Alcohol, food sales jump at restaurants on Thanksgiving Eve

The night before, known as "Drinksgiving," is becoming one of the most popular drinking holidays of the year with guest count and sales increasing 23%.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 25, 2019

Moe's plans to open all-digital, kiosk-only locations

The company will open these formats near the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Virginia in Q1 2020. 

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 21, 2019

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

Chipotle rolls out Alexa voice ordering

The feature is part of the chain's larger digital sales platform, which is nearing $1 billion, and will allow customers to reorder their favorite meals within seconds. 

By Julie Littman • Nov. 21, 2019

Restaurants are creeping into grab-and-go. Should grocers worry?

Grocers have traditionally owned the space, but fast casuals and QSRs, from Panera to Starbucks, are edging in as customer demand for convenience drives growth.

By Krishna Thakker , Jessica Dumont • Nov. 20, 2019

Burger King: Impossible Whoppers never advertised as vegan

Other QSRs like White Castle and Dunkin' have already put protocols in place to keep the products separate from meat during the cooking process. 

By Lauren Manning • Updated Jan. 31, 2020

Chopt opens delivery/pickup-only store to meet digital demand

The chain opened the off-premise concept in New York City to address digitally generated orders, which account for 40% of all the restaurant's orders.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 18, 2019

Comic Dive: Chicken Sandwich Kerfuffle

Recent missteps by Chick-fil-A, which is closed on Sundays, has given Popeyes easy marketing fodder around its viral dish.

By John Hazard • Nov. 15, 2019

Chipotle may make its carne asada a permanent menu item

The chain is extending the popular steak, which drove higher checks and new traffic, through the end of this year and into Q1 2019 as it explores its options. 

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 13, 2019

Restaurant gift card sales jumped 15% during the holidays last year

Although third-party retailers are gaining ground for sales of these gift cards, in-store sales remained higher during the holidays for restaurants, presenting an opportunity to boost sales and increase traffic.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 12, 2019

Popeyes traffic rose 299% during its chicken sandwich relaunch

The spike on Nov. 3 surpassed the initial rollout's traffic peak of 256%, and had a halo effect for KFC, which saw 29% gains on the same day, per Placer.ai data. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 8, 2019

A chaotic wait for the Popeyes sandwich spotlights Chick-fil-A's operational edge

Restaurant Dive stood in line and found that while Popeyes' sandwich may win the taste battle, its store experience could lose it the chicken sandwich wars.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 6, 2019

Chick-fil-A gaffe gives Popeyes easy marketing fodder amid chicken sandwich's return

A botched email communication around a Sunday holiday — when Chick-fil-A is closed — led to snarky social posts by Popeyes.

By Peter Adams • Nov. 1, 2019

McDonald's doubles down on chicken for breakfast

The QSR giant will offer Chicken McGriddles and McChicken Biscuit sandwiches during breakfast for a limited time, pitting it against Chick-fil-A's offerings.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Jan. 28, 2020

P.F. Chang's targets Miami party crowd with late-night concept

Chang's After Dark will include live entertainment and craft cocktails, and reflects a growing trend among casual restaurants to provide more in-store experiences to differentiate.

By Lauren Manning • Nov. 1, 2019

Impossible Whopper trial drove 18% traffic growth at Burger King

Barclays compared traffic at the chain's St. Louis restaurants where it trialed the burger to area McDonald's locations and Kansas City Burger Kings — neither of which saw comparable gains. 

By Lauren Manning • Oct. 17, 2019

62% of diners fear restaurant data breaches, report says

New research shows 40% of consumers are frustrated by the number of steps required to order food online. Operators need to strike a balance between seamless digital ordering and security.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 11, 2019

DoorDash snags 13% lead over Grubhub in share of spend

DoorDash is dominating the delivery segment with 35% market share after big moves, including new partners, increased ad presence and its acquisition of Caviar. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 10, 2019

Diners want mobile ordering, but only 18% of restaurant apps offer it

This disconnect could be detrimental to growing off-premise with 91% of consumers placing delivery orders via a brand's app or website in the last year, a National Restaurant Association study shows.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 3, 2019

Restaurant gift card sales rose 10% in 2018

QSRs increased gift card sales by 18%, but had the lowest average value at about $18 per card, according to a new report from Paytronix.

By Lauren Manning , Julie Littman • Sept. 24, 2019

Tim Hortons pulls plug on Beyond Meat, for now

The coffee and donut chain removed its plant-based sandwiches and burgers from Ontario and British Columbia Tuesday, the final two Canadian markets where Tim Hortons sold the products.

By Lauren Manning • Updated Jan. 29, 2020

Panera adds menu category: grain bowls

The addition is the fast casual cafe's largest product launch of 2019 and caps off a year that included new breakfast options and a dinner pilot. 

By Julie Littman • Sept. 18, 2019

Restaurants are only getting smaller, and that's by design

With fewer customers eating at restaurants, operators are eyeing more compact locations with dedicated areas for takeout orders.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 16, 2019

Philadelphia chains required to add salt warnings to menus

Restaurants with 15 or more locations must now label items with high sodium content in a move by the city to try to curb high rates of hypertension.

By Lauren Manning • Sept. 16, 2019

QSRs see greater growth in reviews than any other industry

96% of QSR locations now receive online reviews, outpacing all other industries. Here’s what businesses need to know.

Sept. 16, 2019

Just Salad cuts steak in favor of Beyond Meat

The fast casual chain will now serve Beyond Beef Meatballs instead of grilled steak as part of its sustainability push. 

By Lauren Manning • Sept. 13, 2019