The Latest

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    Kendall Davis/Restaurant Dive

    Ghost restaurant calculator

    Thinking about developing a ghost kitchen business plan? Use this calculator to crunch the numbers and determine profitability.

  • An image of a man standing in front of a menu.
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    Permission granted by Wienerschnitzel

    Wienerschnitzel parent promotes insider to COO

    Rusty Bills, who has worked with Galardi Group for more than 15 years, will oversee operations at the company’s three brands.

  • An image of two men standing in front of surfboards.
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    Retrieved from PRNewswire on October 03, 2022

    California Pizza Kitchen lands another LAX location

    The casual dining chain, which opened domestic franchising in December, is seeking partnerships for nontraditional locations like entertainment venues. 

  • A fleet of Starship delivery robots.
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    Courtesy of Starship

    Food delivery robots to roam Chicago in pilot program

    Robot operators will partner with restaurants and grocery stores to test the app-based robot deliveries while city leaders examine device boundaries and risk. 

  • An image of a man wearing a suit.
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    Retrieved from Starbucks on September 01, 2022

    What should Starbucks’ incoming CEO prioritize?

    Five experts share their thoughts on how Laxman Narasimhan should approach union pressure, store development and redefining a corporate ethos. 

  • McDonald's Q1 Earnings Up On Higher Menu Prices, Overseas Growth
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    Justin Sullivan / Staff via Getty Images

    McDonald’s adds Disney exec to board

    Kareem Daniel’s 15 years of experience at Disney could prove helpful as the  chain works to improve customer relations, digital business and diversity.

  • A man and a woman dressed as a chef look at a tablet.
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    Wavebreakmedia via Getty Images

    Report: 31% of restaurants have reduced menu size due to inflation

    Another 38% of restaurants have adjusted the number of food suppliers they use, according to a Toast survey. 

  • Starbucks sustainable cups
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    Courtesy of Starbucks

    Report: Starbucks’ smaller formats report higher traffic counts

    The chain’s smaller units drove 15% more visits per square foot in the past year compared to larger units, Placer.ai finds. 

  • An image of a building with Cracker Barrel branding
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    Courtesy of Cracker Barrel

    Biglari gains Cracker Barrel board seat

    The dining brand will expand its board from 10 seats to 11, with Sardar Biglari nominee Jody Bilney filling the additional seat.

  • Four McDonald's figurines designed by Cactus Plant Flea Market encircle a Happy Meal placed on a red table against a sky-blue backdrop.
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    Permission granted by McDonald's USA

    McDonald’s repackages Happy Meals for adults with cult streetwear label

    Meant to invoke nostalgia, the menu bundles come with unique art and collectible figurines as the chain tries to align with pop culture tastemakers.

  • Michael Arrowsmith, who is joining Hooters as Chief Development Officer
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    Courtesy of HOA Brands

    Hooters’ parent company adds development chief

    HOA Brands has tapped Michael Arrowsmith, an experienced franchise executive, to oversee the ongoing growth of Hooters and Hoots Wings.

  • A McDonald's store is shown in Houston, Texas.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images

    McDonald’s won’t postpone franchising changes, operator group claims

    The National Franchisee Leadership Alliance requested policy amendments be delayed from January to June 2023. 

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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images

    Papa Johns expands college benefits to more hourly workers

    The chain will offer free tuition to corporate employees working as little as 10 hours per week, and offer discounts to franchise employees.

  • A picture of a woman standing inside a bakery.
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    Permission granted by Uber Eats

    Uber, Visa issue $1M in grants to 100 small business owners

    The Local Initiatives Support Corporation has selected 100 active Uber Eats partners, who are primarily business owners of color, to receive $10,000 grants.

  • DoorDash driver
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    Courtesy of DoorDash

    DoorDash will offer $1M in gift cards to food insecure communities

    The aggregator has partnered with 18 mayors to provide data on local food needs and deliver meals to households with poor food access. 

  • One of P.F. Chang's flagship locations.
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    Courtesy of P.F. Chang's

    P.F. Chang’s adds subscription tier to loyalty program

    The monthly $6.99 service, which offers rewards and unlimited delivery, is one of few such programs among casual chains, CEO Damola Adamolekun said.

  • CEC Entertainment logo
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    Courtesy of CEC Entertainment

    Chuck E. Cheese parent names 3 execs to support expansion

    Two regional Chuck E. Cheese VPs will support its growth in the Southwest and Northwest, and sister chain Peter Piper Pizza has named a new COO. 

  • An image of a drone in flight with the logo Charleys on the side
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    Permission granted by Flytrex

    Charleys Philly Steak takes off with Flytrex drone delivery

    Through this partnership, the autonomous drone delivery company can deliver food from Charleys to customers’ backyards within three minutes. 

  • Image from Sonic's "Mmm Sonic" campaign
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    Courtesy of Sonic

    Why Sonic drove away from in-car commercials for its latest campaign

    CMO Lori Abou Habib explains the food-focused change and how the QSR has benefited from parent Inspire Brands' bespoke media unit within Publicis.

  • A picture of a woman holding up a credit card in front of a laptop.
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    wichayada suwanachun via Getty Images

    DoorDash to offer first credit card via Chase, Mastercard

    Co-branded cards have been proven to increase customer frequency, which could also deepen loyalty. 

  • An image of a a white building with Chipotle signage at night.
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    Permission granted by Chipotle

    Chipotle tests AI kitchen system, location-based technology

    PreciTaste will help the chain develop the kitchen management program and FlyBuy, a location-based technology, will aid app functionality.

  • Casey's new beer cheese breakfast pizza
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Casey's

    Casey’s working to automate pizza call-in orders

    The chain will use voice-based AI to field the roughly 10 million annual phone orders it receives, CEO Darren Rebelez said at Groceryshop.

  • An image of a webpage from Uber Eats
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    Permission granted by Uber Eats

    Uber Eats integrates with Toast, Clover

    These deals will allow Uber Eats’ restaurant partners to onboard with both their POS provider and the delivery company much faster. 

  • Isabella Casillas Guzman at her confirmation hearing as Small Business Administration Administrator
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    Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images

    NRA urges SBA to lower rates, accrued interest on COVID-19 loans

    A study from the NRA shows more than three-quarters of restaurants that took out Economic Injury Disaster Loans do not think they can pay them back.

  • Taco Bell and TerraCycle are expanding a sauce packet recycling program to accept all brands of condiment packets.
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    Courtesy of Taco Bell

    Taco Bell expands sauce packet recycling partnership

    The recycling program with TerraCycle now accepts all brands of sauce packets, which consumers can ship to the waste management firm for free.