2023 brought new challenges to the table for the restaurant industry, from rising food prices due to inflation to continued disruptions in the supply chain. To attract customers while accommodating tightened budgets, restaurants should consider employing marketing strategies that leverage data-driven insights to tailor messaging according to consumer needs. Unfortunately, the traditional marketing tech stack...Read More

Photos courtesy of the brands Chains are pulling out all stops this year with Halloween-themed food and drink. And in some cases, they’ve moved over to the dark side, going beyond kid-friendly pumpkin shapes and trick-or-treat candies. The Spooktacular trio at Nekter Juice Bar includes the new Frankenstein Smoothie, Smoothie of Darkness and Vampire Bowl....Read More

Outback has fallen behind its peers in the steakhouse segment. | Photo: Shutterstock Starboard Value’s plans to turn around Bloomin’ Brands include better operations and more “fun” marketing at the company’s top concept, Outback Steakhouse. In a presentation posted to its website Wednesday, the activist investor made its case for why Bloomin’, the casual-dining conglomerate...Read More

It’s hard to escape the continuing boom in restaurant franchises. Quick-serve brands are leading the trend, and not just for restaurants, but for franchises overall.  But it’s not just newbies to franchising – or restaurant franchises themselves, for that matter – that need to stay on top of the management intricacies that characterize the business....Read More

This year, Chipotle is targeting Gen Z dorm dwellers for its Halloween promotion. |Photo courtesy of Chipotle Chipotle appears to be exploring the idea of a late-night daypart, at least for one night. For its annual Boorito Halloween event this year, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based chain said Wednesday that it is extending operating hours on...Read More

Moonbowls, a veggie-based Korean bowl brand, is Salted’s most popular concept. | Photo courtesy of Salted Salted, the parent of Moonbowls, Califlower Pizza and other health-focused, delivery-first restaurant brands, has raised $14 million.  The Los Angeles-based company plans to use the funding to open more locations, hire staff, develop technology and acquire more brands. It...Read More

Finding employees willing to take on the demanding hard work of a kitchen and retaining those employees has always been a struggle, and it’s time restaurants begin looking at solutions to the problem for the next generation of chefs. This generation, Gen Z, has grown up relentlessly surrounded by technology — whether it’s at-school laptops,...Read More

Chuck E. Cheese will have a branded area in a Sacramento water park. | Photo courtesy of CEC Entertainment. You soon won’t have to go to Chuck E. Cheese to go to Chuck E. Cheese. The Irving, Tex.-based food-and-games concept on Tuesday announced that it has reached a multi-year licensing agreement with California Dreamin’ Entertainment...Read More

Consumers crowned Burger King as the simplest restaurant brand in the U.S., according to a survey by Siegel+Gale. | Photo: Shutterstock Running a restaurant has perhaps never been more complicated. But operators’ ongoing efforts to streamline the business appear to be paying off with one important group: consumers. On a ranking of the world’s simplest...Read More

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), and there’s never been a better time to consider employing people with disabilities in the food service industry. The restaurant and food service industries, like many businesses that rely on hourly employees, are impacted by a significant restaurant labor shortage, low retention rates, and high absenteeism. The...Read More