Rise Southern Biscuits making California debut

October 27, 2021

Rise Southern Biscuits and Righteous Chicken is coming soon to California thanks to a franchise deal with Bill Propster, an industry veteran who built his…

Starbucks commits to minimum wage increases

October 27, 2021

Starbucks hourly workers in the U.S. will average nearly $17 per hour next summer when the chain implements an increase to its minimum wage. All baristas will…

Happier Holidays: Why it Pays to Plan Ahead in Retail

Halloween is right around the corner, and you know what that means: Christmas. Kidding, but it feels like that, huh? How early is too early to start…

Grubbrr teams with ParTech on self-order kiosk restaurant solution

October 27, 2021

Grubbrr, a provider of self-ordering solutions, has teamed with ParTech, Inc., a global restaurant technology company and provider of a unified commerce cloud…

Robotic salad vending machine introduced in Orlando

October 27, 2021

EnjoyRise, based in Orlando, has introduced a robotic machine that allows users to customize salad bowls with base offerings and toppings, according to an…

Island Fin Poke continues Florida expansion

October 27, 2021

Island Fin Poke is opening its latest Florida location next month in Trinity at 3198 Redeemer Way under the direction of Jeff and Brenda Sproat and their son…

NRD Capital forms Experiential Brands, names Paul Damico CEO

October 27, 2021

NRD Capital has acquired Fuzzy's Taco shop as the anchor of its newly formed platform, Experiential Brands, which plans to buy other experiential brands in the…

Erbert & Gerbert’s primed for growth with tech, store upgrades

October 27, 2021

Erbert & Gerbert's, a 33-year-old sandwich and soup concept based in the Midwest, has reported double-digit growth through the summer thanks to a refocused…

Blaze Pizza, Bojangles execs discuss switching from a transactional mindset to a customer mindset

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

Restaurants are ditching the transactional mindset to focus on customers. A panel of brand executives explained how their companies are putting the customer…

Billy Sims expanding burger joint

October 27, 2021

Heisman Trophy winner and barbecue restaurateur Billy Sims is tackling the burger business, opening Billy Sims Burger at 1941 S. Yale Ave., in Tulsa, according…

Luckin Coffee reaches $175M settlement in class action suit

October 27, 2021

Luckin Coffee, a pioneer in coffee vending and a competitor to Starbucks in China that filed for bankruptcy protection in February, reached a $175 million…

Givex launches integrated payment solution via Adyen

October 26, 2021

Givex has launched GivexPay, an integrated payment processing solution powered by Adyen for Platforms, according to a company press release.

Dig raises $65M in investments for innovative restaurant model

October 26, 2021

Dig, a vegetable-centric, multi-format restaurant group, has raised series F funding of $65 million for a growth plan coupled with progressive employee…

El Pollo Loco president taking CEO title at Zaxby's

October 26, 2021

Zaxby's co-founder Zach McLeroy is stepping down from his CEO role and will transition to chairman effective January 2022. Bernard Acoca, who has served as CEO…

Why Sweetgreen created smaller format for World Trade Center

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Sweetgreen, which has 140 locations and filed Monday to go public, is opening Friday inside the World Trade Center. As one of the first food and beverage…

Blaze Pizza CEO: We’re facing industry challenges head on

by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media

There are more than a few big challenges facing pizza brands, but Blaze Pizza, given its strength and willingness to succeed, is facing the hurdles head on.

5 kitchen trends shaping restaurants' future

Scott Heim, divisional president of  Evo Inc. reveals five kitchen trends shaping restaurants' future.

Sweetgreen going public

October 26, 2021

Sweetgreen Inc. is going public.

Wayback taking on Asia

October 26, 2021

Wayback Burgers has signed a deal with WB Burgers Asia Inc., a publicly traded holding company of WB Burgers Japan Co., to open 60 Wayback locations within 2…

Quiznos, Jimmy John's launch meaty LTOs

October 25, 2021

While many fast casuals are focusing on plant-based offerings these days, Quiznos and Jimmy John's are doubling down on meat-packed sandwiches for their latest…