Don’t Fail to Learn

YOU DON’T ALWAYS GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. I, for example, chose to major in biology when I rst got to college. Science fascinated me, but I soon realized I wanted something more hands-on, so a semester later, I tried out nursing. I lasted in anatomy class for about two weeks before deciding it wasn’t for me. From there, I basically spun a wheel of di erent majors and landed on communications, then philosophy, and probably two others until I took my rst journalism reporting class—and nally, something clicked. It felt like my whole life had been leading up to that decision, pointing me in the right direction. However, I believe those other classes and majors I tried ended up making me a better, more well-rounded journalist. ere’s always a lesson to be found in what some people would consider mistakes or failures. I think Chicago’s ‘Breakfast Queen’ Ina Pinkney would agree with me; she had 21 jobs throughout her career, and was red from 19 of them. “And what I learned is that every job had something that I wanted to know,” she says. Turn to PAGE 13 to read her inspiring and wildly entertaining story (seriously, I hope I’m that spunky at 80 years old). is month’s issue contains a lot of teachable moments and growth stories. Restaurants like COTE Korean Steakhouse and others across the country are bringing no-cost, wine-intensive curriculums in-house to ripen the next generation of sommeliers (PAGE 25). Consumers and steakhouse operators alike are discovering the quality and value of grass-fed beef (PAGE 18).

And Denny’s CEO, Kelli Valade, took it upon herself to learn the ins and outs of nance, development, real estate, and more when she was promoted to the rst female brand president of Chili’s Grill & Bar in 2016, as well as Brinker’s executive vice president (PAGE 31).

August’s issue also features the full-service giants with massive growth stories in our new report, e FSR 30, which we teamed up with data partner Circana to compile (PAGE 36). Another brand on the rise, albeit at a smaller scale, is Los Dos Potrillos—a family-run Mexican restaurant seeking to expand across Colorado with a mixture of full-service and fastcasual stores (PAGE 49). Learn how to choose from the myriad of delivery technology options available on PAGE 51, and discover how Chef Michael Hanna is bringing an ancient style of pizza to Nashville on PAGE 54. Finally, let this year’s James Beard ‘Outstanding Chef’ Award winner Rob Rubba expand your mind with out-of-the-box ideas on how to make this industry more sustainable (PAGE 9).

As long as you keep turning the page, you’ll keep nding more lessons and new ways to engage with an ever-changing employee and customer base. Let’s dig in.

Callie Evergreen EDITOR

On the Cover

This month’s cover of Kelli Valade was shot for Denny’s by Kathy Tran, an accomplished photographer, photojournalist, and multimedia business owner who hails from Dallas, Texas. While Tran’s expertise lies in capturing captivating visuals—including chefs, lifestyle, food, portraits, street styles, and more—her true passion lies in celebrating the beauty of life itself, always seeking out new slices of life to experience. To learn more about her, visit www.kathy-tran.com, or follow her on Facebook or Instagram at @kathytranx.

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This year's James Beard ‘Outstanding Chef’ Award winner Rob Rubba is championing a hyperseasonal and sustainable approach at Oyster Oyster, his Washington, DC-based restaurant.