McDonald’s black franchisees are choosing to leave the chain, Business Insider reported. In 2008, there were about 304 black franchisees at the chain and in 2017, there were 222. The average cash flow of black franchisees is much less than the average cash flow of all of the chain’s restaurants, the report said, citing franchisees,… read more

Reusables will see more widespread adoption: It’s been well over a year since plastic straws were at the epicenter of sustainability debates, and in that time the lens has widened considerably to include, well, pretty much everything else that might hold a takeout meal. Single-use takeout containers, cups and utensils are all under increased scrutiny…. read more

The restaurant industry added 25,300 jobs in November, or nearly 1 out of every 10 new jobs in the economy, as the business continues to expand with little sign of a slowdown. New U.S. Labor Department data released Friday shows that the industry now employs 12.3 million people, up more than 300,000 over the past year…. read more

European food-delivery giant Delivery Hero has agreed to buy a South Korean rival for $4 billion, heating up the global battle to meet growing consumer demand for delivered meals. Online food-delivery businesses around the world are joining forces and attracting investment as more consumers opt to have their meals brought to their homes or offices,… read more

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Innovation Summit keynoter David Robertson, MIT senior lecturer, consultant and student of innovation, explained the big power of little ideas and the concept of a “third way” of innovating that’s not inside the box, not outside the box, but around the box. It’s the credo behind his approach to innovation… read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. is celebrating its 50th anniversary by taking a tiny-sized store to the streets of New York before it launches its first sponsorship of a float in Thursday’s annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “As we celebrate our golden anniversary, this is a big moment for Cracker Barrel, and we wanted… read more

Olive Garden has lived by this creed for the better part of a year: Give up traffic, but make decisions with the long-term health of the business in mind. And it boils down to the state of the industry, Darden CEO Gene Lee said during the company’s latest quarterly review. The luxury to plan ahead… read more

There are two ways to look at any pain point, and that’s the case with Darden and labor. First, the rough side, which is a sounding-board subject for restaurants: Regulation by outside parties, perhaps not invested in the success of the business, are putting up costly roadblocks that make it difficult to create more and… read more

Smokey Bones appointed longtime restaurateur James O’Reilly as its new chief executive officer. O’Reilly joins Smokey Bones from Long John Silver’s, where he served as CEO for four years. He was selected by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners for his track record of leadership, brand building, and value creation. O’Reilly’s plans are to improve… read more

The global scope of the clean label trend was on display on the opening day of Food Ingredients Europe, taking place Nov. 28 – Nov. 30 in Frankfurt. It is clear the trend has gone mainstream globally and is beginning to move into ingredient and finished product processing techniques. Processing techniques that may be perceived… read more