Thrive Restaurant Group, a decades-old family-run business operating dozens of restaurants in multiple states, mostly in the Midwest, has long-run traditional casual-dining concepts, but now they see potential in their breakfast, lunch, and brunch concept, HomeGrown. Founded about five years ago as HomeGrown Wichita, there are now three such restaurants in their hometown, plus a… 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 for us to put it on the menu,” said Heather Gardea, El Pollo Loco’s VP of culinary development…. 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

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

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

This isn’t a good week for customers who enjoy eating inside fast-food restaurants. 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… read more