McDonald's to exit more than 100 Walmart stores

The fast food giant plans to close 200 under-performing outlets, more than half of which are located inside Walmart locations.

By Jessica Dumont • July 29, 2020

Wingstop reports best quarter since IPO in 2015

The company's digital strategy, which included free delivery promotions and opening ghost kitchens, helped the chain boost its digital transactions to nearly 64% of sales during Q2. 

By Julie Littman • July 29, 2020

Breakfast continues to drag McDonald's sales

Much like other QSRs, a lack of commuters significantly impacted McDonald's morning daypart, but the chain plans to invest in the growing segment coming out of the pandemic. 

By Julie Littman • July 29, 2020

McDonald's drive-thrus allowed its US restaurants to largely stay open

Drive-thru business made up 90% of McDonald's U.S. sales during Q2 2020, which is helping those markets recover more quickly. 

By Julie Littman • July 28, 2020

DoorDash partners with fintech BlueVine to process PPP applications for merchants

Nearly 200 restaurant owners have collectively received more than $6 million in PPP loans through the collaboration since late April. Most recipients are independent restaurants.

By Emma Liem Beckett • July 28, 2020

Papa John's is hiring 10K more employees

This will bring the pizza chain's recent hiring blitz to 30,000 total new positions, a move that follows robust same-store sales growth in June. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • July 27, 2020

NRA urges local leaders to keep restaurants open

In a letter to governors and mayors, the National Restaurant Association writes that "bad actors" do not represent the industry and closing restaurants down again hinders its recovery.

By Julie Littman • July 27, 2020

Dunkin' creates new chief digital officer role as it doubles down on tech, mobile offerings

The position oversees digital marketing and media, consumer insights and IT transformation — areas seeing growing demand under the pandemic.

By Peter Adams • July 24, 2020

Coronavirus has already shuttered 16K restaurants, Yelp says

As restaurants grapple with trying to stay in business, Yelp's latest data shows that in states like Florida and Texas, a 50% rise in consumer interest in dining out in May preceded COVID-19 outbreaks in June.

By Alicia Kelso • July 23, 2020

Chipotle surpasses $1B in digital sales despite same-store sale declines

Digital sales skyrocketed 216% to $829.3 million during Q2, revealing a bright spot for the company despite its first drop in same-store sales in several years.

By Julie Littman • July 23, 2020

Wendy's launches loyalty program as part of digital growth

The initiative, which will reward customers no matter how they order, is part of the chain's plans to make digital sales 10% of overall sales by 2024. 

By Julie Littman • July 22, 2020

Strong franchisee relationships key to restaurant chain survival

From hosting daily calls to providing need-to-know information, restaurants are working closely with operators to adapt to market changes as the pandemic progresses.

By Julie Littman • July 22, 2020

Uber Eats adds benchmarking data to Manager app

The delivery company's service will now provide information that allows restaurants to compare their operations to others in the area. 

By Julie Littman • Updated Dec. 21, 2020

96% of restaurants require staff to wear masks

Restaurants are increasingly mandating employee temperature checks, requiring staff to wear gloves and installing plexiglass shields, says Black Box Intelligence, but these features can be costly while sales are down. 

By Alicia Kelso • July 20, 2020

Pandemic helped grow Domino's US same-store sales 16.1%

The pizza chain had its best quarter in the last nine-plus years, driven by an increase in food delivery and digital orders, which made up almost 75% of domestic sales.

By Julie Littman • July 16, 2020

Do we need to shut down again? What to do when employees get COVID-19

Restaurants need to establish systems to inform staff and guests if a worker contracts the virus and ensure health screening compliance to avoid outbreaks, attorney Arif Virji writes.

By Arif Virji • July 16, 2020

Chipotle to hire 10K more employees to support digital growth

The hiring blitz follows approximately 8,000 new hires at the chain since May, an uptick that coincides with an over 80% increase in online sales during Q1.

By Alicia Kelso • July 15, 2020

Why Chipotle is 'pivoting the entire portfolio' to Chipotlanes

Two years after opening its drive-thrus for online orders, which helped the company surpass $1 billion in digital sales, the fast casual chain expects this concept to make up 60% of its new restaurants.

By Julie Littman • July 15, 2020

Pinstripes to reopen all US locations on Friday

The bowling and bocce eatertainment chain temporarily closed its 13 locations in nine states on March 16, but its long-term expansion plans remain intact, with at least two locations slated to open next year. 

By Julie Littman • July 14, 2020

BurgerFi's president talks going public, 'massive expansion' amid pandemic

Restaurant closures are creating opportunities for the fast casual chain to grow nationwide, says Charles Guzzetta.

By Julie Littman • July 14, 2020

Ghost kitchens could be a $1T global market by 2030, says Euromonitor

Restaurant closures, in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, could accelerate the growth of this market, Euromonitor's Michael Schaefer said in a webinar.

By Emma Liem Beckett • July 10, 2020

DoorDash partners with Kiva to provide funding to Black-owned restaurants

The company will seed a revolving loan fund starting at $150,000 and also offer $0 delivery fees for Black-owned restaurants through the end of the year. 

By Julie Littman • July 8, 2020

53% of restaurants closed amid coronavirus have shuttered permanently, Yelp data shows

In early June, the number of diners seated across Waitlist and Yelp Reservations was down 57% compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

By Alicia Kelso • July 6, 2020

Wegmans is permanently closing its Pub restaurants

The retailer announced it will close all 12 locations across three states to focus on adding new quick-service meal options.

By Jeff Wells • July 2, 2020

Denny's plans to hire 10K employees by year's end

Company- and franchisee-owned locations are hiring restaurant managers, cooks, servers and hosts, among other positions as dining rooms reopen.

By Julie Littman • July 2, 2020