Operations

  • An image of two chicken wraps from McDonald's
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of MCDonald's
    Image attribution tooltip

    Restaurant winners and losers from H1 2025

    Casual dining chains, led by Chili’s, had a surprisingly strong quarter, while fast casuals, like Chipotle and Sweetgreen, struggled with consumer pullback and operations problems.

    By • Aug. 27, 2025
  • A photograph of a person's arms holding a wooden knief that is resting in a small paper box of food. Another hand is on a gray latop.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by DoorDash
    Image attribution tooltip

    DoorDash updates features for corporate clients

    Companies can track spending, usage and engagement by employees who participate in meal programs.

    By • Aug. 26, 2025
  • Homeroom Restaurant in Oakland, California Explore the Trendline➔
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Homeroom
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Independent restaurants

    Dining room refreshes, menu innovation and other unique offerings can help independents stand out from competitors, win new customers and keep existing ones coming back. 

    By Restaurant Dive staff
  • A pretzel shop in an airport.
    Image attribution tooltip
    jessicaphoto via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Auntie Anne’s airport strategy takes flight

    High-traffic, high-volume locations connect the brand to new consumers, setting the stage for expansion beyond captive audience venues. 

    By • Aug. 25, 2025
  • A smiling man in a blue suit.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Applebee's
    Image attribution tooltip

    Applebee’s appoints operations, marketing chiefs

    Following a strong Q2, Dine Brands will bring on Jerrold Wong as COO and Michelle Chin as CMO to extend Applebee’s recent successes.

    By • Aug. 25, 2025
  • Two drinks, a coconut water matcha cold foam one on the left and the same base but with cold brew cold foam on the right.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Starbucks
    Image attribution tooltip

    Starbucks expands coconut water drinks test to 400 stores

    CEO Brian Niccol has said the chain’s menu innovation will focus on “the function-forward modern offerings that customers want.”

    By • Aug. 22, 2025
  • An image of a small blue building with White Castle signage.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by White Castle
    Image attribution tooltip

    White Castle to open first Texas restaurant in 2026

    The Columbus-based slider chain will open the restaurant next summer in a Dallas suburb, as it continues to expand into new states.

    By • Aug. 22, 2025
  • An image of a brick building with Applebee's signage
    Image attribution tooltip
    Scott Olson via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Activist investor targets Dine Brands

    The Edge Consulting Group, which has roughly a 1% stake in the company, wants Dine to consider divesting non-core assets like Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

    By • Aug. 20, 2025
  • An arm holds a smartphone over a takeout box that is on a red table. On the right is a QSR code.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by DoorDash
    Image attribution tooltip

    DoorDash adds loyalty program for partner restaurants

    Restaurants can choose from visit-based or spend-based rewards programs, and customers can accrue points across multiple channels, including in-store.

    By • Aug. 20, 2025
  • A beige building with Barvo! Cucina Italiana logo
    Image attribution tooltip
    TennesseePhotographer via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Bravo Brio Restaurants declares bankruptcy a second time

    Restaurants in shopping centers with high vacancy and low foot traffic have struggled, especially with softening consumer discretionary spending.

    By • Aug. 19, 2025
  • An image of different bowls with foods and hands making tacos.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Del Taco/ezCater
    Image attribution tooltip

    Del Taco expands catering with ezCater

    The partnership is live in about 250 restaurants, and more units will be phased onto the platform through 2026.

    By • Aug. 19, 2025
  • People stand in front of kiosks by a McDonald's
    Image attribution tooltip
    hapabapa via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Fast food brands fire up AI despite challenging backdrop

    McDonald’s, Chipotle and Yum Brands are embedding the technology into workflows to streamline processes and improve customer and employee experiences.

    By Lindsey Wilkinson • Aug. 18, 2025
  • A rendering of brick buildings and trees. In the center building there is a logo that says sweetgreen
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Sweetgreen
    Image attribution tooltip

    Fast casual chains remain optimistic about unit development

    Despite Wingstop, Sweetgreen and Chipotle posting negative comparable sales in Q2, they remain focused on building stores and expanding into new markets.

    By , • Aug. 15, 2025
  • A Whatburger storefront. A sign outside reads, "Whataburger".
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of https://stories.whataburger.com/press-kit
    Image attribution tooltip

    Whataburger hires COO from Flynn Group

    Jessica Reicher brings considerable operations experience from her work at Nando’s, Fuddrucker’s and Yum Brands to the growing burger brand.

    By • Aug. 14, 2025
  • A white building with windows on the front with a large sign that says Cava
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Cava
    Image attribution tooltip

    Cava leans on tech to free up workers’ time to connect with guests

    The company is investing in automated food production for digital orders only, as “technology should enhance, not replace the human experience,” CEO Brett Schulman said.

    By Bryan Wassel • Aug. 14, 2025
  • An image of a Noodles & Company restaurant with outdoor seating
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Noodles & Company
    Image attribution tooltip

    Noodles & Company accelerates closure of underperforming restaurants

    The chain closed 20 company-owned units last year and saw a bump in traffic and sales at nearby restaurants. Now it plans to shutter up to 32 more.

    By • Aug. 14, 2025
  • Various Italian dishes, pastas and entrees from Maggiano's set on a red and white checkered table cloth.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Maggiano's Little Italy
    Image attribution tooltip

    Maggiano’s president departs as brand turnaround proceeds

    Rich Kissel, a longtime Chili’s exec who helped revive the chain, joins Maggiano’s as COO after Dominique Bertolone’s resigned as brand president.

    By • Aug. 14, 2025
  • An image of a Chili's sign with a red chili pepper.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Chili’s same-store sales growth tops 20%, again

    Three years into its turnaround strategy, the chain continues to outperform the casual dining industry with double-digit traffic growth.

    By • Aug. 14, 2025
  • A photograph of a red and yellow sign with a giant yellow "M" above a red box that says "McDonald's Billions Served."
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    McDonald’s launches first-party delivery channel with DoorDash

    Guests using McDonald’s new white-label DoorDash site don’t need an account or an app to place a delivery order.

    By • Aug. 13, 2025
  • Peter the Pita Chip plushie on a Cava bag
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Cava
    Image attribution tooltip

    Cava’s traffic growth slows as consumers show reticence

    Fast casual segment leaders fell behind some fast food competitors in sales growth this quarter, with Cava the latest to post flat traffic growth.

    By • Aug. 13, 2025
  • An image of a stainless steel kitchen makeline
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Chipotle/Hyphen
    Image attribution tooltip

    Cava joins Chipotle in backing Hyphen with $10M

    The automated makeline company will use the money to accelerate the deployment of its technology, but Cava’s CFO says testing at the brand is unlikely until 2026.

    By • Aug. 12, 2025
  • An image of six cookies of different colors and flavors in front of a white background.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Fat Brands, Virtual Dining Concepts
    Image attribution tooltip

    Fat Brands to serve Great American Cookies at Chuck E. Cheese

    The delivery-only partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts will bring the cookie brand to 400 Chuck E. Cheese locations initially.

    By • Aug. 12, 2025
  • Wendy's
    Image attribution tooltip
    Thai Phi Le/Restaurant Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    Wendy’s wants good experiences to drive frequency as consumers pull back spending

    Customer satisfaction for orders placed through employees and made digitally were each up significantly year over year, but it wasn’t enough to offset a negative quarter.

    By Bryan Wassel • Aug. 12, 2025
  • A white container with a DoorDash logo sits on a table next to a green cup with a Jamba logo and a pretzel.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of GoTo Foods, DoorDash, Wing
    Image attribution tooltip

    GoTo Foods launches drone delivery in Texas

    Through a partnership with DoorDash and Wing, the company will offer fast delivery from select restaurants in Frisco, Fort Worth and Plano.

    By • Aug. 11, 2025
  • A waiter picks up a cash tip from a table.
    Image attribution tooltip
    kali9 via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Tips drop as consumer spending stalls

    Average tip size has shrunk from 15.5% in 2023 to 14.9% in the second quarter of 2025, leaving workers with less pay, a July report from Square showed.

    By • Aug. 8, 2025
  • A Sweetgreen salad and an order of air fried potatoes.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Sweetgreen
    Image attribution tooltip

    Unprofitable Sweetgreen cuts workers and fries

    With same-store sales down by 7.6% and losses mounting, the salad chain is looking to trim operational complexity and corporate expenses.

    By • Aug. 8, 2025