Corporate Operations

  • A smiling man in a blue windowpane check suit coat with a white dress shirt
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    Courtesy of Sweetgreen
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    Sweetgreen hires Chipotle vet as COO

    Jason Cochran, who served as vice president of operations at Chipotle under Brian Niccol, could help Sweetgreen as it looks to establish itself as a clear segment leader.

    By • April 29, 2025
  • A photograph of a brick building with a red sign and white letters that says Chipotle.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Chipotle wants its workers to smile for customers

    The restaurant chain plans to improve CX through friendliness. “The fact is smiles down the line don't slow us down,” CEO Scott Boatwright said.

    By Bryan Wassel • April 25, 2025
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    sam edwards via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Menu development

    Restaurants big and small are experimenting with their menus to align with the preferences of on-the-go diners and mitigate the impact of rising food costs, supply chain disruption and shrinking consumer discretionary funds. 

    By Restaurant Dive staff
  • An image of two pizzas in front of a pizza oven.
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    Courtesy of Bertucci's
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    Bertucci’s goes bankrupt for 3rd time in 7 years

    The ailing brand, which closed 7 of its 22 stores, may lean on its fast casual spinoff to weather the rising costs and waning consumer confidence hurting casual restaurants.

    By • April 25, 2025
  • Jack in the Box restaurant location
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Jack in the Box will shutter up to 200 stores, mulls Del Taco sale

    The brand will also scale back its company-owned development starting next year and sell off real estate to pay down debt.

    By • April 24, 2025
  • Chairs and tables outside a restaurant beneath a rectangular "Kitchen 1883" sign.
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    Screenshot: Google Maps

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    Kroger to close 2 restaurants

    The grocer is shuttering Kitchen 1883 eateries in Union, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, but plans to continue operating a third location in a supermarket next to its headquarters.

    By Sam Silverstein • April 24, 2025
  • A white man in gray pants, a polo, a blue windowpane checked sportcoat and a baseball cap stands in front of a salad restaurant.
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    Courtesy of Salad and Go
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    Salad and Go hires former Krispy Kreme head as CEO

    The salad chain’s central kitchen operating model bears a resemblance to the doughnut maker’s hub-and-spoke structure, which Mike Tattersfield has seven years of experience leading.

    By • April 22, 2025
  • 7-Eleven
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    Courtesy of 7-Eleven
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    7-Eleven to open 1,300 new stores through 2030

    The retailer also expects to roughly double the number of stores that include a QSR, from 1,080 to 2,100, as it gears up for a 2026 IPO.

    By Jessica Loder • April 16, 2025
  • Customer spending rising due to inflation
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Here’s what 7 major restaurants pay their CEOs — and their store-level workers

    The top brass at fast food chains like Starbucks, Chipotle and Yum Brands make tens of millions a year, while their hourly workers’ earnings hover near the poverty line.

    By • April 15, 2025
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    Avosb via Getty Images
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    Just Salad ex-CFO missed out on $1.2M, lawsuit claims

    The former finance chief is seeking funds he claims he’s owed relating to a separation agreement, as well as $5 million in damages.

    By Grace Noto • April 3, 2025
  • An image of Papa Johns sign on a store
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    Courtesy of Papa Johns
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    Papa Johns will use Google AI for analytics, marketing

    The pizza chain has tapped Google Cloud’s AI tools to optimize delivery routes, create a customer-facing chatbot and deliver personalized rewards in real time.

    By • April 3, 2025
  • A Waffle House in Alabama.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Waffle House launches late-night delivery at 500 stores

    The 24/7 diner chain will serve delivery orders for the first time through third-party aggregators using Olo’s Dispatch tool.

    By • April 2, 2025
  • A photograph of a brick building with a red sign and white letters that says Chipotle.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    ‘It limits you’: Chipotle manager allegedly refused to schedule worker who needed to pump

    The PUMP Act granted federal protections to nursing employees, but working parents may not be aware of what the law provides.

    By Ryan Golden • April 1, 2025
  • Pedestrians walk by a KFC and a Taco Bell restaurant on July 2, 2014 in San Rafael, California.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs will retire next year

    Under Gibbs, the company added more than 10,000 restaurants, acquired the Habit Burger & Grill and grew sales by $13 billion.

    By • March 31, 2025
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Why Shake Shack’s founder ties employee experience to CX

    Employees won’t offer customers consistently good experiences unless they like their job and coworkers, according to Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer.

    By Bryan Wassel • March 25, 2025
  • A "Market Plate" from Just Salad
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    Courtesy of Just Salad
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    Just Salad serves up dinner plates

    Following in Sweetgreen’s footsteps, the fast casual chain wants to boost its dinner daypart with heartier meals.

    By • March 20, 2025
  • A Chili's Burger framed by fries and a drink.
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    Courtesy of Brinker
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    The restaurant industry’s Q4 2024 winners and losers

    Consumer price sensitivity has hit brands unevenly, with Applebee’s and Starbucks suffering extended traffic declines while Chili’s pumped its traffic up with a strong value offer. 

    By • March 20, 2025
  • An image of a gray building with a black sign that says "&pizza"
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    Permission granted by &pizza
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    &pizza pivots to franchising

    Pizzas formulated for off-premise dining could help &pizza escape the problems of the fast casual pizza sector as it grows beyond the East Coast.

    By • March 20, 2025
  • A Walmart storefront showcases its refreshed brand identity, with a new typeface and the spark logo set apart as a standalone asset.
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    Permission granted by Walmart
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    Walmart links with chain to open made-to-order pizza restaurants

    Nozzleman Pizza plans to debut locations inside more than a dozen of the retailer’s stores this year.

    By Catherine Douglas Moran • March 19, 2025
  • A close up look at a digital beverage menu and kiosks at Taco Bell's Live Mas Cafe
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    Permission granted by Taco Bell/Diversified Restaurant Group
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    Yum Brands, Nvidia will deploy new AI at 500 restaurants

    The restaurant giant is working with the tech company to develop proprietary tech systems including back-of-house computer vision.

    By • March 19, 2025
  • Maverik
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    Brett Dworski/Restaurant Dive
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    Deep Dive

    Inside Maverik’s decision to cut Kum & Go’s foodservice program

    The move, which coincided with nixing the Iowa retailer's mobile ordering platform, underscores the culturally dissonant integration between the companies, several former corporate staffers say.

    By Brett Dworski • March 18, 2025
  • The exterior of a Cava in Chicago
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    Permission granted by Cava
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    Cava opens first Indiana unit

    The growing Mediterranean brand is looking at cities like Indianapolis, Detroit and Pittsburgh as fresh markets for development in 2025.

    By • March 17, 2025
  • Coffee drips into a white ceramic mug emblazoned with the Starbucks logo
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    Courtesy of Starbucks
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    Brian Niccol’s 6-month update on Starbucks turnaround plan

    The coffee chain’s CEO said investments in store experience are ramping up, but union members say the brand isn’t spending enough on hourly workers.

    By • Updated March 13, 2025
  • An image of a chicken big mac sold by a McDonald's duplicate set up by the chain to promote the sandwich
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    Courtesy of McDonald's
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    McDonald’s creates ‘restaurant experience’ team to sharpen menu innovation

    The Golden Arches’ new team replaces its customer experience unit and includes three cohorts dedicated to chicken, beef and beverage/dessert.

    By • March 11, 2025
  • A gray and beige fast food building with red and white brand markings for the chain Jollibee
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    Courtesy of Jollibee
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    Jollibee to ramp up US growth with franchising program

    With an AUV of about $4.3 million, the Filipino chicken chain’s unit economics could make it compelling for multi-unit operators.

    By • March 11, 2025
  • Patrons at a Chicago Starbucks after the coffee chain on Feb. 25, 2025.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    These 6 restaurant companies have laid off thousands in 2025

    Staff reductions hit every corner of the restaurant industry, from Grubhub’s elimination of 500 workers to Starbucks’ 1,100 corporate job cuts.

    By • March 10, 2025