50 Great Ideas

Lots of creative thinking goes on in the restaurant industry, making it difficult to narrow down a collection of great ideas to just 50. We came across hundreds of good ones in the 16 months since our last roundup. Some were interesting but too familiar. Others were whimsical but did nothing to drive sales. What separates the “good” from the “great” here is an idea that differentiates a business and moves it forward. See if you agree with our picks.

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Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

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