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Fast_Casual

Operations

Portillo’s gets ready to debut its first dining room-less restaurant

 By Heather Lalley on Jan. 10, 2022

The first Portillo’s Pick Up location, with a triple drive-thru, is slated to open Feb. 1 in Joliet, at a time in which the newly public fast casual is looking for ways to trim its labor usage and its geographic footprint.

Leadership

City Barbeque promotes Mike Muldoon to CEO

 By Heather Lalley on Jan. 06, 2022

Muldoon had served as president and CEO of the fast-casual since 2019. He takes over from founder Rick Malir.

Marketing

Sweetgreen tests a subscription program

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 03, 2022

The fast casual’s Sweetpass costs $10 a month and awards users with a $3 credit for each purchase for 30 days.

Marketing

El Pollo Loco launches its first retail shop

By Heather Lalley on Dec. 22, 2021

The fast casual’s Loco Gifts and Gear shop sells shirts, totes, skateboards and more, all designed by Latino creators.

Emerging Brands

Inside &pizza’s ambitious growth plans

By Heather Lalley on Dec. 21, 2021

The fast-casual pizza concept, which has about 60 units, plans to open 40 new stores by the end of next year. It also isn’t ruling out a possible IPO one day.

Emerging Brands

Inside IHOP’s first Flip’d unit in NYC

By Joe Guszkowski on Dec. 16, 2021

The scaled-down spinoff will serve pancake bowls, burgers and more—mainly for takeout. It's the first of 10 slated for the Big Apple.

Financing

Fat Brands completes $130M purchase of Fazoli’s

By Heather Lalley on Dec. 16, 2021

The acquisition of the fast casual brings the brand collector to about 2,300 global restaurant locations and an expected $2.2 billion in systemwide sales for 2022.

Operations

Diners can’t enter this new Chipotle location

By Heather Lalley on Dec. 16, 2021

Later this month, the fast casual plans to open its first Chipotlane Digital Kitchen with an order-ahead drive-thru and walk-up window but no indoor access for customers.

Emerging Brands

Honeygrow gets back into growth mode

By Heather Lalley on Dec. 15, 2021

A few years after pressing pause, closing some units, and weathering the onset of the pandemic, the buzzed-about fast-casual says 2021 was its most profitable year so far.

Leadership

2021 Pacesetter Award goes to Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

By Patricia Cobe on Dec. 09, 2021

The fast-growing fast casual was honored for accelerating systemwide sales and franchise expansion.

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