Sweetgreen named FastCasual's top brand of 2020

Sweetgreen, a 104-unit salad chain, topped the 2020 list of Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers, and Fazoli's took home the Excellence in Food Safety Award.

Slim Chickens opening first Cleveland location in 2021

May 15, 2020

Slim Chickens will open the first of six locations planned for Cleveland, Ohio in the first quarter of 2021.

Fresh Stack Burger Co launches in Chicago

May 15, 2020

The Fresh Stack Burger Co concept, a collaboration from Sean Thomas and Chef Fabio Viviani, is up and running in its first location, in suburban Chicago, and…

Dickey's sales soar despite coronavirus

May 15, 2020

Dickey's Barbecue Pit's investment in technology has paid off amid the pandemic. The Dallas-based restaurant company unveiled a new e-commerce site in April…

Why Teriyaki Madness sales aren't declining during pandemic

May 15, 2020

When the coronavirus crisis forced businesses across the country to shut down in March, Denver-based Teriyaki Madness found itself uniquely positioned to…

Rascal House CEO: 'Don't stop franchising during COVID-19'

Economic downturns and high unemployment rates typically lead to an increase in people interested in franchising, so now is the perfect time to capitalize on…

Chipotle expands partnership with Uber Eats to Canada

May 14, 2020

Chipotle Mexican Grill has expanded it's recently announced partnership with Uber Eats to Canada, coming less than two months after launching a national…

Can Starbucks get some rent money?

May 14, 2020

Starbucks Corp. is asking for a break in rent from landlords of its nearly 9,000 U.S. company-owned stores, according to Eater, which reported that the chain…

Schlotzsky's chef reveals the art behind making 'the perfect sandwich'

Schlotzsky's Culinary Lead Jennifer Keill believes the perfect sandwich must take into account these four elements.

NYC Council caps third-party delivery fees

May 14, 2020

The New York City Council voted to cap commissions on third-party food delivery services during the state of emergency, a move that supporters say will provide…

Lefty's posts 50% growth amid COVID-19

May 14, 2020

Lefty's Famous Cheesesteaks Hoagies & Grill, which has 15 units, added locations to five communities in the Michigan market this year and will add about 2…

Latest dine-in data tells story of cautious customers, vanishing workers

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Restaurant sales data shows the return to dine-in will be a slow and cautious one for customers, according to data and insights provider, Black Box…

Sweetgreen taps ex Starbucks leader as COO

May 13, 2020

Sweetgreen has hired Chris Carr, a former Starbucks executive vice president and chief procurement officer, as its chief operations officer.

KKR leads $43M funding round for Slice independent pizzeria platform

May 13, 2020

Pizzeria ordering and marketing tech platform, Slice (MyPizza Technologies, Inc.) has raised $43 million in Series C funding. KKR led the round with…

Potbelly may close 100 shops, Noodles delays quarterly report

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

As some restaurants around the United States are reopening, COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc on many including Potbelly, based in Chicago, and…

Saladworks launches stay-at-home wellness challenge

May 13, 2020

With stay-at-home orders extended in many states, people are continuing to find new ways to stay active, healthy and sane while in quarantine, which has…

Pie Five's new practices designed to safeguard dine-in

May 13, 2020

As Pie Five Pizza begins opening dining rooms nationwide, it has instituted a series of new practices to keep customers safe inside restaurants, a news release…

Uber has approached Grubhub on takeover deal

May 12, 2020

Uber Technologies Inc., one of the world's leading ride-sharing services and operator of UberEats,  had made an overture to buy rival food delivery service…

PepsiCo helping restaurant workers coping with COVID-19

May 12, 2020

Building on its more than $50 million commitment for COVID-19 relief, PepsiCo Foodservice is launching four programs aimed at supporting restaurants and their…

Shake Shack launches 'Shake Shack at Your Shack'

May 12, 2020

Shake Shack is tapping creative agency Circus Maximus to develop a social media initiative in response to changing market conditions.