Cracker Barrel to beta test rewards program in July

The casual dining chain expects its loyalty program to boost frequency, brand loyalty and customer value while providing the chain with robust guest data. 

By Julie Littman • June 7, 2023

Chick-fil-A boosts order personalization on app

App users can add ingredients to menu items via a tap-to-add or tap-to-subtract feature starting June 12, and some tweaks will cost extra. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • June 6, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

Back-of-house Technology

From voice AI at the drive-thru to robot-powered makelines, restaurants are investing in technology solutions to optimize kitchen operations and reduce employee turnover. 

By Restaurant Dive staff

AI in the restaurant industry. Make the data work for you.

Christian Berthelsen, CTO of Fourth, discusses how data-driven AI is the key to solving labor and inventory challenges in the restaurant industry.

By Christian Berthelsen, Chief Technology Officer, Fourth • June 5, 2023

Radar helps Whataburger increase repeat orders with real-time pickup ETAs and arrival detection

Whataburger used Radar to provide restaurants with visibility into pickup customer ETAs to increase the speed of service and labor efficiency while maintaining food quality.

June 5, 2023

Serve Robotics, Uber Eats will deploy up to 2K delivery robots

Over 200 restaurants in the Los Angeles market already use Serve’s robots to complete deliveries, which the company claims can reduce air pollution.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 31, 2023

How this growing QSR uses tech to handle restaurant craziness

Learn how a restaurant chain owner uses Square technology to keep his orders flowing.

May 30, 2023

How restaurants can get a slice of Gen Z’s $360B spending power

This generation's prioritization of time, social media and altruism — combined with a comparative mistrust of tech — sets it apart from millennials and Gen X.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 25, 2023

BentoBox: Reservation platforms are least popular tool for restaurant search

Most diners rely on recommendations from friends and family, or on social media posts, when weighing new restaurants to try, per a survey. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 25, 2023

Chipotle gears up for a fight with Street Fighter 6 activation

The fast casual giant is rewarding consumers who make digital orders with in-game currency and trading free food for viewing time on Twitch.

By Sara Karlovitch • May 25, 2023

Cooking up automation: 4 labor-saving tech solutions at the NRA Show

From a hand scanner that detects contaminates to a robot arm that can fry, salt and package food, technology is transforming the back of house.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 23, 2023

Activist investor may pressure Yelp to sell, reports say

TCS Capital Management wants Yelp to explore strategic alternatives, such as selling itself, as a way to boost shareholder value, per The Wall Street Journal. 

By Julie Littman • May 23, 2023

Chipotle prepares national rollout of RFID for food traceability

The restaurant chain is expanding its use of the technology to track ingredients from suppliers in real-time.

By Sarah Zimmerman • May 23, 2023

The top restaurant trends in 2023

As consumer dining preferences and economic conditions continue to evolve, it’s important to understand restaurant trends and strategies that work.

May 22, 2023

Grubhub adds customer insights, other features to restaurant portal

The Grubhub for Restaurants portal now includes customer insights, self-serve refund requests and an easier way to handle photo shoot access. 

By Julie Littman • May 19, 2023

Restaurant365 raises $135M

The restaurant tech firm said the money from L Catterton, KKR and previous investors would support further product development. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 19, 2023

Nextbite cuts more jobs, some staff say it will restructure

The virtual restaurant brand platform, which made staff cuts twice last year, terminated an unknown number of workers this week, according to LinkedIn posts from 20 former employees. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 18, 2023

Incentivio lands $10M in funding to grow restaurant AI capabilities

The guest engagement platform will use the funding to accelerate growth and invest in product, engineering and innovation for small- and mid-size eateries. 

By Julie Littman • May 18, 2023

Wendy’s tests underground robots for mobile order pickup

The QSR chain said it is the first to partner with hyperlogistics company Pipedream to create the system, which uses robot couriers to deliver orders from the kitchen to designated parking spots. 

By Julie Littman • Updated May 18, 2023

Yum Brands faces class action suits from employees after ransomware attack

The Taco Bell and KFC operator is facing litigation after some personal data of company employees was stolen in the attack.

By David Jones • May 16, 2023

Square adds franchise platform

Square for Franchise, which was created following the company’s acquisition of GoParrot, lets franchisors monitor multiple units on one dashboard. 

By Julie Littman • May 16, 2023

Yelp expands front-of-house tools with Toast, Google

A Toast integration will allow restaurants to gain insights from the point-of-sale system, while Reserve with Google will allow diners to reserve a table or join a waitlist from Google Maps and Search. 

By Julie Littman • May 15, 2023

How this brewery-gastropub saves 6 hours a week with integrated payroll

Learn how a brewing company used Square to grow their business, boost revenue and generate higher numbers of repeat customers.

May 15, 2023

Wendy’s will shut down remaining US Reef units

The closures are slated for this quarter and come less than two years after Wendy’s said it would build 700 Reef units in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 10, 2023

Deliverect acquires ChatFood, offers dine-in ordering

Deliverect will roll out new products in the coming months so restaurants can offer ordering via social media and QR codes for dine-in guests.

By Julie Littman • May 10, 2023

Wendy’s to test Google’s drive-thru chatbot in Ohio

The tool, called Wendy’s FreshAI, can understand customization requests, respond to common customer questions and offer upsell suggestions. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Updated May 10, 2023