Uber Eats lands first airport partnership

If the pilot, which brings travelers food from airport restaurants to their gate, is successful, it could bring the delivery firm a new path to growth. 

By Kevin Whiteley • April 5, 2019

Deliveroo to offer London riders electric scooter rentals

The third-party delivery company partnered with electric scooter rental platform Elmovo to launch the program, which comes just days before the city rolls out new Ultra-Low Emission Zone regulations.

By Kevin Whiteley • April 4, 2019

Explore the 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

Chipotle spurs 5x surge in loyalty app downloads, analyst says

Within a week of the nationwide rollout​, Chipotle Rewards registered its one-millionth member, according to an industry analyst at Barclays Capital.

By Robert Williams • April 3, 2019

Toast scores $250M in new funding round

The cash infusion led by Tiger Global Management and TCV comes on the heels of a $115 million round less than a year ago, bringing the restaurant software firm's total valuation to $2.7 billion.

By Alicia Kelso • April 2, 2019

EzCater secures $150M in funding, surpasses $1.2B valuation

The catering platform plans to expand into new regions, acquire companies and add features to help support the growing off-premise industry. 

By Julie Littman • April 2, 2019

McDonald's invests $3.7M in app developer

The fast food chain's latest move will give it a competitive edge with access to new technology that will enhance the customer experience and drive sales. 

By Julie Littman • April 2, 2019

McDonald's buys Dynamic Yield for $300M to improve drive-thru experience

The new technology will be used to roll out digital menu boards that can change depending on the weather, time of day and existing restaurant traffic, providing more personalization at the drive-thru. 

By Julie Littman • March 26, 2019

Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings parent company names new CIO

CKE Restaurants and Inspire Brands are the latest restaurant parent companies to undergo technology leadership changes.

By Samantha Schwartz • March 26, 2019

Domino's adds in-car ordering to its tech lineup

The national pizza chain's latest innovation builds on its litany of ordering options, giving it a leg up on competitors Pizza Hut and Papa John's, which have been playing catch-up. 

By Julie Littman • March 25, 2019

Blockchain card offers low cost payment technology for restaurants

Yosemite Card offers zero to extremely low transaction fees by removing intermediaries during the payment process, giving restaurants a new way to reduce overall operating costs.

By Julie Littman • March 22, 2019

Starbucks invests $100M in food, retail incubator

The coffee giant's backing of Valor Siren Ventures, a fund that will support food and technology startups, could drive innovation that would give it an edge over competitors. 

By Julie Littman • March 21, 2019

Sandwich chain Blimpie lifts customer spending 11% with personalized offers

At 70 locations, the Mobivity-powered test issued personalized offers to customers' phones and paper receipts based on their order history.

By Robert Williams • March 20, 2019

OpenTable blocks data sharing with competitors

A new client agreement from the reservation platform sparked a debate over who actually owns and can have access to restaurant consumer data. 

By Alicia Kelso • March 18, 2019

Paris Baguette launches mobile app with loyalty program

The chain is offering a free coffee or tea to customers who place their first order though the app.

By Robert Williams • March 18, 2019

Activist investor says Cracker Barrel's fast casual concept is 'destined to fail'

Sardar Biglari, the chain's largest shareholder, urged CEO Sandra Cochran to sell Holler and Dash in a letter on Wednesday and cited concerns over the holding company's fast pace of expansion. 

By Kevin Whiteley • March 14, 2019

Deliveroo diversifies with 2 new partnerships

The company is implementing eatsa's new tech products developed for virtual restaurants at its delivery-only site in Singapore and plans to use Yumpingo's services to win favor with smaller eateries.

By Alicia Kelso • March 13, 2019

Papa John's takes DoorDash partnership nationwide

The move follows Pizza Hut's pilot with Grubhub, and could signal a sea change in the pizza delivery space as brands try to wrestle share from growing third-party aggregators and the QSR heavyweights leveraging their technology. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • March 13, 2019

Chipotle touts loyalty program with $250K in Venmo payouts

The Mexican food chain is expanding its Chipotle Rewards program nationwide, and the deal could help capture more of its target diners. 

By Robert Williams • March 12, 2019

Philadelphia becomes the 1st US city to ban cashless concepts

Laws against card-only payments are meant to protect low-income consumers, but could impact tech innovation at restaurants, especially as more chains like Sweetgreen make the switch to improve transaction speed.

By Alicia Kelso • March 8, 2019

Postmates integrates reviews from The Infatuation

Lines between review, reservation and delivery sites are blurring as diner demand for convenience grows, but it's unclear if this offering will be enough to gain long-term converts. 

By Kevin Whiteley • March 8, 2019

Resy in serious talks with potential buyer, Recode reports

An acquisition of one of the largest reservation platforms could provide more space for rising stars Yelp and Google to carve a strong niche in the segment. 

By Julie Littman • March 7, 2019

McDonald's drives 8.4K in-app actions by tying geofenced billboards to Waze

A campaign with the Google-owned app and agency Outdoor Media Group sent users a call to action message when their car came to a full stop. 

By Peter Adams • March 7, 2019

Yum China's Innovation Center could help fend off US transplants

The Yum Brands spinoff believes product experimentation is key to its success in the fast-changing market, where American heavyweights Shake Shack and Starbucks are testing their own new concepts. 

By Kevin Whiteley • March 7, 2019

Toast's new offerings reflect tech's growing role in customer experience

The platform has launched a suite of new features, including Toast Guest Feedback, which allows restaurants to respond to guest reviews in real-time.

By Alicia Kelso • March 6, 2019

Papa Gino's, D'Angelo see 14x response rate for SMS offers

A mobile campaign with Mobivity's Recurrency platform drove more than 25,000 transactions and $125,000 in attributable revenue.

By Robert Williams • March 6, 2019