Posts Tagged ‘Industry Spotlight’

Bojangles, the iconic restaurant chain known for its craveable breakfast and Southern-style chicken, biscuits and tea, continues its nationwide expansion in 2026 with a series of openings, including the debut of a new restaurant in Oklahoma City, which will be the first-ever Bojangles location in the state of Oklahoma. Throughout Q1, the brand opened 16…

Sales among the largest fast-casual chains grew 6% last year, a notable deceleration. But standout brands defying the slowdown included Shake Shack, Jersey Mike’s, Wingstop and Cava. Sales growth cooled considerably in the fast-casual restaurant chain segment in 2025, but it was a good year to be a Mediterranean or sandwich brand. Sales among fast-casual…

A noisy first quarter impacted the pizza chain’s performance, but Russell Weiner said it’s better positioned for the long term because of stronger profitability and scale. Domino’s first quarter results came in below analysts’ expectations and while executives acknowledged the impact of consumer pressures and increased competitive activity, they remain bullish about the chain’s long-term…

Based on OpenTable’s 2025 numbers, the holiday brings in a huge chunk of business, with 2026 looking promising Mother’s Day was restaurants’ biggest day of the year in 2025, according to reservation platform OpenTable. Families and friends celebrating mom dined out in droves, increasing restaurant traffic 12% year over year. And there’s optimism that those…

As legacy salad chains face mounting pressure, Greenlane is emerging with a smaller, faster, and more efficient model designed to make healthy food truly accessible. This year, QSR magazine introduced Fast Casual FutureMakers, a new annual report showcasing brands and founders pushing the category forward in real time. The 2026 class features three emerging concepts,…

Whataburger has named Rachel Lorraine as Vice President, Enterprise Insights & Analytics, adding a seasoned analytics and strategy leader to support the brand’s continued growth. Rachel brings more than 20 years of experience leading analytics, strategy and insights across the restaurant and consumer industries. She joins Whataburger from Yum! Brands, where she was serving as…

A group of current and former franchise operators allege fraud, saying the franchisor misrepresented the viability of the fast-casual business, leaving them stuck with hundreds of thousands in losses. The franchisor of the Roll Em Up Taquitos brand has been sued by a group of franchisees who describe the operation as a Ponzi scheme masked…

Stephen Piacentini will help the coffee chain execute its ambitious renovation and development plans as part of the Back to Starbucks initiative. Name: Stephen Piacentini New title: Executive vice president, chief coffeehouse design and development officer, Starbucks Previous title: Chief development officer, Chipotle Starbucks confirmed it is bringing on Stephen Piacentini to lead the development…

The company’s international brand, Texas Chicken, will open its first unit in Shanghai this summer as it continues its global expansion. Dive Brief: Texas Chicken, the overseas arm of Church’s Texas Chicken, has signed a deal with Deke Shengtang to develop at least 600 restaurants across China over the next few years, according to a…

Parent company MTY Group acquired about 50 underperforming locations from franchisees last year and their turnaround is ‘more complicated than anticipated’ MTY Food Group, parent company of Papa Murphy’s and several other brands, reported first quarter results late last week, including a same-store sales decline of 2.5%. System sales were $1.3 billion for the quarter,…