McDonald's sued over alleged harassment of Black workers, diners

The three plaintiffs, who worked at an Illinois restaurant, claim the location's general manager called Black employees and diners "ghetto" and retaliated against Black workers through hour reductions and termination.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Oct. 14, 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

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

Starbucks partners with Lyft to drive employees to vote

The coffee chain's 200,000 U.S. employees will receive a free, one-way ride worth up to $75 to the polls on Election Day.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 7, 2020

Ruby Tuesday emerges from bankruptcy

The chain plans to continue developing virtual, delivery-only brands to leverage its growing off-premise business and support its long-term growth strategy. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Feb. 25, 2021

McDonald's continues celebrity menus with reggaeton's J Balvin

With drive-thru, digital and delivery businesses bright spots during an otherwise tough period, the chain further targets young, digitally savvy diners.

By Aaron Baar • Oct. 6, 2020

Papa John's taps Target exec as new CFO

Ann Gugino "brings deep experience in the consumer and retail sector, including driving demand and profitability across digital and traditional commerce at Target," Papa John's president and CEO Rob Lynch said.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 6, 2020

Shift Change: Panera hires chief customer officer, McDonald's taps new chief global impact officer

This week's Shift Change also includes Qdoba's VP of franchise development hire and Golden Chick's new chief marketing officer. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 2, 2020

P.F. Chang's extends temporary layoffs for up to 5,800 workers

The chain filed WARN notices to inform workers if their hours were cut by over 50% for 6 months or more. Restaurant Dive found notices in 20 states, and the majority of the filings noted up to 75 impacted employees per store. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Oct. 2, 2020

Taco Bell sets up personalized taco gifting service ahead of holiday rush

Available through Taco Bell's website and app, the feature will be permanent, showing the chain's continued bets on loyalty innovations.

By Peter Adams • Oct. 1, 2020

McDonald's creates new team with hire of chief global impact officer

Katie Bierne Fallon's appointment helps the company build on its goal to create a more gender-balanced C-suite, particularly as it deals with ongoing controversy around its former CEO. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 1, 2020

Inspire Brands invests in POS integration platform ItsaCheckmate

The tech will help Arby's parent company streamline operations across its systems, the majority of which manually adds food orders from multiple channels to its POS platform.  

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 30, 2020

McDonald's expands youth skills training program

The company's youth initiative efforts come as the restaurant chain aims to improve workplace culture.

By Sheryl Estrada • Sept. 29, 2020

Darden sheds 11% of support staff as part of a 'strategic restructure'

The job cuts, which include the elimination of COO David George's position, are expected to save between $25 million and $30 million annually.

By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 25, 2020

Shift Change: CKE Restaurants, Domino's hire CTOs

This week's Shift Change also includes Del Taco's creation of a vice president of marketing technology role, Taco John's new chief operating officer and Church's Chicken's vice president of finance.  

By Julie Littman • Sept. 25, 2020

Domino's promotes CTO, restructures tech unit as CIO retires

Kelly Garcia will replace EVP and CIO Kevin Vasconi, who is retiring Oct. 2, the company announced Monday.

By Roberto Torres • Sept. 23, 2020

Sizzler USA is the latest casual chain to declare bankruptcy

The family dining restaurant plans to complete the process within 120 days, which it says will not impact its franchisees. 

By Julie Littman • Sept. 22, 2020

Dunkin' CFO: Company's westward expansion 'key' to future development

Dunkin's decision to remain open as competitors closed and to open new branches in the South and West have positioned it well for the future, its CFO said Tuesday.

By Jane Thier • Sept. 18, 2020

Burger King puts Whopper recipe on wrappers as part of 'real food' push

Following efforts centered on moldy burgers and cow farts, the QSR is trying a simple and direct approach to market its "clean food" menu.

By Robert Williams • Sept. 18, 2020

Denny's supplier diversity a 'pillar' in its DEI efforts

"We're proud of the strides we've taken over the past 25 years to reshape our entire corporate culture and business operations, but we know that we're not done with this work," a Denny's exec said.

By Sheryl Estrada • Sept. 18, 2020

McDonald's joint employer victory could be marred by potential conflict of interest

An NLRB board member participated in a ruling, despite ties to McDonald's, that said the fast food chain would not be liable for violations committed by franchisees.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 17, 2020

Taco Bell announces 'womxn-focused' employee resource group

Some employers have prioritized employee resource groups as a way to support diversity and inclusion work in recent months.

By Ryan Golden • Sept. 17, 2020

Papa John's to open global HQ in Metro Atlanta

The company will move a bulk of its teams, including menu innovation, marketing, customer experience and human resources, to one of its largest corporate-owned restaurant markets.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 17, 2020

Dave & Buster's lays off over 1,300 employees across 7 states

The WARN notices follow an 87% decline in same-store sales for Q2 and CEO Brian Jenkins' previous statements of moving forward with a leaner labor model.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Sept. 16, 2020

McDonald's app offers mock insurance to drive trial of new spicy McNuggets

The promotion that includes a 40-minute Instagram video of Anthony "Spice" Adams reflects the chain's focus on drive-thru, delivery and digital as it ramps up marketing spend.

By Robert Williams • Sept. 16, 2020

McDonald's selects TerraCycle's Loop for reusable cup pilot across UK locations

The new partnership is the latest sign of major brands taking greater interest in circular solutions. It also marks an expansion beyond grocery for the ambitious reuse platform.

By Karine Vann • Sept. 11, 2020