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FastCasual's most-read stories of 2021

The year's top headlines ranged from stories about robots automating the industry and the growth of Shaq's fast casual brand to updates on COVID-19, menu innovation and who took the top spot on the 2021 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers.

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December 21, 2021 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Check them out below.

10. Roll-Em-Up Taquitos lands 12-unit deal

Roll-Em-Up Taquitos is opening 12 locations in San Bernardino County, California, thanks to an agreement with locals Glen Elder and Thelma Lemus.

Click hereto read the full story.

9. Sonny's BBQ: A dish-rags to riches story

Josh McCall is a partner in the iServ group, which owns several Sonny's BBQ locations.

Thirty-one years ago, an 18-year-old Josh McCall was done with the restaurant business.

He'd been through that ringer a few times and, well, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling it just wasn't for him.

"I didn't think it fit me or maybe I didn't fit it," he said about an industry in which he'd previously seen managers talking down to lower-level employees and generally not showing a ton of respect for their fellow colleagues. "You really were just a number," he adds of his initial experiences in the restaurant industry. "My impression of the restaurant business was it wasn't a place where people were made to feel welcome or appreciated for everything they did."

What he soon realized, however, was that he simply hadn't been at the right restaurant. When, on a whim, McCall took what was supposed to be a stopgap job at the Lake City, Florida location of Sonny's BBQ, he couldn't have known he'd be embarking on arguably the most personally and professionally fulfilling adventure of his life.

Click here to read the full story

8. Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer relays ways to ignite your dine-in 'atmosphere'

Like just about everything else as we emerge from this pandemic, the restaurant in-store experience has progressed too, and customers are raising the bar on what they demand when eating at your store.

A big part of many limited-service concepts' in-store atmosphere revolves around what's on those television monitors dotting your stores' walls. But, as Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer relays in this free on-demand webinar, if it's a couple "guys behind a desk," you might as well just put a big empty box up in place of your TVs because they are doing nothing to excite and ignite the fun your customers demand.

Click here to read the full story

7. Contactless ordering forcing restaurants to adopt 9 tech strategies in 2021

"A new year; a new you."

We've heard the slogan every January for as long as we can remember, but for the restaurant industry, it's never been truer. The 2020 pandemic is forcing restaurants to change operations more quickly than ever, and those changes are still evolving as we enter 2021.

Although we are still in the middle of the chaos, we've already seen several trends emerge. Some will fade out as we leave COVID-19 behind, but one major player — contactless ordering — is not only here to stay but is driving restaurants to embrace nine specific technologies and strategies in order to adopt the service model.

Click here to read the full story

6. Zaxby's adds 'The Southwest' to Zalad lineup

The Southwest Zalad includes Southwest ingredients that add to its existing lineup of prepped-to-order Zalads. Provided

Zaxby's, a QSR known for its chicken fingers, wings and signature sauces, has introduced the Southwest Zalad, a made-to-order salad available systemwide featuring Zaxby's Southwest ranch dressing along with its Texas Toast, according to a press release.

Southwest Zalad includes Southwest ingredients that add to its existing lineup of prepped-to-order Zalads.

It includes crisp mixed greens, topped with freshly sliced Roma tomatoes, cheddar and jack cheeses, fire-roasted corn, crunchy Santa Fe tortilla strips and Texas Toast.

Starting at $8.59, the Southwest Zalad is available for a limited time only at participating locations while supplies last. Prices may vary by location.

Click here to read the full story.

5. Masks 'not optional' for restaurant workers

Although Americans all over the country are ditching their masks, restaurant employees can't throw them out any time soon.

"While the CDC changed their guidance, OSHA has not changed theirs," Larry Lynch, SVP of science and industry at the National Restaurant Association, told FastCasual. "So, requirements that were in place from OSHA regarding safety measures to protect employees from exposure still stand."

Also, there are still 20 states with mask mandates still in place.

Rebecca Bernhard, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, agreed with Lynch, noting that OSHA announced it was reviewing the recent CDC guidance and would update its materials accordingly but employers may wish to continue requiring employees — regardless of vaccination status — to wear a mask and/or physically distance in any indoor setting.

Click here to read the full story.

4. BurgerFi tops FastCasual's Top 100 Movers & Shakers

BurgerFi CEO Julio Ramirez accepts the Top 100 award.

After seven straight years of being named to Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers & Shakers, BurgerFi took the No.1 spot on the 2021 list.

The Florida-based brand's continuous innovation and rapid growth impressed all of the judges, said Cherryh Cansler, the editor of FastCasual, who hosted a virtual awards gala Wednesday afternoon to reveal the entire list of winning brands. Steritech President Doug Sutton joined her as co-host.

Click here to read the full story.

3. Congress to refund Restaurant Revitalization Fund

Congress tomorrow will unveil the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021 to provide $60 billion in additional funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, according to a news release from the National Restaurant Association.

According to the Small Business Administration, more than 362,000 applications for a total of $75 billion in funding were received in the three weeks the RRF application portal was open. The average grant application was for just over $200,000. This means that more than half of the eating and drinking establishments open at the beginning of the pandemic operated with a severe revenue loss in the last year, the NRA said.

Click here to read the full story.

2. Shaq's Big Chicken shooting for growth via franchise expansion

Shaquille O'Neal, Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern and Chef and Co-owner Matt Silverman join Fast Casual's Cherryh Cansler for an exclusive interview about the creation and growth plans of the basketball legend's latest business venture, Big Chicken.

It's franchise tip-off time for Big Chicken, the fast casual concept created by Shaquille O'Neal with locations open in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and on the Carnival Cruise Ship Mardi Gras. The chain, founded in 2018, has launched a franchising program tailored for skilled restaurant owner/operator groups, O'Neal said in a press release.

"Creating the brand a few years ago and getting the first two restaurants open was just the start. It's time to work with great partners who can bring the brand to life in their communities," said O'Neal, an NBA television analyst and basketball Hall of Famer. "The Big Chicken journey is taking franchise flight and I'm so excited about the team we have in place to help lead the way with me."

Click here to read the full story.

1. 10 robots automating the restaurant industry

From cocktail-making to burger-flipping, many food and beverage businesses are beginning to discover the benefits of using robots to improve their productivity. The automation revolution has begun.

Sally, a salad-making robot, mixes up to 8 fresh ingredients from vegetables to salmon into a compostable bowl in just 90 seconds. [credit: Chowbotics]

As technology advances and AI becomes more accessible, it is no wonder that robots for the food and beverage industry are becoming more commonplace.

Restaurants and hotels can benefit from these robots, which are automatic, intelligent and contactless. They can automate the food or beverage-making process, save money and human resources, enrich menus, make fewer mistakes, reduce food waste, and work 24/7 without a raise. Aside from being pretty damn cool and bringing innovation into businesses, customer-facing robots can help reduce human contact, a significant benefit at COVID-19.

Click here to read the full story.

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About Cherryh Cansler

Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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