FCES keynote: To go far, go together
Chicken Salad Chick’s story shows that scaling successfully isn’t necessarily about moving faster or constantly reinventing the brand. It’s about knowing what makes the concept work, protecting it and building the people and infrastructure necessary to replicate it.
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How Skyline Chili's purchasing co-op put 20 AI 'direct reports' to work
by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com
Sky Co-op founder Tom Hannon explains how AI that monitors the business, rather than just answering questions, is helping catch margin leaks in weeks instead of months.
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The people behind restaurants need care, too
by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com
The deaths of Traveler’s Cart’s Thy and Matthew Mitchell and the loss of their two young children are a painful reminder that behind every restaurant are people carrying challenges we may never see.
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True Food Kitchen files for Chapter 11, closes 12 restaurants
Phoenix-based True Food Kitchen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 4 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas as it…
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Fuku CEO chats about real estate decisions that can make or break a brand
On this episode of Fast Casual Nation, Paul Barron and Cherryh Cansler talk with Claudia Lezcano, CEO of Fuku, about how the David Chang chicken brand is growing through stadiums, airports and college campuses before it franchises.
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HungerRush
HungerRush brings every part of your restaurant together — orders, guests, data — in one platform built for fast casual and quick-serve multi-location brands ready to grow.
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Closing the gap between order ready and order in hand
Why the last mile costs operators more than they think. The gap between order ready and order in hand is part of the operation that affects labor efficiency, food quality, customer satisfaction and profitability.
2026 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers
Welcome to the 2026 edition of the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Each year, this report serves as a pulse check for the industry, celebrating the brands and leaders who aren’t just keeping pace with the market—they are redefining it.
