Delivery-only operator looks at fewer single-brand units and encounters permitting difficulties, CEO Todd Penegor says on Q2 earnings call A reduction in the number of planned delivery-only Reef Technology units led The Wendy’s Co. to reduce its growth plans through 2025, executives said Wednesday. The Dublin, Ohio-based burger brand, which released earnings for the second… read more
Franchisees are aware of opportunities in a volatile environment, executives say Dine Brands Global Inc., the parent to casual-dining Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar and family-dining IHOP, has been cautious on price increases, seeing it as a competitive advantage to increasing market share, executives said Tuesday. Glendale, the Calif.-based company, which released earnings for the… read more
When First Watch went public last fall, CEO Chris Tomasso’s message to Wall Street was one the brand had circulated for years, only from a quieter forum. “Nobody is doing what we’re doing at scale.” It’s a point he reiterated Tuesday during First Watch’s Q2 call with investors. The chain closed the period, which ended June… read more
Dutch Bros Coffee — which went public for the first time last fall — is optimistic about its development pipeline, despite external inflationary pressures that are affecting the entire restaurant industry. The Oregon-based coffee chain’s same-store sales declined 3.3% for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, but on the flip side of that, the… read more
McDonald’s said on Thursday that it will reopen its restaurants in Ukraine, telling employees in a system message that it would begin a phased reopening of its locations in Kyiv and western Ukraine after consultation with officials, suppliers, and security specialists there. Yet it is uncertain how many locations the company plans to reopen in… read more
Pizza Hut and its parent company Yum Brands are partnering with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) to launch a sustainability initiative aimed to help participating farmers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The initiative will allow the DFA and dairy suppliers to engage in annual farm-level greenhouse gas and energy footprinting. The project will use the Farmers… read more
Although the menus at Atomic Wings, Famous Toastery, and Beef O’Bradys have little in common, their leaders are facing the same conundrum: How to raise prices to offset rising food costs without losing customers. Food-away-from-home prices, for example, were up about 7% over 2021 and will climb another 3 to 4% in 2023, according to… read more
Greenfield World Trade, Inc. d/b/a The Legacy Companies (“Legacy”), leading consumer products and commercial food service equipment provider, today announced that it has closed upon its acquisition of Admiral Craft Equipment Corp. of Jericho, New York. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Admiral Craft is a leading manufacturer and distributor of equipment, small… read more
In this photo illustration, a McDonald’s McPlant Beyond Meat burger is displayed with french fries at a McDonald’s restaurant on Feb. 14, 2022, in San Rafael, Calif. Last week, McDonald’s confirmed to CNBC that its U.S. test of the McPlant burger has ended. Yes, that means the fast food corporation’s first ever meatless burger is no more,… read more
BY NICHOLAS SONNENBERG, FOUNDER, LEVERAGE – INC. When successful people are asked to give advice to young people, their responses tend to be similar–work hard, trust your instincts, wake up early, etc. We’ve all seen it. But when I came across Ray Dalio’s best advice for young people (taken from his interview on Lex Fridman’s podcast last December),… read more