Punch Bowl Social built a business on the idea that grown-ups still want to play. Then a pandemic closed all 19 rooms - and the comeback got stranger than the concept.
A two-color coaster, a procession of skewers and a 47-year-old Brazilian ritual became a 122-restaurant growth machine. Fogo de Chão is selling abundance, control and a night out that behaves nothing like an ordinary steakhouse.
A 38-seat Connecticut experiment became a 24-location lesson in scaling atmosphere. Its operating trick is to standardize the wine expertise, then leave room for chefs, neighborhoods and a little nightly chaos.