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concepts

Operations

What independent restaurant closures can tell us about the year ahead

 By Lisa Jennings on Jan. 08, 2025

Across the country, operators are sharing their reasons for permanently closing and how hard it is to make it work.

Food

How much updating can Chi-Chi's stand without losing its soul?

 By Peter Romeo on Dec. 12, 2024

Restaurant Rewind: The Mexican pioneer is promising to return in a more contemporary version. A look back at its heyday suggests that’ll be a challenging transformation.

Marketing

For some struggling restaurant chains, boosting traffic is a new game

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 11, 2024

Concepts as different as Dickey's and Dave & Buster's are embracing new arcade-like attractions to bolster sagging sales and traffic.

Emerging Brands

The Cheesecake Factory has big plans for its smaller brands

By Joe Guszkowski on Dec. 05, 2024

The casual-dining chain believes it could eventually open hundreds of North Italias, Flower Childs and Culinary Dropouts across the U.S., more than doubling its current footprint.

Financing

Chi-Chi's restaurants set to return after disappearing 20 years ago

By Joe Guszkowski on Dec. 03, 2024

The son of Chi-Chi's founder plans to start opening restaurants next year. The full-service Mexican chain shut down in 2004 following bankruptcy and a devastating hepatitis outbreak.

Financing

Some smaller eatertainment ventures aren't having much fun

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 02, 2024

Two players from the field both posted significant declines in their most recent quarters, but a music specialist is ready to hit play on growth.

Marketing

TGI Fridays needs to get its bad rep back

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 07, 2024

Restaurant Rewind: Once a true convention smasher, the casual-dining pioneer gradually sanded away the quirks and irreverence that made it saucier than anything the industry had seen before. Here’s a reminder of what it once was.

Emerging Brands

Huckleberry's parent launches a fast-casual quesadilla concept

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 06, 2024

Press Quesadilla Grill also offers burritos, bowls and salads. It's the fourth concept in the portfolio of Heritage Restaurant Brands.

Operations

Family dining shakes a cane at the segment's setbacks

By Peter Romeo on Oct. 25, 2024

Old-guard brands like Denny's and Cracker Barrel are intensifying their quest for a youth elixir, as once-potent competitors succumb to the sector's trying conditions.

Operations

The pioneer of daytime dining is a chain you've likely never heard of

By Peter Romeo on Oct. 24, 2024

Restaurant Rewind: Before there was a First Watch or Another Broken Egg, there was Le Peep and its godfather, Allen Bernstein.

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