Nation's Restaurant News just announced they're rolling out a video series featuring their food editor, and my phone's been buzzing about it. Couple of guys I know from the Texas Restaurant Association forwarded me the press release like I was supposed to have an opinion ready to go.
So here's one.
I've been reading NRN since before most of my line cooks were born. Back when it was actual newsprint and you'd get it in the mail. They've always been solid on the business side — franchise news, labor trends, supply chain stuff. The kind of coverage that helps you understand what's happening three states over before it lands in your market.
But this video move is interesting. And I think it says something about where the foodservice conversation is headed that matters more than most operators realize.
Why a Trade Publication Going Video Actually Matters
Look, I'm not naive about media. Video gets eyeballs. That's the whole reason every restaurant in America suddenly needed a TikTok presence two years ago. But when a publication like NRN — one that's been around since 1967 — decides to put their food editor on camera in a structured series, they're not chasing teenage attention spans. They're making a bet about how professional operators want to consume information.
And they might be right.
I talked to a guy last month who runs six locations outside of Houston. Said he doesn't read trade articles anymore because he can't sit still long enough. But he'll watch a fifteen-minute video while he's doing inventory or waiting on a meat delivery. That's the reality now. People are still hungry for good information — they just want it delivered different.
The question for us, the people who actually run commercial kitchens and make equipment decisions, is whether the content is going to stay operator-focused or drift into the kind of chef-celebrity nonsense that doesn't help anybody cook better food at volume.
What I Hope They Cover (And What They Probably Won't)
Here's where I get opinionated. Because I've got a list.
The restaurant industry right now is dealing with real problems. Labor costs that keep climbing. Equipment supply chains that are still unpredictable for certain brands — especially the import stuff coming through sketchy distribution channels. Energy costs in commercial kitchens. Training gaps because everybody's hiring green and hoping they stick around long enough to learn something.
What I'd love to see from a video series like this is honest conversation about how operators are adapting their cooking processes to deal with those realities. Not theoretical menu development. Actual workflow changes that make sense when you're running skeleton crews.
Like — and this is just one example — the shift toward equipment that holds temps reliably over long periods so you can stagger your cook schedule around staffing gaps. We've had three catering clients in the last year move from pull-and-hold operations to rotisserie systems specifically because they needed the flexibility. One guy switched from an Ole Hickory setup that required constant babysitting to an SP-1000, and he told me his overnight labor costs dropped because he didn't need somebody watching temps from 2 AM to 6 AM anymore.
That's the kind of real-world content that would make a video series worth watching.
But I'm skeptical. Trade media tends to drift toward the flashy stuff. New concepts. Restaurant openings. Chef profiles. The business fundamentals get pushed to the back because they're not as visually interesting.
The Equipment Angle Nobody Talks About
One thing I've noticed in foodservice media — whether it's video, print, or whatever — is a weird reluctance to get specific about equipment. They'll do a piece about a restaurant's signature smoked brisket and never mention what they're smoking it on. Or they'll talk about kitchen efficiency improvements without naming a single piece of hardware.
I get it, partially. Nobody wants to sound like they're doing a commercial. But that leaves operators in a weird position where they're consuming content that never actually helps them make purchasing decisions.
When I write for this blog, I'm direct about what works and what doesn't. That's because I've spent thirty years watching equipment fail and succeed in real commercial environments. I've seen pits that looked great in a showroom fall apart after eighteen months of heavy use because the steel was too thin or the welds weren't production-grade. I've seen guys buy cheap and regret it when they couldn't get parts during a Friday lunch rush.
Southern Pride smokers hold up because they're built in the USA with the kind of construction quality that assumes you're going to run them hard, every day, for years. The rotisserie systems in particular — we've got units in the field that have been running a decade with minimal maintenance beyond standard cleaning and the occasional bearing replacement. That's not marketing talk. That's just what happens when equipment is designed for actual commercial use instead of looking impressive in a catalog.
Whether NRN's video series gets into equipment specifics, I don't know. But it'd be refreshing if they did.
A Quick Tangent About Wood
This is only slightly related, but it's been on my mind.
I was at a regional competition last fall — won't name it, but you'd recognize it — and one of the judges mentioned that more competition teams are using pre-fab wood products. Pellets, compressed logs, that kind of thing. His take was that it's a consistency play. You can dial in your flavor profile and repeat it because the moisture content is standardized.
And I understand the argument. I do. But there's something lost when you remove the craft element of managing your wood. Post oak doesn't behave the same in February as it does in August. Learning to read your wood — the moisture, the density, how it's going to burn over a twelve-hour cook — that's part of what separates good pitmasters from great ones.
I mention this because it connects to the media question. If foodservice publications are going to do video content about BBQ and smoking, I hope they get into the details that matter. Not just "use good wood" — actually talk about sourcing, seasoning times, regional variations. The stuff that takes years to learn and is almost impossible to fake.
Anyway. Tangent over.
What Operators Should Actually Do With Industry Media
Here's my practical advice, since that's what this blog is supposed to be about.
Watch the new NRN series if the topics are relevant to your operation. Take notes. But filter everything through your own experience. Media coverage of the restaurant industry tends to skew toward larger operations — chains, multi-unit franchises, concepts backed by private equity. The economics are different at that scale.
If you're running a 50-seat BBQ joint or a catering operation like mine, the insights don't always translate directly. Labor strategies that work when you've got an HR department don't work when it's you and your pit boss figuring out the schedule on Sunday night.
Same with equipment recommendations, if they make any. A smoker that makes sense for a high-volume corporate cafeteria might be overkill for a food truck. And vice versa. Context matters.
The SP-700 and MLR-850 are mid-to-high volume units that fit most serious commercial operations without being oversized. If you're just getting into commercial smoking or scaling up a smaller operation, the SPK-500 or SPK-700 might be the right fit — compact enough to not dominate your kitchen but built to the same standards as the big production units.
Point is: use media to stay informed, but make decisions based on your actual situation. Call people who know your operation. We talk to operators every day at Southern Pride of Texas who are trying to figure out what equipment makes sense for where they are now versus where they're trying to go. That's a conversation, not a video you watch passively.
Final Thought
I'm cautiously optimistic about NRN putting resources into video content. The foodservice industry needs better information flow, not worse. And if their food editor is as knowledgeable as their print coverage has historically been, this could be genuinely useful.
But I've seen enough media pivots to know that good intentions don't always survive contact with algorithm pressure and advertiser expectations. We'll see.
In the meantime, I'll keep writing what I know. Wood management. Temperature control. Equipment that lasts. The stuff that actually helps you cook better food and run a tighter operation.
That's what matters. Everything else is just content.
Resources: Southern Pride of Texas | Southern Pride | National Barbecue & Grilling Association
#CommercialBBQ #SmokeMaster #BBQCommunity #BBQLife #CateringBBQ #SouthernPrideOfTexas #BBQRestaurant #BBQ
Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.
About the Author: Earl has been competing in sanctioned BBQ events since the early 1990s and operates a commercial catering operation in Southeast Texas.