Popeyes chicken sandwich spurs best quarter in 20 years

Despite selling out after 14 days, the popular menu item helped increase store traffic 218% in July and attract new guests during the third quarter. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 28, 2019

Popeyes stores are already selling out of its chicken sandwich, reports say

Just three days after its relaunch, customers claim the chain has run out of its star menu item at stores across the country, according to Forbes and Bloomberg.

By Peter Adams , Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Nov. 5, 2019

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Back-of-house Technology

From AI-enhanced POS systems and analytics to robot-powered kitchen equipment, restaurants are investing in technology solutions to optimize kitchen operations and reduce employee turnover. 

By Restaurant Dive staff

Impossible Whopper drives 5% of Burger King's Q3 US comp sales

The sandwich helped drive the chain's strongest U.S. growth rate since 2015, and could kick-start the creation of a plant-based platform both domestically and abroad for the restaurant. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 28, 2019

Shift Change: Rave Restaurant Group appoints new CEO, Your Pizza hires first CMO

This week's Shift Change also highlights executives at Restaurant Brands International, Global Franchise Group, Paris Baguette and Muscle Maker Grill.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 25, 2019

Q4 delivery roundup: Chains end exclusive deals to pursue more diners, market share

Jack in the Box and BBQ Holdings saw delivery sales gains while Chuy's, Papa John's and others expand relationships with more third-party aggregators. 

By Julie Littman , Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Nov. 21, 2019

Lunch Break: White Castle's COO shares how its tech, culture help labor retention

Wearables with real-time data updates and 40-hour weeks for GMs are helping the burger chain grow talent, Jeff Carper said, but as the labor shortage grows, it is eyeing cafeteria-style payment and additional benefits.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Oct. 23, 2019

Chipotle to build 60 Chipotlanes by year's end

The company expects digital to become a $1 billion business, and mobile pickup lanes will be a growing part of the chain's strategy as it evaluates real estate needs. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 23, 2019

McDonald's improves drive-thru times by 20 seconds

Faster food prep, menu simplification and tech implementation helped the largest fast food chain boost speed of service and improve customer satisfaction. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 22, 2019

Burger King India sales grew 66%, report says

The chain, which has found a niche with pricing and its vegetarian menu, plans to open 500 units by fiscal year 2023, which will better position it against McDonald's.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 22, 2019

Predictive scheduling laws — meant to protect workers — appear to be working

Restaurants should take compliance seriously, as treating employees unfairly could turn off diners that are increasingly concerned about workplace culture, according to the Harvard Business Review. 

By Riia O'Donnell , Kate Tornone , Emma Liem Beckett • Oct. 21, 2019

Passport to success: How restaurants can make international expansion work

From Popeyes to Wendy's, U.S. QSRs are crowding foreign markets in places like China and the Middle East. Check out our interactive maps to see how many stores they've planted overseas and learn about the strategies needed to expand abroad.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 21, 2019

Outback trials AI to analyze diner interactions with staff

Franchisee Evergreen Restaurant Group will use the tech from Presto to track and share updates on wait times and other metrics in real-time with managers.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 17, 2019

Chick-fil-A diners can now order from their table

Customers can skip the line by placing a dine-in mobile order through the chain's app and tapping their smartphones to tech-enabled table numbers, which tell employees where to deliver the food.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 17, 2019

Taco Bell recalls 2.3M pounds of beef on heels of tortilla shortage

The chain pulled the product from 21 states this week over possible metal shaving contamination, which could hurt its brand perception. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 16, 2019

It's not just for drive-thrus: How AI can transform back of house

With heavy hitters like McDonald's and Yum Brands pushing forward with this cutting-edge technology, all restaurants should consider the impact it will have on behind-the-scenes operations.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 16, 2019

Uber will lay off about 350 employees across Eats, rest of system

This downsizing marks the firm's third round of layoffs since August, adding up to over 1,000 job cuts, but CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said it's "the last wave."

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 15, 2019

Pickup app Ritual enters Germany, Hong Kong, Netherlands

The third-party digital platform is in seven countries and aims to partner with 15,000 restaurants by the end of the year. 

By Lauren Manning • Oct. 15, 2019

Digitization primes restaurants for growth — and ADA lawsuits

Domino's recent fight over website accessibility highlights a growing risk companies face as they work to bulk up online orders.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Oct. 14, 2019

DoorDash unveils to-go-only virtual kitchen in Bay Area

DoorDash Kitchens, based in Redwood City, California, will offer delivery and pickup from local and national restaurants such as Nation's Giant Hamburgers, Rooster & Rice, Humphry Slocombe and The Halal Guys. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 14, 2019

Chick-fil-A must close first UK restaurant after pilot period, shopping center orders

Following pressure from local gay rights groups, the popular chicken chain — which opened a store in Reading, England, only eight days ago — will not be permitted to stay in the Oracle shopping center beyond its six-month test.

By Julie Littman • Updated Oct. 18, 2019

How Wendy's plans to get breakfast right this time

The restaurant expects the morning daypart to make up 10% of its daily sales, and its breakfast strategy will use less labor and lower food costs compared to previous attempts.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 11, 2019

Shift Change: Red Robin appoints board chair, Subway hires 4 execs

This week's Shift Change also highlights new executives at Taco Bell, Dunkin' Brands, Good Times Restaurants and Tim Hortons. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 11, 2019

Potbelly, Macy's deal will bring sandwiches to shoppers

As its foot traffic declines, the struggling department store will add outposts of the sandwich chain inside three California stores and one New York location.

By Lauren Manning • Oct. 10, 2019

AI could define the future of restaurants. What happens when it fails?

Twenty-five percent of companies report up to a 50% failure rate for their AI projects, according to an IDC survey, a phenomenon that poses privacy threats for diners and reputational risks for restaurants. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 9, 2019

Food and beverage workers rank low in happiness, financial fitness

Some of the employee value proposition trends embraced by other industries haven't caught on in a meaningful way in food and beverage. 

By Riia O'Donnell , Kate Tornone • Oct. 9, 2019