About FSR

FSR

FSR is the trade magazine for the full-service restaurant industry, covering the independent restaurants, national and regional chains, and multi-concept hospitality groups that make up the $300 billion full-service segment. Published from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, it was founded by Journalistic, Inc. in 2012 as a sister publication to QSR, the leading magazine for the quick-service segment. Since its premiere, FSR has informed, connected, and enriched full-service operators through its print magazine, website, and newsletters. In 2023 the QSR and FSR brands joined WTWH Media, LLC's Retail, Hospitality, and Food Group, opening a new chapter for both titles.

A Full-Service Sibling for QSR

The idea behind FSR was straightforward: the people at Food News Media had spent 15 years building QSR into the leading magazine for the limited-service restaurant segment, and they saw the full-service side of the industry — fine dining, casual dining, family dining, and fast casual's upscale cousins — deserving a publication of its own. In 2011 the company launched Restaurant Management (Rmgt) as a digital-only resource for full-service restaurant operators. The digital experiment worked well enough that the company decided the concept deserved print.

Restaurant Management officially rebranded as FSRmagazine.com, and the print publication FSR magazine was born. The premiere issue was published on November 5, 2012. The launch was announced with the magazine's ambitions clearly stated: to bring a fresh perspective and top-shelf journalism to full-service restaurant operators, and to become essential reading for restaurateurs. FSR magazine and its sister publication, QSR magazine, were published by Food News Media, an operating unit of Journalistic, Inc.

The Premiere Issue and Its Audience

FSR debuted with an initial circulation of 24,000 owners, C-level executives, chefs, and other decision makers in the full-service segment, covering both independent and chain operations. The magazine was published bi-monthly, and subscriptions were complimentary to qualified restaurant operators — a controlled-circulation model that ensured the magazine landed on the desks of the people who actually make purchasing and operating decisions.

The name said it all: FSR — full-service restaurant. Where QSR covered quick-service (fast food), fast casual, coffee, snacks, and concessions, FSR took the other half of the industry: the restaurants with servers, the dining rooms, the chefs, and the tablecloths (or deliberate lack of them). The full-service restaurant industry it served was a $300 billion market encompassing independent restaurants; national, regional, and emerging restaurant chains; and multi-concept hospitality groups.

Connie Gentry and the Editorial Vision

The founding editor of FSR was Connie Gentry, who set the magazine's editorial tone from the start. "Our goal is to bring a fresh perspective and top-shelf journalism to full-service restaurant operators," Gentry said at the launch. "We believe restaurateurs will find FSR to be essential reading." The magazine positioned itself as a thought leader for chefs and other professionals in the full-service restaurant industry — a publication that would treat restaurant operators as sophisticated businesspeople while celebrating the craft of cooking and hospitality.

Gentry led the title through its formative years, building a roster of writers, photographers, and designers who could tell the industry's stories with the polish the audience deserved. She was succeeded in the editor's chair by Laura D'Alessandro, who joined with experience in both B2B publishing and food media — previously food editor for Tastemade, managing editor of Public Power Magazine, and an independent food blogger and recipe developer specializing in plant-forward foods. "Laura's experience in both the food and business media worlds — as well as her culinary expertise — made her the perfect candidate to lead FSR," said Sam Oches, editorial director of parent Food News Media.

Early Awards and Recognition

FSR did not have to wait long for industry recognition. At the Folio: Magazine 2013 awards ceremony — the Folio: Awards being among the most coveted honors in magazine publishing — FSR received two awards for excellence. Among business-to-business publications, the magazine won the award for Best Design of a new magazine and the award for Best Full Issue in the Food Service/Hotel category.

The Best Design award recognized outstanding overall design in a magazine that launched between June 1, 2012, and June 1, 2013 — essentially naming FSR the best-designed new B2B magazine of its launch year. The Best Full Issue award recognized overall editorial excellence. "It was an honor to receive the Folio: awards, and a testament to the talented designers, photographers, and writers who help build FSR content," Gentry said. "However, the real test of a business-to-business publication is its acceptance among leaders in the industry."

The José Andrés Cover

The magazine's January 2014 issue demonstrated the access FSR could command: it featured an exclusive interview with Chef José Andrés, who shared his insights on building a $400 million restaurant empire along with his passionate convictions about how chefs and the restaurant industry can effect positive change in the world. That same issue highlighted the best new restaurants in 12 markets that were thriving — from Houston to Oklahoma City to Cambridge, Massachusetts — representing large, medium, and small metropolitan areas defined by positive economics such as population growth, low unemployment, and strong GDP performance.

The 12 best new concepts ran the gamut from fine dining to a modern-day speakeasy, illustrating the range of the full-service industry FSR covered. Stories from the issue were published at fsrmagazine.com, the magazine's digital home, which extended the print brand's reach to the wider industry.

Editorial Coverage and Storytelling

FSR built its reputation on long-form, deeply reported features on the people shaping full-service dining. Recent features have included a look at how Chef John Currence planned to expand his influence beyond the South, a deep-dive into how food entrepreneur Kimbal Musk planned to disrupt casual dining, and a conversation with Chef Dominique Crenn about how she was advocating for a new food philosophy with her portfolio of San Francisco concepts.

The magazine's coverage ranged across the concerns of full-service operators: menu development and culinary trends, labor and staffing, design and ambiance, beverage programs, technology, marketing, and the business of running multi-unit and independent restaurants alike. Its photography and design — recognized from the start by the Folio: Awards — gave the trade publication the feel of a consumer food magazine, a deliberate choice to honor the visual craft of the industry it served.

The Food News Media Family

FSR grew up inside Food News Media, the Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based publisher founded as Journalistic, Inc. that also published QSR magazine. QSR, founded in 1997, delivered timely and in-depth reporting on the quick-service restaurant industry — a $350 billion market spanning traditional fast food, fast casual, coffee, snacks, concessions, and related foodservice segments. For 25 years, QSR defined that market; FSR was built to do the same for full service.

Together, the two magazines gave Food News Media complete coverage of the restaurant industry's two great segments. The company supported both brands with websites, e-newsletters — including the FS Insider for full-service news — and social channels, building an integrated media operation around the two print flagships.

Joining WTWH Media

In 2023, Journalistic, Inc. announced the transition of ownership for the QSR and FSR brands to WTWH Media, LLC. As a result of the transition, WTWH Media offered a powerful network of retail, hospitality, and food media properties, which included CStore Decisions, Club+Resort Business, Club+Resort Chef, and the Chef to Chef Conference, in addition to QSR and FSR.

"We're excited to begin a new chapter in the lives of these brands," said Greg Sanders, Group Publisher of QSR and FSR. "Our audiences can continue to expect the highest quality of content from our editorial teams, websites, e-newsletters, and social channels. As part of WTWH, we can apply their infrastructure to support our digital media programming along with in-person events to fuel our growth strategy." John Petersen, Group Publisher of CStore Decisions and Club+Resort Business, called the synergies between the brands and their markets an ideal fit, and said the timing was perfect to bring the group into the WTWH Media family.

The Magazine Today

FSR continues to serve the full-service restaurant industry as part of WTWH Media's Retail, Hospitality, and Food Group. Its website, fsrmagazine.com, publishes daily industry news alongside the magazine's features, and the FS Insider newsletter delivers updates to operators. The magazine remains the B2B voice of the $300 billion full-service segment — the publication for the chefs, owners, executives, and beverage professionals who run America's dining rooms.

From its digital-only beginnings as Restaurant Management in May 2011 to its print premiere on November 5, 2012, to its award-winning early years and its current home at WTWH Media, FSR has held to its founding mission: to inform, connect, and enrich the full-service restaurant industry with top-shelf journalism. Its official website is https://www.fsrmagazine.com.