Ever since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, off-premises dining has been on the rise. And according to DoorDash’s Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report, which surveyed more than 1,500 consumers in the U.S., delivery, and takeout have continued to garner preference. The report states that 83 percent of customers ordered delivery food as much or more… read more

Birria tacos have been trending on Instagram and TikTok for over a year, and El Pollo Loco, the Mexican-born, Los Angeles-based chain, has been watching. “We’ve been following birria for some time, and the timing was right to for us to put it on the menu,” said Heather Gardea, El Pollo Loco’s VP of culinary… read more

After working inside the fine-dining mecca once crowned the World’s Best Restaurant, a pair of Eleven Madison Park alums have decided to serve up more casual fare. This Tuesday, Andy Quinn and Cedric Nicaise will debut the Noortwyck, a New American restaurant tucked into New York’s West Village. Quinn, who previously served as a chef at EMP, has turned his… read more

Popeyes wants to give customers cheap chicken for its birthday. The Miami-based chicken chain will sell two pieces of the chain’s bone-in chicken for 59 cents next week starting Sunday. The catch: Customers have to first buy $5 worth of food on the chain’s digital channels. The price is the same one the company offered… read more

Cracker Barrel is feeling sales pressure from multiple angles as it heads toward the back half of 2022. Topline figures in the brand’s fiscal third quarter were encouraging as February progressed, but higher-than-expected inflation and rises in COVID cases slowed recovery in March and April. Restaurant costs of goods sold were 27.8 percent versus 24.3… read more

But the sandwich chain has long wanted to add a burger to the menu without adding extra equipment or capital expense. “At Arby’s, we like to innovate around products that exist in the category but people are settling for billions instead of the best,” said CMO Patrick Schwing. “We saw an opportunity to create a… read more

Menu prices rose at an accelerating rate in May, with customers typically paying 7.4% more for an item than they did a year ago, according to new government figures. The year-over-year increase was the sharpest upswing in restaurant prices since 1981, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted in updating the Consumer Price Index… read more

The Miami-based Fresh Dining Concepts, which owns approximately 160 Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, and Jamba locations in 17 states and Washington, D.C., received a $44 million capital injection from Franchise Equity Partners, a relatively new private investment firm looking to provide finances to growing franchise businesses. True to the company’s philosophy, the multi-million-dollar investment is a minority stake and permanent in… read more

Earlier this week, Taco Bell debuted its newest prototype, which it calls “Defy.” It is a two-story purple palace devoted almost entirely to the automobile. There is a kitchen on the second floor that delivers food to waiting cars below through a unique lift system. Inside, however, it does not have any seating. And that’s… read more