Houston TX Hot Chicken flies to UK with PizzaExpress franchise deal

June 23, 2026

Houston TX Hot Chicken has signed a master franchise agreement with PizzaExpress to bring its fast-casual chicken concept to the United Kingdom. Under the…

Togo's expanding with tech-centric prototype, broker-sourced leads

June 22, 2026

Founded in 1971 near San Jose State University, Togo's Sandwiches is gearing up for a major Western U.S. expansion after partnering with Franchise FastLane's…

Former senator opening Juice It Up in Utah

June 22, 2026

Juice It Up! has entered Utah through a multi-unit development agreement with local franchisees Aaron and Nancy Osmond. The move expands the smoothie and raw…

Chipotle COO Jason Kidd reveals strategy behind tech-driven back-of-house overhaul

Chipotle COO Jason Kidd joins Fast Casual Nation hosts Paul Barron and Cherryh Cansler to break down how the 4,100-unit brand is winning and retaining the…

Presented by Star Micronics America

Wonder, Dave’s Hot Chicken Real Estate VPs reveal growth strategies

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Real estate strategy is central to growth for restaurant brands, and Wonder and Dave's Hot Chicken are taking different approaches to scale. In a podcast…

Shipley Donuts signs 3-unit franchise deal in Ohio

June 19, 2026

Shipley Donuts is expanding into Ohio through a three-unit franchise agreement with Koelache Co. LLC, marking the Houston-based doughnut chain's entry into the…

Deliverect Partners with 5&5 to Help Restaurant Brands Scale Their Digital Ordering Ecosystem

New partnership combines Deliverect's ordering technology with 5&5's restaurant technology expertise and managed services model

Huey Magoo’s expands in Texas with 5-unit DFW development agreement

June 17, 2026

Huey Magoo's continues its Texas expansion with a five-unit development agreement covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area, part of the fast-casual chicken chain's…

How Jae Kim is Scaling Chi’Lantro

Jae Kim emptied his $30,000 in savings and maxed out his credit cards to launch a Korean food truck in Austin in 2010. Now he is leading 13 Chi'Lantro…

Yum sells Pizza Hut operations to private equity firm

June 16, 2026

Yum CEO Chris Turner described Pizza Hut as one of the restaurant industry's most recognizable brands and said the company believes LongRange is…

GOOOOOOOALLLLLLL: Fast casual restaurants capitalizing on World Cup fever

by Amy Sorter — Writer and Editor, Connect Media

Along with national pride and fan excitement, this year's FIFA World Cup provides restaurants with an opportunity to increase their customer base. Experts tell…

What Is the Best Team Communication App for Multi-Location Restaurant Groups?

Everything multi-location restaurant groups need to know about choosing the right work chat app.

Built to Breakthrough: Unlocking your power

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To successfully scale their businesses, founders must make non-delegable decisions and commit to a written, structured action plan that simultaneously aligns…

70 years old and 'restarting': Shakey’s Pizza VP outlines fresh strategy for expansion

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Sonia Barajas-Najera, vice president of…

The 'anti-burger' blueprint: How Teriyaki Madness is out-scaling the giants

In this episode of Fast Casual Nation, hosts Paul Barron and Cherryh Cansler sit down with Jodi Boyce, CMO of Teriyaki Madness, and John Smolen, SVP of Sales…

Presented by Atmosphere

Inside the tech stack: How Mattenga’s Pizzeria mastered SEO, 8-second reordering

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

In this podcast episode, Mattenga’s Pizzeria co-owner Enga Stanfield explains how partnering with owner.com and leveraging technology helped her independent…

Presented by Owner.com

Dog Haus adds franchise veterans to executive team

June 8, 2026

Dog Haus has appointed franchise industry veterans Chris Rigassio and Garen Khodaverdian to its executive team as the fast-casual brand pursues its…

How best friends are building their pizza and brew empire

Joey Freis and Mitchell Millar bought a pizzeria at 21. Now they lead nine restaurants and are getting ready to scale Best Pizza & Brew towards its next…

Navigating the tightest restaurant real estate market in 20 years

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Ebere Anokute, head of retail research for CBRE, during the ICSC real estate conference in Las Vegas, reveals the shifting dynamics of restaurant real estate…

Hawaiian Bros continues expansion with Oklahoma opening

June 1, 2026

Hawaiian Bros continued its U.S. expansion last week with the opening of a restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma.