Haven Hot Chicken wins The Perfect Pitch at the Fast Casual Executive Summit 2023

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

Haven Hot Chicken won The Perfect Pitch concept competition at the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 9.

Antares Group merging with Aprio

October 13, 2023

Antares Group, which provides accounting and financial services to over 1,600 McDonald's restaurants and other quick service and fast casual brands in over 4…

How diversity became Shake Shack's key ingredient

by Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

Shake Shack set big goals for diversity. At the Fast Casual Executive Summit, Idris Stover, director of diversity, equity inclusion and engagement, discussed…

How to make, sell creative pizzas in modern industry

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Pizza Marketplace editor Mandy Wolf Detwiler catches up with Andrew Scudera Jr., owner of The Original…

Scooter's Coffee exec: 'The whole point of innovation is growth'

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

Nathan Lester, senior director, drive-thru innovations for Scooter’s Coffee, spoke about pairing innovation and growth during the keynote address kicking off…

Fast casual industry up 11.5% by 2027

October 6, 2023

The U.S. fast casual market is increasing by $55.4 billion from 2022 to 2027, growing at a CAGR of 11.56%, according to report by Technavio, which said that…

Toastique entering Cali

October 4, 2023

Toastique, a toast, juice and smoothie chain with 20 locations is now open in Newport Beach, California. Under the direction of Rhea Cayenne, the store is…

Crazy Pita landing in Houston

October 3, 2023

Crazy Pita, a Mediterranean fast casual restaurant with a Moroccan-themed menu founded in Las Vegas, is opening its first Houston location on Oct. 24 in Sugar…

How to Motivate Franchise Operators to Follow Standardized Processes (and Why You Should)

Leave with a better understanding of key areas where consistency is king in the restaurant industry, and gain some helpful tips for implementing repeatable…

Presented by FastCasual.com

Smoothie King outpacing industry growth via menu innovation, franchisee communication

Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim details how the brand is outpacing industry growth projections.

Panera partners with ezCater to scale workplace catering

September 27, 2023

Panera Bread has tapped EzCater, which has over 100,000 restaurants using its catering platform, to help it deliver soups, salads and sandwiches to the…

AI won't replace restaurant employees, it will make CX better

by Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

A panel at the Interactive Customer Experience Summit in Charlotte from Sept. 11 to 13 tackled AI head on and how its real benefit is to improve the customer…

Should restaurants enter the Metaverse?

by cooper, Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

What is the metaverse good for? A panel at the Interactive Customer Experience Summit debated this topic.

Streamline food truck operations with your cell phone

Traditional point-of-sale and kitchen display systems require extensive spaces and investment. Adding a POS and KDS built for a mobile platform are far better…

Presented by FoodTruckOperator.com

The Power Of VARs: A Candid Conversation With POSGuys.Com

Colton Kaltenfeldt from POS Guys offers insights into the advantages of working with a VAR that benefit businesses in the long run.

Ellianos Coffee expanding in Florida

September 21, 2023

Ellianos Coffee, a southeast-based drive-thru specialty coffee brand, is opening Monday in Gainesville, Florida, and will celebrate with a 2 p.m.

Smalls Sliders reaches 100 units in development

September 21, 2023

Smalls Slider has more than 100 restaurants — called "cans" — under development, according to the press release.

Why Veggie Grill CEO thinks downsizing will fuel growth

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Veggie Grill's plan for growth includes exploring franchising, menu enhancements and technology upgrades.

Shake Shack testing 'environmentally friendly' cooking oil

September 18, 2023

In an effort to reduce their environmental footprints, two Shake Shack restaurants in New York will replace its soybean oil with oil from Zero Acre Farms, a…

White Castle Unwrapped: Navigating Efficiency through Technology in Multi-Site Operations

Watch now and embark on a journey to unlock the secrets behind White Castle's technological prowess and efficiency-driven success!