prices

Restaurants will need to tamp down menu price hikes over the next couple years, says BJ's Restaurant CEO

By Lisa Jennings on Nov. 30, 2023

At the Barclays Eat Sleep Play conference, Greg Levin said consumers remember prices from four years ago and have yet to adjust to the higher cost of dining out.

Financing

Why customers increasingly think restaurants aren't worth it

By Jonathan Maze on Nov. 29, 2023

A Deeper Dive: Consumer strategist and author Lisa Miller joins the podcast to talk about how consumers think about restaurants’ overall value.

Consumer Trends

Lower grocery inflation is pulling consumers away from restaurants, study finds

By Timothy Inklebarger on Nov. 20, 2023

About 25% of shoppers cooked for themselves or purchased ready-to-eat supermarket items during 2023, compared with a 17% rate last year.

Financing

Fast-food chain customers are getting sticker shock

By Jonathan Maze on Nov. 17, 2023

Limited-service prices continue to rise faster than inflation and are up 30% since 2019. That has more customers thinking their fast-food visit isn’t worth it.

Workforce

D.C. restaurants reel from a triple dose of woes

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 16, 2023

Eating places are closing at the rate of one per week because of the one-two-three combination.

Operations

Inflation eases, but not at fast-food restaurants

By Jonathan Maze on Nov. 14, 2023

Limited-service menu prices rose 6.2% over the past year, according to new federal data, and continue to rise at a rate much faster than overall inflation.

Consumer Trends

Consumers tighten their restaurant budgets, but mainly on the margins

By Joe Guszkowski on Nov. 08, 2023

Lower-income people are clearly pulling back, while higher earners and families show resilience, according to new data.

Operations

What to learn from two brands dubbed 'the next Chipotle'

By Lisa Jennings on Nov. 08, 2023

Cava, the newly public fast-casual chain called "the next Chipotle" by investors, and Noodles & Co., which held that title a decade ago, just reported two very different quarters that are a study in contrasts—and offer a warning for Cava.

Marketing

How Hilltop Steak House would draw 3 million guests a year

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 07, 2023

Restaurant Rewind: The 1,500-seat, $30 million-a-year landmark may have been the restaurant industry’s greatest value story.

Workforce

California's wage law could pave the way for $18 Big Macs

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 06, 2023

Working Lunch: A McDonald's in Connecticut is already charging that much for a combo featuring the signature sandwich. Might that become the threshold in the industry's largest restaurant market?

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