Study names Arlington, Virginia, as best city to open a restaurant

The Washington D.C. area dominated the top of the list with D.C. and Arlington ranking No. 3 and No. 1, respectively.

What to know if your brand wants to dump styrofoam

Christina Donahue, president of Dining Alliance, offers up tips and advice to fast casuals interested in tossing styrofoam for more eco-friendly containers and…

Keeping your website protected from lawsuits

Protecting your website from lawsuits is an important part of thriving on the digital wave. Here are some things to watch out for to your brand safe.

When hiring: Don't forget grandma and grandpa

by Matt MacInnis — Founder & CEO, Inkling

Evidence shows that late-career workers are capable, reliable and digitally adept.

How Starbucks deployed 23,000 iPads for training

Mary Stumpf, lead of collaboration products and devices for Starbucks, saw the need for tablets in the workplace and decided to do something about it.

Intelligent digital communications changing the world: Are you ready for it?

Drive-thru and other types of restaurant digital signage are getting smarter nearly by the second, which could trigger customer connection opportunities for…

3 ways technology can lower food costs

by Niall Keane — CEO of SynergySuite, SynergySuite

With timely insights, restaurants can optimize processes, make better decisions, and save time and money

Why restaurant execs ditching old-school training for video-based methods

Employee training was one of the most talked about topics at the Restaurant Franchise Innovation Summit 2017 in Dallas. The most important thing I heard…

Food trucks and restaurants – a symbiotic relationship

by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

While many limited service restaurants are clearly interested in expanding into food trucks, veteran food truck operators are using the skills they develop on…

Heard at the Summit: Attendees share insights, pain points and keys to success

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit attendees discuss everything from bunnies to BS.

The weekly report is not enough — a daily report may save your business

by Niall Keane — CEO of SynergySuite, SynergySuite

Daily reports can help reduce food costs and prevent costs associated with overtime ad overstaffing.

Calculating the cost of DIY vs third-party SaaS solutions

by Dave Bennett — President & CEO, Mirus Restaurant Solutions

One expert takes a look at the dollars and cents when it comes to just how much a difference exists between DIY and SaaS solutions.

Positive loitering: How fast casuals can increase customer dwell time, spend with digital signage

By encouraging longer dwell times and shorter perceived dwell/wait times through digital signage, your chain can increase the overall spend per guest and…

Self-order kiosks gain fans among restaurants, consumers

by Chris Gilder — Founder/CEO, Meridian

The quick service and fast casual restaurant formats may offer their customers different experiences, but both are starting to leverage self-order kiosks to…

Why the problem of restaurant pathogens REALLY may have a "silver" lining

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

A non-toxic type of cleaner that kills pathogens with a form of ionized silver is spreading in use after showing great results in several chains nationally.

Real vs authentic: Which word should describe your restaurant?

by Steve Starr — Chief, starrdesign

Steve Starr describes how authenticity is about communicating your brand’s true ideals to the consumer while the term real references the use of natural…

4 ways to control your food costs in 2016

by John Krebs — President, Axis Purchasing

Commodity prices have temporarily fallen and taken some pressure off food cost. Now is the time for strategic buyers to align with manufacturers, distributors…

What's in your kitchen?

by John Krebs — President, Axis Purchasing

Technology in food engineering and processing equipment coupled with better logistics has given companies the ability to specialize.

Just Mayo vs. Mayonnaise: How the FDA restricts food innovation

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

The FDA established Standards of Identity for many products so that consumers were protected from mislabeled food product. But consumers today are more…

The latest green trend: Compostable containers

by John Krebs — President, Axis Purchasing

With the growing popularity of compostable products, they now come in all shapes and sizes to match the diversity of restaurant cuisine, including bowls…