Perkins American Food Co. has not only refreshed its name, but also its culinary vision and menu strategy. Leading the charge is Mindy Armstrong, VP of menu innovation, who joined Ascent Hospitality Management in 2023. Since then, she has helped reinvigorate the restaurant group’s family dining concepts Perkins and Huddle House, leaning into their brand propositions of value and hospitality while modernizing their menus. She’s also helped bring to life a fast-casual express spinoff called Griddle & Go. We sat down with Armstrong to talk about successfully innovating through the lens of a heritage brand, building on the strength of classic menu items and introducing new offerings that connect with younger consumers.

Mindy Armstrong

Katie Ayoub: Perkins is undergoing a transformation, a rebranding that is moving the heritage concept into modern flavor innovation. How is that taking shape on the menu?
Mindy Armstrong: We’ve been serving guests for over 60 years, and we’re focused on building on that strong foundation. The challenge is finding the right balance—honoring our heritage while keeping the menu fresh and exciting. We’re refreshing key parts of the menu, adding new categories and elevating the items our guests already love to make sure they feel modern and relevant for today’s dining experience.

KA: Heritage brands can hold a lot of nostalgia for long-time guests. How do you tap into that powerful connection while driving innovation?
MA: We have a loyal fan base who are deeply connected to us and feel incredible nostalgia about the experiences they’ve had. We hear from guests who used to come in with their grandparents or their parents. I spoke with a guest yesterday who has been coming to Perkins for 20 years and shared how ‘his’ server watched his kids grow up—what a connection! So, how do I bottle that and keep the emotional link front and center every day? Because that’s what makes us special in the marketplace. When we think about the menu, we have to keep that in mind. It’s who we are through and through. Our goal is to bring back consumers who remember us fondly from their past and create our next generation of guests.

Credit: Ascent Hospitality Management

The Garden Berry Stuffed Pancakes are in test at the new flagship Perkins in Orlando, Fla. Starring blueberry pancakes sandwiched with vanilla cream, they’re topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries, whipped cream and a drizzle of housemade berry syrup.

KA: What new categories have you introduced on the menu?
MA: We recently opened our flagship restaurant with a revamped menu, which includes new menu categories. Of course, we’re keeping the categories our guests expect—you’re still going to come in and get our Griddle Greats or our Fresh-Cracked Classics. But we’re also introducing lighter options. We’ve heard from guests loud and clear that we have a lot of indulgent, really amazing options, but sometimes they want something a little lighter. We’re also introducing a revamped dinner menu we’re calling Perkins Plates. It is a very cool way to honor our diner legacy, but also go into the future with modern interpretations inspired by today’s progressive diners. This ties the bow between our past and our present and ensures we’re showing up in a relevant way.

Credit: Ascent Hospitality Management

Armstrong’s culinary team is testing new dishes, like Avocado Toast, at the flagship and also featuring them on the menu at Griddle & Go. Flavor forward, the toast features artisan bread, smashed avocado, pickled red onions, tomato pesto, feta and a sunny-side-up egg. It’s served with mixed greens drizzled with house lemon vinaigrette.

KA: Value is such an important consideration in foodservice today. How are you approaching value with fresh eyes, given that Perkins is known for abundance at an affordable price?
MA: One of the things I’m really excited about with family dining in general, which includes Perkins and Huddle House, is a chance for us to meet consumers where they are right now. We know 2024 was a tough year. It was a tough year for the restaurant industry; it was a tough year for consumers. Value wars came back as strong as ever, and we were part of that as we made sure we were showing up for our guests at a great value.

Family dining has the opportunity to continue offering friendly service at a great value with quality food. That’s what we are looking to achieve at Ascent Hospitality. If our guests are managing the dollars in their wallet, we want to make sure we have an option for them. If they’re looking to indulge, we want to make sure we meet them there, too. Value will continue to play a role in 2025 and beyond, and we need to make sure we have the right options on our menu.

Credit: Ascent Hospitality Management

Perkins is tapping into nostalgic brand markers while also updating its offerings to meet today’s guests where they are. New menu additions, like the Haystack Sirloin, go through modern filters, such as housemade touches and curated sides.

KA: Value today means so much more than volume of food and price point.
MA: It’s all about hospitality. Guests want a memorable experience. There’s never been a better time to be in hospitality because consumers are saying to us, ‘Hey, I want to try new things. I’ve been playing it safe.’ Guess what? Foodservice has been playing it safe, too. Let’s challenge ourselves to give consumers what they’re asking for: great value, friendly service and delicious food. We know one of the reasons why consumers love to eat out in restaurants is true human connection. They want a moment of hospitality, human to human, and we can offer this in our restaurants every day.

KA: What’s your biggest challenge with innovation?
MA: I feel like it’s a conversation we’ve had a million times: How do you balance today’s guest with the guest of the future? How do you make sure that you’re not alienating your core guest who comes in every week? And how do we make sure we’re bringing in the right flavor at the right time for the right guest? Remembering that we serve a pretty broad audience, our approach sees us talking to guests and saying, ‘Hey, I have this idea,’ or ‘What about this flavor?’ We want our core guests, who we cherish, to be a part of that conversation. At the same time, the guests who we’d love to drive in, we want them to be a part of the conversation, too. It’s about making sure we’re listening to our guests, that we’re not just talking to ourselves. It’s also about playing with new flavors while staying close to our operations team to ensure we can execute when new menu items arrive.

KA: How do you filter today’s trends?
MA: There are three dimensions that I think through when applying trends to our menu process. While I may want to lean into all these ideas that are inspiring me personally, I have to figure out how to filter them through the lens of our brands. Fundamentally, an idea is only strong if it meets a consumer need or an occasion we’re not fulfilling, overcomes a brand barrier or fills a gap on our menu.

If a new flavor profile or cuisine is trending, we run it through these filters to land new ideas. From there, we just have to be thoughtful about how we translate an idea for the needs of our brand. If I’m confident there’s enough of a hook from a consumer standpoint and it’s differentiated among our competitive set, then we’re going to start asking questions from a brand perspective: Is there a brand fit? Does it make sense as we reposition ourselves for the next 60 years? Is there a gap on our menu today that we’re not filling that would allow us to compete more effectively? Is there an opportunity to utilize something we already have in our pantry to bring this flavor profile forward and add new twists? We’re asking ourselves these questions while still recognizing our heritage and building from our strong foundation. Easy, right?

QUICKFIRE

Source of inspiration:
I get a lot of inspiration from my travels—whether it’s a vacation, a conference, a dine-around or just grabbing a meal with friends. I love exploring menus, discovering new flavors and seeing how different cultures approach food. I keep all those experiences in the back of my mind, and when I spot a gap or opportunity on our menus, I find a way to make it fit.

Something in your fridge that would surprise people:
No. 1, I am obsessed with sauces. If it’s sauce I haven’t tried in a pretty package, I’m going to buy it. So there are always about 10 sauces rotating in and out of my fridge. And I always have gochujang and miso on hand. Also, this sounds really bougie, but I always have everything I need to make a quick charcuterie board. In my house, we call it a snack platter because I introduced the charcuterie board to my children early on and it stuck.

Cuisine or ingredient you’re particularly excited to explore:
Bakeries are having such a moment right now. We’re seeing both old-school bakeries pop up, as well as new-school bakeries. Just a ton of love in this space. Watching and experiencing these new bakeries is inspiring me as we reinvigorate our own bakery at Perkins.

Your go-to late-night snack:
A bite of dark chocolate. Or popcorn—I could eat popcorn for dinner.

Best bite you’ve had recently:
There’s a Vietnamese restaurant in Atlanta called Nam Phuong, and it is my ultimate comfort zone. My family and I went three times in one week over the holidays!