Corporate
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Jack in the Box CIO to depart in May
The fast food chain will be "separating" from SVP and CIO Andrew Martin on May 7, according to an SEC filing.
By Katie Malone • April 15, 2021 -
McDonald's will require anti-harassment training at all restaurants in 2022
The training will impact 2 million employees at the chain's 39,000 restaurants worldwide regardless of whether they work at corporate-owned or franchisee-operated locations, CEO Chris Kempczinski announced Wednesday.
By Emma Liem Beckett • April 14, 2021 -
Trendline
Off-premise initiatives
The pandemic has proven that off-premise operations, from takeout to drive-thru, is a vital part of the restaurant industry to keep revenue up and consumers returning.
By Restaurant Dive staff -
Courtesy of Taco Bell
Taco Bell's newest Cantina rolls out with kiosk-only ordering
The Times Square location, which opens Wednesday, also offers 15 order-ahead mobile pickup cubbies, which could be particularly effective for stores without space for drive-thrus.
By Julie Littman • April 13, 2021 -
Retrieved from WoWorks on December 22, 2020
WOWorks pursues acquisitions, ghost kitchens to drive growth
Kelly Roddy, the holding company's CEO, says it plans to buy two to three more brands by the end of the year, as well as increase units via delivery-only locations and franchising.
By Julie Littman • April 12, 2021 -
Whataburger seeks to hire 50K employees with focus on managers
The burger chain has also increased responsibilities and pay for its general managers, with six-figure salaries and bonus potential of up to 150% their target incentive, as chains strive to retain talent in a tight labor market.
By Alicia Kelso • April 09, 2021 -
McDonald's to close hundreds of Walmart locations
The burger chain is pulling out more of its restaurants as the pandemic hurts in-store traffic, The Wall Street Journal reported.
By Jeff Wells • April 09, 2021 -
Courtesy of Taco Bell
Taco Bell expands PTO benefits for managers, eyes filling 5K positions
At 1,200 company-owned locations, general managers will receive up to four weeks of accrued vacation time annually and additional parental leave.
By Julie Littman • April 06, 2021 -
Courtesy of Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut CMO exits amid larger overhaul to marketing operations
The second retooling of marketing leadership in barely over a year speaks to potential COVID-19 pressures, but also comes as Yum Brands is ramping up digital transformation.
By Peter Adams • UPDATED: April 13, 2021 at 10:41 a.m. -
Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Brand marketer Fernando Machado departs Burger King parent for Activision
Machado last year was promoted to global CMO at RBI after having the same role at Burger King, where he developed notable campaigns such as the Whopper Detour and Moldy Whopper.
By Robert Williams • April 05, 2021 -
Alabama Extension. (2020). "The image" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Report: 10% of all restaurants have closed during pandemic
Chain restaurants with less than 501 locations have closed at a higher rate than independent restaurants, with the largest permanent closure rate — 16.2% — among chains with 51 to 100 units.
By Alicia Kelso • March 31, 2021 -
Permission granted by DoorDash
DoorDash sues Olo for fraud and breach of contract
Claiming Olo overcharged it tens of millions of dollars worth of fees, DoorDash is asking for $7 million in damages. Olo said the claims are "baseless."
By Julie Littman • March 31, 2021 -
Permission granted by TMRW
Shake Shack CFO to become CEO of life science company
Tara Comonte's responsibilities will be transitioned to other leadership team members until a new CFO is found.
By Jane Thier • March 31, 2021 -
Courtesy of Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle gives away $100K in bitcoin for National Burrito Day
By asking people to register for a chance to win burritos or bitcoin, the restaurant can continue to build out its first-party data about consumers for future campaigns.
By Robert Williams • March 30, 2021 -
Delight Restaurant Group adds 54 Wendy's from NPC International sale
With the acquisition, the franchisee will operate 111 Wendy's and Taco Bell locations across four states.
By Alicia Kelso • March 29, 2021 -
Thai Phi Le
Q&ANoodles & Company's new CFO talks how ghost kitchens, drive-thrus will shape the chain's future
Carl Lukach, who started at the chain in November, says 70% to 80% of the stores built this year will have a drive-thru pickup window.
By Julie Littman • March 29, 2021 -
Domino's franchisee to deliver $3M to settle drivers' wage and hour claims
The plaintiffs claimed they were not reimbursed for their own delivery expenses such as vehicle maintenance and insurance.
By Lisa Burden • March 25, 2021 -
Courtesy of Nuro
Chipotle invests in self-driving delivery company Nuro
This marks the first time the fast casual chain has significantly funded a third-party technology company since 2018 and follows recent tech acquisitions by McDonald's and Yum Brands.
By Julie Littman • March 25, 2021 -
Olive Garden parent to raise hourly wage to $10 and offer $17M in bonuses
Pay will then rise to $11 per hour in January 2022 and $12 per hour in January 2023, in Darden Restaurants' latest move to improve compensation since the start of the pandemic.
By Emma Liem Beckett • March 25, 2021 -
Courtesy of Taco Bell
Yum Brands acquires Tictuk to deepen commerce capabilities for social media, messaging
The owner of KFC and Taco Bell makes its second tech acquisition in a month as it looks to transform its business on a faster timetable.
By Peter Adams • March 24, 2021 -
Domino's teams with Datatron to streamline AI and machine learning tech
The platform is automating and standardizing the deployment, monitoring, management, governance and validation of the pizza chain's artificial intelligence models.
By Alicia Kelso • March 23, 2021 -
Permission granted by Brinker International
Deep DiveFor restaurant chains, marketing virtual brands poses equal challenge and opportunity
Third-party apps, where most virtual brands live, offer marketers access to consumer data they don't otherwise have — an increasing priority as the data privacy landscape tightens.
By Chris Kelly • March 19, 2021 -
Permission granted by Olo
What Olo's $450M IPO means for the restaurant industry
Founder and CEO Noah Glass talks about how he wants to expand Olo's digital ordering capabilities with an influx of capital after shares rose 39% during day one of trading.
By Julie Littman • March 19, 2021 -
50% of restaurants plan to incentivize employees to get vaccinated, survey says
Even after employees are vaccinated, 75% of restaurants said they will keep their safety protocols in place, according to a report from BlackBox Intelligence.
By Alicia Kelso • March 18, 2021 -
Julie Littman/Restaurant Dive
Cava flipping Zoës Kitchen locations to support suburban growth
Seven Zoës have been converted and another 12 are in the works for this year in a mix of urban and suburban markets, a Cava spokesperson said.
By Alicia Kelso • March 17, 2021 -
LEON
British QSR Leon shutters US locations
The company managed to keep only one American location open over the past 12 months, with volume down 85%, Leon USA president Glenn Edwards said.
By Emma Liem Beckett • March 17, 2021
