Shift Change: Panera hires chief customer officer, McDonald's taps new chief global impact officer

This week's Shift Change also includes Qdoba's VP of franchise development hire and Golden Chick's new chief marketing officer. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 2, 2020

P.F. Chang's extends temporary layoffs for up to 5,800 workers

The chain filed WARN notices to inform workers if their hours were cut by over 50% for 6 months or more. Restaurant Dive found notices in 20 states, and the majority of the filings noted up to 75 impacted employees per store. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Oct. 2, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Menu development

Restaurants big and small are experimenting with their menus to align with the preferences of on-the-go diners and mitigate the impact of rising food costs, supply chain disruption and shrinking consumer discretionary funds. 

By Restaurant Dive staff

Taco Bell sets up personalized taco gifting service ahead of holiday rush

Available through Taco Bell's website and app, the feature will be permanent, showing the chain's continued bets on loyalty innovations.

By Peter Adams • Oct. 1, 2020

McDonald's creates new team with hire of chief global impact officer

Katie Bierne Fallon's appointment helps the company build on its goal to create a more gender-balanced C-suite, particularly as it deals with ongoing controversy around its former CEO. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 1, 2020

Inspire Brands invests in POS integration platform ItsaCheckmate

The tech will help Arby's parent company streamline operations across its systems, the majority of which manually adds food orders from multiple channels to its POS platform.  

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 30, 2020

McDonald's expands youth skills training program

The company's youth initiative efforts come as the restaurant chain aims to improve workplace culture.

By Sheryl Estrada • Sept. 29, 2020

Darden sheds 11% of support staff as part of a 'strategic restructure'

The job cuts, which include the elimination of COO David George's position, are expected to save between $25 million and $30 million annually.

By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 25, 2020

Shift Change: CKE Restaurants, Domino's hire CTOs

This week's Shift Change also includes Del Taco's creation of a vice president of marketing technology role, Taco John's new chief operating officer and Church's Chicken's vice president of finance.  

By Julie Littman • Sept. 25, 2020

Domino's promotes CTO, restructures tech unit as CIO retires

Kelly Garcia will replace EVP and CIO Kevin Vasconi, who is retiring Oct. 2, the company announced Monday.

By Roberto Torres • Sept. 23, 2020

Sizzler USA is the latest casual chain to declare bankruptcy

The family dining restaurant plans to complete the process within 120 days, which it says will not impact its franchisees. 

By Julie Littman • Sept. 22, 2020

Dunkin' CFO: Company's westward expansion 'key' to future development

Dunkin's decision to remain open as competitors closed and to open new branches in the South and West have positioned it well for the future, its CFO said Tuesday.

By Jane Thier • Sept. 18, 2020

Burger King puts Whopper recipe on wrappers as part of 'real food' push

Following efforts centered on moldy burgers and cow farts, the QSR is trying a simple and direct approach to market its "clean food" menu.

By Robert Williams • Sept. 18, 2020

Denny's supplier diversity a 'pillar' in its DEI efforts

"We're proud of the strides we've taken over the past 25 years to reshape our entire corporate culture and business operations, but we know that we're not done with this work," a Denny's exec said.

By Sheryl Estrada • Sept. 18, 2020

McDonald's joint employer victory could be marred by potential conflict of interest

An NLRB board member participated in a ruling, despite ties to McDonald's, that said the fast food chain would not be liable for violations committed by franchisees.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 17, 2020

Taco Bell announces 'womxn-focused' employee resource group

Some employers have prioritized employee resource groups as a way to support diversity and inclusion work in recent months.

By Ryan Golden • Sept. 17, 2020

Papa John's to open global HQ in Metro Atlanta

The company will move a bulk of its teams, including menu innovation, marketing, customer experience and human resources, to one of its largest corporate-owned restaurant markets.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 17, 2020

Dave & Buster's lays off over 1,300 employees across 7 states

The WARN notices follow an 87% decline in same-store sales for Q2 and CEO Brian Jenkins' previous statements of moving forward with a leaner labor model.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Sept. 16, 2020

McDonald's app offers mock insurance to drive trial of new spicy McNuggets

The promotion that includes a 40-minute Instagram video of Anthony "Spice" Adams reflects the chain's focus on drive-thru, delivery and digital as it ramps up marketing spend.

By Robert Williams • Sept. 16, 2020

McDonald's selects TerraCycle's Loop for reusable cup pilot across UK locations

The new partnership is the latest sign of major brands taking greater interest in circular solutions. It also marks an expansion beyond grocery for the ambitious reuse platform.

By Karine Vann • Sept. 11, 2020

Shift Change: Logan's Roadhouse parent hires CEO, Panera appoints COO

This week's Shift Change includes Bojangles adding its first chief people officer, Zaxby's hiring a chief development officer and Popeyes appointing a president for its Americas region.

By Julie Littman , Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 11, 2020

White Castle launches first systemwide loyalty program

The burger chain accelerated its plans to roll out a rewards program to provide more contactless services and grow its digital footprint, White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson said. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 10, 2020

Sweetgreen launches curated, online-only menu collections

One menu in this format features orders of culinary stars, including Kwame Onwuachi and Missy Robbins, and others include selections geared toward dietary restrictions and preferences.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 9, 2020

How Tropical Smoothie's new owner will accelerate growth

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners talks about what drew the firm to the smoothie chain, which has a pipeline of over 500 units, and how its financial resources will support nationwide expansion.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 9, 2020

Chipotle employs TikTok creator cohort to promote group-ordering app feature

As TikTok users join up to form creator houses, Chipotle is early to a trend that reflects its own efforts to target wannabe brand ambassadors.

By Peter Adams • Sept. 8, 2020

Luby's shareholders approve liquidation plan

If the company receives an offer for a corporate transaction that would result in superior value to stockholders, the dissolution plan could be abandoned.

By Julie Littman • Updated Nov. 18, 2020