Welcome to the CulinaryWoman Newsletter! A special hello to our new subscribers, who are growing by the week. So glad you’ve decided to join us.
CulinaryWoman looks at trends in the turbulent food and restaurant world. Free subscribers receive this Sunday newsletter. Paid subscribers receive a full menu of articles, including Red Beans & Advice on Mondays, the CulinaryWoman Reading Room on Wednesdays, and they are eligible for giveaways. (See the winner of the latest one, below, and read about our new one.)
A subscription funds the newsletter, because we don’t have ads or sponsors. We rely on you to keep this journalism going. You can upgrade by clicking this button. Won’t you think about doing so?
Thanks. You may be eating — or drinking — the subject of this week’s issue while you read it.
Beyond Dunkin: The Big Future Franchise Trends
I’m always on the alert for new businesses, whether they are locally owned or franchises. The Future 50 list in Restaurant Business, an industry trade publication, is always an interesting read. It represents RB’s forecast of the franchises that are catching fire.
Depending on where you live, you might see a lot of these names, or none at all. Franchises tend to start in a region, and then spread to other parts of the country.
Franchises also can start food trends, or follow them. In the 2000s, it seemed to be the latter. But in the 2020s, franchises are also leading trends that you may not yet have tried. That seems to be particularly true when it comes to Asian flavors.
The newest Future 50 list includes a couple of trends that I’d observed. The leading one is the emergence of mochi donuts, which are made from mochiko, or rice flour. They have a crisp exterior and a bouncy, chewy interior. Many are shaped like flowers.
The first time I saw a mochi donut was on the Fancy Dessert Week episode last season of The Great Canadian Baking Show. I had vaguely heard that they existing, but CBC Baking, as the show is called, put them front and center on TV screens.
The bakers prepared all manner of mochi donuts. The winning flavor was Bananas Foster, in which the donuts were split open, filled with peanut butter, marscarpone and cream cheese, and topped with brown sugar, rum and bananas.
Most mochi donuts are a little simpler. Their traditional flower shape is achieved by forming balls of dough, and joining them in circles. That reflects the commonly used Japanese term for them, which is “pon de ring.” The flavors are generally in the colorful icing.
Time for their closeup
Japanese franchises selling mochi donuts have been around since 2003, when they were introduced at Mr. Donut. (That franchise actually originates in the U.S., where it was launched in 1956, but it really took off when it moved across the Pacific.)
Now, mochi donuts are ready for their American closeup, according to Restaurant Business. Last week, it named Mochinut, which is based in Los Angeles, as its top growing franchise. Mochinut has quietly grown to 117 U.S. locations, with sales up 167 percent in the past year, and sales of an estimated $29 million.
Beyond its cute donuts, Mochinut also sells boba drinks and Korean corn dogs, which are combinations that you often see at the quickly growing number of boba tea shops around the United States.
I can understand why mochi donuts would be catching on. They are on the smaller side, in contrast to the big, topping-dominated donuts that have dominated the fried pastry scene during the past few years. The texture satisfies people who like crisp donuts and those who prefer a yeasty cake. Even if you try to resist donuts, you can probably justify having one of these petite sweets.
Coffee gets philosophical
Beyond donuts, specialty coffee is the next widespread trend spotted by Restaurant Business. Its top 20 future franchise list includes five coffee names, some of which you may have yet to spot.
The leader among them is 7 Brew, which is a drive-thru only franchise. 7 Brew has 466 outlets thus far, and earned an estimated $20 million in revenue last year.
Next up is Black Rifle Coffee Company, with 26 outlets and actually more revenue, about $22 million. Black Rifle styles itself as offering “premium coffee and culture to people who love America.”
Given that its menu includes varieties like Thin Blue Line, Liberty Roast and Just Black, I think you get the picture of its target customer.
The next-fastest growing coffee franchise has a slightly more approachable name. It’s Summer Moon, based in Austin, Texas, and it has 23 franchises with an estimated $26 million in annual revenue. Summer Moon says its coffee is “wood fired over Texas oak,” roasted in handbuilt brick roasters.
It also has developed its own milk, called “moon milk,” which is a sweet, creamy concoction that Summer Moon says is intended to compliment its coffee, not just become an add-in.
Chicken continues to take flight
A few years ago, the advent of chicken franchises was upon us, with names like Zaxby’s and Raising Cane’s joining long-time players such as KFC and Chick-Fil-A. You’ll remember how American went wild over the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
Chicken remains a popular product, according to Restaurant Business.
Super Chix, based in Dallas, began as a learning lab for Yum Brands, the owner of KFC. Its goal was to see if customers would glom onto a healthier-looking and tasting product than old-school fried chicken. The strategy worked. Super Chix now has 24 locations and an estimated $56 million in annual revenue (the numbers are higher than donuts and coffee because the menu prices are more expensive).
Starbird Chicken is trying to place itself above other chicken competitors by claiming territory that Restaurant Business says is akin to Wendy’s. It claims its chicken was never frozen, the buns for its sandwiches are top quality and it offers fresh garnishes including pickles that are fermented in house.
Whether you have one of these future franchises or not, it’s always fun to try them when you travel. And, franchises reflect trends that independent players may pick up on.
UniTea, a local boba tea shop in Ann Arbor, recently began selling mochi donuts, seemingly out of the blue, since we have yet to get a mochi donut franchise (one is supposedly coming). But, now that they are taking off internationally, the inspiration is clear.
Chicago’s Plan To Eliminate Tipped Wages
Chicago is a big, big restaurant city, and there has been a lengthy debate underway over eliminating tipped wages. Restaurants are allowed to pay servers less than the minimum wage, on the assumption that they will make most of their compensation in patrons’ tips.
A number of states have eliminated tipped wages, however, seeing them as unfair to servers who might miss out on equal pay if the restaurant is slow, or patrons are cheap. (The house is supposed to make up the difference if that happens.)
Chicago’s new mayor, Brandon Johnson, vowed to eliminate tipped wages in two years, only to face opposition from restaurants that were struggling to come back from the pandemic. Last week, he reached a compromise deal with the Illinois Restaurant Association.
Tipped wages will be eliminated over the next five years, rather than the two years that Johnson proposed. Currently, the minimum wage in Chicago for most workers is $15.80 per hour, while the minimum wage for tipped workers is $9.48 an hour.
Servers thus will catch up by 2028. Chicago’s city council is expected to vote on the plan next week.
What’s Happening With Household Income
There’s been a lot of debate lately over the health of the economy. Many numbers point to signs that it is stronger, particularly low unemployment and a moderation in inflation. Economists have been scratching their heads trying to figure out why Americans don’t see the good news.
This chart from Axios New Orleans helps to illustrate why the figures don’t add up with many people. Their median household incomes have not kept pace with inflation, and in fact, have dropped significantly in many places.
Congratulations to Cafe Reconcile
Last year, the New York Times launched a national restaurants list. It includes places that correspondents and contributors feel are noteworthy. Some of the choices surprised locals, who had not heard of them, and generated welcome tourist business.
This year’s list includes a New Orleans restaurant where I liked to take guests. Cafe Reconcile is a non-profit learning lab for young people who might be interested in restaurant careers. It has been a steady source of new talent for the city’s restaurants, and the food is very good. (Those are the crab cakes with shrimp up above.)
Congratulations to Chef Martha Wiggins, her staff and the young crew that have put Cafe Reconcile into the national spotlight. So proud to be among your supporters.
Put it on your must-eat list in New Orleans. You might couple your meal with a visit to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum just across O.C. Haley Boulevard. According to
some new exhibits are in the works.We Have A Winner — And A New Giveaway
Congratulations to Mary Ellen Lavenberg! She is the winner of the innovative indigenous cookbook, Chimi Nu’am. Mary Ellen tells us,
“I have enjoyed a lifelong pursuit of food and I am still at it. I love to share my enthusiasm for the experience of taste for food and the cultures it represents. The enclosed photo is of me about to give a talk in Spanish about travelling around the world through the experience of food with herbs that I grow in my small garden.
Chimi Nu'am set me thinking about Euell Gibbons and Stalking the Wild Asparagus. I am looking forward to reading this new book and trying to find some of the ingredients here in the Boston area. Let's Eat!”
Last week, our paid subscribers learned about our new giveaway: the Chocolate Chip Cookie Book by Katie Jacobs which will be published Oct. 3. It is full of classic and unusual takes on deploying the concept of chocolate chip cookies in everything from cereal to biscotti and baklava.
I have one copy to give away to a paid subscriber. Please upgrade if you haven’t yet, and let me know by Wednesday at midnight if you are interested in joining the pool.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
A reminder of my upcoming appearance next Sunday at the first-ever Books & Brews festival in Milford, Mich. Please come, have some beer, meet some authors and hear us talk about our books!
Monday marks Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. For the Takeout, I wrote about a new item that may be appearing on Break Fast tables: Jerusalem bagels. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/jerusalem-bagels-rise-170000760.html
My other Substack, Intersection: Everything That Moves is getting a lot of attention due to the growing strike by United Auto Workers members. Last week, I talked twice to Texas Standard from Texas Public Radio, and I appeared on Yahoo Finance.
You’re welcome to sign up for Intersection, which is a digital update of my 2003 book The End of Detroit. New chapters come each Tuesday, with breaking news updates as warranted. Just click here.
Feel free to follow me on social media and get in touch. You can find me on Instagram (@) michelinemaynard and my email is culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com.
Have a safe and healthy week. I’ll see our paid subscribers tomorrow with Red Beans & Advice, and everyone else next Sunday!
Satisfaction Guaranteed: How Zingerman's Built a Corner Deli into a Global Food Community https://a.co/d/fUwMMMJ
The other is coffee, which is spawning an abundant number of franchises. In a world already dominated by Starbucks and Dunkin’, you’d think there wouldn’t be room for any more coffee brands, but you would be wrong. The top 10 group on Restaurant Business’ list is littered with them.