The Latest

  • An image of a man leaving a Chipotle. He is holding a brown bag.
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    Getty Images
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    Tracking the same-store sales of 21 major restaurant chains

    Major publicly traded restaurant chains had a strange Q2 for comps growth, from Chili’s 23% jump to Sweetgreen’s 7.6% shortfall.

    Updated Aug. 18, 2025
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    Permission granted by Fireside Market
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    Fireside Market launches food-focused c-store design

    The 9,700-square-foot store in Slinger, Wisconsin, features a drive-thru and will serve as a model for future locations, a spokesperson said.

  • Four colorful drinks on a table.
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    Courtesy of Panera Bread
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    Panera Bread tests 4 premium drinks

    As QSRs eat into beverage occasions with refreshers, menu innovation could become an important defensive move for fast casual and coffee brands.

  • A diamond sign with red and blue and a white words that say "Domino's"
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Domino’s posts biggest US comparable sales growth in 6 quarters

    The chain has had two consecutive quarters of growth driven by deal promotions and the popularity of Parmesan Stuffed Crust.

  • An evening image of a building that says Papa Murphy's
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    The image by Rick Obst is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Papa Murphy’s shutters underperforming stores

    The take-and-bake pizza chain has faced significant competition from other pizza brands that have invested heavily in aggressive marketing campaigns.

  • An image of a small restaurant with people gathered around. Thereis 7 Brew signage.
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    Permission granted by 7 Brew
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    7 Brew hits 500 store mark

    The brand has grown its storebase by more than 50% in 2025, and its dramatic expansion could put pressure on legacy chains at the top of the coffee sector.

  • AI apps ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Perplexity on a smartphone hovering over a computer keyboard .
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    Getty Images
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    Instacart, Uber, DoorDash bringing food delivery to ChatGPT

    The three e-commerce providers are among several apps set to join the AI-powered chatbot.

  • An image of a red sign with white logo that says "Wendy's." Above the sign is an cartoon image of a girl with red hair and pigtails with blue bows.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Wendy’s to invest at least $20M to boost AUV

    After same-store sales dropped two quarters in a row, the burger brand shifted money from development funds to in-store labor and equipment.

  • An image of a customer entering a Cava restaurant.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Cava adds tiers, status matching to rewards program

    Consumers who can prove elite status in some other brands’ loyalty programs will be able to slot into the higher tiers of Cava’s system.

  • Toast for Hotel Restaurants
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    Permission granted by Toast
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    Restaurants battered by inflation, turnover: report

    Improving profits and traffic are the main strategic goals for restaurant leaders in 2025, according to a Toast survey.

  • Sprouts employee restocking Heat & Meat meal offerings
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    Peyton Bigora/Restaurant Dive
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    Grocers continue to gain ground on restaurants, FMI survey finds

    Twenty-eight percent of shoppers said they buy deli-prepared foods from grocers as a replacement for going to a restaurant, up from 12% in 2017.

  • One of Serve Robotics' delivery robots.
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    Courtesy of Serve Robotics
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    Serve Robotics partners with DoorDash

    The companies will initially deploy bots in Los Angeles, where DoorDash is already offering bot delivery with Coco, and where Serve works with Uber Eats.

  • A brick wall with a black sign that says Bar Louie Bar & Eatery with a logo of a martini glass
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    The image by JJBers is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Sun Holdings buys Bar Louie

    The multi-brand company acquired the distressed chain out of bankruptcy less than a year after it bought Uncle Julio’s in a foreclosure auction.

  • A close up image of a wrap with chicken.
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    Permission granted by Potbelly
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    Potbelly adds wraps to core menu

    The chain will offer two signature wraps and allow guests to make any sandwich into a wrap in its latest menu innovation.

  • A worker uses a Square tablet.
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    Courtesy of Square
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    Square debuts voice ordering, boosts AI assistant

    As tech firms compete to build up an all-in-one restaurant management platform, features like back-office AI and phone ordering could become important points of competition. 

  • Domino's rebranded assets
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    Courtesy of Domino's
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    Inside Domino’s first refresh in a decade — including its ‘cravemark’

    With younger consumers in mind, the pizza chain has a new look and sound, including an audio-visual expression voiced by singer Shaboozey.

  • Aerial photograph of a Cracker Barrel sign.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Cracker Barrel traffic nosedived after logo backlash

    Visits dropped by 10% in the weeks following the chain’s logo reversal, only improving to a 7% dip in the last week of September, according to Placer.ai.

  • Fiserv Clover point of sale CardFree mobile ordering payments
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    Bruce Bennett via Getty Images
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    Dunkin’ hits 10K stores in the US

    The coffee chain is the latest brand to pass this milestone, joining Starbucks, McDonald’s and Subway in an elite — but sometimes troubled — cohort.

  • A person stands in a parking lot with a blurred building with Swig signage in the background.
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    Courtesy of Swig
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    Swig plots aggressive growth with new president, franchise chief

    The dirty soda brand promoted Todd Smith from chief commercial officer to president and hired Shannon Swenson as chief of franchise partnerships.

  • A promotional image of one of Starbucks' AmazonGo Locations
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    Courtesy of Starbucks
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    Why mobile-order and pickup-only restaurants fail, according to experts

    Starbucks learned the hard way that customers care more about experience than efficiency. 

  • An image showing some of Dunkin's branding pasted on the side of a building.
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    Courtesy of Dunkin'
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    Dunkin’ changes its rewards redemptions, again

    A Restaurant Dive analysis of new discount rates shows the coffee chain has largely made it more expensive to redeem items.

  • A Starbucks remade as a "Starbies"
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    Courtesy of Starbucks
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    Starbucks ties in-store experiences, rewards to new Taylor Swift album

    The chain has outfitted a Nashville store with a pop-up vinyl shop, photo booth and more, and claims it is throwing “the largest global listening party.”

  • A Cracker Barrel sign hangs on the outside of a restaurant.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Cracker Barrel sacks brand consultancy, shuffles leadership

    The chain fired the firm that advised it on its recent logo and restaurant refresh after significant consumer pushback led to a strategy reversal.

  • An image of a brown building with two trucks out front. Signage says Razzoo's Cajun CAfe
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    Permission granted by Razzoo's Cajun Cafe
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    Razzoo’s Cajun Cafe goes bankrupt citing competitive pressures

    Aggressive marketing and value-oriented promotions from Applebee’s and Chili’s contributed to the decline in sales, according to court filings.

  • Jack in the Box video game
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    Courtesy of Jack in the Box
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    Jack in the Box launches AI-powered in-app game to deliver value

    DealQuest: Revenge of the Munchies offers bigger rewards the deeper players get into the game, potentially attracting cash-crunched consumers.