Coffee chains proliferate ... especially in Juneau

October 17, 2017

NPD Group said a recent restaurant census found that there were 33,129 gourmet coffee shops in the U.S., a 2 percent increase in units from last year. That's…

Restaurant biz down, but not as bad as it looks

October 13, 2017

Ever since Hurricanes Harvey and Irma roared through most of the nation's southern regions, analysts and others have been itching for numbers on the storms…

Slim Chickens caters to football fans' food demands

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

There may be no greater test of the success of a catering program than a fanatic football fan, who's been guzzling suds and suddenly becomes hungry. Party…

Tropical Smoothie shows lots of love to City of Brotherly Love

September 11, 2017

Pennsylvania's renowned "City of Brotherly Love" is getting a whole bunch of the sweet stuff from the Tropical Smoothie Cafe brand, which today announced an…

Golub Capital supports Café Rio Mexican Grill acquisition

September 11, 2017

Café Rio Mexican Grill is being acquired by Freeman Spogli & Co., according to a news release. This moves comes after Golub Capital announced it is…

Top take-homes in teaching restaurant tech to work together

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

Competition and narrow margins in the restaurant business demand a nip-and-tuck approach to efficiency. Uncle Maddio's recently worked with ParTech to…

Fazoli's 'Comeback Kid' shares turnaround story at London summit

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

"It was ugly," Fazoli's President and CEO Carl Howard exclaimed as he detailed the state of the chain when he arrived to lead it nine years ago. "I mean…

Study shows 'anytime eaters' here to stay: Are you ready?

The anytime eater is upon us and many chains have found that feeding "the new normal" requires a shift away from traditional meal packaging, both in portion…

London Summit: Coyote Ugly's key considerations before taking on the world

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

Coyote Ugly has learned to speak a lot of different languages along its path to global growth. Here, one of the chain's leaders shares the key elements for any…

Are you paying to power your competitor when they could be paying for you?

By Jeff Julia/Author, Navigating the Maze of Energy Efficiency Projects

The New Economy: It's all about restaurants

August 14, 2017

In Cleveland and New York City, more than a third of the new jobs added since 2015 are food and drink service industry positions, while the entire state of…

New tool helps small restaurant brands handle big turnover problem

August 11, 2017

Snagajob, the mammoth hourly worker recruiting service and website, has introduced a new tool that helps smaller restaurant business owners recruit, schedule…

Wayback Burgers to test food trailers in the Big Apple

by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

The fast casual chain teams with a trailer specialist to launch its first mobile food initiative, starting in New York City.

Show and tell: Coolgreens demonstrates how 'picturing' community health can be profitable

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

Oklahoma-based Coolgreens defines itself through community health, and as the chain expands, it will spread that idea in a very visual way.

LEON co-founder: 'How we built an upscale QSR for heaven'

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

As co-owner and CEO of LEON, a 50-unit brand based in London, John Vincent talks and acts like a man who is as far from an evangelist as you can get. Yet, when…

Onslaught of Chipotle suits: 2 diners file, 7 other law firms form investor class actions

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

At least eight U.S. law firms have reported either filing, investigating or forming classes as part of lawsuits against Chipotle in connection with a norovirus…

Chipotle and the 'elephant in the dining room'

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

The restaurant industry and its players are exhaling today after news that Chipotle might be able to overcome its food safety woes of last week and the…

Brand resurrection? Chipotle might just pull it off

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

Norovirus outbreak and rat infestation behind it, Chipotle's leadership says the brand is moving on.

New way to 'try on' best new bottom line-building restaurant tech

July 25, 2017

POS device provider ParTech has partnered with cloud-based API software developer Omnivore to bridge the gap between restaurants and the tech developers and…

Chipotle class action suits allege brand misled public, investors about food safety measures

July 20, 2017

One class action suit was filed, another is waiting for class certification and a third is in the wings, all alleging that Chipotle and its leadership led food…