Dutch Bros is now the third-largest coffee chain in the U.S., trailing only Starbucks and Dunkin’. In 2018, Dutch Bros—a little more than 300 shops at the time—threw out a massive goal. The coffee chain is expected to reach 800 shops nationwide by 2023. The moment of truth is just around the corner. And from… read more
How one QSR Deli is Growing Through Food Halls Health and convenience used to be an oxymoron. That was something that Melissa Rosen, founder of Southern California-based Locali, wanted to change with her concept. Locali was supposed to be a healthful convenience store when it first opened 14 years ago — something like 7-Eleven meets… read more
Mid-Atlantic Chain’s Expansion will Begin in the Detroit Market Today Sheetz, a major Mid-Atlantic restaurant and convenience chain, announced it will expand into Michigan, with the first store location projected to open in 2025, starting in the Detroit market. Named a Best Regional Fast Food Chain by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards, Sheetz’s… read more
Le Pain Quotidien, Little Beet, and Little Beet Table — three emerging New York City concepts operated by Aurify Brands since 2020 — have now united under one umbrella platform: Convive Brands, led by former NPC International CEO Jon Weber. Aurify — which currently has major investments in Fields Good Chicken, Melt Shop, and a… read more
Restaurants and robots: Don’t be alarmed So much of the recent news about robots in restaurants has focused on the kitchen, where experts seek to engineer the perfect automated pizza maker or a robotic fry station attendant. While the jury’s still out on whether these devices could ever demonstrate the dexterity humans have for making… read more
Taco Bell seems to have figured out the right cadence for product launches to generate strong sales and traffic. For Q3, that launch was the beloved Mexican Pizza. This quarter, it may very well be the Enchirito, which has officially made its return to menus nationwide for the first time in nearly 10 years. Taco… read more
Subway Focuses on off-Premises, on-the-go Concepts Through the first three quarters of 2022, the company’s existing 5,900 non-traditional North American locations had an average 13% growth in same-store sales compared to the same period of 2021. Despite being hit the hardest by pandemic restrictions, there was especially large growth in locations like airports, college campuses… read more
After McDonald’s Deal, Krispy Kreme Seeks other Partners Executives of Krispy Kreme, Inc. expect partnerships, such as a recent one with McDonald’s, and international expansion to keep increasing global points of access, which reflect all locations where the company’s fresh donuts and cookies can be purchased. Charlotte-based Krispy Kreme in October said its donuts will… read more
– by Ainsley Lawrence Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer with an interest in the way business, technology, and education intersect with the personal. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book. Loyalty is essential to the success of any business. If you only focused on bringing… read more
The fast-casual is tapping into data to enhance and personalize each guest’s experience How Noodles & Co. is Leveraging Data to Weather Economic Instability As the digital revolution continues to reshape how consumers interact with their favorite brands, restaurants are increasingly finding ways to collect data points that help them drive business from both loyal… read more