Culinary R&D secrets that can transform your restaurant menu
When a restaurant brand loses its way, most people look at marketing first. New logo, new slogan, maybe a new social strategy.
Chef Mike Gieseman looks at the menu.
Mike has spent his career behind the curtain of some of America’s biggest quick-service and fast-casual brands, from Qdoba to Quiznos to Taco Del Mar, designing the food that defines how customers feel about them.
If your restaurant is flailing, you may think you need new branding or better analytics. But he dropped this truth bomb on the latest episode of Restaurant Reset.
Only two things save struggling restaurants — flavor and discipline
“Too many people chase trends instead of doing what guests actually crave.”
Mike Gieseman - Professional R&D chef
That’s what struck me most about our conversation. In an era where brands are racing to “out-innovate” each other with viral items, Mike’s playbook is surprisingly simple: make craveable food that franchisees can actually execute and that guests can understand.
He’s seen both extremes. At one brand, they “tested to death,” spending years on menu development until the trend had already passed. At another, they’d throw new products on the menu overnight. Both approaches missed the mark.
The key, he said, is balance. Fast enough to stay relevant, disciplined enough to deliver quality.
When Mike joined Quiznos, he inherited a brand that had fallen from 3,000 stores to fewer than 300. Once known for its bold, toasted sandwiches, Quiznos had become a “me too” chain in a market it created. To make it relevant again, Mike started small.
“Get creative, and build from what you already have.”
His first big hit at Quizno’s was a Bison Reuben. It was familiar enough to draw people in, but different enough to make them talk.
It earned headlines, drove traffic and reignited curiosity. That’s how he measures innovation: not by how wild the product is, but by how much conversation it creates.
“Most people don’t want to take risks with their lunch. They want something that feels familiar but new enough to be interesting.”
So his rule is nostalgia first, novelty second. Anchor every idea in something people already love, then build from there. A dash of gochujang on a Philly cheesesteak, a brighter pickle, a smarter build.
He’s also brutally practical. “If a franchisee can’t make money on it,” he told me, “it doesn’t matter how good it tastes.”
Every limited-time offer (LTO) at Quiznos had to bring in more profit per sandwich than the core menu. He called it cost engineering with flavor.
How to get buy-in from restaurant operators
That’s how he got buy-in from operators: design food that’s exciting for the guest and profitable for the franchisee.
But Mike’s strongest opinion wasn’t about product. It was about people. He believes the industry is losing its creative soul because too many companies have outsourced their culinary departments.
“When you take culinary out of the building, you take the heartbeat out of your brand.”
He’s seen what happens when vendors drive innovation: seven different restaurant chains launching the same new protein, all pitched by the same supplier. It might save costs in the short term, but it erases identity in the long term.
That’s why he’s calling for a renaissance in internal R&D; to bring creativity, ownership and authenticity back inside the brand.
When I asked him how tired brands can come back to life, he didn’t hesitate.
“Remember who you are. Keep your standards. You can evolve, but don’t chase someone else’s success. Guests can feel when you’re faking it.”
Start by rediscovering what made you worth remembering.
In other words: don’t start by trying to be something new.
That’s how Mike Gieseman rebuilds brand love, one sandwich at a time.
Resources mentioned
Recommended reading
- The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Tune in for smart takes
In an industry enamored with novelty, Mike centers the work: build for craveability, enforce standards and honor the brand you set out to be.
Every episode of Restaurant Reset digs into the real decisions operators, chefs and brand leaders are making right now; the kind that shape menus, tighten operations and strengthen identity. If you’re looking for conversations that blend creativity with practicality, you're in the right place.
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