Operations: Page 4

  • An image of a building with Tropical Smoothie Cafe signage
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    Permission granted by Tropical Smoothie Cafe
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    Tropical Smoothie Cafe hires Baskin-Robbins vet as COO

    Jonathan Biggs joins the company during a rapid growth period. The chain also promoted Chris Sasser to CFO and Karen Wickliffe to general counsel.

    By • Feb. 11, 2025
  • A Golden Corral.
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    Courtesy of Golden Corral
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    Inside Golden Corral’s complete tech overhaul

    CIO Dawn Gillis said the buffet chain’s new tech infrastructure, built by Qu, will help it double off-premise sales this year.

    By • Feb. 11, 2025
  • A McDonald's restaurant sign between trees. The sign reads, "McDonald's"
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    McDonald’s looks to loyalty to recapture traffic after disappointing quarter

    The chain aims to reach its goal of 250 million 90-day active MyMcDonald’s Rewards users and $45 billion in annual systemwide sales by 2027.

    By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 10, 2025
  • Am image of a sign on a window that says "Meal Deal" and shows a chicken sandwich and burger with nuggest, fries and a Coca-Cola.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    NRA: 95% of restaurant operators say diners are more value-conscious

    Forty-seven percent of operators are planning to offer discounts or value promotions this year, per National Restaurant Association research.

    By • Feb. 10, 2025
  • A Panera store.
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    Courtesy of Panera
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    Panera Bread hires Dunkin’ vet as CIO

    Santhosh Kumar, who spent almost two decades in IT roles at Dunkin’, will develop and deploy tech across the chain’s 2,200-plus cafes.

    By • Feb. 7, 2025
  • A close up image of a clump of avocadoes with stickers that say "avocados Mexico."
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    One-third of independent restaurants expect sales declines from tariffs

    Comparatively, 40% of small business owners expect no sales impact from U.S. tariffs on China and potential tariffs on Mexico and Canada, according to an Alignable survey.

    By • Feb. 7, 2025
  • Chipotle
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Chipotle builds 2025 around ‘total guest experience,’ CEO says

    The company will continue to roll out kitchen equipment and mobile order-focused Chipotlanes to keep order throughput high.

    By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 6, 2025
  • A night image of people sitting at tables at a patio in a restaurant
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    benedek via Getty Images
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    NRA: Traditional restaurant sales will surpass $1.1 trillion in 2025

    The entire foodservice industry will reach $1.5 trillion in annual sales despite labor and food cost challenges thanks to pent-up diner demand, the National Restaurant Association predicts.

    By • Feb. 6, 2025
  • A promotional image for Chipotle's smoked brisket menu item. Text on the image reads, "Limited time only Smoked Brisket Chipotle"The image shows a burrito bowl with rice, beans, meat and peppers on the left. On the right is sliced beef with a cup of dipping sauce and sliced peppers.
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    Permission granted by Chipotle
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    Chipotle’s LTOs drove 7% same-store sales bump in 2024

    Chicken Al Pastor and Smoked Brisket boosted traffic at the chain, which plans to roll out Chipotle Honey Chicken — its best-performing test LTO — this year.

    By • Feb. 5, 2025
  • A DoorDash delivery worker walks his bike along the road in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, California.
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    hapabapa via Getty Images
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    Boston wants delivery firms to give drivers liability insurance

    Under the proposed ordinance, aggregators like DoorDash and Uber Eats would need to meet data-sharing requirements to obtain an operating permit.

    By • Feb. 5, 2025
  • A photograph of a sign with black letters that says "Waffle House." Each letter is in a box with a yellow background.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Waffle House adds 50-cent surcharge due to egg shortage

    Egg prices are expected to rise 20% this year due to the impact of bird flu, and operators and chains are finding ways to make up the cost.

    By • Feb. 4, 2025
  • A dawn image of a McDonald's drive-thru. At the foreground is an exit sign and there is a car in the background waiting in line.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    McDonald’s sales are still sluggish 3 months after E. coli outbreak

    While value offerings are helping improve sales, some franchisees have yet to fully recover their visits and sales comps as of January, a BTIG report finds.

    By • Feb. 4, 2025
  • Just Salad location in NYC
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    Courtesy of Just Salad
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    Just Salad hires marketing, CX and development chiefs

    The appointments come shortly after the chain opened its first drive-thru restaurant as part of a growth push.

    By • Feb. 4, 2025
  • An evening image of Marco's Pizza
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    Permission granted by Marco's Pizza
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    How 3 rising pizza chains are plotting 2025 expansion

    Marco’s Pizza, Mr Gatti’s and Donato’s are poised for growth this year as segment leaders face sluggish performance.

    By • Feb. 3, 2025
  • An image of a brick building with Applebee's signage
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Dine Brands cuts 9% of corporate workforce

    The layoffs impacted different brand teams, offices and departments, and follow comparable sales declines for the Applebee's and IHOP owner in Q3.

    By • Feb. 3, 2025
  • donald trump signs an executive order at his desk
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump issues tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China

    The president ordered an additional 10% duty on goods from China and 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The immediate impact on restaurant operators is unclear. 

    By Philip Neuffer • Updated Feb. 1, 2025
  • An aerial view of a building with white "Chili'"s sign alongside a red pepper.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Chili’s prioritizes 200 stores for redesign

    Following a record-breaking quarter, the brand will soon focus on updating its system, as many stores haven’t been redesigned in decades.

    By • Jan. 30, 2025
  • Coffee drips into a white ceramic mug emblazoned with the Starbucks logo
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    Courtesy of Starbucks
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    Brian Niccol wants to double Starbucks’ US footprint

    A host of changes to stores and operations could help Starbucks escape its sales trouble, and executives are already planning the company’s next move.

    By • Jan. 30, 2025
  • A nighttime photo of Chili's building with green and red neon signage
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    Courtesy of Brinker International
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    How Chili’s boosted comparable sales by 31%

    Value-oriented ads and marketing for its Triple Dipper menu boosted the chain’s traffic by nearly 20%, driving a record-breaking quarterly performance.

    By • Jan. 30, 2025
  • An image of a Twin Peaks restaurant in the daytime.
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    Permission granted by Twin Peaks
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    What’s driving Twin Peaks’ growth and $5M AUVs

    The sports bar chain, which is now publicly traded, leans on its menu diversity, service model and alcohol mix to target $1 billion in sales. 

    By • Jan. 30, 2025
  • Fried foods in front of a Miso Robotics fry station.
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    Courtesy of Miso Robotics
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    Miso Robotics develops smaller, faster Flippy

    Its newest robotic fry station, which White Castle is testing, is more expensive than, but half the size of, previous iterations.

    By • Jan. 29, 2025
  • An image of a tasting room and pick up area at Cooper's Hawk
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    Retrieved from Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant on January 28, 2025
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    Cooper’s Hawk appoints 3 C-suite execs, preps for fast growth

    The chain hired a new CFO, chief customer officer and chief technology officer to help it expand and improve brand positioning and guest experience.

    By • Jan. 29, 2025
  • An evening photo of Uncle Julio's restaurant with dim lighting
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    Courtesy of Uncle Julio's
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    Sun Holdings acquires Uncle Julio’s

    The multi-brand franchisee is building up its Mexican cuisine portfolio and already owns Taco Bueno and Freebirds World Burritos.

    By • Jan. 28, 2025
  • A Whatburger storefront. A sign outside reads, "Whataburger".
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    Courtesy of https://stories.whataburger.com/press-kit
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    Love’s will open its first Whataburger in 2025

    The Texas burger chain will bring its patties and fries to a Love’s travel center in San Antonio in late summer or early fall.

    By Brett Dworski • Jan. 27, 2025
  • An image of Krispy Krunchy Chicken display at NACS
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    Permission granted by Krispy Krunchy Chicken
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    Krispy Krunchy Chicken outlines 2025 growth plans

    The fried chicken brand opened just over 600 locations in 2024 and expects to beat that number this year while also improving e-commerce efficiency.

    By Jeff Wells • Jan. 27, 2025