El Pollo Loco unveils 2 restaurant designs prioritizing off-premise channels

The new models include dual drive-thru lanes, dedicated curbside parking spaces, cubbies for mobile to-go orders, digital menu boards and either no dining room or a smaller one.

By Alicia Kelso • Dec. 3, 2020

Wisconsin to issue $45M in aid to restaurants

Under the We're All In For Restaurants program, the state will provide $20,000 for 2,000 eligible businesses, which will receive the funding automatically based on tax records. 

By Julie Littman • Dec. 3, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Back-of-house Technology

From voice AI at the drive-thru to robot-powered makelines, restaurants are investing in technology solutions to optimize kitchen operations and reduce employee turnover. 

By Restaurant Dive staff

Many California restaurants must end indoor, outdoor dining amid stay-at-home order

Regions with less than 15% ICU availability, which the state predicts to be the majority of counties within the coming weeks, will only be allowed to operate restaurants for takeout and delivery until capacity increases. 

By Julie Littman • Dec. 3, 2020

Jamba debuts autonomous smoothie kiosk in Walmart

The smoothie-making robot, which is co-branded with Blendid, makes beverages using a robotic arm, blenders, refrigeration system and ingredient dispensers. 

By Catherine Douglas Moran • Dec. 3, 2020

Jimmy John's partners with DoorDash using self-delivery product

The partnership marks a strategy shift for the sandwich chain, which once vowed never to work with third-party apps. 

By Julie Littman • Dec. 2, 2020

Thrillist, Zuul launch rotating ghost kitchen in New York City

A series of 10 restaurants will lead a two-week chef residency at the shared kitchen facility in the SoHo district, offering limited-edition meals for delivery. Thrillist will cover food, labor, packaging and delivery costs.

By Alicia Kelso • Dec. 1, 2020

Strategies for restaurants to address financial distress in the UK and US

Restaurants should identify cash shortfalls in their business models and share information with stakeholders to implement a comprehensive consensual restructuring, say attorneys at Goodwin's Financial Restructuring Group.

By Simon Thomas, Oonagh Steel, Michael Goldstein, Howard Steel • Nov. 30, 2020

How the pandemic is shaping restaurant design

There's no one blueprint for a restaurant that is both safe amid COVID-19 and engaging. Restaurant Dive spoke with major chains and design experts about assets that could be popular solutions.

Nov. 30, 2020

Fast casual Saladworks opens in a Cincinnati Kroger

The salad chain has opened 22 stores over the first half of 2020 despite the pandemic, leaning into more unconventional locations, including supermarkets and military bases.

By Rosie Bradbury • Nov. 25, 2020

How 13 casual chains are turning sales around

Even though full-service chains' still face an uphill battle, many are seeing positive results from accelerated off-premise initiatives and new offerings that could last even after the pandemic.

By Julie Littman • Nov. 24, 2020

Starbucks boosts employee pay as US wages rise

The coffee giant will hike wages at least 10% for baristas, shift supervisors and cafe attendants hired on or before Sept. 14. Starting pay will also be raised 5%.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 19, 2020

Pandemic revs up drive-thru design innovations

With drive-thru traffic increasing in the double-digits over the last two quarters, QSRs like Arby's, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell have developed prototypes that better streamline the channel.

By Julie Littman • Nov. 19, 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

Why Chipotle CTO compares technologists to air traffic controllers

CTO Curt Garner says collaboration skills helped the company sustain its digital sales by layering technologies.

By Roberto Torres • Nov. 17, 2020

Dine Brands taps new CEO

​Though the company's overall performance is slowly recovering, Realogy Franchise Group CEO John Peyton will take the reins of the company at a very delicate point in time.  

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 17, 2020

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 goes modular with offsite restaurant rebuild

Frey-Moss Structures helped the chain create its first modular restaurant in Roswell, Georgia, in about half the time of a traditional scrape and build.

By Zachary Phillips • Nov. 16, 2020

Washington joins several states in weeks-long dining room bans as coronavirus cases surge

Oregon, New Mexico and Michigan have also temporarily closed indoor dining, which could put more restaurants that were starting to see signs of recovery at risk of permanent closures. 

By Julie Littman • Nov. 16, 2020

Full-service restaurants 'particularly risky' for COVID-19 spread, study finds

New research from Stanford University and Northwestern University also suggests that full lockdowns aren't necessary to control the virus, and that masks, social distancing measures and reduced capacity all work.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 11, 2020

Chipotle to open its first digital-only restaurant

The Digital Kitchen concept in Highland Falls, New York, will offer pickup and delivery only and could expand into more urban locations that wouldn't support a full-size restaurant.

By Julie Littman • Nov. 11, 2020

McDonald's new loyalty program will optimize digital, drive-thru opportunity

The chain will begin piloting the program, which offers personalized orders and deals across all digital touchpoints, at select Phoenix, Arizona, restaurants prior to a nationwide launch next year.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 9, 2020

Will ghost kitchens define the restaurant industry's future?

While investor interest booms and sales have the potential to outpace traditional models, questions linger about how much this emerging market could disrupt business in the long term. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 9, 2020

Wendy's taps operations chief as chain shifts focus to digital channels

To create more consistent experiences across its entire footprint, the chain named Deepak Ajmani as its new chief operating officer overseeing both company and franchise locations.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 6, 2020

Papa John's continued sales growth attracts lucrative franchisees

The chain reported a revenue increase of 17% year-over-year to $472.9 million for Q3, exceeding Wall Street expectations, and the fifth-consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 5, 2020

The cooking robotics space expected to be a $322M business by 2028, study says

The fast food industry is expected to see a 17% per year growth rate through 2028, the highest of any sector, according to Research Nester.

By Alicia Kelso • Nov. 5, 2020