Operations: Page 58
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Restaurant owners growing restless with disparate state opening plans
California and New Jersey just released new reopening plans, while New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio promises to have an answer within the next few weeks.
By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 3, 2020 -
Burger King to build mobile-focused restaurant model in 2021
The fast food chain's designs feature a drive-in, curbside pickup, mobile takeout lockers and a suspended kitchen that can deliver food to drive-thru customers using a conveyor belt.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 3, 2020 -
Trendline
Back-of-house Technology
From voice AI at the drive-thru to robot-powered makelines, restaurants are investing in technology solutions to optimize kitchen operations and reduce employee turnover.
By Restaurant Dive staff -
Drive-thru traffic increased 26% during dining room closures, report says
Drive-thru visits represented 42% of all restaurant visits from April to June and increased 13% even after dining rooms began to open in July, according to data from The NPD Group.
By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 2, 2020 -
Potbelly taps Checkers veteran for COO
Adam Noyes joins the sandwich chain during a tough year in which revenues decreased nearly 50% and same-store sales declined in the double-digits.
By Rosie Bradbury • Sept. 2, 2020 -
Q&A
After 'sucker punch' from coronavirus, breakfast concept First Watch leans into off-premise
The pandemic halted the fast-growing brand's momentum, but CEO Chris Tomasso said quick pivots into online ordering and creating hospitable, socially distant dining rooms helped it recover.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 2, 2020 -
27 Black former franchisees join racial discrimination case against McDonald's
The amended complaint now contains 77 named plaintiffs and includes nearly 300 stores with compensatory damages averaging between $4 million to $5 million per location.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Nov. 18, 2020 -
Mastercard expands AI drive-thru testing to White Castle
Building on its pilot at Sonic Drive-In, the credit card company's latest AI Powered Drive Through platform will enable QSRs to use vehicle recognition and voice ordering.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 1, 2020 -
Golden Gate Capital sells remaining stake in Red Lobster
The sale could help the chain recoup some capital as it looks to improve its balance sheet and pay a looming $180 million loan that is due July 2021.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 31, 2020 -
How 13 casual chains fared during dining room closures
Casual dining restaurants leaned heavily on technology, off-premise and cleanliness standards to try and bring customers back as restrictions eased across the country.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 31, 2020 -
Chicago outdoor dining challenge to help restaurants survive winter
The city is crowdsourcing design ideas for outdoor seating to help restaurants as winter approaches and the pandemic stretches on.
By Katie Pyzyk • Aug. 31, 2020 -
H-E-B's food hall at Austin, Texas, store to offer takeout and delivery
The space will feature a full-service bar and five restaurants with limited capacity dine-in.
By Jessica Dumont • Aug. 28, 2020 -
Saladworks to expand footprint with Chowbotics' robot
The $35,000 salad-making robot will help the chain save on labor and expand into nontraditional spaces like hospitals, universities and grocery stores.
By Alicia Kelso • Aug. 27, 2020 -
How El Pollo Loco tripled digital sales in 2020 by modernizing its marketing
CEO Bernard Acoca explained how the restaurant brand revitalized its marketing after spending 98% of its media budget on TV and print just a few years ago.
By Chris Kelly • Aug. 27, 2020 -
CDC: Panic buttons, safe areas can protect employees from customer violence over COVID-19 policies
The agency's updated guidance also suggests employers should provide training on workplace violence response and install security systems.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 26, 2020 -
Judge OKs lawsuit by businesses seeking COVID-19-related insurance claims
In a first, restaurants and other businesses hit by pandemic shutdowns can move forward on legal efforts to get insurers to pay on business interruption policies.
By Robert Freedman • Aug. 25, 2020 -
Panera adds online ordering through Google
Guests can browse for and order curbside pickup or delivery through Google Search, Maps and Assistant. It's also offering contactless payment methods.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 25, 2020 -
US Foods joins growing list of ghost kitchen services to help with off-premise push
The foodservice distributor and ShiftPixy both recently launched resources for restaurants to streamline operations and market toward delivery.
By Rosie Bradbury • Aug. 21, 2020 -
Taco Bell is launching a mobile-focused, double drive-thru model in 2021
The QSR's new concept will feature a smaller footprint, a priority pickup lane for diners who order via its app and "bellhops" that will offer tablet ordering at the drive-thru and curbside pickup areas.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Aug. 20, 2020 -
HMSHost to lay off at least 3,000 airport restaurant workers
Employees furloughed in March face permanent job cuts if not recalled by Oct. 15. "There is no short-term end in sight to the economic crisis," a company spokesperson said.
By Rosie Bradbury • Aug. 19, 2020 -
Pizza Hut's largest franchisee zeroes in on Red Roof dine-in format in its store closures
NPC International, which filed for bankruptcy in July, said it will close up to 300 locations and will reallocate employee resources to "thriving locations."
By Alicia Kelso • Aug. 18, 2020 -
Domino's announces 20,000-employee hiring spree
The pizza giant's labor plans are a show of strength in a space where its delivery-optimized model has fared relatively well in recent months compared to QSRs geared toward dine-in traffic.
By Rosie Bradbury • Aug. 18, 2020 -
Potbelly reverses course and snags $10M in last-minute PPP funding
Despite its decision to return a Paycheck Protection Program loan in April, the sandwich chain has now opted for a small business loan at the risk of attracting renewed criticism.
By Rosie Bradbury • Updated Aug. 17, 2020 -
Q&A
Exit interview: Punch Bowl Social founder plans to launch social club, 'urban Waffle House' for millennials
Robert Thompson is leaving the eatertainment concept he founded in 2012 to pursue hospitality and restaurant concepts that cater to post-pandemic diner behavior.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Aug. 14, 2020 -
QSRs made staffing gains in June while casual dining slipped
Even though the industry is officially down 2.6 million jobs as of July, Black Box Intelligence CEO Kelli Valade says it could be much worse once furloughs and unemployment claim data is fully calculated.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 13, 2020 -
Fat Brands continues expansion tear with purchase of Johnny Rockets for $25M
The deal, which is expected to close in September, will bring the Fatburger parent's store network to about 700 and raise its annual sales to over $700 million.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Aug. 13, 2020