RESTAURANTS Act back on the table

February 5, 2021

A $120 billion revitalization fund, known as the RESTAURANTS Act of 2021, to help independent restaurants and small franchisees facing COVID-19 challenges is…

Q2 sales drop at Pie Five, Pizza Inn

February 5, 2021

Pizza Inn and Pie Five parent company, Rave Restaurant Group Inc., reported Friday that the pandemic severely hurt the brands' Q2 sales, which ended Dec. 27.

Blaze names CTO

February 5, 2021

Blaze Pizza has hired Chris Demery, former P.F. Chang's senior vice president, as its chief technology officer. Demery, who brings 20 years of industry…

4 ways to prepare for predicted springtime traffic increases

by Corey Chao

There's no denying that 2020 was the year that restaurants had to continuously adapt and evolve due to the pandemic, from dine-in shutdowns and delivery and…

Le Madeleine debuting drive-thru prototype

February 5, 2021

La Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe is debuting a drive-thru prototype when it opens Monday in Addison, Texas.

Goodcents CEO reveals 2021 mandate: 'Make it safer, make it easier'

The 70-unit company based in Kansas City has rolled out the Certified Clean Program, which requires an upfront investment of $1,500-$2,000 per location.

Revel teams with Delphi Display Systems on restaurant drive-thru

February 4, 2021

Revel Systems, a cloud-based point-of-sale and business management platform, is teaming up with Delphi Display Systems, a provider of consumer engagement and…

Independent Restaurants Running on Toast’s All-in-One Platform Outperform Peers by up to 30% During Pandemic

Investments in digital ordering and contactless payments technology allowed Toast to significantly grow their customer community and increase recurring revenue…

Consolidated Concepts debuts 3 virtual brands

February 3, 2021

Dallas-based Consolidated Restaurant Operations, which owns 63 restaurants in the United States and United Arab Emirates, has opened three virtual kitchens…

Chipotle CEO reveals 5 strategies to combat Q4 earnings miss

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Growth in digital sales was the highlight of the quarter, growing 177.2% and accounting for 49% of sales.

COVID-19 hammers Sysco’s 2021 Q2 sales and earnings

February 2, 2021

Sysco Corp.'s sales fell 23.1% from $23.3 billion in last year's second quarter to $11.6 billion for the 2021 second quarter ending Dec. 26, 2020, according to…

GoTab redesigns online menu, updates referral program

February 1, 2021

Restaurant commerce platform GoTab has unveiled enhanced contactless online menu features and special offers to help operators update and display menus for…

Deadline extended for FastCasual Top 100 nominations

February 1, 2021

Fast Casual brands hoping to be considered for the 2021 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers have a few more days to nominate themselves. Nominations are…

Can Everytable's new franchise model cut racial inequality?

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Everytable CEO Sam Polk discusses how his latest operations idea — the Social Equity Franchise —removes barriers to business ownership for Black and Latinx…

Capriotti’s, REEF's partner on Baltimore’s first ghost kitchen

January 28, 2021

Sandwich chain Capriotti's Sandwich Shop is partnering with REEF's Neighborhood Kitchens, known for transforming underutilized urban spaces into neighborhood…

Digital ordering, drive-thru and carry-out help drive growth for restaurant industry

January 27, 2021

Throughout 2020, U.S. restaurants demonstrated resiliency against a variety of issues and rose from a 35% traffic decline in April to a 11% visit decrease in…

DoorDash restaurant grant program open to applicants

January 27, 2021

Restaurants in select U.S. states and Canada provinces, seeking relief due to the devastating business impact of COVID-19, can now apply to DoorDash's…

Surge in delivery orders leads to increased revenues at BurgerFi

January 27, 2021

Despite operating during a pandemic, BurgerFi International Inc., which went public last month, reported that Q4 total revenue was slightly higher than the…

Starbucks on slow path to recovery, COO stepping down

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Although sales fell short of Wall Street's expectations, Q1 earnings of 61 cents per share topped estimates of 55 cents per share but declined 22.8…

Israeli startup introduces self-serve kiosk with facial recognition for restaurants

January 26, 2021

Preciate, an Israeli startup, has introduced self-serve kiosks with facial recognition for restaurants, according to an israel21.org report.