Naf Naf Grill, investor group buy minority share

March 18, 2021

Chicago-based Naf Naf Grill and an investor group have acquired the entire minority ownership in the company previously held by affiliates of Roark Capital.

Smokey Bones, virtual brands name marketing lead

March 18, 2021

Smokey Bones — which operates the casual dining restaurant of the same name as well as two virtual kitchen brands — The Wing Experience and The Burger…

Luckin Coffee announces restructuring plan

March 18, 2021

China based Luckin Coffee Inc., a pioneer in self-service coffee machines in addition to being a coffee shop chain, has entered into a restructuring support…

On-demand webinar: How to keep fraudsters from bilking your QSR via the Telegram app

One of the latest scams targeting QSRs involves everything from the so-called "deep web" to bitcoin payments and, of course, fraud on just about every level.

Raydiant integrates digital signage with Toast for restaurants

March 17, 2021

Raydiant, a digital signage platform provider, has integrated with Toast Inc., a restaurant management provider, to offer better experiences for customers. In…

Dillas Quesadillas launching operating partner program

March 17, 2021

Dillas Quesadillas, a North Texas-based restaurant featuring cooked-to-order quesadillas, has launched an operating partner program to help it enter new…

Olo tops $450M IPO

March 17, 2021

Olo Inc., a food-ordering software company, has raised $450 million in an initial public offering of its Class A common stock.

Mendocino Farms adding 2nd DFW location

March 17, 2021

Mendocino Farms is opening next week in Addison, Texas, at Prestonwood Place, a 133,353-square-foot shopping center

Fuzzy's Taco Shop debuting taqueria concept

March 17, 2021

Texas-based Fuzzy's Taco Shop has created Fuzzy's Taco Shop Taqueria, which includes Fuzzy's recipes via a reduced menu in a smaller, to-go-focused footprint…

Mod Pizza provides PTO for employee vaccinations, launches anti-recidivism program

March 17, 2021

Mod Pizza is giving employees up to four hours of paid time off to get the COVID-19 vaccine — two hours for each dose received, according to a press release.

Shake Shack going all in on in-app delivery

March 17, 2021

Shake Shack has launched the nationwide rollout of its own delivery service via the iOS Shake Shack app as part of a partnership with Uber Eats, according to a…

Torchy's testing ghost kitchen in Ohio

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

March 17, 2021

Torchy's Tacos has chosen Columbus, Ohio, as the home of its first ghost kitchen, opening this spring in partnership with CloudKitchens, a real estate company…

How COVID-19 forced The Halal Guys to change marketing tactics

Ahmed Abouelenein, CEO of The Halal Guys, discusses how the New York-based chain's marketing tactics differ from pre-pandemic days.

Torchy's Tacos looking at $1B IPO?

March 16, 2021

Texas-based Torchy's Tacos may be going public this year and if it does, the company could raise $300 million to be valued at $1 billion.

Taffer's Tavern adds food lockers for contactless carryout

March 16, 2021

Taffer's Tavern, a restaurant founded by Jon Taffer, the star of Paramount Network's "Bar Rescue," is providing contactless carry-out service via food lockers.

Rise Southern Biscuits inks 15-unit deal for Tennessee

March 16, 2021

Rise Southern Biscuits and Righteous Chicken has inked a deal with multi-unit franchisee Fred Fordin to open a minimum of 15 Rise locations throughout…

Roll Em Up seeking multi-unit franchisees

by Pat Shea — Editor, NetworldMedia

March 16, 2021

Roll Em Up, a Chino Hills, California-based fast casual restaurant, is launching a franchise program in April and is opening two locations by year's end.

Webinar: How to hire, train and retain great pizzeria employees

March 15, 2021

The ever-present, but always vexing problem of hiring for restaurant industry in-store positions has only seemed to deepen, despite the layoffs of the…

Juice It Up opens 2nd Santa Ana location

March 15, 2021

Juice It Up has opened its second Santa Ana, California, location. Featuring a new store design and owned by husband-and-wife duo, Burcin and Aycan Ekener, the…

Mountain Mike's franchisee opens 2 stores in 1 week

March 15, 2021

A longtime Mountain Mike's Pizza franchisee and developer agent has opened two stores in Riverside County, California in a single week. Robby Basati opened…