Video: Top industry execs go on the record with Fast Casual

What do Pei Wei, Buffalo Wild Wings and Freebirds have in common?

Subway, Dunkin' and Pizza Hut are big winners in Harris Poll study

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

The annual Harris Poll EquiTrends Restaurant Brands of the Year have been named as the result of the massive survey of Americans and restaurant preferences.

Consumers rank Panera, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, DQ as favorite brands

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

Results are in from a study created via a mobile insights platform that captures customer impressions of some of the nation's premier QSR brands.

Restaurants seeking to capture Mother's Day traffic

To honor their moms, consumers will spend $4.1 billion on special outings, such as lunch, brunch and dinner, and savvy restaurants are hoping to attract them…

For the love of loyalty: How mobile drives customer engagement

Enabling the mobile channel — perhaps through loyalty, ordering, payment or other capabilities — is the next big step for fast casual leaders looking to remain…

Why your loyalty program is failing and how to fix it (Part 1)

In comparison to other industries, hospitality is limping behind in the loyalty stakes, so how exactly have operators gotten themselves into this state of…

A lesson on loyalty: Where Starbucks went wrong

Brands can learn a lot from the Starbucks reward program controversy — from using best methods in the program development stages, to structuring reward…

Restaurants offering Tax Day specials

by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

The tax man cometh. One of Americans' least favorite days — income tax filing day — is Monday.

Infographic: Are you using Instagram to attract millennials?

Of Instagram's 40 million monthly users, 90 percent are millennials.

Starbucks urges citizens to reflect, make good choices

by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media

Starbucks take full page ads in top newspapers to urge citizens to achieve balance between profitability and social impact.

Pizza restaurants celebrating 'National Pi Day'

by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

March 14 might be best known as the annual celebration of everyone's favorite mathematical constant, but it's an important day for pizza lovers, too.

Restaurants 'wearing the green' on St. Patrick's Day

by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

St. Patrick's Day translates into a huge marketing opportunity for restaurant operators.

Pei Wei CMO opens up about chain's growth spurt

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Fueling the growth is a new loyalty campaign, a more customizable menu, a localized restaurant marketing program and a refresh of some of the chain's older…

5 ways customers judge your brand

Expert describes five ways customers are judging your fast casual brand.

5 mistakes you're making with your loyalty platform

By carefully vetting loyalty strategies and course correcting to improve results, fast casuals can effectively interact with customers and create experiences…

Restaurants celebrating Leap Year with offers for 'Leap Day' babies

by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

Restaurants are celebrating Leap Year this year with offers for "Leap Day" babies, those born on Feb. 29.

5 things to consider before measuring customer behavior via mobile

Mobile interaction allows consumers to engage more naturally at times that are comfortable and appropriate for them and to share their experiences with others…

Starbucks, loyalty experts defend changes to rewards program

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Many Starbucks fans are angry about the changes and sharing their rage via Twitter, but loyalty platform experts agree that the move was smart for the coffee…

Restaurants wooing customers on Valentine's Day

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Restaurant brands are trying to entice lovers on Valentine’s Day to show them a little love.

Researcher: Loyalty platforms a must for millennials

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Though monetary value is crucial, millennials can incentivized to maintain loyalty participation through other means.