Over 30% of diners plan to cater a holiday meal, survey finds

Fifty-three percent of consumers also plan to buy a restaurant holiday gift card this season, according to a Tripleseat survey.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 18, 2020

Designing with distance: How restaurants are evolving to meet pandemic needs

Forced air blasted between bar seats. Chef's kitchens encased in glass cubes. Garage-style, floor-to-ceiling windows. Experts predict what could become dominant design assets across the industry.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 18, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Menu development

Restaurants big and small are experimenting with their menus to align with the preferences of on-the-go diners and mitigate the impact of rising food costs, supply chain disruption and shrinking consumer discretionary funds. 

By Restaurant Dive staff

How 5 mega chains are designing restaurants for a digital future

From McDonald's to Chipotle, limited-service brands are spending big on drive-thru, drive-in and pickup technology to grow revenue as the contactless experience becomes king. Here’s a breakdown of their designs.

By Emma Liem Beckett , Julie Littman • Nov. 17, 2020

Chick-fil-A adds online ordering through its website

Previously, customers could only place orders via the restaurant's website for catering. But after testing the feature in two markets over the summer, the chicken chain is allowing online ordering across its entire system.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 13, 2020

Casual dining sales down 60% compared to 80% loss in March, study shows

The upcoming holidays could provide a tailwind — Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day both saw spikes in sales of up to 306%, but sales dropped dramatically in the 48 hours afterward, according to an Upserve report.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 12, 2020

McDonald's plants its flag in the alternative meat space

The QSR giant will start testing its McPlant product line in 2021, but controversy has already arisen over which company is supplying the products.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 11, 2020

Consumers expected to spend 29% more on restaurant gift cards, study says

Fifty-two percent of consumers plan to double their gift card purchases during the holidays, a trend that could help restaurants incentivize more diners to order out during the slow winter months.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 10, 2020

Arby's flips viral TikTok videos into special menu item

Inspiration for the campaign stems from a video of a user saying his new flat-screen TV only displayed a message from Arby's.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 9, 2020

Panera's second largest franchisee tests beer and wine

The bakery-cafe chain continues its push to boost the dinner daypart as it begins to sell alcohol for the first time in its 33-year history at five Kansas City locations.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 4, 2020

Third-party delivery is vital now, but operators believe curbside changes will be most permanent

A study shows that nearly 40% of restaurants said they would not have been able to stay open during the pandemic without the likes of DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 29, 2020

Nutrition without compromise: Reducing sodium while enhancing flavor

Consumers want nutrition without compromise. Umami can reduce sodium while enhancing flavor.

Oct. 26, 2020

New restaurant openings return to pre-pandemic levels, Yelp says

About 6,600 food establishments opened each in August and September, while 210,000 temporarily closed businesses reopened during Q3, according to the latest Yelp Economic Average report.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 23, 2020

Restaurant operating profits will rise 15% in 2021, Moody's predicts

Conditions are expected to continue to slowly improve in the next 12 to 18 months due to easing dine-in restrictions, but the ratings agency also cautioned that more closures are on the horizon. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 21, 2020

CMOs must decipher pandemic-related consumer behavior changes, Dentsu survey finds

Prepared CMOs were already shifting to digital and e-commerce channels, which are now table stakes for restaurants, evidenced by the dramatic growth of digital sales at chains like Chipotle.

By Chris Kelly • Oct. 21, 2020

Report: Winter weather could undo 2M in job gains from August, September

Restaurants, which added outdoor dining during the summer, will be among the most impacted, especially if they are in markets where average temperatures drop to below 50 degrees by November, Gusto research shows.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 20, 2020

Del Taco is planning a drive-thru-only restaurant model

With the Mexican QSR recouping lost dine-in sales through off-premise channels, the chain is in the final stages of a new prototype that removes the dining room and requires less real estate. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 19, 2020

Casual dining curbside pickup times beat QSR, report shows

Olive Garden, Applebee's and Panera — which earned high speed and customer satisfaction scores from Rakuten Ready — benefit from large real estate footprints with designated parking spots and strong technology infrastructure.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 13, 2020

Wendy's coupon gets more valuable with each retweet

The coupon on Twitter was retweeted 10.8K times, translating to customers receiving 30% off a breakfast order on the Uber Eats app through Friday morning.

By Robert Williams • Updated Oct. 14, 2020

7 months later: Where the restaurant industry stands

With sales down to 2016 levels, restaurants have a lot of ground to make up, but pent-up demand for dining in is still high and technological innovations can help bring consumers back.

By Julie Littman • Oct. 13, 2020

Famous Dave's expands ghost kitchens through Johnny Carino's partnership

Working within another restaurant decreases rent, doesn't add much labor costs and makes operations more efficient, Famous Dave's CEO Jeff Crivello said.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 12, 2020

3 attributes driving QSR customer satisfaction in 2020

How top restaurants are performing with order for pickup during the pandemic.

Oct. 12, 2020

New study: Eating 'clean' while dining out means better nutrition

Consumer behaviors around food have shifted during the pandemic, both at home and with meals eaten out of the house.

Oct. 12, 2020

McDonald's shaves down drive-thru times by almost 30 seconds, study shows

The chain's speed of service is likely helped by its Dynamic Yield technology and streamlined menus, including the elimination of all-day breakfast. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 6, 2020

How the pandemic accelerated the US ghost kitchen market '5 years in 3 months'

The COVID-19 crisis has restaurants "running to catch up" to delivery demand, but experts now see potential for permanent changes to business models as dark kitchens gain steam. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 5, 2020

McDonald's is running out of its Spicy Chicken McNuggets

The offering is the chain's second promotion in less than a month to experience shortages, following the popularity of the Travis Scott Meal in early September. 

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 1, 2020