Is this thing on

Hello, dear reader. It’s been a minute. What started as a quick Industry Bites hiatus turned into, uh, 9 months. I’m sorry about that.

Are you looking for excuses? With apologies to Jon Taffer, today we’re embracing excuses.

Here are the top 3 reasons – PLUS an honorable mention – why I didn’t write a newsletter for 9 months.

Honorable mention: I quit nicotine.

If I’m being brutally honest, this is probably the real reason for the absence. Have you tried to write a few thousand words after removing the thing you’ve used as a writing crutch for 17 years? I don’t recommend it.

(Well, I do recommend quitting, but you get my point.)

Excuse #1: My wife and I had our second kid. 

His name is Everett. Conversation with him is challenging – and he refuses to sit still when we watch The Founder together – but he’s a good, solid baby. 

What does this mean for the newsletter? For one, it’ll be a bit more freewheeling. Industry Bites could never be mistaken for the next great American novel, but I did sweat sentence structure. 

Now? Editing is for people with time. This is good news for anyone who enjoys my “voice” – what lies ahead will certainly be more authentic. 

The bad news? Odds are higher that I’ll say something that irritates you. Which is why I feel obligated to say that the unsubscribe link is at the bottom of the email. 

(Personally, though, I’d stay – at the very least, this newsletter will never be boring.)

Excuse #2: Restaurant news got depressing.

The 1-2-3 combo of lockdowns, inflation, and declining foot traffic have walloped the restaurant industry over the past few years. 

It became increasingly difficult to square an irreverent newsletter with coverage of sales declines, closed stores, and all the other fun of 2024.

So while the industry is entering 2025 in a better spot than it did in 2024, moving forward this newsletter will attempt to more of a helpful guide than a work of quasi-journalism. Look for more actionable information and news stories that point to where the industry is going. 

Excuse #3: I started a new company.

It’s called FS Supply. 

My co-founder Jon Hartmann and I are already helping a bunch of growing and established restaurant chains save money in their supply chains. 

We consult on supply chain challenges, and we supply branded products like cups and bags.

We’re also carving out a niche in the eco-friendly space with recycled paper products and sugarcane bagasse containers. 

So, expect more supply-chain related content in the revived version of Industry Bites. It’s kind of my world these days.

Thankfully, it’s a world that’s both relevant and fascinating — with enough geopolitical intrigue to fill a decent Netflix drama.

So please share this newsletter far and wide with friends and colleagues. 

See you soon.