Afters Ice Cream expanding Cali footprint

January 24, 2018

Afters Ice Cream is opening in Woodland Hills, California, in Westfield Topanga’s The Village Shopping Center. The grand opening festivities start at …

Squisito going back to its roots

January 24, 2018

Martin Hernandez, franchisee with Squisito Franchise Enterprises, is opening his first Squisito Pizza & Pasta this year in Queenstown, Maryland.

11 ways to implement predictive scheduling without killing your bottom line

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Not complying with predictive scheduling mandates can quickly add up to significant penalties.

Wayback Burgers, Juice It Up, Gigi's Cupcakes report solid growth in 2017

Wayback Burgers, Juice it Up and Gigi's Cupcakes may not seem to have much in common, but the three fast casual brands reported solid numbers in 2017, with…

Zoup's on in Centerville, Ohio

January 23, 2018

Zoup is now open for business in Centerville, Ohio, inside Cornerstone, a Dayton-area mixed-use development. The restaurant marks the brand's 26th Ohio…

Flame Broiler opens in San Juan Capistrano, California

January 23, 2018

  Flame Broiler opened its latest unit this week in San Juan Capistrano, California. It celebrated Monday with a grand opening and is featuring special offers…

Melt Shop plants 1st international flag in Kuwait

January 23, 2018

Melt Shop has opened its first international franchise location in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Located at Al Hamra Mall and Luxury Center, Melt Shop's newest…

Chicken Charlie's upgrades mobile concession stand with LED video system

January 22, 2018

Chicken Charlie's, a fast casual restaurant owned by Charlie Boghosian, recently teamed up with Hitch-Hiker and PixelFlex to upgrade its FryBQ mobile…

Government shutdown inspires freebies at Firezna Pizza

January 22, 2018

In an effort to support all the people who aren't getting paid while the government is shut down, the Washington D.C.--area Firenza Pizza locations are giving…

Coke announces waste reduction program

January 19, 2018

The Coca-Cola Company announced today that it's changing its approach to packaging "to help collect and recycle the equivalent of 100% of its packaging by…

Panera CEO: '50 percent of the top 10 fast casual brands selling breakfast have an egg made from at least 5 ingredients'

January 19, 2018

In conjunction with the launch of Panera Bread's new breakfast sandwiches, featuring 100-percent real eggs, the company has petitioned the Food and Drug…

Fatburger opening in Scotland

January 19, 2018

Fatburger and  Buffalo's Express are opening three co-branded units across Scotland in the next five years, the first of which is planned for Dundee, according…

Turkish-American sisters now franchising Flatbread Grill

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Turkish-American Sisters — Arzu, Fusun, and Gonca Esendemir — are now franchising their fast casual concept —  Flatbread Grill.

800 Degrees Pizzeria puts former Focus Brands exec in CMO seat

January 19, 2018

Los Angeles-based 800 Degrees Pizzeria has named Thomas Bartsch as its chief marketing officer. Bartsch most recently served as CMO and global marketing vice…

Fazoli's ends 2017 with growth spurt

January 18, 2018

The end of  2017 was all about growth at Fazoli's. It signed six agreements to develop a total of 15 restaurants nationwide and also opened five restaurants …

Saladworks upgrades POS system

January 18, 2018

Saladworks has upgraded its POS system across its nearly 100 restaurants via a partnership with Gusto POS.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe opens 101 units in 2017

January 18, 2018

Tropical Smoothie Cafe beat its 2017 goal of opening 100 units by one. The chain, which hit 101 openings to end the year with 630 locations, also signed 18…

Former MOD pizza exec now Voodoo Doughnut CEO

January 18, 2018

Voodoo Doughnut has named restaurant veteran Chris Schultz as its CEO, hiring him away from MOD Pizza, where he served as senior vice president of operations…

The Pizza Press presses toward 300 units by 2020

January 18, 2018

With 84 franchise units in its pocket, The Pizza Press is continuing its growth this year with plans for 50 openings, while awarding 25-30 more through…

Digital-only pizza brand makes debut in New York

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

Newly opened Long Island City Pizza Factory boasts that it is the world's first "full-digital pizzeria," an accomplishment its owners hope will send it right…