Wingstop launching 'restaurant of the future'

February 3, 2022

Wingstop has opened a restaurant doubling as an innovation lab to test equipment and layouts. Located on Lovers Lane in Dallas — near the chain's Global…

Wow Wow hoping to roll growth into 2022

February 2, 2022

Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade is on track to double its nationwide footprint in 2022 after increasing its store count by 25% in 2021. The Hawaii-based brand also…

Lunchbox raises $50M in funding

February 2, 2022

DoorDash, Sweetgreen and &pizza have invested in the company.

Consumer spending, restaurant visits rose in 2021

February 2, 2022

Consumer spending at restaurants grew by 16% in 2021 compared to a year ago when spending declined by 12% and was 2% above the pre-pandemic year ending…

Starbucks' Q1 miss triggering price increases

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

February 2, 2022

Starbucks is raising prices thanks to high inflation, supply chain issues, COVID-19 resurgences and labor shortages, CEO Kevin Johnson said Tuesday during the…

Atomic Wings adding drive-thru

February 1, 2022

Atomic Wings, a New York-based franchise with dozens of locations, is unveiling its first drive-thru restaurant in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Panera rolling out contactless dine-in

February 1, 2022

Panera is rolling out contactless dine-in to locations across the United States. The feature in the Panera mobile app allows guests to place orders on their…

Is it time to automate the franchisee process?

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Little Caesars, Qdoba, Juice It Up and Topper's Craft VIPs will reveal how they have automated the franchisee process.

Pei Wei taps celebrity chef for menu relaunch

January 28, 2022

Pei Wei Asian Kitchen is getting on the digital bandwagon by revamping its menu with a little help from Food Network star Jet Tila, according to a company…

FreshFry now serving Canada restaurants

January 27, 2022

FreshFry, a Louisville-based food tech company providing restaurants with all-natural frying oil-filtering solutions, is giving Canadian restaurants access to…

The rise of the subscription revolution

by Brittany Maroney — Sr Product Marketing Manager, Punchh

Subscription commerce sales climbed 41% in 2020 and have hit $28 billion. Is it time for your brand to embrace the model?

Zoup rolls out retail line

January 26, 2022

Zoup is getting back to its roots with a lineup of shelf-stable soups.

Noodles & Co ditching plastic straws

January 25, 2022

Plastic straws will be a thing of the past by March at Noodles & Co's 450 U.S. locations.

Foodservice industry to hit $4.1T by 2026

January 24, 2022

The global food service industry is projected to reach a size of $4.1 trillion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4%, according to a press…

Slim Chickens, Blaze Pizza among CEOs keynoting RFIS 2022

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

The word "chaotic" may sum up the past year for the restaurant industry, but the most successful leaders have leaned into the chaos, creating a path forward.

Scooter's names VP of Construction

January 20, 2022

To support Scooter's Coffee growth plans, Pat Sardo has joined the company as VP of construction and will oversee franchise construction from real estate…

Luckin Coffee to relist shares in the US

January 20, 2022

Luckin Coffee, a pioneer in coffee vending and a competitor to Starbucks in China that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021, intends to relist its shares in…

Pandemic causes PizzaLeah to pivot

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

Leah Scurto opened her pizzeria, PizzaLeah, in Sonoma County, California just days before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown hit the state. That caused Scurto to…

Foodservice, vending groups urge feds to restore employee retention tax credit

January 19, 2022

The National Restaurant Association and the National Automatic Merchandising Association were among 51 trade associations that sent a letter urging the Biden…

Italy’s Poke House invests in Sweetfin

January 18, 2022

European foodtech company Poke House has invested in Sweetfin, a 14-unit Los Angeles-based poke brand. Poke House, which has over 75 restaurants in Italy…