Shift Change: Popeyes and J. Alexander's under new leadership, Wingstop adds chief growth and experience officer role

This week's Shift Change highlights exec changes at Dunkin' Brands, Wingstop, Restaurant Brands International and J. Alexander's.

By Julie Littman • March 15, 2019

Burger King takes on Starbucks with app-based coffee subscription service

BK Café Coffee lets users pay $5 per month — or, "the price of a large cappuccino from Starbucks"— for a daily brew. 

By Peter Adams • March 15, 2019

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

Shake Shack's four-day workweek test improves retention

Months after its initial test in Las Vegas, the chain has expanded short workweeks for managers to one-third of its system, and says the change is attracting job seekers. 

By Julie Littman • Updated Nov. 5, 2019

Order up: Kroger announces new in-store eateries

Mariano's will open Pork & Mindy barbecue joints inside select stores while Kroger Marketplaces in Ohio will soon get outposts of the popular Rapid Fired Pizza chain.

By Lauren Manning • March 15, 2019

Del Frisco's forges ahead on expansion plans despite significant traffic declines

The restaurant group plans to add 11 new bartaco locations by the end of 2020, and CEO Norman Abdallah is hopeful the brand's performance will boost Double Eagle and Del Frisco's Grille's business.

By Alicia Kelso • March 14, 2019

DoorDash overtakes Grubhub in delivery market share

Ongoing expansion and new restaurant partnerships have paid off as the company rose from 15% share of consumer spend to over 27% in one year. 

By Julie Littman • March 13, 2019

Delivery search engine FoodBoss gains $2M in funding

Former McDonald's CEO Don Thompson led the investment round in the platform, which allows consumers to compare delivery times and costs from major third-party aggregators like Uber Eats and Postmates.  

By Kevin Whiteley • March 13, 2019

McDonald's bets on 'augmented writing' to curb bias in job descriptions

The tech also is expected to help hiring managers and recruiters write job descriptions that reflect the chain's brand voice.

By Valerie Bolden-Barrett • March 13, 2019

Uber Eats serving up virtual kitchens in Paris, Bloomberg reports

Kitchen rental companies offer restaurateurs a new way to test menu items with a smaller investment as momentum for delivery-only concepts grow. 

By Julie Littman • March 13, 2019

Jury awards misclassified Steak 'n Shake managers $3M

As the verdict demonstrates, simply calling an employee a "manager" is not sufficient to prove that he or she is exempt from overtime requirements.

By Jennifer Carsen • March 12, 2019

McDonald's new gender initiative could boost recruitment and retention

The fast food chain will focus on increasing gender diversity at all levels of the company, which may make it more competitive against other brands committed to similar efforts such as Yum Brands, Starbucks and Panda Express.

By Alicia Kelso • March 12, 2019

Waitr looks to add reservations, loyalty programs

The delivery platform, which focuses on single-unit restaurants and independent chains, has consistently grown since its launch in 2013. But its new plans could bring it head-to-head with heavyweights like OpenTable. 

By Kevin Whiteley • March 11, 2019

DOL proposes $35K overtime rule threshold

The proposal, which is supported by the National Restaurant Association and International Franchise Association, will have far reaching implications for the restaurant industry and give over 1 million workers access to overtime pay.

By Ryan Golden • March 8, 2019

Resy in serious talks with potential buyer, Recode reports

An acquisition of one of the largest reservation platforms could provide more space for rising stars Yelp and Google to carve a strong niche in the segment. 

By Julie Littman • March 7, 2019

Yum China's Innovation Center could help fend off US transplants

The Yum Brands spinoff believes product experimentation is key to its success in the fast-changing market, where American heavyweights Shake Shack and Starbucks are testing their own new concepts. 

By Kevin Whiteley • March 7, 2019

Toast's new offerings reflect tech's growing role in customer experience

The platform has launched a suite of new features, including Toast Guest Feedback, which allows restaurants to respond to guest reviews in real-time.

By Alicia Kelso • March 6, 2019

Mario Batali is no longer in the restaurant business

The celebrity chef has given up his stake in Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group following backlash incited by sexual misconduct allegations, and will no longer profit from the 16 restaurants the firm manages.

By Julie Littman • March 6, 2019

Papa Gino's, D'Angelo see 14x response rate for SMS offers

A mobile campaign with Mobivity's Recurrency platform drove more than 25,000 transactions and $125,000 in attributable revenue.

By Robert Williams • March 6, 2019

Famous Dave's to test ghost restaurant, virtual kitchen concepts

The barbecue chain joins Red Robin, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's as it rolls out delivery-only concepts to strengthen its off-premise push.  

By Julie Littman • March 6, 2019

Habit Burger to open more drive-thrus this year

Car service will hit more than 20 locations, following moves by Chipotle and Panera as the fast casual category looks to capture more customers on the go.

By Julie Littman • March 5, 2019

Papa John's founder John Schnatter agrees to resign from board

A settlement signals the beginning of the end of a yearlong dispute between the ousted founder and corporate, which could allow the pizza chain to put greater focus on new marketing efforts.

By Julie Littman • March 5, 2019

Dunkin' trolls McDonald's over Donut Sticks launch

The coffee chain mockingly tweeted "blueprints" of new donut packaging, which emulate the burger giant's Big Mac box, suggesting McDonald's copied its Donut Fries offering.

By Kevin Whiteley • March 5, 2019

Restaurants need to incorporate apps to keep a seat at the table

As ordering online increases, eateries need to change their strategies related to customer flow, menus, real estate and data, says Ritual CEO Ray Reddy. 

By Ray Reddy • March 4, 2019

Shift Change: Wingstop's CXO leaves; Salata adds chief development officer

The latest installment of Shift Change highlights executive changes at Wingstop, Salata Salad Kitchen, Robeks and Pancheros Mexican Grill.

By Julie Littman • March 1, 2019

Domino's value offerings protect it from third-party delivery threat, report says

While rivals Pizza Hut and Papa John's test the waters with outside delivery partners, Domino's is still focusing on in-house technology to improve its efficiency and guest experience.

By Julie Littman • Feb. 28, 2019