A&W has adapted to these challenges through higher wages and technology like self-ordering.
COVID took a big bite out of the restaurant industry, with several thousand restaurants permanently closing their doors. A&W Restaurants, the 102-year-old classic American brand with nearly 1000 international units and 500-plus in the U.S., is continuing to learn and adapt to current challenges and conditions.
A&W CEO Kevin Bazner says through the challenges, the restaurant brand has “been through a combination of things. One is higher wages, there's no question about it, where our wages are up 15 to 20% and from where they were pre-pandemic,” says Bazner. “Technology like self-ordering is also helping us with productivity from fewer employees.”
A&W has weathered quite a few market cycles over the years. As several economists and strategists talk about a potential recession, A&W is one of the restaurant chains that's lived through a pandemic.
“Hopefully, the R-word won't come to fruition, but we're ready for it,” says Bazner. “We've lived through this before, and we'll get through this one.”
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on September 30, 2022. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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