The Latest

  • Grubbrr's kiosks on display at the National Restaurant Association Show in 2024.
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    Aneurin Canham-Clyne/Restaurant Dive
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    8 restaurant industry trade shows to attend in 2025

    This year is brimming with restaurant conferences and trade shows covering key issues for the sector, from franchising strategy to economic forecasts.

    Updated Jan. 31, 2025
  • An image of Burger King's Sizzle remodeled restaurant
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    Courtesy of Burger King
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    Burger King accelerates remodels, refranchising

    The QSR giant will start selling off the restaurants it acquired in its $1 billion Carrols deal two years ahead of schedule.

  • A Golden Corral.
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    Courtesy of Golden Corral
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    Inside Golden Corral’s complete tech overhaul

    CIO Dawn Gillis said the buffet chain’s new tech infrastructure, built by Qu, will help it double off-premise sales this year.

  • An image of a light brown building with a small tree out front that lost its leaves. The signage says California Pizza Kitchen.
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    Permission granted by California Pizza Kitchen
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    From vending machines to airports: How CPK is reaching more diners

    California Pizza Kitchen is also investing in a virtual brand partnership and expansion of consumer packaged goods to reach more diners.

  • Popeyes unveils new brand identity, pilots store redesign
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    Courtesy of Popeyes
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    Popeyes will remodel stores and beef up ad spending

    Restaurant Brands International will add equipment, ranging from a cloud-based point-of-sales system to an automated batter-maker, at the chicken chain’s U.S. stores.

  • A Denny's location in Emeryville, California.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Denny’s to increase store closures

    The chain expects to shutter 70 to 90 restaurants in 2025 due to low volumes and lease expirations, compared to 88 store closures last year.

  • EG America
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    Retrieved from EG America.
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    EG America names new head of branded QSR operations

    The retailer has appointed a leader for its department that recently launched three fresh restaurant concepts.

  • An image of a building with Tropical Smoothie Cafe signage
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    Permission granted by Tropical Smoothie Cafe
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    Tropical Smoothie Cafe hires Baskin-Robbins vet as COO

    Jonathan Biggs joins the company during a rapid growth period. The chain also promoted Chris Sasser to CFO and Karen Wickliffe to general counsel.

  • A McDonald's restaurant sign between trees. The sign reads, "McDonald's"
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    McDonald’s looks to loyalty to recapture traffic after disappointing quarter

    The chain aims to reach its goal of 250 million 90-day active MyMcDonald’s Rewards users and $45 billion in annual systemwide sales by 2027.

  • Am image of a sign on a window that says "Meal Deal" and shows a chicken sandwich and burger with nuggest, fries and a Coca-Cola.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    NRA: 95% of restaurant operators say diners are more value-conscious

    Forty-seven percent of operators are planning to offer discounts or value promotions this year, per National Restaurant Association research.

  • An image of a chicken big mac sold by a McDonald's duplicate set up by the chain to promote the sandwich
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    Courtesy of McDonald's
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    McDonald’s will bring back snackwraps, chicken strips to boost sales

    The Golden Arches will emphasize menu innovation in the chicken category this year to recover traffic momentum that was stalled by its E. coli outbreak. 

  • The outside of a Taco Bell restaurant.
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    Justin Sullivan / Staff via Getty Images
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    Yum Brands to scale loyalty, personalization in 2025

    Taco Bell’s parent company is leveraging loyalty programs and AI-driven personalization in pursuit of higher digital sales.

  • Overly busy restaurant
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    JazzIRT via Getty Images
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    The restaurant labor market in 6 key statistics

    Turnover generally fell in 2024, while unemployment and total jobs increased slightly, indicating a return to pre-pandemic labor market dynamics.

    Updated Feb. 10, 2025
  • A close up image of a clump of avocadoes with stickers that say "avocados Mexico."
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    One-third of independent restaurants expect sales declines from tariffs

    Comparatively, 40% of small business owners expect no sales impact from U.S. tariffs on China and potential tariffs on Mexico and Canada, according to an Alignable survey.

  • A Panera store.
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    Courtesy of Panera
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    Panera Bread hires Dunkin’ vet as CIO

    Santhosh Kumar, who spent almost two decades in IT roles at Dunkin’, will develop and deploy tech across the chain’s 2,200-plus cafes.

  • Chipotle
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Chipotle builds 2025 around ‘total guest experience,’ CEO says

    The company will continue to roll out kitchen equipment and mobile order-focused Chipotlanes to keep order throughput high.

  • A night image of people sitting at tables at a patio in a restaurant
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    benedek via Getty Images
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    NRA: Traditional restaurant sales will surpass $1.1 trillion in 2025

    The entire foodservice industry will reach $1.5 trillion in annual sales despite labor and food cost challenges thanks to pent-up diner demand, the National Restaurant Association predicts.

  • Taco Bell exterior
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    Courtesy of Taco Bell
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    Yum Brands launches integrated tech platform

    Thousands of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants already use Byte by Yum, which includes kitchen management and point-of-sale tools.

  • A photograph of an Applebee's sign.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Applebee’s president Tony Moralejo steps down

    Moralejo’s departure follows last week’s announcement that parent company Dine Brands would cut 9% of its workforce.

  • A Starbucks barista hands a customer a coffee
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    Courtesy of Starbucks
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    Starbucks says ‘Hello Again’ by advertising around the Super Bowl

    A new spot and a free coffee promotion on the Monday after the big game are part of the chain’s marketing-powered turnaround plan.

  • A promotional image for Chipotle's smoked brisket menu item. Text on the image reads, "Limited time only Smoked Brisket Chipotle"The image shows a burrito bowl with rice, beans, meat and peppers on the left. On the right is sliced beef with a cup of dipping sauce and sliced peppers.
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    Permission granted by Chipotle
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    Chipotle’s LTOs drove 7% same-store sales bump in 2024

    Chicken Al Pastor and Smoked Brisket boosted traffic at the chain, which plans to roll out Chipotle Honey Chicken — its best-performing test LTO — this year.

  • A DoorDash delivery worker walks his bike along the road in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, California.
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    hapabapa via Getty Images
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    Boston wants delivery firms to give drivers liability insurance

    Under the proposed ordinance, aggregators like DoorDash and Uber Eats would need to meet data-sharing requirements to obtain an operating permit.

  • A mocktail, made with cranberry juice, red grapefruit juice and sweetened with some simple syrup with a salted glass
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    Clarkandcompany via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    How nonalcoholic beverages are driving the next wave of profits

    Expanded zero-proof menus are attractive to Gen Z, who drink 20% less than millennials, and yield better margins than traditional cocktail offerings, writes Sidework CEO Rishabh Kewalramani.

  • A dawn image of a McDonald's drive-thru. At the foreground is an exit sign and there is a car in the background waiting in line.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    McDonald’s sales are still sluggish 3 months after E. coli outbreak

    While value offerings are helping improve sales, some franchisees have yet to fully recover their visits and sales comps as of January, a BTIG report finds.

  • A photograph of a sign with black letters that says "Waffle House." Each letter is in a box with a yellow background.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Waffle House adds 50-cent surcharge due to egg shortage

    Egg prices are expected to rise 20% this year due to the impact of bird flu, and operators and chains are finding ways to make up the cost.