U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, which would more than double the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2026. The bill would… read more

Three years after it was acquired by Denny’s, the 74-unit family-dining chain is ramping up new openings with plans to grow its footprint by 25% to 30% annually. Keke’s Breakfast Cafe is about to start opening a lot more restaurants. Three years after it was acquired by Denny’s, the family-dining chain has already opened nine… read more

The relationship between Hardee’s parent company, CKE Restaurants, and franchise operator Paradigm Investment Group is deteriorating over a disagreement about operating hours. CKE has directed all franchisees to keep locations open until 10 p.m., citing evolving customer expectations and the need for consistent brand operations. Paradigm, which runs 76 Hardee’s restaurants across Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee,… read more

The Texas-based eatertainment brand is opening a unit in the Opus Mall in Manila Dave & Buster’s has broken ground on its first location in the Philippines, the company said Tuesday. The Coppell, Texas-based eatertainment brand said the groundbreaking marked “a major milestone” in the company’s global expansion. Located at the Opus Mall in Manila,… read more

Revenues were the lowest of the past 10 years, excluding the pandemic’s 8% decline in 2020 Restaurant sales slowed in 2024, climbing 3.1% annually, according to Technomic Top 500 data. “Top 500 chain sales climbed by just 3.1% in 2024, the lowest annual increase observed over the last 10 years outside of 2020’s pandemic-influenced 8%… read more

The closures of underperforming stores leave the Caribbean-inspired casual-dining chain with about 30 locations. Darden also closed a few locations in its Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s concepts. Darden Restaurants closed 18 restaurants this month, including 15 units of its Bahama Breeze Island Grille concept. Darden, which owns Olive Garden and nine other full-service brands,… read more

The plaintiff seeks $35 million in damages from what it calls a ‘distressed brand’ A large Hardee’s franchisee has sued Hardee’s Restaurants after the franchisor threatened to terminate the agreements at all of its locations. Paradigm Investment Group filed the lawsuit in the Middle Tennessee U.S. District Court last month to prevent that termination. Paradigm… read more

Executive Summary: The latest leadership changes in the restaurant industry. Chili’s parent Brinker International is adding COO to Aaron White’s title. White, who started her 29-year career at Brinker as a Chili’s server and bartender, will also continue her roles as executive vice president and chief people officer. She will oversee operations strategy and people… read more

Technomic’s Top 500 places Chili’s third among full-service brands behind Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden Chili’s Grill & Bar, a division of Brinker International Inc., caught lightning in a bottle in 2024. “Impressive sales growth of 15% for Chili’s Grill & Bar helped the brand overtake longtime rival Applebee’s, cementing itself as the third-largest full-service… read more

The fast-food giant will instead introduce beverages from the test concept into “hundreds” of McDonald’s restaurants as a test this year. The CosMc’s restaurants will start closing in late June. CosMc’s is dead. Long live CosMc’s. McDonald’s on Friday said that it plans to close stand-alone locations of its beverage test concept starting in late… read more